Winter's Embrace Read Online Free PDF Page B

every tour I lead as a souvenir of the lovely
people I meet along the way.”
    “It’s a warm and fuzzy idea,” Mimi mocked.
    The urge to slap the sarcasm right out of Mimi
surprised her. Between Mimi and Stone she’d been on the verge of violence the
whole trip, which was strange for her.
    “Actually it is a great idea.” Stone stared at Mimi
until she had the good sense to look down at her plate.
    The thank you smile she started to send Stone’s way
dimmed. It wouldn’t be appropriate and it probably wasn’t wanted. He looked so
handsome in his black suit. He also wore a Rolex watch she had not seen before.
Either he was rich or Mimi bought it for him at the Diamond Store in Skagway.
Of course, those weren’t the only options. He made it hard to concentrate.
    Maybe it was because she knew what those strong hands,
sprinkled with a bit of dark hair, could do. A chill went right through her.
Thinking like this was only going to make it harder to say goodbye. Throughout
the rest of the dinner, she played it safe and talked to the other passengers,
doing her best to ignore Mimi and Stone.
    The group had their pictures taken. Of course, Mimi
had to be in the front. Winter just hoped that her smile looked real instead of
the fake one she’d been wearing. Peering into her handbag, she noted the time.
Only two more hours until midnight, and then she would be plain, old Winter again. That was what she wanted, wasn’t it?
     
    * * * *
     
    Stone watched Winter say her
goodnights to the group. There was a graceful way about her and everyone really
liked her with the exception of Mimi. The temptation to dump Mimi over the side
of the ship grew with every instant he spent around her.
    In the beginning, he’d tried to be good natured to
her, but the minute she tried to blackmail him, his kindness turned into
disgust. Sure, she was attractive, but only on the surface. Underneath, she was
a vain, spoiled brat.
    Too bad, he wasn’t escorting Winter back to her cabin instead of having Mimi hang on him. Things weren’t turning
out the way he’d hoped. He ached to be with Winter .
    Looking at his watch, he wondered if maybe she would
talk to him. It wasn’t really late and it was possible she hadn’t gone to bed
yet. “Well, folks, I’m going to hit the hay.”
    “No, you can’t go.” Mimi made it sound like an order.
    “I can.” He walked away from her. He tried being nice
to keep her claws away from Winter, but that hadn’t worked and he didn’t book
this cruise to play nice with some prima donna. He’d done it to see Winter again. For the last ten years, he’d had a constant
ache in his heart as though a part of it was missing. Winter owned a piece of
his heart and being with her made him feel complete again.
    After tonight, he hoped to shake Mimi loose for good.
Paying attention to her was a lose -lose for him, and
he didn’t plan to come away from this cruise a loser.
    He too noticed that Winter wore no jewelry. He foolishly went into the Diamond Store to buy her a
necklace, but as usual, Mimi followed him, hinting that she’d like a ring, and
he walked away from her. That was probably the reason for her behavior on the
train.
     
    * * * *
     
    Thank God, there was a coffee
maker in her room. With almost no sleep behind her, it promised to be a rough
day. It wasn’t for the lack of trying. She should never have given Stone’s
hands any thought. The memories of his tantalizing touch tormented her all
night.
    Grabbing a cup of coffee and
putting on her robe, she walked out onto her balcony and was greeted by Glacier
Bay. The sheer beauty of the mountainous glaciers took her breath away. This
made it all worth it. God really had his paintbrush out when he put these on
earth.
    She leaned against the railing
and sipped her coffee, as a smile graced her face and
peace found her soul. Turning her head to the left, she spotted something
flying from Stone’s railing. It was tied and blowing in the crisp wind. She