“Are we going to watch the submarine races?” she asked.
“Nope,” he said. “We’re going out on the lake.”
Caley felt a rush of panic. “In this truck? Oh, no we’re not.”
“Don’t worry. It’s safe. The ice is really thick this year. We just have to watch out for ice-fishing holes.”
Caley screamed as they drove from the landing onto the ice, expecting the truck to fall through the moment it got over the water. When it didn’t, she glanced over at Jake. “Are you sure we’re safe?”
Jake turned to her. “I would never do anything to hurt you.” He’d expressed the sentiment before but Caley hadn’t realized until now how strongly he felt it.
“All right. I taught you how to drive, now I’m going to teach you how to spin doughnuts. In the time-honored tradition of high school drivers, these are things you’ll need to know. Number one, turn off the four-wheel drive. Number two, make sure your seat belt is buckled. Number three, don’t steer into the skid. Got it?”
“I don’t really want to do this,” she said.
“It’ll be fun,” Jake assured her. With that, he hit the accelerator and the truck took off. A moment later, he made a sharp turn and they began to spin on the ice. Caley screamed, clutching at the door handle. At first, she was terrified that they were going to break through at any minute. But as the fear wore off, Caley found that the danger was exhilarating.
When Jake finally pulled the truck to a stop in the middle of the lake, she was breathless, her pulse racing. “That was amazing. Almost better than sex,” she said with a giggle.
Jake pulled the truck out of gear and then crawled over the console, pressing Caley up against the door. “I think we ought to make a comparison right here and now. A little experiment.”
“You want to have sex in the middle of a frozen lake?”
Jake nodded. “I intend to seduce you in other memorable spots. That way, when you go back home, you won’t forget me.”
Caley heard the teasing tone in his voice, but the humor didn’t extend to his eyes. She reached out and smoothed her palm over his cheek. “I’ll never forget this,” she murmured. She touched her lips to his and a moment later, they were caught in a passionate kiss.
She felt all the longing and the need between them. But she also felt a bittersweet resignation that from now on, every moment counted. As they slowly began to undress each other, Caley wondered how she’d ever be able to do without this. Passion had never been a big part of her sex life, but now that she’d experienced it with Jake, she couldn’t imagine doing without it—or him. Would it even be possible to go a week without touching him or kissing him or feeling him move inside her?
“Are you sure we should be doing this?” she asked, running her fingers through his hair. “If we fall through, they’re going to find our frozen bodies in a very compromising position.”
Jake worked at the buttons of her blouse. “But at least they’ll know we died happy.”
“And since we’ll be frozen together, they’ll have to bury us together.”
Jake groaned. “Now that’s just morbid.”
A loud pop shattered the silence outside the truck and Caley jumped, startled by the sound. “What was that?”
“The ice,” Jake said. “It creaks and pops. But it won’t break.”
Caley struggled to sit up and then rebuttoned her blouse. “Although this would be a lovely little story to tell friends and neighbors, I’m not sure that I’ll be able to summon up the needed concentration to truly enjoy myself here.”
“You wanna go back?” Jake asked.
“Yes, please,” she replied. “If you get me off this ice, then I promise you can have your way with me.”
“And if I hum, will you do a striptease?” Jake asked.
Caley thought about his request for a few seconds, then realized there were all kinds of fantasies left for them to explore. “Yes. But then I get to hum and you have to strip.”
Jake quickly straightened up and began to put his clothes back in order. Then he got behind the wheel and put the truck back into gear. “Would you like to see how fast we can go on the ice?”
“No,” she said.
Jake hit the accelerator and they took off again. “The only thing you have to remember is that it takes a lot longer to stop.”
He drove the SUV off the ice at the boat landing in town. When he reached the intersection for East Shore Road, he turned. A few minutes later, they were bumping back down the drive at Havenwoods. Jake jumped out of the truck. “I’ll be right back,” he said.
As promised, he returned a few minutes later, a smile on his face.
“How were they?” she asked.
“Good, as far as I could see through the window. I think they might be asleep. I left Sam’s cell phone on the porch. If they need it, they’ll find it.”
Caley nodded, then reached over and furrowed her fingers through the hair at Jake’s nape. “Sometimes it feels like we’ve lived years in these few days. Back when we were kids, everything moved so slowly. And now, I can barely keep up.”
“It’s because we have a clock ticking,” Jake said. He glanced over at her. “You know, we could just shut the clock off. The wedding is scheduled for Thursday night. If it happens, then we’re done with our duties. We could grab a couple plane tickets to some warm spot and spend the weekend together. Or the next week, if you can take off work.”
The idea was intriguing. Caley had plans to fly back to New York early Friday morning, hoping to have the weekend to catch up on the work she’d missed. But she was the boss now. If she couldn’t let a little work slide, then what was the point of being in charge?
“We could do that,” Caley said, surprised at how her attitude had changed.
“Mexico?” Jake suggested.
“Or the Caribbean. Someplace warm with pretty beaches and lots of fruity drinks. And luxurious rooms with big bathtubs. And a soft bed covered by one of those mosquito nets.”
He grabbed her hand and pressed his lips against her wrist. “That sounds nice,” he said. “Hey, if Sam and Emma don’t get married, we could go on their honeymoon.”
Caley gave him a disapproving look. “Don’t even say that. I want to believe that they’ll work things out, don’t you?”
Jake nodded. “I know. Me, too. I’ll make the plans. We can leave right after the reception.”
When they got back to the inn, Jake steered the car into a parking spot behind the building. Then he helped Caley out, grabbing her waist and setting her down in front of him. He kissed her deeply, his hands skimming over her body, searching through the layers of clothes she wore.
“Leave it to fate to put us together in the middle of winter,” he muttered as he pulled up her sweater and rubbed his cold hands on her belly. “Too many clothes.”
Caley giggled, pushing him away. “I’m sure we’ll figure out a way to remedy that.” She reached down and threw a handful of snow at his face. “Maybe we should find a vacation spot where they don’t require clothes at all.”
Jake gasped. “Are you serious?”
She nodded. “Why not? I’d like that, spending my entire day naked instead of bundled up like this.”
Jake shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
“What? Are you a prude? You shouldn’t