“I like a nerd.” Especially one smelling like chocolate and mint, mixed with a hint of tweed. “I’m a bit of a brew nerd myself.”
“So you actually brew beer in your little place?”
“Yes, we’re a microbrewery. Me and three other women are all part owners. We’ve been friends for ages.”
“The Decadent Dames. Decadence is such a delicious word, don’t you think? It speaks of glamour and ritual, embellishment and desire.”
“And velvets and silk, and sweet spices and honey,” Eryss chimed in.
“I love that. What about warm summer grass threading between your toes and constellations of fireflies buzzing about the midnight sky?”
“Wow. You really miss summer, don’t you?”
“I do.” He sipped the cocoa. “But I’m learning winter does have its sweetness in the form of a lovely snow goddess.”
“It’s the tinsel hair. You just want to run your fingers through it, don’t you?”
“It’s the whole look. If you were carrying a wand that shot out snow sparkles from the tip, I’d totally buy into it.”
“You’ve seen Frozen.”
“How to avoid it when even the cereal I buy features the characters on the box? But I confess, I did see it. It was for a date.”
“You took a woman out to a Disney movie?”
“I wasn’t my first choice, but I didn’t complain. I got to pick the restaurant, so it was fun all around.”
The man was racking up some seriously sexy, dateable points. And Eryss wouldn’t even begin to calculate how many points he’d earn if he truly did turn out to be her soul mate.
“What kind of food do you like?” she asked.
“Seafood and good wine.”
“I can recommend an excellent Scandinavian restaurant for you to check out while you’re here. It would be a shame for you not to try lutefisk and lefse before leaving.”
“I’ve heard of lefse. A Norwegian staple made with flour and...”
“Potatoes. It’s like a very soft flatbread, and you butter it and sprinkle sugar on top. Roll it up, and have at it!”
“Sounds like a treat. Do I want to know what lutefisk is?”
“It’s seafood. Sort of. Whitefish soaked in lye. But if you cook it right, it’s awesome.” She noticed his distasteful swallow and laughed. “I haven’t eaten it since I was a kid. I know better now.” She winked at him.
Behind them, strains of music echoed out from the mansion. Dane took her hand, the one clasping the empty mug, and she startled. “Would you like to dance?”
Suddenly feeling more ungrounded than she ever had in her life, Eryss delighted in the airy lift to her being. “Yes, please.”
* * *
The winter queen bewigged with tinsel knew how to dance a waltz. And so did Dane, thanks to his mother’s insistence that a well-rounded man could make his way through life with ease and grace. Of course, she didn’t have to know he’d also taken martial arts classes and was a damn good hand at knife-throwing, courtesy of his own desires to round out his life. But as they glided about the dance floor and the song came to an end, he was thankful for the next, slower song so he could hold his partner closer and look into her eyes. Those mysterious blue eyes.
There was something about Eryss that he couldn’t quite put a finger on. She was pretty, but not in a conventional, overdone way where men’s jaws dropped and they stared long after she’d passed. She had flawless skin and bright eyes. A soft pink mouth and no visible blush on her cheeks. And yet Dane felt as if he had scored a dance with the most gorgeous woman in the world, for her attention warmed him to the bone and he was quite sure he hadn’t stopped smiling since they’d taken the dance floor.
He leaned in close, brushing her cheek with his. He should have shaved. But she didn’t flinch or seem to mind his stubble. In fact, she nestled in closer, pressing her breasts against his chest and bringing their hands down so they swayed together in the middle of the dance floor, barely moving.
Yet his heart raced. He felt like the awkward geek he’d once been at high school dances. Nervous. Unsure. Most definitely not as suave as he liked to think he was. Was everyone staring at the fumbling nerd? And yet he’d scored the cheerleader this time, and hell, yeah, he wanted everyone to look at him.
Eryss tilted her head and whispered, “I feel airy when I’m with you, Dane. Not at all grounded.”
“Is that a good or bad thing?”
“I haven’t decided.”
Hmm...well, he didn’t want her to decide it was the latter, so he clasped one hand across her back and held her securely. Grounding her? He wasn’t sure how that worked, but the feeling took him and all he wanted to do was hold this beautiful queen and forget the unfortunate luck he’d had at the antiques store.
Something about this embrace felt...familiar? It was an odd thing to notice. He’d never met this woman. Surely he would remember those blue eyes. And he’d never once set foot in Minnesota before today.
He’d take the feeling for whatever it was, and count his luck as having turned toward the good side.
When the slow music segued into a bouncy beat, they paused and her eyes sought his. She asked, “Want to come to my place?”
Dane’s reaction went from surprised, to curious, to aroused in a matter of seconds. That had been an abrupt invite.
She didn’t blush so much as glow, even under the silly tinsel wig. “Uh, I think I can show you a little taste of summer. I promise I won’t molest you.”
He intentionally dropped the smirk. “Now I’m disappointed.”
She laughed. “Unless you want me to? Come on. I know where summer lives.”
He clasped her hand, and sucked in a breath at the sudden electric zing that coursed from that connection. It felt as if he’d been jolted by static electricity directly on the heart.
“Is something wrong?” she asked innocently.
Eryss peered into his eyes once again. He’d never seen this woman before. And yet...had he?
“You do recognize me,” she said with an effusive smile. And with that weird announcement, she tugged him off the dance floor. “Come with me.”
As they grabbed Dane’s coat and glided down the mansion stairs, Dane felt as though he was following a familiar path to something he had wondered about for so long.
Bemused was one way to describe Dane’s mood. He’d only just arrived in Minnesota this morning. Had nearly slid into the ditch at the mercy of an angry cab driver while being transported from airport to northern suburbs. Plowed his way to the antiques shop. Learned he’d have to stay a miserable week in the tundra. Decided to check out a costume party on a night that featured single-digit temperatures. And now he was about to hook up with a pretty woman smelling like chocolate, mint and sage.
Maybe. This might not be a hookup. She could be taking him to her house to—hell yes, it was a hookup! With a woman wearing a silver wig and a blue gown glittering with spangled snowflakes. But he could see beyond the costume and knew she was more interesting than a meteor dug up from a farmer’s field. And he wanted to get to know her better. He had a week in this town. Why not start it off with a bang?
“Do you do this often?” he