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Caitey shook her head, stifling a giggle. “You are too funny, Mr. Stirling. But okay, I’m game for an adventure.”
Actually, the idea of going out into the dark, under the night sky, alone with him after a house full of people, sent shivers of anticipation down her neck.
Minutes later, she was bundled up and tromping outside in snow boots, a scarf around her neck, and gloves on her hands. “Wow, look at those stars!”
“Pretty great, huh? Up here on the mountain, there are no city lights to dim the sky, although if you squint your eyes enough, you can see a faint haze where the mountain village lies that connects to the highway into Santa Barbara.”
“The village where the Coffee Loft is, right?”
“I have memories of that place,” Marcus said softly.
“Hm. I do too. . . certain secrets were about to be revealed.”
“No secrets anymore. It’s all a bad dream from so long ago, and I never think about it anymore. And especially when I’m with a beautiful woman,” he added meaningfully.
“Will any beautiful woman do for your purposes?”
He let out a laugh. “That was tart.”
“Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.”
“I can tell,” Marcus said, turning to gaze at her while they paused for a moment to plow theirboots through a snow drift. “I must admit that ever since I met you, I haven’t thought about anybody else.”
Caitey’s breath caught. Was he serious or just flirting?
He soberly added, as if reading her thoughts, “I’m not just complimenting you to flirt. I’m serious. I never expected these last few days with you.”
Marcus paused to take her hands in his, gazing at her full in the face. “I love your eyes, tentative smiles, gorgeous thick hair, and funny personality.”
Caitey was so caught off guard by his compliments that she didn’t know what to say. Instead, she lifted her chin to the inky black sky filled with so many stars it was like a tube of glitter had spilled to create the Milky Way. “It’s a full moon, too. So beautiful. As if I could reach out and touch it,” she added in awe.
“Shall I lasso the moon for you?” Marcus asked.
Caitey gazed up into his face while the soft sound of snow shushed beneath her boots. “It’s a Wonderful Life,right? When George lassos the moon for Mary.”
Marcus stopped in his tracks. “I have never known any girl to get that little joke of mine.”
Caitey stuck a hand on one hip. “How often have you used it on other women, sir?”
“Um, actually, none,” he admitted. “I’ve spent most of my adult life overseas in hot climates, hunting bad guys.”
She pressed a hand on his arm, knowing all at once the difficult things he’d experienced over the past decade serving in the armed forces overseas. Including the heartache andembarrassment of being taken for everything. Not just his savings but his heart. “Does it haunt you very much?” she asked quietly.
“No, not much. At first, it does, but you learn to categorize the elements of war: the terrible fear, the death, the suffering of innocents. We were taught to place it in a mental lockbox with our dirty socks and worn-out boots. We had to survive. To make it back to the real world without going insane.”
Before Caitey could move her hand away, Marcus reached out to take her gloved hand in his while they trudged through the snow until they came to an empty clearing in the woods a little higher than the Estate house. Soft, glowing candlelight created splashes of gold in every window.
“It’s simply beautiful,” Caitey sighed. “What a magical day. And to think this place terrified me when I first arrived.”
Marcus gave her a sideways grin. “You were sure I was a madman or a stalker.”
“No, I didn’t . . . oh, look, it’s starting to snow again!”
“Are you changing the subject?”
“Who me? Never.”
Tiny snowflakes fell softly around them, then larger, fluffy ones that sparkled under the dimming light of dusk. The sky blended deep purples and soft blues, and the world fell quiet as the snowfall muffled every sound.
