A pair of headlights swept down the street and drew closer. She recognized Matt’s shiny black sedan from a distance. It was one of those imports and even though it was a four-door, it managed to look sporty. Somehow it made its way down the snow, icy streets, which meant it either had good tires, or it was one of those all-wheel drive cars that she heard people talking about. Probably both. Matt had money after all.
Matt pulled up and unrolled the window. “I hope you brought warmer clothes than that.”
“I did,” Callie said defensively.
She tried to ignore how good Matt looked in a black wool jacket. It was pulled up around the angle of his freshly shaved jaw. His ice-blue eyes glistened. His lips, lips which damn well haunted her, turned up in a huge grin. It’s sinful to be that handsome. He probably always gets what he wants because his face looks like it’s carved out of stone. That only made her think about the rest of him and what else was rock hard, like shoulders and chests and abs and- hell no. Do not go there.
“Are you going to ride with me or follow?”
“Follow.”
“I figured.” He didn’t elaborate and never lost that charming smile that turned her insides into a hot mess.
“Where are we going?”
He winked at her. “Wait and see. Do you think you can keep up?”
“It’s a surprise then,” she stated dryly. She left no doubt as to what she thought about that.
“Yup.” He rolled up the tinted window so that she could barely see the flash of his teeth. He waited for her to get in her car before he rolled out of the parking lot.
Callie had a feeling that Matt didn’t normally drive that slow or that carefully. He probably did it just so she could keep up. Not because he was being nice. She wouldn’t give him that. He probably thought her old early nineties sedan couldn’t keep up. She’d show him. The tiny little car always started. It might be rough looking, but it was reliable. It had never left her stranded and even after heavy snow, she’d never been stuck.
Matt finally pulled up in an empty parking lot. It felt like they’d been driving forever. There was nothing around them. Callie was slightly worried about driving so far out of the way, but she had to trust Matt. She worked with him after all. He wasn’t going to drive her into the middle of nowhere and do something awful to her. That was just her nerves making her extremely and overly paranoid.
When she climbed out of the car and saw the huge hill looming in the distance, her eyes flew around the parking lot. She spotted a sign a few seconds later.
“Sledding?” She turned to Matt, who was just getting out of his car.
He nodded. He seemed far too proud of himself. “I rented the place for the night. It’s just you and me and the people who run the place.”
Callie nearly snorted. “See! That’s something a rich person would say.” She did her best impression of his deep, husky, far too self-assured, far too sexy, voice. “I rented the place out for the night.”
“You said you wanted it to be memorable. I doubted standing in line and waiting all night was going to be that.”
“Sledding?” she asked again. “You mean like, with actual sleds? Toboggans and tubes and stuff?”
“That’s what I mean. There’s a huge lift so that we don’t have to walk up the hill after. More rides that way.”
“I haven’t done anything like this since I was a kid,” Callie admitted grudgingly.
She stared up at the monstrous hill. The idea was a strange one, but it did sound fun. If she was busy sledding down the hill, she wouldn’t have to be sitting there staring at Matt like she thought the date was going to be. She thought he’d take her to a five-star restaurant and throw cash around to try and impress her. Boy, was I wrong.
“I guess I’ll get my stuff on and we can go.”
“Great me too.”
She went back to her car and dressed awkwardly, hopping on one foot to get her feet into her boots. Of course, her outdoors clothes weren’t nearly as nice as Matt’s. He had an all black suit on that looked like it was meant for skiing or snowboarding or something. Of course, his toque, mitts, and boots all matched.
“Okay,” she said with forced cheerfulness. “I’m ready to relive my childhood.”
It turned out, that after a few minutes’ ride to the top, sledding down the hill was a lot of fun. She let Matt go first, on a huge black tube, and she followed on one of her own. She went on her stomach and was shocked at how much speed she picked up going down the hill. She laughed and screamed and watched the world rush by. She came to a standstill at the bottom, near Matt, who was waiting for her.