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.”His dad huffed.“Competition? I’m winning, I’ll have you know.”“By one game! And it was because the boat rocked too hard during the first set.” Anne protested from her side of the table.“I want a rematch.”Dad swung his paddle in an arc.“Didn’t mess with my balance, did it? Just admit I’m better.”“Never!” Anne hollered, laughter in her voice.“A remat—”“Save me from Mom.She’s asking questions,” Gabe whispered.Looking between Gabe, Anne and Peggy, Vince arched his eyebrows.“You know it’s a temporary reprieve only.Your mother is a rabid pitbull with lockjaw when she sets her mind to something.”“And we love her for it.” Gabe sighed.Vince blinked.“Do we?”“Dad.”“Kidding!” His father grinned.“Give me that.” Gabe jerked the ping-pong paddle from his father’s hand.“Go sit in time out and think about how much you adore your wife.”“I love her so much I’ll rev her up and turn her loose on you at lunch.You’ll never survive.” His father smirked and went over to join Bridget and Peggy.But Gabe ignored him because he was facing Anne for the first time since he’d left her bed that morning.She did look a little drawn and tired, slight circles under her golden eyes.She offered him a challenging smile.“You’re going down, Warren.”He couldn’t help it.His gaze dropped to her waist and would have gone lower if his view weren’t blocked by the table.He’d certainly gone down the day before.And she’d liked it.Catching his less than subtle change in focus, she laughed softly.“Pervert.”“Proudly, yes.” He stroked his clean-shaven jaw.“No red marks today?”“Nope.” She glanced over to see if their audience was watching them.Apparently not, thank God.“Excellent.”She swung her paddle experimentally.“You know what this thing might be good for? I never did get a chance last night.”“I had protection with me.” Like her, he wasn’t necessarily interested in the Fifty Shades stuff, but if she changed her mind, he couldn’t say he wouldn’t be willing to give it a try.“Such a good boy,” she purred.“If what you told me last night means anything, I’m a very good boy.”“Hours ago.” She flicked dismissive fingers.“It’s so hard to remember.”“I’d be happy to remind you, if you’d like.” He twirled his paddle between his fingers.“Best three out of four? No rematches.Winner gets to be on top tonight.”He smiled at her and she smiled back.He had no idea which of them had the more wicked expression, but he doubted anyone looking thought this was an innocent exchange.She hefted the ping-pong ball and swatted it at him.Let the games begin.Chapter SixFrigid wind kissed Anne’s cheeks as she faced a massive wall of ice that reached the height of a four-story building.Excitement pumped through her veins, fizzing like champagne.This was one of the reasons she’d picked this cruise company, because halfway through the trip, they offered an ice-climbing expedition.And here she was.A waterfall had frozen in place, tumbling over the side of a cliff in a beautiful white-blue curtain.And she was going to climb it and look down from the top of that mountain for a view that would, without a doubt, be utterly breathtaking.She couldn’t wait.They’d scale the icy falls, hike for a few hours across the plateau at the top and then rappel down the far side, meeting up with the ship at the end of the day.It was going to be epic.Anne was ready to break into song and dance, she was so thrilled.This was the kind of thing she lived for.Remembering what Meg had said made her smile dim a little.Yes, she loved her adventures.It didn’t mean she wanted to give up her job and security to do this full-time.There was no future in this lifestyle.What happened when she turned fifty or sixty or seventy? Health failed eventually.This wasn’t the kind of thing one did forever.Only someone as impractical as her mom would think so.In fact, Dinah’s make up consulting was far more reasonable as a job than an outdoor guide.There was a depressing thought.“Hey, Anne.Is this right?” Bridget’s oldest son walked up, fiddling with his harness.Gabe stood at the bottom of the ice, working with their other guide, who was climbing to the top to set the belay anchor for the rest of them.“You have this buckle wrong.” She adjusted the offending clasp for the kid, and then checked him over to make sure everything else was secured correctly.Several of the other less experienced climbers came over to ask her for help, including an older teen girl that Bridget’s boy was drooling over.The two wandered off talking, though the girl didn’t seem to notice the boy was hanging on her every word.Gabe joined Anne, bumping her shoulder with his.“Nice work.Thanks for the assist.”“Of course.I’m happy to lend a hand.” It honestly hadn’t occurred to her not to help.She was a teacher and she had many climbing hours under her belt—combine those two and she was unlikely to keep her opinion to herself.Luckily, everyone seemed to appreciate her pitching in.Tilting his head back, Gabe squinted at the cliff.“Should be heading up in a minute.”“How fast do you think you can climb it?”He chuckled.“Sorry, I can’t indulge your competitive side.I have to pull the ice screws on my way up so we don’t leave junk behind.”“Ah, you’re so smart and environmentally friendly, Camper Guru.” She batted her lashes at him.He growled at her use of the nickname, and she knew if they were alone, he’d probably try to swat her backside.“What? Intelligence is one of your finest features, Guru.That, and your ass.”He smirked, turning to pull up the back of his jacket.As thick as his pants were, they still managed to cup his ass like a lover.“It is nice, isn’t it?”“Very.” If she kept staring, she was going to start drooling worse than Bridget’s kid.“Gabe, can you look at this? Pretty please?” The teenage girl turned on her coy flirtatiousness, and her young male admirer shuffled off.Gabe put on a good-natured smile and went to see what she needed.From the side pocket on her coat, Anne felt her phone buzz.It took her a minute to yank her glove off so she could retrieve the thing and tap the screen to view the text.It was Julie.How come we haven’t heard any more about this Gabe guy?? Meg said he rocked out with his cock out, but you’ve mentioned nothing in your emails.You’re killing us here.Reception had been spotty at best on this cruise.Not surprising considering there wasn’t a real city for hundreds of miles [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]