Free On His List (Entangled Flirts) by Wendy Sparrow Page B

of retirees, where nothing ever happened—where there was no snow.
    Wars had been won by the cold. You could defend against a lot of things, but the driving chill got inside your veins and never left you, freezing you from within until you just gave up. Anything to stay warm. Anything. She never should have come to Denver.
    Kate shivered again—a full body shiver that bumped her arm against their table, making it rattle.
    Rick laughed. “You know, for someone who works for a ski supply company, you could really never appreciate the product.”
    “Water skis. I live in the land of water skis. I don’t even know why I’m here.”
    “DeWinters was willing to throw a ridiculous amount of money into accomplishing this, and you are inventory manager for that line.”
    She wrinkled her nose. Something felt fishy about all this. “And they couldn’t come down to Florida to talk about water skis?”
    Rick slid his gaze up from the menu. “I might not have negotiated as strenuously as I could have.”
    She shook her head with a sigh. He couldn’t have known—even if her refusal to travel north was a source of amusement among the rest of the company. Besides, he might not even notice she was in his territory.
    After the waitress took their order, Kate pulled off her outermost layer of clothing—the huge parka. She still had another jacket underneath, but the parka could at least come off.
    The waitress delivered their drinks. Kate wrapped her hands around the mug of hot chocolate, brought it to her face, and inhaled the aroma. Oh, yes, this was the stuff. It was heavenly. Beautiful, decadent, and dark. It almost made the whole blasted trip worth it. It was impossible to get a decent hot chocolate in Florida. Warm places just didn’t have enough practice. She sipped and moaned.
    “Careful. You might just find something you like about Denver.” Rick leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “So, what sends a beautiful girl from Michigan to Florida, and what makes her hate snow?”
    Kate gave him a look.
    He shrugged. “I looked in your personnel file. I knew from your lack of accent you weren’t originally from the South and it made me curious.”
    She wrapped her fingers tighter around her mug. “Seven years ago, I was skating on a frozen pond, and I fell in. It took them nearly an hour to get me out. They thought for sure I was dead and gone for good.” She winced. “On the winter solstice.” She could feel it approaching, this anniversary of hers.
    Rick raised his eyebrows. “You’re making this up.”
    “No. Profound hypothermia. My heart stopped even. It froze me through. The doctors said the cold killed me and saved me.” She took another sip and sighed in relief. Even talking about it made her cold.
    “So…,” he gestured at her. “So…”
    It was a common reaction. No one knew what to say.
    “So?”
    “Well, you seem fine now.”
    “They tell me I am, but I’ve never been warm since. My body temperature is ninety-five degrees all the time. It freaks out doctors.” It freaked her out. It had been seven years, but she knew why it persisted—she just didn’t believe it. It wasn’t possible. Every morning she woke up knowing it was impossible. “It’s like I have ice in my veins,” she whispered, staring at the fire.
    “And that’s why you live in Florida.”
    “That’s why I live in Florida and never leave.”
    “Never?”
    Another shiver shook down her spine. This time not just from the cold. This was taking a huge chance. Being here.
    Rick took her shiver as an answer. “Well, I hear Florida isn’t all bad.” His tone was warm and low, intimate. It wrapped around her like the heat from the fire.
    She gave him what she hoped was a friendly smile. “It’s not. You can walk outside in shorts year round.”
    “Well, maybe I should come visit more often.”
    Kate glanced up from her mug and met his eyes, and then something pulled her gaze away, a magnetic force dragging her