Lana leaned in and whispered conspiratorially. “If we get in the car, Graham stops being a part of our evening. But it’s your choice, Rick. I’m flexible.”

Did she have to use that word? What was left of his brain officially gave up, lying down in the gutter and rolling around like a happy dog scratching its back.

Rick swallowed again, trying to make his mouth work properly. “Let’s save the torture for another night.”

Lana beamed at him. “Perfect. Now, if you’ll excuse us…”

Walking was something he was still capable of. Rick led her to his car, where a valet had stolen notecard number fourteen: “Open the door for her.” The valet probably had no idea why their politeness earned a frustrated look from him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a slender woman in glasses peering through the expansive windows of the resort lobby. Zoey gave him two thumbs-up in encouragement.

“Is it me or are these two extra invasive tonight?” Rick grumbled. “They’re worse than parents on prom night.”

Lana shot him an amused look before noticing the damage to his car.

“Oh, what happened?” She stopped before getting in. “This wasn’t here earlier. Did you get in an accident?”

“Just an angry Dude,” Rick said. “Moose kicks in car doors are a fact of life around here. I’ll pop it out when I get home.”

“You know how to do that?”

“If it’s only the metal and nothing structural underneath…yeah. It’s a few screws and a plunger.” Not really a big deal, but she seemed impressed. And Rick really wanted to impress her.

He probably should have worn that tie.

“If kicking cars is a moose thing, do you think a sleigh would lure it?”

“The Santa Moose? I sure hope not. It’s going to be an awfully scary Christmas Eve parade if that’s true. Let’s not give it any ideas.”

Lana shuddered. “Oh dear. Yes, let’s not.”

When Rick had gotten ready for tonight, he’d figured he’d wing it with the restaurant. It wasn’t that he wasn’t willing to plan for a nice night on the town. But the only really nice places to go were in the resort. Considering she lived in the resort, taking her to dinner there seemed far too akin to taking her to her own kitchen on a date. There weren’t many restaurants in Moose Springs, but Rick was willing to take her to her favorite.

“Does anything sound good?” he asked her as they pulled away from the curb.

“I’m guessing the Tourist Trap is off the menu now since Graham is here and not there.”

Rick nodded, trying not to notice how her dress slipped up a few inches as she crossed her legs. “If you’re cold, I can turn up the heater.”

He started fumbling with the dials, somehow having forgotten how to operate his own vehicle.

A slender hand touched his. “You look very nice tonight, Rick. I’m perfectly comfortable. And pick whatever restaurant you’d like. I’m just happy to be spending the evening with you.”

He’d never been at such a loss for words. She was just so damn beautiful.

“You’re gorgeous, Lana,” Rick said, finally going for honest and pathetic instead of suave and capable. “I’m still trying to figure out what to say.”

And wouldn’t you know it? Lana slipped her fingers through his, the prettiest blush on her face.

Maybe he wasn’t so bad at this after all.

* * *

Every place seemed worse than the last.

Rick kept driving, his left hand gripping the steering wheel harder with each mile that passed. His right had stayed loosely holding Lana’s slender fingers in his own. Nothing seemed good enough for her, each choice of sandwich shop or dive bar subpar and unappealing.

He almost turned into a biker bar just outside town out of sheer lack of anything left, but as much as he liked the people who frequented the bar, he wasn’t taking Lana in there. At least not in that dress.

The dress that cost him a little more of his sanity every time she shifted, knowing he needed to keep his eyes on the road instead of on her.

When they finally reached the one-stop market outside town, Rick knew he’d passed the point of no return.

“Oh, are we going somewhere new?” Lana perked up, her fingers squeezing his in excitement.

“Umm…yeah.”

Apparently, they were going someplace new to both of them.

A light flurry of snow started to fall as they left Moose Springs and all its dining options behind. Dining options that seemed glorious and completely date appropriate now that Rick had lost the possibility of turning around and driving back to any of them.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were taking me into the middle of nowhere.”

“It sure feels like it, huh?” He inwardly cringed.

Think, Rick. Think of some place. Any place. Why hadn’t he turned the other way? It would have been a long drive, but Anchorage was eventually that direction. This way, there was nothing. Absolutely nothing.

“So tell me about you.” Lana turned in her seat toward him, making herself comfortable. “None of this usual date stuff. Tell me something good.”

“I finally remembered to bring home Diego’s milk for once.”

“Is forgetting the milk a thing?”

“Yep. And it pisses the kid off like nothing else.” Rick grinned at the thought. “I might be doing it subconsciously. You should see the face he makes when he has to eat his Raisin Bran dry.”

Her laugh was a much-needed balm to his nerves. “I like Diego. He always seems very serious though. It’s good he has you to tease him.”

“He’s good for me too. Diego’s been living with me for a while now.”

“How long is a while?”

Rick hesitated, because no one liked to talk about the accident. Glancing at her, Rick’s mouth opened of its own accord. “Since he was a teenager. His family passed away. Drunk driving accident.”

Lana’s voice softened with sympathy. “That’s terrible.”

“Yeah.” Even now, memories of getting that call still gave Rick a cold shiver. Having to tell Jen her nephew was being airlifted to the hospital and the rest of the family was gone was one of the worst things he’d ever had to do.

“None of us are fond of tourists driving drunk in town. Diego’s got the scars to back up his feelings on the matter. He lost his parents and his little sister that day. Jen…my ex. Her sister was his mom.”

“Does Diego have any other family besides you two?”

Rick shook his head. “Not locally.”

“It’s really good of you to have taken him in.”

“If you’d seen him sitting there in the hospital, stitches in his forehead, totally lost, you wouldn’t have been able to leave him there either.” Rick couldn’t help the pride in his voice as he added, “The kid’s rough around the edges, but he’s a good one. First person I’d want in my corner.”

“He had your back with Jonah. I was impressed.”

Not many people were impressed with Diego, which only made him like her more. Which was why it was unfortunate that at any moment, Lana was going to decide he’d lured her into the middle of nowhere to ax murder her.

“Oh,” Lana said, looking up with excitement. “Are we here?”

They’d reached the end of the road. As sheer freaking luck would have it, the end of the road coincided with a particularly nice view of the surrounding mountains. Without that view, the modest, two-story log cabin bed-and-breakfast in front of them wouldn’t be there. Or at least it wouldn’t have had an “Open” sign in the window.

Somehow, Rick had found a B and B with an actual restaurant attached.

This was it. Literally. If he turned left, they would end up on a gravel drive leading into a national forest, and if he turned right, they would end up headed for Canada. It was the end of the road, so whatever Molly’s Bed-and-Breakfast was, this was it.

Molly sounded like a normal name. This could work. He was saved. It was a Christmas freaking miracle.

“A B and B, huh?” Lana aimed a flirtatious look at him. “Are we at the overnight stage already?”

Rick winced. “I didn’t even think of that. We can go back if you aren’t comfortable.” Back because forward wasn’t much of an option. Forward would take them so far into the bush, he’d need four-wheel drive.

“I’m sure this place is absolutely lovely.” She squeezed his hand once more before releasing it to unbuckle her seat belt.

Lana’s heels were not meant for this kind of drive, but she never wobbled as she joined him at the front of the vehicle. Crap, he hadn’t opened the door for her. Apparently, he was determined to blow all his chances to use card number fourteen. He’d jumped out and stared at the restaurant as if he could warp it into a four-star steakhouse out of sheer willpower.

“Are you all right?” A sculpted eyebrow rose, those gorgeous eyes sweeping over him in concern.

“Yep. All good.”

Nope. Nope nope nope.

Lana threaded her arm through Rick’s. “I’m starving. It’s always exciting to try someplace new.”

Yes. Exciting. This was exciting, and he could really luck out here. Some places were hidden gems, and just because he’d never known about this place didn’t mean it wasn’t one of those unexpectedly amazing restaurants that would make tonight worth the drive.

Letting himself hope for a kinder, gentler universe, Rick opened the door at the top of the stairs, offering a shy smile to the woman with him. She was so beautiful, he couldn’t get over it. And when she returned that smile, his heart paused in his chest, took its own breath, and finally started to beat again.

This time, Rick moved fast enough to hold the door open for her before following her into the restaurant. She stopped so quickly, he bumped into Lana’s back, quickly placing a hand on her hip to steady them both.