to focus on the place, not the person next to her.
Professional Samantha was going to smother wild Samantha.
He adjusted the heater. “This is the only vehicle we have that can handle the snow and rough terrain, but it’s pretty basic. No heated seats. Are you cold?”
“No. I’m hot. I mean—I’m warm enough. These are ski pants, and I have lightweight thermals under my sweater. I know a great deal about dressing for winter. Advising on appropriate clothing is one of the things we offer as part of our service to clients. We try not to recommend specific brands, but we give examples and—”
“Samantha—” he stopped the car in front of the gates “—could you relax? Your tension is making me tense.” Without waiting for her to reply, he sprang from the car and pushed open the gate.
Relax.
As if that was something one could do on command. As if she had chosen shallow breathing and tense muscles over the infinitely more comfortable alternative.
She watched as he secured the gates, then stamped down a pile of snow. He looked so comfortable in his surroundings it was hard to picture him living in a city, spending his days hunched over a computer screen.
Data analyst.
He climbed back into the car, drove through the gate and stopped so that he could close it behind them.
Needing air, Samantha opened the door. “My turn.” She dragged the gates shut, grateful for the freezing air that cooled her heated skin. She’d never minded cold weather. Others complained, but she found it invigorating. Deep in the Highlands it was also clean and fresh. Snow in Boston meant inconvenience and dangerous driving, and snow darkened by footprints. Here it meant quiet.
When they’d arrived, the beauty of their surroundings had been shrouded by dusky light, but today they’d woken to bright sunshine. There was a clarity to the view, and a sharpness to the outline of the mountains.
She had an urge to walk a few steps, to feel her boots break through the hard top layer to the softness beneath, but Brodie was watching, hands resting on the wheel as he waited for her to climb back into the vehicle.
She checked the gate was secure and then joined him.
“Thanks for that.” He waited for her to fasten her seat belt before pulling away. “In an ideal world we’d have electric gates, but this isn’t an ideal world and round here we end up doing a fair amount of manual labor.”
“I guess that explains your muscles.” And now it sounded as if she’d been staring at his body. “I mean, it must be a great way of keeping in shape.” Shut up, Samantha.
“Are you always this nervous?”
“Nervous? I’m focused, that’s all, and maybe that sometimes comes across as nervous energy. This is me. This is who I am.”
“So this isn’t about that phone call?”
“What phone call? I’m thinking about work. I take it seriously. I assume that’s why you invited me here.”
“It is, but if we have an issue then I think we should address it, don’t you?”
She did not.
“There’s no issue.”
How was she going to survive a whole day of this? On the other hand, the alternative was spending the day with her mother, and that was an even less appealing option. She didn’t envy her sister, having to smile and build a snowman as if nothing was wrong.
Not for the first time in her life, Samantha was happy to use her work as an avoidance strategy.
She’d done her best to prepare herself, using makeup as armor. Ella was right that she’d taken ages over it, but not because she was hoping to attract Brodie McIntyre. Dressing in a professional manner made her feel professional. People judged on appearances—that was a fact of life. She was confident that no one looking at her would guess that her personal life was a hot mess. Her “natural” look had taken so long to achieve she thought she might have visibly aged during the process. She’d half expected to have to deal with crow’s feet and wrinkles.
“Tell me more about your reindeer herd. They are going to be a real draw for clients. Are we going to see them?”
“That’s the plan.” Brodie drove along the narrow track that followed the winding river to the loch. “In the summer they roam wild, but in winter we keep them fairly close. We might have to walk a little way but the boots you gave me to put in the car look pretty sturdy.”