of the truth. If the price we have to pay for that is a few shared activities, I can live with that.”
But could she? Acting a part in public was one thing, but actual togetherness was something different. After what had happened earlier she needed a little distance, not closeness. “What do we do?”
“We can’t offend her when she has been so generous with her hospitality. There’s only one thing we can do. We say thank you and go along with whatever she has arranged.”
“Even if it includes a naked mud bath?”
“Does it?”
“I don’t know. I saw the words second honeymoon and special activities and then my mind blanked with panic.” She glanced down at the paper. “What a tangled mess. I’m starting to realize there is no easy way to tell people you’re breaking up. No right time. You just have to do it. Perhaps we should—”
“No. We shouldn’t. We made a decision and we’re sticking with it. You can’t get cold feet now. We’re in this all the way. For better or worse.” He removed his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Sorry. That wasn’t tactful.” He reached across and tugged the paper out of her hand. “I’d like to read what it takes to keep a marriage alive.”
“What if she’s arranged for us to exchange vows under the stars?”
“You could vow never to be economical with the truth again.” He smoothed the sheets of paper on his lap. “Whatever it is, we have to do it.”
Her mind was a jumble of thoughts and feelings. She needed space to think, not more of his company. “We could tell her we’d rather chill and enjoy each other’s company here.”
He ignored her, his attention on the paper he was reading.
“Well?” She started to feel nervous.
“This afternoon we’re going dogsledding. We’re being picked up from here, given the right clothes to wear and taken into the forest to a mystery place where it seems that being close to nature will rekindle my romantic tendencies.” He adjusted his glasses. “Did I ever have those? I’m not sure there is anything to rekindle.”
“I suppose it depends on how you define romance.”
He gave a faint smile. “That sounds damning. Maybe I shouldn’t have asked.” He glanced down at the paper again. “It might be fun.”
“What does it involve? We ride in the back of a sled?”
“No, I think we’re the ones driving.” His gaze flickered to hers. “Clearly they’ve never seen you drive. After that snowmobile, I’m not sure I trust you with dogs.”
“You’re not funny. How do you drive dogs?”
“Presumably we’ll be taught. Can’t be more unmanageable than camels.”
If they were driving, she thought, there wouldn’t be much opportunity for awkward conversation. As long as she wasn’t freezing cold, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. “Is that it?”
“No, that’s only the beginning. Then we come back here, have an hour to shower, warm up and change before being driven to an intimate dinner in a restaurant.”
She swallowed. “What’s intimate about it?”
“It’s the two of us, for a start. Also, it’s halfway up a mountain. No easy access and no easy escape. Once we get there, you’re my captive.”
“Maybe you’re my captive.” She felt a flutter of panic. “I want to spend time with the girls. I’ve barely seen them.”
“Unless you want to change your story, seems like you’re stuck with me.” He lowered the paper to his lap. “Is that so bad?”
“I’m not sure.” It didn’t feel bad, and that in itself was strange and unsettling. Couples getting a divorce were supposed to argue and talk through lawyers, not enjoy candlelit dinners together. “This whole thing feels—weird.”
“Why? We used to go on trips and enjoy intimate dinners. Remember?”
“I don’t remember candles, except for the time we lost power in the cottage that winter. I remember picnics in fields, and days spent clambering through the ruins of ancient castles. We didn’t have the money for fancy restaurants.”
He fiddled with the paper. “You chose the wrong guy. You should have married an economics student. He would have gone into banking. Probably would have ended up running the bank. By now you would have had a house in Mayfair and a country pile in Surrey.”
“That sounds like a lot of work.”
“At least five cars.”
“There’s only one of me. What would I do with five cars?”
“You definitely would have had staff.”
“Staff would have been welcome.” Or would they? She’d happily hand over dust removal duties but creating a home was so much more than a