Seconds later, Luke was dumping Caylee in the snow and covering her with more snow.
“No!” Caylee shrieked, but you could tell by the huge grin on her face that she was loving every minute of it. “Riley, help me!”
Riley ran over, and Caylee reached out her hand. “Help me up, please . . .”
Luke was on the other side of Caylee, down on his knees, still trying to bury Caylee in the snow—or as he’d called it, giving her a reindeer bath.
But as soon as Riley gave her hand to Caylee, Caylee grabbed it and pulled Riley down into the snow with her.
Luke laughed even harder now. “Riley, I can’t believe you fell for the oldest trick in the book!”
“Totally,” Caylee said as they both lay flat on their backs looking up at the sky.
But Riley didn’t mind. She was laughing the kind of laugh that reached all the way down to her toes. When Comet came over and started licking her face, she tried to wiggle away from him.
“Comet, stop it.” Riley laughed.
“Comet’s just giving you Christmas kisses,” Caylee said.
“Lucky me,” Riley said but was smiling.
When Luke laughed and held out his hand to help Riley up, Caylee held up her hand, too.
“Don’t forget me,” Caylee said sweetly—too sweetly.
It had Riley giving her a curious look wondering what she was up to. When Riley saw the mischievous gleam in Caylee’s eyes, she had to fight off a laugh.
“Okay, you two, come on,” Luke said, holding out a hand to each of them.
Caylee looked at Riley. Riley nodded, getting it. They took Luke’s hands at the same time and pulled him down into the snow with them.
He landed right in the middle of them, and now all three of them couldn’t stop laughing.
“Again, the oldest trick in the book, and you fell for it,” Caylee said as she jumped up. “Now who’s getting a reindeer bath?” Caylee started tossing snow on Luke. “You’re totally off your game, Luke. Last one to the lodge makes the hot cocoa!”
When Caylee raced off with Comet, Luke didn’t move. He continued to lie on his back staring up at the stars.
Riley had already sat up. “Aren’t you coming?”
Luke shook his head. “Nope.”
“But then you’re going to have to make the hot cocoa,” Riley said.
“Yup,” Luke said. “But I’m the only one who ever makes it because I’m the only one who knows the secret recipe besides my mom.”
Riley laughed.
Luke kept looking up into the sky. “So I’m just going to lie here for a minute and enjoy the peace and quiet.”
Without thinking about it, Riley lay back down. “Me too.”
When Luke looked over to her, they shared a smile. In that moment, she felt happier than she had in a long time. She didn’t feel the freezing snow or the biting wind. All she felt was alive. Suddenly self-conscious, she turned away from Luke and studied the sky, but she could sense him still watching her.
She didn’t know exactly what was happening between them, but there was something happening—at least for her—and that scared her for a lot of different reasons. As she watched the stars twinkle in the sky, she told herself that anything she was feeling for Luke was likely just the result of the crazy romantic setting and her imagination working overtime.
She laughed a little, thinking how she was lying in the snow, stargazing, beside a handsome guy in a place that looked like a Christmas fairy tale. It was no wonder she thought she felt something for Luke. Anyone would feel something in this kind of magical setting. It would be impossible not to.
She got up quickly.
“You’re going?” Luke asked, still not moving.
Riley nodded. “Yeah, I still have some work to do tonight. I want to go over all the activities again and make sure I’m not missing anything.”
Luke sat up and held out his hand for her to help him up.
Riley hesitated. “You think I’m going to fall for the oldest trick in the book again?”
Luke’s eyes flashed mischievously. “A guy can hope, can’t he?”
Riley laughed, shaking her head. “You’re impossible.”
Luke smiled. “And I’m also the only one who can make the hot chocolate, so what’s it’s going to be?” He waved his hand at her, and the look in his eyes was like a challenge.
Riley never had been one to back away from a challenge.
“You’re not going to pull me down?” Riley asked.
“You’re just going to have trust me,” Luke said.
For a moment, they just stared at each other. When neither blinked, Riley finally took Luke’s hand, but not before bracing herself just in case. She didn’t want to risk ending up back in the snow with him for many reasons.
After Luke took her hand, he stood up immediately, without her help.
But when Riley tried to take her hand away from him, he resisted for a moment and looked into her eyes.
“I told you, you could trust me,” he said with a smile that could melt any girl’s heart.
Riley nervously pulled her hand away. “Okay, let’s go,” Riley said. “I’m thirsty.”
Together, they walked side by side and followed a moonlit path back to the lodge.
They were all sitting by the fire finishing the famous Christmas Lake hot chocolate that Luke had made and eating some of Maryanne’s famous Gingerbread XOXO cookies. Riley savored the taste as the sweet chocolate mixed perfectly with the spicy gingerbread. They were fresh from the oven and still warm and chewy.
Riley studied the final printout of the Christmas Camp activities. “You guys did a really great job. The Christmas Campers are going to love it. Thank you for all the hard work you’ve done pulling all this together at the last minute. When Mike first told me about this weekend, I had no idea what would be involved. But everything you’ve planned has far surpassed my expectations. This is great.”
“Thank you for coming and making it possible,” Luke said. “After all, everyone’s coming to see
