“Don’t worry? I didn’t think your sense of direction would land our only mode of transportation directly into a ditch,” Kate screeched.
“Relax. No one got hurt. It was only a small ditch. I’m sure they’ll realize we didn’t return and send a rescue team after us.” Liam stood at the edge of the shallow ravine and stared at the snow mobile.
He was right. It wasn’t that deep, but the way he’d managed to lodge the vehicle into the crevice made it impossible for the two of them to pull it loose.
Kate groaned and threw her hands down at her sides. “I can’t believe I trusted you to get us back safe. I told you to take a right at the fork, but you didn’t listen.”
Liam spun around to face her, a scowl now prevalent on his face. "Who was the blindfolded rider when we came up?”
“Me,” she murmured.
“Exactly. So just why do you think I would ever listen to you when it came to directions? Women are all alike,” he muttered under his breath. “They think they know best when they really don’t.”
Her fury reignited. “Excuse me? Anyone with eyeballs could see there were tracks leading in the direction I told you to take.”
He gestured wildly around them. “And there were tracks leading this way too. It was an honest mistake.”
“It’s a mistake that could end up getting us killed. What if that ravine had been deeper? Worse, what if it had been the edge of a cliff and not a ravine at all?” Her breathing had grown ragged. She’d about had it with his attitude. “From the second I met you, you’ve been nothing but impatient and arrogant. Why should I give you the benefit of the doubt when you haven’t shown me any such courtesy?”
Liam’s brows shot up but then immediately lowered over his eyes. His jaw clenched, and he took three swift steps through the snow toward her, causing her to take a step back. Her boot caught on a stone, throwing off her balance. Kate’s eyes widened, and her arms flailed wildly. She sucked in a breath, bracing herself for contact with the frozen earth beneath her, but the impact never came.
Kate blinked rapidly and opened her eyes to find his jade eyes staring into hers. His face was so close, she could feel his warm, minty breath against her cold, chapped cheek.
“Are you okay?” he asked. The low timbre of his voice was like something out of a romance movie.
Knots in her stomach twisted for just a moment, and she nodded, her mouth too dry to speak.
He’d managed to slip his arm around her waist and used his weight to counterbalance her fall. Her gloved hands grasped tightly to his upper arms as if releasing him would surely land her on the ground with a bruised backside. Liam was too close. Especially considering the fight they’d just had. She wasn’t in the right headspace for something like this.
Kate scrambled from his arms and tugged sharply on her coat, adjusting it back to where it was supposed to be. Her eyes remained on her boots. The anger had fizzled somewhat, but she was still on edge. First things first, though—how were they going to get back down the mountain without a vehicle to take them there? He was probably right. A search team would likely find them before matters got much worse, but that didn’t make her feel any better. The last place she wanted to be was in the woods with a stranger.
When she lifted her gaze, Liam was back to the edge of the ravine. He had his hands on his hips as he stared at the source of their predicament.
“Unless you have some kind of super vision, I don’t think staring at it is going to help us much.”
He glanced at her over his shoulder. “Well, I don’t see you doing anything to help the matter.” Liam took a deep breath and let it out slowly. His voice softened. “Do you have your phone on you?”
She shook her head. “When they told us that phones were prohibited, I figured I’d rather be safe than sorry.”
“Right. Me too.”
A soft smile touched her lips. She hadn’t taken him for the type to be a strict rule follower. It wasn’t like anyone would have discovered it if he’d hidden the phone in his coat pocket. It was refreshing.
Knock it off. He’s not your type. You don’t even know if he has a girlfriend. Then again, if he had a girlfriend, why wouldn’t she be on this couples retreat?
Kate’s gaze trailed over Liam again. He was attractive. And he’d had a few moments where she could see why someone might be interested. But not her. She’d just gotten out of a poisonous relationship. The last thing she needed was to dive right in to another one—even if the guy had the most gorgeous green eyes she’d ever seen.
Liam turned, catching her staring. Kate’s face warmed, and she turned away. Great. He probably thinks I have a crush on him. Guys like that usually have big heads.
Well, lucky for them both, she didn’t and wouldn’t. In fact, the second they were rescued, she would insist they find someone new to pair her up with or figure out a loophole for their dumb rules regarding the competition. The organizers of this whole retreat had to give in now. Liam had practically put her life in danger.
Against her own volition, her gaze drifted over in his direction again. Why was he here without a date? She’d told him her story. Then again, asking him seemed like an invasion of privacy. If he hadn’t offered that kind of information willingly, maybe his story was more painful than hers.
Her heart lurched at the thought. Though she could mope the rest of her life and claim all men were awful, there could be worse things than being left before the wedding day.
Kate shoved her hands into her pockets and trudged toward him. The snow crunched beneath her boots, making soft chuffing sounds that filled the quiet, frozen morning. She took in a deep breath, preparing to ask the hard questions, then the sound of several familiar engines surrounded them.
Liam straightened, and they both turned just as three snowmobiles leapt over a small hill.
Maybe it was fate. She probably shouldn’t put her nose where it didn’t belong. That didn’t mean she wouldn’t demand to speak with the head of this couples retreat. She needed to find a way out of this arrangement as soon as possible.