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"Yes Saill collect you cootten?" she said "And you’ll be o"

To her surprise, he didn’t immediately respond

When dinner was ready, they sat down across froetables on a platter between thelass

"What shall we toast?" she asked, pressing the briested "And I dee," she echoed, and s moment, and her stomach was filled with butterflies as she realized that this heightened awareness of each other hadn’t gone away If anything, it was stronger, and was growing nore as happening, it was still there, as real and as profound as when he’d caught her and kept her froazes held Deliberately, Carrie looked away She needed to remind herself that the sole reason she was in Alaska was for an interview After spending more than twenty-four hours with Finn, she had what she needed And as soon as the article was published, Finn Dalton would want nothing more to do with her

Chapter Six

This wasn’t working, Finn realized When Carrie showed up unexpectedly, he’d been deterht have found hi one iota of information out of him for that blasted article she intended to write He would say as little as possible, speak in monosyllables, and be rid of her the instant the weather cleared

And yet within the span of twenty-four hours she knew more about him than he ever intended Only a few of his friends knew about his involve personal inforh, he’d been keenly tee had been so strong that he’d had to leave the cabin Then, upon his return, he’d found her standing on a chair and she’d fallen directly into his arms He’d like to think she planned this, but her reactions said otherwise He’d caught her, and she’d looked up at hi hi he wanted to o down for the third tith to pull away Not that it was easy Finn liked to think of himself as disciplined and in control of his emotions With Carrie, every bit of self-preservation flew out the proverbialHe didn’t like it one bit

What he needed, Finn decided, was a distraction He figured if they could play cards, that would keep him sane until he ell rid of her Then he’d co a bottle of wine What was he thinking? If he found her beautiful before dinner, she was all the ly beautiful, and for the life of him he couldn’t keep his eyes off her

He wanted to blame the wine, but she’d intoxicated him with little more than a smile This was bad, and every minute he spent with her made it worse Before he kne it happened, he’d lowered his guard

"Are you surprised?" she’d asked him "You know, by how successful the book has been?"

He nodded It baffled him even now His editor routinely updated him on sales and his position on the New York Ti sensation"

"It is Finn, thousands and thousands of people are reading and loving your stories about Alaska What ever made you think to write it?"

He smiled and leaned back, far more comfortable with her than he should have been Before he knew it, he was telling her the story "It was just one of those things I read an article about the problea up, every day was an adventure I thought if I wrote about soht inspire kids and adults to step outside their front door and look at nature in an entirely different way"

Carrie’s eyes brightened and Finn couldn’t have looked away froots

"Did you know," Carrie said, her sing up across the country for organized hikes and other outdoor activities that your book inspired? This would never have happened if it hadn’t been for your book I hope you realize what a strong influence Alone has been"

He had heard about such groups, and it pleased him immensely

The bottom line, Finn realized, was that he needed to keep his trap shut

The proble, she got hi He wasn’t sure what it was about her; maybe it was the pain that radiated froe sweetheart At first he assuain his trust But the hurt he saw in her couldn’t be fabricated No one was that good an actress

All Finn could hope was that Sawyer didn’t get delayed coht coether washing and drying the dinner dishes Although she pretended not to notice, he kept a careful watch on her At one point she al his silverware

Dinner had been pleasant enough The roast had been cooked to perfection, tender and succulent, and the vegetables were a wonderful co the meal, and Carrie was surprised how easy it was to talk to Finn Without her pro, he’d started to talk about the book, which shocked her When he abruptly stopped, she realized he’d said far more than he’d ever intended

"I like you, Finn," she said as they claimed the chairs by the fire

"Excuseher

"With few exceptions, I’ve enjoyed spending this time with you"

"Really?" Her announcement appeared to amuse hih he expected her to elaborate

She rocked a bit before answering "I’o"