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She looked him straight in the eye. “I don’t do relationships.”

“Me neither.” His reply was automatic. Honest.

She chewed her lower lip, looking up at him through dark lashes. “I’m not good with people.”

He nodded. He got that.

Her smile, when it came, transformed her face. “My friends call me Kat.” Her tongue darted across her top lip, a gesture that shot straight through him. “But you? Leo orLeonid?”

The question landed like a physical blow. “You read my file?”

“Not the redacted parts.”A tiny shrug that was pure challenge. “But the rest, yes. I like to be prepared.”

“Leo.”

“Shame. I preferLeonid.”

Hot fuck.The way her English accent rolled around his full name sent heat down his spine.

She lifted her hands to the sky, palms up to catch the falling snow. Pure delight softened her expression and as snowflakes melted on her upturned face, he glimpsed who she might be away from all of this. Someone who could still find magic in winter nights. The revelation twisted deep in his gut. That woman was the one he would have to let go.

“So, Leonid.” Her grin was playful. “Do you like ice-cream with your hot waffles?”

“Actually, I do.” His mouth went desert-dry as he tucked a flyaway coppery strand behind her ear.

It was just a waffle, right?