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Sam led her into the establishment. The feel of his large warm hand wrapped around hers snapped her back to reality.

It felt good. Too good. She couldn’t allow this.

She slipped free, busying her hands in her purse while surreptitiously searching the interior of the restaurant for anyone who might stand out.

She could only imagine what Sergio would do to Sam if he saw them together.

Inside, Sam pulled out a chair at a long table where several people were already sitting. Had he somehow planned this? The people didn’t look like the ones who’d been at the bar the previous evening. Not knowing what to do other than sit, Nora sat.

“Morning!” Sam pulled out a chair beside her but directed his salutation to the other people who were already eating. “I’m Sam, and this is Nora. Are you folks heading to Denali today?”

The man and woman smiled. “Yep. Driving through, then up to Fairbanks. We’re Carl and Leigh from Raleigh, North Carolina. Y’all plannin’ to hike it?”

“Not today. But I hope to go soon,” Sam said. He rested a hand on Nora’s forearm, then tilted his head, indicating it was her turn to answer.

“Uh, yeah. In a few days. I was planning to head that way next week,” she lied lightly. She couldn’t give any hint of her actual start time.

Sam slid an arm around her, and Nora felt instant warmth surge through her.

She wanted to mentally slap herself. What was she thinking?

What was he thinking? That she’d just roll over and become his pet ?

He obviously knew she was from out of town, the same way he’d known the people at the table were.

Both this city and the one where the motel and bar were located had a combined population smaller than the school she’d dropped out of when she was fourteen.

Deciding to get this — whatever it was they were doing — over as soon as possible, Nora reached for a menu. “What’s good?” she asked curtly. It was the only way. Sam seemed as interested in her as she was in him, but neither of them could act on their feelings. Not when she knew what was at stake.

“Nice meeting you folks,” Sam said. “My friend is hungry, so I guess I need to order.”

In her peripherals, she saw his head tilt, and she knew those chestnut-colored eyes were taking her in.

She cocked her head to the side, but just enough that he could see her mouth the word, “What?”

He pulled away and reached for a cup. “I’m a coffee drinker myself, but if you like hot chocolate, I highly recommend it.”

With his arm gone and the fact that he’d scooted his chair away a few inches, Nora suddenly felt cold.

If she’d come off hostile, it was for the best. Even though she was done with Sergio — six months ago, actually — Sergio didn’t know that.

And she knew that, just like he’d killed that man who hadn’t done what he asked him to do, he would kill her too.

Still, she liked Sam. And who knew, maybe once she was safely back in Argentina, she could invite him to hike in her country.

After another quick scan of the patrons in the tiny restaurant, she rested a hand on his arm the way he’d done to her. “Hot chocolate sounds good. How about food? What do you recommend?”

At once, Sam’s posture changed. He leaned toward her, pointing out suggestions on the menu she held. “Definitely the sourdough hotcake with blueberries. And a side order of reindeer sausage —”

“Reindeer?” she said a bit too loudly. “Is that a joke, too? You don’t really eat reindeer, do you?”

Sam pressed his lips into a straight line as though he was trying to hold back a smile. “Afraid of mosquitos and reindeer … You do know you’re in Alaska, right? Would it sound more appealing if I called it venison?”

“Nope! The hotcake will have to do. And I’m not afraid of mosquitos; I don’t like them. And I just don’t care to eat reindeer. Papá Noel — excuse me, Santa Claus — might not bring me any gifts.”

He chuckled as he moved an arm to the back of her chair again. “You’re so cute.”

“Cute?” Nora thought about the last woman she’d fought, who left the ring bloodied and with fewer teeth after a knockout kick, which ended the fight.

Sam lowered his mouth to her ear. “Sexy …” His warm breath grazed her neck, sending a shock of heat through her entire body.

“You folks ready to order?” asked a scratchy female voice.

Glad for the interruption, Nora turned to the woman in a white shirt and black apron. “Oh, yes! I’ll … umm … I’ll have the … The …” Sexy guy next to me — Damn! What was wrong with her head? She ran her finger across the menu, looking for the name of the item.

“She’ll have the sourdough hotcake with blueberries. Hot chocolate and orange juice to drink. And I’ll have the standard with cheese, substitute the bacon for —” He looked at Nora, then back at the server. “On second thought, just like it comes, and add biscuits, no gravy.”

“And to drink?”

“Coffee and juice.”

The woman strolled off, and Nora turned to Sam. “You could have ordered the sausage. I’m not squeamish. I just don’t want any.”

“No big deal. It’s more of a novelty item, and it can be gamey.

” He held her eyes for a few seconds without speaking, as though he wanted to ask her something.

“So … tonight … as I said, I was hoping to bump into you. But since we already bumped into each other, maybe we could plan a real date. Dinner?”

Nora chewed on the inside of her lip. She had to start hiking today, so she’d be gone days before Sergio sent a search party after her.

And before the park got overrun with hikers.

From what she’d read, it was two weeks before the summer season started.

That would give her time to get lost, far away from where other backpackers hiked.

And more importantly, she couldn’t allow herself to see Sam again.

But she couldn’t tell him that. And she had a feeling he wouldn’t accept some lame excuse.

Unfortunately, she’d have to accept and then stand him up. Damn.

“Okay,” she said.

Sam blinked. “If you have other plans —”

“No … umm, I don’t have any plans.” That was the second time he’d read her. How could he know her body language when they’d just met? And yet Sergio didn’t know her well enough to realize she was leaving him after seven years.

“Are you sure?” Sam asked. “Because it sounded as though you’d rather not go out with me.”

Nora felt her face pull up into a smile, even as a tight knot formed in her chest. “Sam, I can honestly say there’s no one I’d rather spend an evening with.”

Sam

Sam heard the wonderful words that came out of Nora’s beautiful mouth, but something was off. He wasn’t sure how he knew, but he did. The same way he knew what his team members needed him to do on a rescue before they asked.

From the time he was a child, his parents had taught him to pay attention to his surroundings to stay alive.

In the wilderness, his senses could be the difference between life and death.

He hadn’t known that reading his parents’ expressions from the opposite end of a belay line would forever change the way he read people, but it had.

Instead of questioning the sincerity of Nora’s statement, he followed through with his request. “Okay then. Should I pick you up?”

“No. I’d like to meet you somewhere, if that’s okay.”

His senses went off again, but since he couldn’t push her to tell him the truth, he continued, “That’d be great. Would you like me to text you the location, or write it down?” He knew before he asked what her answer would be.

“Write it down, please.” She reached for a napkin and then dug a pen out of her purse.

Sam accepted the napkin and pen. He wrote down the address for the restaurant, along with a quick note and his phone number, even though he knew she had no intention of showing up.

He folded the napkin and slid it and the pen into the side pocket of her purse, then changed the subject.

“So you’ve come from L.A. to Alaska to hike.

What brought you from Argentina to L.A.? ”

Nora lifted her cup to her lips. Was that because she was going to tell him another lie, so she was stalling for time? She took a sip but held the cup close to her mouth. “To be an actress.”

Sam did his best to hold back the guffaw that threatened to burst out at her — was that her third? — lie. He was losing count. “Really?” Implying she was a liar would only have her running from him faster than she already wanted to. “Have you?”

“Have I what?”

“Acted in anything?”

“A few things.”

Hmmm … That didn’t sound like a lie. Damn, this woman was confusing. “Anything I might’ve seen?”

“Probably not.” She turned as the server set her breakfast in front of her. “Oh, my!”

Sam smiled as the Nora he’d met and liked returned, replacing the lying woman who’d slipped in to answer what seemed like easy questions. “Nice, huh?”

“Wow! I’m glad you only ordered me one.”

The hotcake, as always, was larger than the plate they served it on. “Here.” He used her fork and knife to fold the hotcake in half, and then in half again. “Now you have a stack of hotcakes.”

“Thank you, carino !” Nora stretched herself toward him, kissing his cheek.

“My pleasure.” Her back-and-forth actions were giving him whiplash.

Had she not wanted to give him a movie title because maybe she’d acted in racy movies?

They were sitting in a crowded restaurant with other people at the same table.

Maybe that was the problem. He lowered his voice so only she could hear.

“Maybe later, when there aren’t so many people around, you’ll tell me more about yourself? What you acted in.”

She took a huge bite of the hotcake. She chewed with a broad smile on her face, then washed it down with orange juice. “Yes. I will tell you more about myself later … when we are alone.”