Page 7 of Under the Northern Lights

She glanced his way as she passed him, suddenly feeling both guilty and awkward for having admired his handsome features.

She should have known a man as attractive as him would have a special someone in his life.

“So, you’re married?” she heard herself say.

Oh, why did she have to sound so disappointed by the thought?

“Far from,” he replied as he followed her into the store. “I’m too busy running the retreat to focus on a relationship of any sort. I was referring to my mother.”

She’d gone from something akin to disappointment to an unexpected burst of inner joy at learning that Gage wasn’t in any sort of permanently committed relationship.

That little bubble of joy promptly burst a second later as he admitted that work left him no time for anything more.

And why Gage Weston’s personal life even mattered, she had no idea.

She didn’t know him. Would never get to know him.

Not with her leaving for Seattle in less than twenty-four hours.

Realizing how silly the direction of her thoughts was going, Aurora gave herself another mental head shake.

“I’m sorry your clothing options are limited to more touristy selections,” Gage apologized as he followed her through the store.

“Well, I am a tourist,” she told him, casting a smile back at him over her shoulder. “It’s not like I’ll be needing anything fancy for my overnight stay here.”

“You might feel that way now,” he said with a chuckle as his gaze moved about the store. “Wait until you see what your options are.”

The store was mostly empty of customers now that all but one of the cruise ships had departed. Aurora spied a circular rack of sweatshirts in both pink and pastel tie-dye camo. She moved in that direction with Gage right on her heels.

Lifting the sleeve of one of the camo-design sweatshirts that hung on the circular rack, she looked back at Gage. “What do you think? Pink camo or should I go with the multicolor one? Neither color is really me, but my options really are limited.”

His mouth quirked as he eyed the choices before him.

“If you’re going for straight-up fashion, I think you’d look good in either color.

If you’re going with a camo print to try and blend in with your surroundings, neither pink nor rainbow-colored is going to do the job.

A Mossy Oak-style print would be your best option for that. ”

“You think?” she asked as she studied her selection.

“But it only comes in men’s sizes, which will probably swallow you right up. How about over there?” he asked, nodding toward a circular display stand that had a selection of solid color hoodies.

“Oh, options,” she said happily. She stepped over to the nearby rack and began sifting through the hooded fleece tops until she found her size. She lifted its hanger from the rack and then turned to face him. “Better?” she asked, holding it up in front of her.

“I think I’m in love,” he said with a grin. His gaze lifted from the hoodie to her face and what had to be very wide, shocked eyes looking up at him.

His words had definitely thrown Aurora for a loop.

A really big loop. “Excuse me?” she stuttered as her mind sought to come up with the words he’d actually spoken as opposed to what she thought she’d heard.

Because there was no way Gage Weston could like the sweatshirt or her, to the point of professing love for either of them.

He nodded toward the sweatshirt’s front. “Apparently, you’re in love with Juneau.”

She followed his gaze downward, seeing the hot pink embroidery centered on the front of the navy-blue hoodie.

Looking at it upside down made it hard to read exactly what it said, so Aurora held the sweatshirt away from her.

A soft snort escaped her lips as she took in the I think I’m in love embroidered in an arch directly above an orca breaching the water, with a tree-covered mountain behind it.

A few scattered clouds and a floatplane flying over in the distance completed the design.

Below the stitched graphic, only in an upturned arch and smaller wording, were the words . .. With Juneau, Alaska .

Aurora giggled. “So very true,” she admitted.

Juneau was one of those love-at-first-sight kind of towns.

It was hard to mind being stranded there.

Especially when she was in the company of a very attractive bush pilot who had come to her rescue.

Wait until her sister Jade and, of course, Emmy heard all about this travel adventure she’d unexpectedly found herself on.

“It’s perfect,” she decided. “And I’ll have a keepsake to remember my visit to Juneau. Look, you’re even on here.” She pointed to the tiny, embroidered floatplane.

He gave a husky chuckle. “I guess I am. So other than a sweatshirt with me on it, what else do you need?”

“I’ll need something to sleep in.” Draping the sweatshirt, hanger and all, over her forearm, Aurora stepped over to a nearby shelving unit filled with neatly folded T-shirts and matching sweatpants and began sifting through the different designs.

Gage leaned in to look over her shoulder. “Do they have any that say— I got drenched in Juneau ?”

“They might,” she replied with a grin as she continued her search, “but I’m not going to stand here wasting any more time by being choosy.

A T-shirt is a T-shirt. I don’t really care what’s on the front of it.

” After all, she’d only be wearing it to sleep in.

She’d rinse her socks and underwear out in the cabin before going to bed and then hang them up with her jeans to dry for the night.

Hopefully, she would be able to brush most of the mud from the back of her pant legs once it dried.

She hung a baby-blue T-shirt over the sweatshirt that rested on her arm and then moved over to the sweatpants.

“Here,” Gage offered, as the hanger kept catching on things and the T-shirt kept sliding off every time she bent over to sift through for her size, “let me hold those for you while you shop.”

“Thank you,” she replied with a grateful smile as she handed the sweatshirt and T-shirt over to him. “It looks like these sweatpants only come in men’s sizes. I’m looking for a small.”

“I think you’d be more of an extra small. Probably not a size they carry many of,” Gage noted.

Obviously not , she thought with a frown. “I’ll have to make do with what I can get. Beggars can’t be choosers and all that.”

Gage looked at her apologetically. “Sorry.”

Didn’t it just figure? “It’s not your fault.” Reaching out, Aurora snagged a pair of size small, navy-colored sweatpants from the shelf. Then she turned to Gage. “I think I’m ready.”

With a nod, he led her back toward the front of the store.

“Gage, wait,” Aurora called out, pausing briefly at a clearance rack with several fun pairs of red boxer shorts with tiny moose all over them.

Upon closer inspection, she was delighted to discover they came with a pair of matching moose socks.

She quickly, and thankfully, found her size and then turned to find Gage, grinning down at her selections.

One dark brow lifted. “Moose boxers?”

“I’m buying them for the socks,” she said. Although she’d probably use the boxers as sleep shorts in warmer weather. “I thought I might need them for sleeping in the cabin tonight. Then I’ll wear them tomorrow when you take me back to Juneau.”

“The cabins are heated, but it’s probably not the same kind of warmth you’re used to, so socks for sleeping in are a good idea. Anything else you need?”

“I’m all set. Ready to check out.”

He led her over to one of the registers where another customer was in the process of checking out. Once there was room on the counter, Gage set Aurora’s purchases down on it.

Aurora followed suit, placing the boxers with socks set next to them. While they waited, Aurora perused the display stand just before the checkout counter. Spying a wicker basket filled with souvenir lip balms, she plucked one up to add to her other purchases.

“Did you find everything you needed?” the young woman behind the checkout counter asked as she reached for Aurora’s purchases to begin ringing them through.

“Actually,” Aurora said, spying a selection of specialty caramels next to the register, “I’ll have one of these as well.

” The display tag said they were locally made, so she hoped they were the same ones Gage had mentioned having a thing for.

Handing them over to the cashier, she flashed a smile back at Gage.

“For your mother. A small token of gratitude for her son having come to my rescue.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Gage told her. “I’m happy to help out.”

“Hello, Gage,” the young woman behind the counter greeted with an eye-fluttering smile.

“Sheila,” he replied with a friendly nod.

“Long time no see,” she practically cooed.

“The retreat keeps me pretty busy.”

The cashier’s gaze shifted to Aurora, which prompted Gage to make introductions. “Sheila, this is Aurora Daniels. She was out with Billy and missed her flight.”

She gave Aurora a once-over. “I thought I recognized that duck poncho.”

“My rain poncho had a few issues during my tour today,” Aurora explained. “Billy was kind enough to give me one of his.”

“I’d say it’s the least Billy could do after getting you back late and causing you to miss your flight.” She shook her head. “I swear, put that man in the woods and he loses all track of time.”

“It wasn’t his fault,” Aurora said in the older man’s defense as she’d done earlier. She certainly didn’t want people to think poorly of his abilities as a tour operator for something that was out of his control.

The cashier’s eyes lowered to the decorative men’s moose boxers and then up to Gage.