This was a nightmare. Holly was like an invisible rope, pulling them together. Was this what it would be like in Lapland?

She sat rigid, and when Holly was finally asleep she stood up abruptly and tiptoed out of the room. Zac was right behind her.

“So we’re going to Lapland together,” he murmured. “Who would have thought it.”

“We’re not going together.” She snapped the words and then quickly lowered her voice. The last thing she needed right now was another kiss-and-make-up lecture from Holly.

He leaned closer. “There’s no need to be afraid.”

“Afraid? You think I’m afraid?”

“I know you are, Alix.”

They were trapped close together in the narrow landing outside Holly’s bedroom. Too close. She could see the roughness of stubble on his jaw and the thickness of his eyelashes. How much of her could he see? Her flushed cheeks, definitely, the spark in her eyes, for sure. But it was the internal that worried her, not the external.

How much of that could he see?

“I’m not afraid.” The words emerged despite her dry mouth. “You wouldn’t be top of my list of people I’d choose to spend the festive season with, but I’m sure we’ll find a way to tolerate each other.”

Was she sure? No, she damn well wasn’t.

How was she going to avoid talking about what happened five years before?

He studied her for a moment. “In that case it looks like we’re spending Christmas together. Better make a list for Santa.”

She knew exactly what she needed from Santa.

Patience.

6

Robyn

The conditions were perfect. The sky was clear. The air crisp and freezing cold.

Robyn stepped closer to the man and checked the camera setting. “The cold will drain the battery. I have spares if you need them.” She’d filled a backpack with batteries, knowing that there was nothing worse than trying to capture a once-in-a-lifetime moment and finding your camera battery had died. She also carried a tripod because she’d seen more than one tripod snap in the cold.

This week her guests were a couple from Germany and another couple from Chicago.

She preferred working with small groups and never took more than four on one of her trips. That way she could give them all individual attention and ensure that they came away with photographs to be proud of.

She and Erik provided heavy-duty outdoor clothing, but she knew that even with good clothing they’d be freezing within an hour, which was why she always carried a flask of hot chocolate on her photo safaris.

“It’s incredible.” The woman from Chicago gazed up at the sky, too mesmerized to take photos. “Often when you dream about something you know it can’t possibly live up to expectation, but this exceeds it.” She sounded emotional, but Robyn didn’t find that in any way strange.

She’d felt the same way when she’d first arrived here, with nothing but a backpack, a camera and a past she was trying to escape.