Dr. Zinetti's Snowkissed Bride Read Free

She could see the thickness of his eyelashes and the beginnings of stubble on his jaw. It was a face so handsome that no woman passed him without taking a long, covetous look. Except her. Resolutely, she looked the other way. The day she started noticing that he was handsome was the day she was in trouble. So he had sexy eyes. So what? ‘So you’re not going in the helicopter?’
    â€˜No. I’m staying with you, wolf-girl.’ Suddenly those sexy eyes were deadly serious. ‘What were you doing up here, Meg? Hardly the weather for an evening stroll. Blizzard, drifting snow, wind chill…’
    â€˜Perfect evening for a walk.’ Meg didn’t bother telling him that was how she liked the weather. Wild and crazy. She’d given up explaining herself to people years before. ‘Anyway, you should be thanking me. If I hadn’t decided to walk, I wouldn’t have found Harry. I didn’t plan to come up this far but Rambo picked up the scent.’
    â€˜You should be at home, baking cookies or painting your nails.’
    Even though she knew he was intentionally trying to wind her up she was still shocked by the emotion that rushed through her body. Why did comments like that still bother her so much? Reminding herself that it had been nothing more than a flippant remark on his part, Meg pulled a face. ‘I’drather be blown off a ridge in a force-nine gale than paint my nails. Not that I expect you to understand that. The women you date can’t walk and blink at the same time. The one today—could she talk and eat her lunch?’
    â€˜Jealous, amore ?’
    â€˜No. I’d rather poke myself in the eye with a fork than have a romantic lunch with you.’
    â€˜Is that so? You have strange aspirations, Meg Miller.’ Humour in his eyes, Dino watched her for a moment and then turned back to Harry, checking his temperature and other vital signs again. ‘His GCS is dropping.’
    â€˜Perhaps we should—’ Meg broke off as Dino put a hand on her arm.
    â€˜Listen. No wind. Must be the eye of the storm.’
    All she could hear was the throb of blood in her ears. She told herself it had absolutely nothing to do with the touch of his hand on her arm and the fact that they couldn’t move without brushing past each other. Forcing herself to focus, she realised that the tent was no longer flapping so violently. ‘I can hear the helicopter.’ She stuck her head out of the opening and saw lights approaching high above them. ‘They’ll have to hover above the gully.’
    â€˜I’ll make sure everything is strapped down.’ Dino crawled out of the tent to help the helicopter crew and Meg’s gaze lingered on his shoulders. She was an athlete, she told herself. It was natural that she’d admire honed muscle and a powerful physique.
    He stood on the narrow, snow-covered path, ready to assist the winchman. As the helicopter hovered above the narrow gully, the downdraft caused the sides of the tent to flap and whip up the new snow. Given the potential hazards, there was no wasted time. The winchman was lowered out of the helicopter and together the three of them strapped Harry securely to the stretcher, protecting his back and his neck. As he waswinched back up into the helicopter, Dino held the guide rope to help prevent the potentially lethal swing of the winch rope into the sides of the gully. Once Harry was safely inside the helicopter, the crew released the guide rope and disappeared into the darkness.
    Meg felt the adrenaline drain away and relief take its place. It was almost weakness, this response after the event, and she slid back inside the tent and sat for a moment, breathing slowly, trying not to think of all the alternative scenarios that tried to destabilise her sense of calm.
    What if she hadn’t found him?
    What if Dino hadn’t come?
    She covered her face with her hands, dimly aware that Dino had