Then, once they were seated, she reached for Mari’s hand. Mari pulled her hand over to rest on Mari’s thigh and tangled their fingers.
“What happened last night?” Charlotte asked as if she knew how drunk they’d been and opened her menu.
Mari leaned back in her seat. “Before or after we almost died on the gondola ride?”
“Oh, that thing?” Charlotte snorted. “Someone should have warned you. How many times does that get stuck in a week, Lars? Six? Ten? Every time the wind blows?”
“Lots, but it’s a nice excuse to make out and chill.” Lars gave Charlotte a long, slow look that said without a doubt that they hadn’t been the first girls to get off in that gondola.
Mari laughed. “Oh, for sure. So after we chilled on the gondola, we ended up here for shots.”
Bekka snorted. “And did we ever have a few.”
They hadn’t slammed them, though. It had been a long, slow drunk—ending in happy, sloppy lovemaking.
“Oh, we’ve been there. Did I hear something about karaoke?”
Mari groaned. “Unfortunately?”
“Stop. You were great. It was so much fun.” Pretty Tequila Girl set waters down for them. “Hungry?”
“Yes, please.” Mari finally opened her menu. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be rude, but what was your name again?”
The woman laughed. “Katharine. And don’t worry, you met like fifteen of us last night, you’re not going to remember our names, even if you were sober.”
“We’ll get them figured out, don’t you worry.” Because this wasn’t going to be the last time they were in this bar. She believed that.
“Most of us came here from out of town, we get it.” Katharine took their order—soup and chili for them, Lars and Charlotte were splitting some kind of hot sandwich. “Let me know when you’re switching to beer,” Katharine teased, winking as she headed back toward the bar.
Charlotte picked up her Coke. “So, you just moved here? You two look so good together.”
“No. We’re staying at the lodge—my brother works there. We’ve got a house we’re renting downtown for the next two weeks,” Bekka said.
“Spending Christmas here? Let us know if you need a tree. Lars has a farm.”
“A tree farm?” Mari sounded interested. “How cool.”
“Yeah, and I’m giving the cut ones away today. They need homes.”
Charlotte rolled her eyes. “Lars is about to make me a Dog Sled Widow.”
“A what?” Those words didn’t make sense.
“I’m a dog sledder.” Lars snorted. “Charlotte is exaggerating…mostly.”
“Mostly. When she’s not trying to get eaten by a moose.” Charlotte gave Lars a teasing smile.
“You dog sled? Wild. We’re going on a sleigh ride later. We’re looking forward to it.” Mari gave her the most adoring look. “I assume that’s horses though.”
“Oh, yeah. That’s Evie. She and Cheyenne run the ranch, a little bakery, and a guest house.”
Summit Springs was a friendly sort of town, that was for sure.
“Neat. It feels like everyone knows everyone around here. I guess that’s a good thing? I’m not used to it, I live in New York, we mostly know the people we work with or whatever. A few friends.”
“Wow!” Lars’s eyes went wide. “Do you go to the big parade and see the balloons?”
Mari laughed. “The Macy’s parade? God, no. Too many people, too cold, too hard to get around. I watch it on TV.”