“Oh, wow.” She glanced around, trying to imagine that many people in such a small area.
“Don’t let this part of town deceive you,” he told her. “Juneau is spread out pretty far with homes and businesses lining the outer edge of this entire mountainous area.”
“It’s easy to see why so many people want to live here,” she said, taking it all in. “It’s so breathtaking.”
“I’m pretty fond of the place,” he agreed. They stopped in front of one of the many gift shops, and Gage made a sweeping gesture with his arm. “Your new wardrobe awaits.”
She glanced up, reading aloud the carved wooden sign that hung above the shop’s door. “ANNIE’S ALASKAN TREASURES.”
“They carry just about everything in there and then some.”
She smiled up at him as Gage reached out for the door’s pull handle. “So, do you hit up the tourist shops here in town often?”
Gage chuckled as he swung the door open. “Only when I’m in the mood for some locally made chocolate-covered caramels.” He motioned her inside. “Or need a gift for that one special lady in my life.”
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 heardherself 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’rein 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 theI think I’m in loveembroidered in an arch directly above an orca breaching thewater, 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.
