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spirit who never let a thing rattle me. I was an artist with a soul meant for creativity. Yet, as I sat wedged in between these two men, I felt completely uptight and ready to explode at the first prick.
    “So how are things at the bakery, Emily?” Jason asked, attempting to ease me out of my shell; except now the conversation felt even more stilted than it had seconds ago when we were all admiring the glistening snow-topped trees.
    “Great.” And that was the only word that managed to pop into my head and out my mouth.
    Jason nodded and hugged a giggling Gabby.
    “Still painting?” he continued, knowing full well I was.
    “I am.”
    “Nice.”
    “Yep.” I pressed my lips together.
    Couldn’t I pull something more out of myself?
    Gabby shook her head, realizing how absolutely clumsy the conversation had become. I had no idea what was wrong with me other than the fact that I was securely squeezed in between two incredibly good-looking men and was expected to do something about it. The pressure was more than I could handle.
    “What do you like to paint?” Eric asked.
    He attempted to turn on the bench so our eyes could meet, but we were tucked in so tightly his shoulders went up to his ears, and he looked extremely uncomfortable.
    “I dabble in all kinds of things. It seems to depend on my mood. I had a brief period where I concentrated strictly on storms a few months back, landscapes prior to that.”
    “My sister does charcoal. She’s quite good. I don’t have a creative bone in my body.”
    “Why don’t you tell him why you were focusing on storms,” Gabby prompted, the puffs of cold air hovering in front of her mouth.
    Was there nothing sacred? I flashed her an evil look, but it was absolutely impossible to be aggravated at her. Her happiness bordered on delirium with the combination of wedding and holidays coming up.
    “The reason is not that interesting.” I shook my head.
    “But it’s pertinent,” Gabby added.
    I sucked my lip in and saw Derek smile out of the corner of my eye.
    “I had a few online dating fiascoes.” I saw my own breath in the air and shivered.
    “Haven’t we all?” Derek’s laugh was infectious. The sound of his voice soothed me to my core, but I couldn’t fathom him resorting to the online underworld of companionship.
    “Not me. I stay away from that at all costs,” Eric said matter-of-factly.
    “Smart man,” I muttered under my breath.
    “So why storms?” Derek asked.
    I sat quietly for a second or two wondering the same thing. The icy temperatures nipped at my nose, and I let out an unexpected sigh. Was it a wise idea to let two potential suitors know about my dating failures? I held in a laugh. Suitors? I really needed to leave some of the classics behind and start reading contemporary romances.
    But I enjoyed curling up by the fire with my classics and Bodie.
    “I’ll probably sound like a raving lunatic, but I got mad at the whole online attempt and furiously painting cloudy skies seemed like the most productive way to take out my aggression.” We passed several snow-covered boulders bordering the trail, and I knew I’d rather paint those than the storm clouds any day. Maybe it was being squished in between two attractive men, who, by all appearances, didn’t mind competing for my attention. It was kind of…nice.
    “What in particular made you so mad?” I didn’t need to look at Derek to know his eyes were sparkling with intrigue.
    “I guess that I’d even let myself make a profile,” I confessed, bringing my hand up to adjust my scarf over my nose. We were now swiftly gliding toward a frozen pond, and the winter scenery somehow made me relax slightly.
    “I’m sure you’ve got some doozies,” Derek agreed. “I’ve got a whole slew of them myself.”
    “In fact, Derek goes over to Lily’s house for Sunday dinners and tends to provide the entertainment with dating stories gone awry,” Gabby confirmed.
    “Is that so?” I asked, twisting to