It was half past five and perfectly dark outside, save for the whiteness of the snow bestowing an eerie, bluish glow to the night, when Martin finally appeared in the doorway, hair dripping wet, a large, square, thermal bag with the name of the Italian restaurant he had taken Nora to, printed in red letters on the silvery material under his arm.

Nora had been feeling increasingly anxious for the last half an hour, hoping that nothing serious had happened to cause his delay, so she took a deep, liberating breath and smiled at him from the dining table, where she was drawing with Daniel, even as the boy skipped happily to his father, pulled him down by his scarf and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"Lino saw me pass by and made me take some pizzas. Now you must stay for dinner," Martin announced, smiling at Nora across the room. "Then I'll walk home with you, it's too dark for you to go alone."

Nora opened her mouth to politely refuse but... how could she? Both Martin and Daniel looked excited about the idea and, honestly, so was she. They were making her feel as if she belonged with them.

"Fine. Thank you," she agreed, removing her glasses and walking towards Martin to take the pizzas so he could remove his shoes and jacket. "I'll set the table, you go dry your hair before you catch a cold."

Her hand, on its own volition, found its way to his hair-- her fingertips feeling the cold strands so infused with water that they looked dark blue under the soft lights made her breath catch, and a blush suffuse her cheeks-- before she realised what she had done and dropped her hand to her side fast.

His eyes crinkled at the corners with another smile as he handed her the bag before following her instructions. She saw him run up the wooden spiral stairs to what was most likely his bedroom as she removed hers and Daniel's drawings. While she set the table with the boy's help, moved the still warm pizzas from the bag and boxes onto the plates, she could hear a hairdryer coming on, then off, and soon after Martin's footsteps clapped on the wooden stairs again.

As she leaned on her tiptoes to get glasses for all of them from a cupboard placed a little too high, Martin pushed past her, so unnecessarily close that it made her smile and shake her head-- he wasn't making it easy for her to think of him as a friend only. He produced a bottle of red wine and a box of apple juice from a nearby cupboard, then turned to look at her.

Not only had he dried his hair, but he had also changed his trousers-- he wore a pair of loosely fitting, comfortable-looking grey pants instead of the jeans-- she noticed as he offered her his arm to escort her to the table.

"So how was your first day together?" Martin asked once they started eating, his fork paused halfway to his mouth, his eyes flickering between Daniel and Nora.

Nora wiped her lips and took a sip of her wine, observing Martin watching his son, who started with a rather detailed description of his morning at school, followed by the afternoon with Nora. She couldn't tear her eyes off his face, she was mesmerized by the display of emotions changing his features continually as he listened to Daniel with great attention, only interrupting his speech to remind him to keep eating as the pizza was getting cold. Martin was a rather gorgeous man, she decided, and a wonderful father... Nora tried to drop her eyes when he turned to her and found her watching him over the rim of her glass, but couldn't, it was so easy to get lost in those green orbs...

"Are you listening, Daddy?" Daniel's insistent voice broke the spell between them and as she forced herself to tune the world back in, she heard the boy say, "I said that Uncle Eric called."

She didn't drop her eyes fast enough to miss the change in Martin's look. What seemed so close to... admiration, maybe reverence, or a beginning of something she refused to name, was hidden behind a curtain spun of surprise and an infinity of unasked questions.

He knows, Nora realised. It was perfectly natural that being brothers, they would have talked... She would give anything to find out what Eric had told him about her back then.

She needed to tell Martin that whatever once had been between her and his younger brother, was now history. Falling in love for the first time with Eric, a boy who never requited her feelings changed her and formed her into who she was now. But it was all in the past; seeing him now would change nothing. She would tell Martin all this... as soon as he clarified what was going on between him and Victoria, why whenever she heard the woman's name, it was tagged to his...

Nora took another sip of her wine, finishing her glass, as Martin changed the subject, ignoring the mention of his brother entirely.

"It would seem that Lino's wife knows you, Nora. She was in the restaurant with him tonight and I mentioned you. Her name is Magdalena, she has a little boutique with wedding and evening gowns in the square."

Nora frowned in thought. The only Magdalena she knew... "Of course she knows me! We were quite close once, too many years ago. I can't believe she remained here, she wanted to travel the world, and settle somewhere where winter doesn't exist!" Nora exclaimed, giggling, excited by the sudden discovery of a long-lost friend.

Martin chuckled, "I'm afraid Lino happened to her before she could escape from this town. They have three kids, and I've never seen a couple as much in love as the two of them."

Nora nodded, believing him. When a real, requited love happened, everything, dreams included, lost significance. She would meet Magdalena soon, she promised to herself, smiling at Martin who refilled her glass.

"You really don't have to come with me," Nora protested, shivering in the cold, dark courtyard as Martin followed her out of the door.

"But I want to," Martin said, pulling her hood up, then taking her hand in his as he led her towards the Entry Hall.

They passed by the brightly lit hotel reception, catching a glimpse of the smartly dressed guests gathering for dinner, the look of their light evening clothes making Nora shiver again.

"You'll only get cold and wet again," she muttered, squinting at the snowflakes falling against the streetlights as they crossed the dark and freezing Entry Hall. "You should have worn a hat. No, you should have stayed at home with Daniel, full stop," Nora insisted, her words underlined by the snow-muffled clatter of their footsteps on the frozen wood of the drawbridge.

"I don't have any. And Daniel will be fine for half an hour, he's used to it. I need to check on the animals anyway, so stop feeling guilty. It's a pleasure, Nora."

Sighing to make him understand that she still wasn't satisfied with his answer, she resigned, feeling happy. It was a pleasure for her, having him walking home with her through the dismal night, and knowing that he felt the same way was making it even better.

"Where's your girl?" Nora teased as they passed the stables. "Snow White," she replied to the raised eyebrow look he gave her. "I was expecting to meet her here, waiting for you."

He laughed, shaking his head at her as they left the last streetlights behind and set off across the meadow. Martin took a torch from his pocket but there was no need to use it, the snow seemed to glow all around them, making the night look less dark.

"They don't get out every night," he explained. "Sometimes it's just her, other times all three of them... And I still don't know how they do it. I do have a suspicion though."

"Tell me," she said, looking at him curiously, slipping on the narrow cleared path, making him chuckle as he pulled her closer to his side.

"You know, for someone so unsure on her feet, you are surprisingly good on skates."

"Well, coming from the best ice skater around, I'll take that as a compliment, thank you," she said, looking away from him and into the night, to hide her smile.

It was snowing as thickly as never before when they reached the porch of her cottage some ten minutes of a careful, silent walk up the hill later.

"Thank you for coming all the way up here with me," Nora said, switching on the porch light while searching her pockets for keys and pushing the correct one into the lock before turning back to him, finding him breathtakingly close to her.

She took an instinctive step away from him, her back coming flat against the closed door.

"I... I had a good day with Daniel, I'm... glad that..." she stumbled over her words, giving up on small talk as he approached her again, making her tilt her face up to look at him.

Martin's large, warm hands were on her freezing cheeks suddenly, his face so close she could feel his breath on her lips. She felt consumed with the feel of him so near, his scent, his broadness and strength... He stood motionless, towering above her, his eyes seeking hers for permission to make his next move.

And, against her better judgement, ordering her mind, which whispered to her frantically of Victoria, and her resolve to stay friends with this man, to sleep, Nora nodded. She closed her eyes as his lips brushed against hers softly, tentatively at first, then pressed to hers passionately when she laced her hands through his hair, leaning into him as he deepened the kiss, making it last until they both became breathless.

He pressed his forehead against hers then, his hands never leaving her cheeks, holding her close. "Have a good night, Nora," he said after a long while, finally pulling away from her, the absence of his body on hers making her shiver with cold.

Nora wished to invite him in but she couldn't, not when she knew that Daniel was waiting for his return at home.

"I'll see you in the morning. Good night, Martin," she said in a half-whisper, not trusting her voice, turning the key in the lock and slipping inside, listening to his receding footsteps through the cold wood.