“She loves it here.”
He paused before he spoke. “You would, too.”
Harper rolled her head on the ledge, turning to consider Wyatt. Dark shadow obscured her eyes, but she had lifted her head a little and her gaze riveted on his.
“I do love it here. Mostly because you’re here.” She smiled. An easy, friendly smile. It wasn’t the kind of smile he wanted, but still his breath whooshed out and he straightened. The water gurgled as his shoulders emerged.
Harper didn’t move. His hand came out of the water and slid behind her neck. His thumb brushed the skin below her ear. Sparks sizzled up his arm.
“Do you mean that?” he whispered.
The low rumble erupted into a loud roar and headlights cut through the dusky moonlight as the snowmobiles tore around the bend.
Wyatt leaned back, choking back his disappointment. Despite the interruption he kept his hand behind her neck. They adjusted their position naturally, so that his arm ended up behind her.
The look, the question, the movement…he wanted to know what Harper was thinking, feeling. Beyond any doubt, he knew she would never mess with him. But he didn’t trust himself to read her correctly.
Too late to find out now. Three machines parked in the area around theirs. Kayla, Steve and another couple.
“Where’s this amazing woman at, that managed to snag Wyatt without even knowing how to ski?” a laughing female voice called out.
“She’s right here, Marie,” Wyatt called back.
In a low voice, beneath the chatter of the couples removing their outer clothes, Wyatt said, “That’s Marie. Looks like she’s here with Carlos. They’re on again, off again in the romance department. Have been for years.”
“Is she family?” Harper asked, keeping her voice low as well.
“Not really. She does housekeeping services for us and Carlos is on the maintenance crew. They’ve both grown up at the resort, but they never eat at the family table. They’d be welcome to.”
“Their parents worked there?”
“Yep.”
“I see.”
“Are you still okay with this?” His fingers skimmed over her neck.
She shivered despite the warmth of the water. He took that as a good sign.
“You keep asking me that. Wyatt, you know me well enough. If things get to be too much for me, I’ll tell you. I promise.”
He leaned into her as though to shield her. “They’re gonna rib you about the skiing.”
She laughed softly. “And the snowboarding. And the lack of athletic ability in general.”
He looked away. “When I first came to Pennsylvania, kids made fun of me constantly, and you stood by me through everything. I ended up being Homecoming King.”
She put a hand on his chest. He wasn’t prepared for it and jerked like she scalded him. She snatched her hand back. “I stood by you, true. But it was your affable personality that caused people to see past their differences with you to the great guy you were under it all.”
“Hey, you lovebirds over there, you still have your suits on?” Marie called out.
Neither one of them moved. Wyatt couldn’t figure out what, exactly, Harper was feeling. Finally, he shook his head. He grinned.
“Do we have our suits on, Pickles?”
“Mine’s on,” she called out. He stuffed down his disappointment. His chance to find out what Harper felt was lost with the arrival of his friends.
“It’s dark. Who cares if we have suits on?” Carlos, built low to the ground but wide like a bull, dropped quickly into the water.
“There’s a full moon. I don’t want to see your ugly butt, Carlos.” Kayla stepped gracefully in behind him. She moved with the easy power of an athlete. Again, Wyatt wondered about Harper’s interest in her. Interesting that Harper and Steve seemed to have both picked up on the same thing.
“So do I let my trunks on or off?” Steve asked.
“On,” everyone chorused.
Marie waded around to Harper and Wyatt. “Hey, Harper. I’m Marie. I do housekeeping and whatever else needs done.” She stuck her hand out.
“Except cooking,” Carlos said over her shoulder.
She smacked him in the chest. “Don’t listen to him. I just don’t cook the Chilean dishes he likes. Give me pork and sauerkraut any day.”
“You’re American?” Harper asked as she shook her hand. Marie was forthright and honest. Wyatt figured she and Harper would be good friends if Harper stayed.
He had to quit thinking like that. She’d given no indication whatsoever that she was here for more than a favor to him.
“Yep. My parents moved down here when I was ten. I was joking about the pork and sauerkraut, though. That’s just something you don’t get here.”
“I see,” Harper replied. “I’ve done a little work with Sophia on the menu, and I know that there’s a definite cultural difference in cuisine.”
Wyatt tucked that info away to ask about later. Harper seemed like she might have liked Sophia, and the menu thing was right up her alley of expertise.
“So, Harper, we’re all dying to know what you do, since it’s obvious you aren’t a ski bum,” Carlos said as he settled into the warm water against the wall.
“I’d say you’re not like the usual girls Wyatt brings around, but he’s never actually brought a girl here before, so can’t even say we know his type.” Steve held a hand out to help Kayla, who swatted it away and settled herself in the water.
“She’s my type,” Wyatt said.
“She’s into nutrition,” Kayla said irritably.
“That’s right. And I’m hoping to get tenure at the university where I teach and conduct research.”
She was still hoping to get tenure. Wyatt tried not to show his disappointment.
“She has a doctorate.” Steve sounded impressed.
“Wyatt goes for the smart ones,” Marie said with a laugh.
“You’re hoping to get tenure? You mean you’re not moving to Chile with Wyatt?” Kayla latched onto the gap that Harper had just opened in their cover story.
Before he could think of something to say to save the situation, Marie came to their rescue. “You probably weren’t expecting to have to give all that up. So I take it Wyatt proposing was a surprise to you?”
Oh, if they only knew. “Yeah. Definitely unexpected.”
“So what are you going to do?”
Wyatt broke in. They’d grilled her long enough. “We haven’t actually discussed it. We haven’t been engaged that long.”
“How long?” Kayla asked. She lifted an arm from the water and pushed her ponytail back over her shoulder.
“A little over a month.” Wyatt pulled Harper closer to him. She went easily.
“Oh, that explains it,” Carlos said.
“Explains what?” Wyatt asked.
“You two look real comfortable with each other, and you look like you really like each other…but…” Marie paused, searching for words.
Carlos finished for her. “But you don’t look like lovers.”
“Hmm.” What could they say to that? His stomach twisted uncomfortably. Harper sat, frozen in place beside Wyatt.
“We wondered if…”
“If what?” Wyatt asked, a touch of annoyance in his voice.
“If you were getting the short end of the stick. If she was going to make you stay in America, quit the sports that you love, and become someone you’re not.” Kayla either ignored the fact that Wyatt was getting annoyed, or didn’t care. Wyatt figured it was the latter.
“How do you know what I am?” Wyatt lifted his arm from behind Harper and leaned forward in the water. He remembered now why Kayla irritated him so much. She constantly made assumptions that were completely wrong.
Harper put a hand on his shoulder. It felt warm on his cool skin.
She cleared her throat. “Those are legitimate concerns.”
“No, they’re not,” Wyatt said immediately.
“T
hese people care about you, which is why they’re asking.” Her tone was soft. Soothing.
“They’re insulting you. And I won’t stand for it.”
She shook her head. “I’m just different. They’re not sure they can trust me. And they love you.”
He appreciated her defending his friends. Especially since there were annoying him. He stretched his fingers out and tried to relax. They’d give any girl he brought here a hard time.
“I don’t know if I’d go that far…” Steve said, laughing, easing the tension somewhat.
“No, she’s right. We’re just surprised at the kind of girl you picked. We wondered if she…” Carlos’s voice trailed off.
Kayla finished for him. “If she’s after your money.”
Wyatt straightened. His muscles tensed and his heart raced. He couldn’t even look at Harper. He should find this funny. After all, if his friends knew that their engagement was a sham, they wouldn’t even be talking like this. But he could hardly contain the urge to defend Harper. Physically if necessary. “I don’t have any money.”
“You will,” Kayla said. Unafraid. “It’s no secret that your dad is planning on giving you everything. You’ll be a rich man, Wyatt.”
Carlos shrugged. Maybe some of the amusement in his face was from seeing his normally unflappable friend annoyed. He certainly didn’t try to defuse the situation with his statement. “It sounds to me like she could use a rich backer to fund her research.”
“I’m not after Wyatt for his money.” As soon as she said it, he knew she couldn’t back up her statement with fact without exposing the engagement for the farce it was.
“We didn’t mean anything mean by it. We just wanted to protect Wyatt,” Marie said.
“So, since we’re not mincing words anymore, how about you just tell us, how do we know that you’re not using Wyatt for his money?” Kayla asked.
“You just have to take my word for it,” Wyatt said. His voice sounded like tires crunching gravel.
Kayla pursed her lips. “I think you’re so besotted that you wouldn’t know if she were or weren’t.”
Harper said quickly, “I agree to sign a prenup. If we get divorced, I get nothing.”
“No. No prenup. You’ll be my wife and I’ll provide for you.” Wyatt almost snarled. What was wrong with him? This whole conversation was moot. Their engagement was not real. They could say anything. Usually he was the first to goof off, but something about what everyone was saying had hit a nerve.
“Okay. You’re right. If we get divorced, I get half of your assets, you get half of mine.” He tilted his head. She didn’t have any assets. He realized as he looked at her, her eyes twinkling, that she was trying to make him smile. Teasing him out of his irritation the way he might do for her.
She tossed her head and looked back at his friends. “But, seriously, we’re not even married yet. Barely engaged. Do we really have to talk like there’s going to be a divorce?”
“You have to face reality. Fifty percent of marriages end in divorce,” Kayla said.
“Not mine.” Wyatt’s voice held conviction.
Harper slipped an arm around his tense back. He tried to relax. She tossed her head in a sassy gesture she only used when they were alone and when she wasn’t Professor Bright. “Fine. We won’t need a prenup because we aren’t getting divorced. Now, you have to agree to cook my dinner every night of our married life, unless you can dunk me in the next ten seconds.” She splashed him, then dived away—along the side, probably because she couldn’t stand the idea of swimming out over a bottomless hole. She’d adjusted pretty quickly to Chile, but she hadn’t changed that much.
He slid after her, and by the time he’d caught up to her a major splashing match was going on. Apparently, he’d kicked water on Kayla as he dove after Harper and she couldn’t let it go.
After the splashing wound down, they agreed to a game of chicken.
Harper still didn’t look too eager to be over the center of the water hole, even though she’d be sitting on Wyatt’s shoulders.
As Wyatt crouched down for her to climb on, she whispered, “If I fall off, I’m going to be grabbing for you.”
“That’s a good idea; you can drown us both.” His easy grin slipped naturally back into place.
“The idea of all that water under me, with no bottom, is petrifying.”
This probably wasn’t the time to start thanking her again for being such a good sport. Instead he said, “There has to be a bottom, otherwise the water would drain out.”
“Stop trying to use logic on my fear.”
He snorted. “Fine. Drag me down, too.” Turning, he placed a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry about earlier. I was being an idiot about that prenup business. It shouldn’t have mattered, but for some reason, I couldn’t let it go. Stupid.” He leaned closer and lowered his voice. “If you fall off, I will be grabbing for you. There’s no way I’m letting anything happen to you.”
Her hand tightened on his shoulder. “I know. You never have. I guess I was just trying to let you know how nervous I was without actually saying I was nervous.”
He ran his hand up her arm, slender and soft. “You haven’t been in your comfort zone since we drove away from the farm.”
“I think I’ll let you let me sleep on the bed tonight.”
“Hey, come on! What’s taking you two so long?” Marie called out.
He chuckled. “That’s awfully big of you, Pickles. I’ll tell my friends—they’ll think you’re taking advantage of this big, dumb jock.”
“Later.” She slipped a leg around his neck and slid into place. “Right now you need to channel your inner big, dumb jock, if you want to win this. Since, even if every single person here were in a coma, they’d still be more athletic than me.”
Possibly. “But they don’t have your heart.”
“Right now, it’s muscles that matter, mister.”
He grabbed ahold of her feet and helped her place them around his waist. “Brain beats brawn every time.”
“I think this is the exception to the rule.”
“Lock your legs, Pickles. We’ve got this.”
Harper did what he told her to, gripping the sides of his hard chest with her knees, latching her feet around his waist. His hands held her legs firmly.
“Are you two finally ready?” Marie asked.
Wyatt, who had been sitting on the natural bench that lined the pool, slipped into the water with her on his shoulders.
“We’re ready. Come get us,” Wyatt called. He started moving slowly forward.
Marie rode on Carlos’s shoulders. They edged in from their right, while Steve, with Kayla, came from the left.
Wyatt squeezed her right leg and inched in that direction, but it didn’t matter which way he moved, both of the other couples were aiming for Harper and him. Which made sense. Gang up and get one down, then there were only two left.
Wyatt squeezed both of Harper’s legs as a warning then lunged forward, splashing water into Carlos’s eyes at the same time.
Carlos flinched back, causing Marie to tilt forward. Harper reached down to try to twist her around and take advantage of her loss of balance, but Carlos recovered and Harper’s hand slid off Marie’s shoulder. Marie grabbed her forearm and yanked.
Wyatt twisted and lunged, trying to leverage Harper’s weight and help keep her balanced at the same time. His hands left her legs, splashing and straight-arming the other men, while his legs churned the water, keeping them up.
Steve and Kayla came within arm’s distance. Harper grappled with both Marie and Kayla, while Wyatt tried to think of a strategy.
He managed a forceful splash of water, which must have disoriented Carlos because he backed off, giving Harper her right arm free to try to twist Kayla off balance. As tiny as Kayla was, her arm strength was phenomenal. And the smaller body gave a lower center of gravity. Steve and she were hardly ever off balance.
Harper managed to get both hands on Kayla’s
right arm. She yanked with all her strength, gripping Wyatt’s body tight with her legs. Wyatt maneuvered to try to give her more leverage.
Kayla jerked forward, flailing, but Steve twisted under her and enabled her to catch her balance. Carlos entered the fray again, on their right, and Wyatt twisted to meet their attack.
Harper fought off Marie’s hands, which sought purchase on her forearms.
Suddenly, Harper yanked back. She cried out, falling backward.
Chapter Eighteen
Kayla had grabbed Harper’s hair. Shock, followed immediately by anger, surged through her. She hadn’t had siblings growing up, and she’d never really played chicken before, but the unwritten rules must clearly state no hair pulling.
The professor in her wanted to stop the action and point out that Kayla was cheating.
Wyatt surged under her, backing and twisting to help her balance. Harper caught herself, tried to ignore the burning in her head, and channeled the adrenaline from her anger into fending off Marie’s attack.
It worked, since Carlos, seeing that they were reeling back, had overcommitted to charging forward. Not expecting them to recover so quickly, he and Marie were caught unprepared for their rush. She gripped Marie’s forearms, Wyatt twisted under her, she yanked, moving her whole upper body. Marie tumbled into the water with a large splash.
Marie’s body hadn’t completely disappeared when another white-hot pain seared her scalp. Her whole body fell backwards, seeking to ease the tension and lesson the pain.
Harper used the backward momentum of her body to twist. She threw her arms out, catching Kayla and hooking onto her to check her fall. Beneath her, Wyatt seemed to sense what was playing out, because he lunged forward. Their combined attack made it impossible for Kayla to stop her momentum.
Wyatt splashed water up into Steve’s eyes, and he was unable to hold to Kayla’s legs as she toppled sideways.
“Woo hoo, we won,” Wyatt said before he ducked below the surface, allowing Harper to slide off his shoulders and into the warm water.
Better Together Page 14