by Taylor Hart
“I’ve heard a good woman can do that to a man.”
She shook her head. “No. I didn’t change you, but you are different than the guy that wanted to use Sagewood as a press stunt.”
He squeezed her hand. “I’ve never met anyone like you.”
Closing her eyes for a second, she smiled. “What you did for Shirley tonight was really cool.”
“FastTrack charity.” He smiled.
She laughed.
He let out a breath. “I did it for me. I guess being with you opened my eyes to others’ needs. I saw people more clearly today than I have in a long time.”
She nodded.
“What were you going to tell me earlier? About Sky?”
It was funny to her that he seemed to sense what she was thinking because she was thinking about Sky. How different he was from Nathan. “Well, the best way to describe it is to use what you did for Shirley. You did it because you wanted to. You don’t expect anything.”
“I’m not following.”
“With Sky, I feel like he thinks he’s earned me.” She sighed. “I was thinking tonight how Christ being born and how people think they can qualify for redemption by doing something. But really, we qualify for it by becoming someone who gives the Lord a broken heart and a contrite spirit. Sky will never understand this. He thinks forgiveness is like community service: do your eighty hours, and you’re off the hook.”
For a beat, he didn’t say anything. Then he took her hand again. “You’ve changed me. I feel like I want to be better when I’m with you.”
She shook her head. “Oh, dear. I wasn’t saying that.”
He pulled her closer, staring deeply into her eyes. “No, but I am, and I mean it.”
They stood like that, for how long she didn’t know. Time seemed to hold still.
“Marry me.” He whispered. She stumbled back, but he caught her. “I know you’re going to go through with all of this. I know you won’t give up the land. I guess I sort of get it. But marry me, not that yahoo you’re only holding on to because of some memory.”
She spurted out a laugh and tried to pull back, the realness of it all smacking her. “That’s insane. You and I … we don’t even know each other.”
“You were right. I liked arm candy. I liked being a commitment-phobe. Because it was easy. I didn’t have to deal with the messiness of a relationship. But it left me lonely.” He let out a derisive chuckle. “That’s why I’m in this situation here, alone right before Christmas.” He paused. “But I think everything has led me to this moment, here, with you.”
Her thoughts ran wild. Part of her realized the fact that he’d been a commitment-phobe had been the part that was safe about him too. She swallowed. It’d always been Sky. Even when she was young. Even after he’d hurt her so badly. Now a billionaire, worlds apart from her, offered to marry her?
“You said you didn’t want to be in denial anymore,” he said. “Don’t be.”
She thought of the picture of her and Sky with their mothers behind them. Of all the times Sky had told her they were meant to be together. “I—”
“Storm.” She felt his breath on her face.
It was all happening too fast. “I … my mother always dreamed I’d marry Sky.”
Nathan hesitated. “You can’t live your life for your mother.”
Tears filled her eyes. “You don’t understand.”
“Yes, I do.”
“No, you don’t. I never knew my mother, and this is the one thing I knew she wanted for me.”
“So you’re willing to put up with an idiot to please your dead mother? Storm, she never really knew him. Do you think she would really want you to marry him now?”
She blinked, and quiet anger mixed with confusion filled her. “Please leave.”
“We can do this. I can feel it.”
“Please let me go.” Storm turned for the door, feeling more hollow than ever. “Goodbye, Nathan.”
He tugged her back around, his blue eyes intense. “You want on the fast track? I am the fast track. This! Us! Now! Let’s do this.”
His intensity rattled her, but she couldn’t explain to him how she was so turned around and upside down she didn’t know what to do. Pushing away from him, she shook her head. “I heard the fast track was overrated.” Then she opened the door and slipped inside.
Chapter 16
Nathan woke the next morning and turned to see the clock on the bedside table. Seven-thirty a.m. Squeezing his eyes shut, he thought of watching her open the door and go inside. He thought of how it was so cold he could see his breath coming out in little puffs of air before he turned and climbed back into the limo. He thought of the emptiness he had felt on the whole ride back to the hotel.
Now, as he opened his eyes and looked around, he still felt empty. Why had he hesitated? Why? Turning on his side, he picked up his phone and saw he’d missed a call from his brother. Reluctantly, he called him back.
“Hey, bro, how are you?” Sterling asked, out of breath.
“Good.” Nathan croaked out, his voice dry. He sat up.
“Good. Good. Well, I have good news.”
“Yeah?”
“We’ll be flying in tomorrow at ten. Are you still in Park City?”
It made him smile, but it also made him nervous. He didn’t know if he wanted to stay in Park City for Christmas after everything with Storm. He’d thought he would definitely fly out today.
“Nathan?”
“Oh. Yeah.” He threw the covers back and got out of bed. “I’m still here.”
“Great. Can you pick us up? We’ll be able to have Christmas together after all.”
He blinked and moved to the bathroom. “Pick you up?”
His brother scoffed. “Don’t sound too excited.”
“I am.” Somewhere in the back of his mind, all he could think of was how Storm would be getting married at twelve. “It’s great. I’ll see you then.” He didn’t need to concern himself with her.
“I thought you’d be happier than that.”
“I am.” He stopped and stared at his reflection in the mirror. Almost a full beard now, since he hadn’t been shaving since he got here. He sighed. “Why don’t we just meet in Jackson?”
“I already booked a flight to Park City. Aren’t you having fun? Oh, wait.” He laughed. “The thing with the engaged woman already went to crap, didn’t it?”
It was annoying that Sterling could guess what had happened, and it made him want to prove him wrong. “No.”
“Seriously?”
Nathan knew he would admit it to his brother anyway. “I asked her to marry me.”
“What?”
“Long story.”
“Or short story, depending on how you look at it.”
Nathan wasn’t in the mood. “Shut up.”
“Whatever.” Sterling coughed to cover a laugh. “Listen, we’re getting on a plane in Rome right now. We’ll be flying into Salt Lake tomorrow morning. Just in time to celebrate with you.”
Giving in, he thought of being on the helicopter with Storm last night. Then he thought of the hurt way she’d looked at him. “All right.”
They said their goodbyes, and Nathan put the phone down and stared at himself.
He was thirty. Essentially, he had nothing in the world.
Well, okay, he had all the material comforts of life. But his mind flashed to his father’s funeral and the pomp of it because he was a politician. Even at the funeral there were politics going on.
He didn’t want that. The show. The rigmarole. The conniving and constant worry of how things looked.
Storm didn’t care about how things looked. She only cared about doing what mattered. He thought of how even in her business she wasn’t willing to sacrifice quality.
She was willing to get married to save the land she loved, the land that housed people and had her parents’ and grandfather’s graves. She was willing to marry Sky because it’s what her mother had wanted. He shook his
head. He’d messed up on so many levels, but last night he’d had a chance to have everything.
Unfortunately for him, she wanted something she didn’t realize she couldn’t have.
A memory. Clutching his hand into a fist, he pounded the counter. “But she can’t see it.”
After five hours of hard skiing, Nathan popped his skis off and trudged toward the resort.
Was it a coincidence he just happened past Storm’s tent, the one she would be selling merchandise in if she was selling today? Or had he purposefully tried to go past it?
In the end, it didn’t matter because she wasn’t there.
He felt a mix of things, half-relief and half-disappointment. He tried to focus on the fact that his brother was flying in with his new wife tomorrow for Christmas. They would ski and exchange gifts and sing.
Thinking of that just reminded him of how cozy Sagewood had been. He remembered how he’d felt standing next to Storm at the piano with all the old people like he’d been meant to be there his whole life.
He needed to get a hold of himself.
At dinnertime, he decided to shake it up and drive his Porsche to the Main Street of Park City. Yes, this would get him away from the resort and all the memories of her that assaulted him there.
Now, as he parked and paid the attendant, he smelled something wonderful and turned to see what restaurant the smell was coming from. Louie’s. An Italian place. Perfect. He strode up the steps to the restaurant, noticing it brought in a pretty good crowd.
Waiting in line, he tried to focus all of his thoughts on how great the night was. He looked out over Park City and the lights that lit up the Main Street. Light music wafted out and lots of bundled-up tourists filled the sidewalks.
He liked Park City. He didn’t like Midway he decided, thinking of her. But he liked Park City.
Looking around, he wondered if he would see the girl from the other day at Storm’s shop. Sadie, was it? She’d be a good distraction from all of this.
As soon as he thought it, he felt like a complete heel. That annoyed him. Usually, he didn’t feel badly about dating different women, many women. But things had changed.
Then he noticed the restaurant Riverhorse, and he tensed. That was Sky’s family’s place. It was packed and looked like it was already decorated for a wedding with lights strung all over the place.
“Perfect.” He muttered, hating the thought of her and Sky standing somewhere inside the restaurant the next day, saying vows to each other.
“Hi,” a sultry voice said next to him.
He turned to see a beautiful brown-haired and brown-eyed woman dressed to the nines in a white fur coat and hat. “Hi,” he said. Not meaning to be rude, but really not in the mood for this either, he turned back to Main Street.
“It’s a nice view up here, isn’t it?” She leaned into the rail next to him. “I’m here with some friends for the holidays. What about you?”
Not looking at her, he nodded. “Um, I have some family meeting me tomorrow.”
For a few seconds, neither of them said anything. Then she said, “So you’re alone on Christmas Eve too?”
He knew how the evening could play out if he wanted it to. He could ask her to join him for dinner, and they would talk and share nonessential things from their lives. It would lead to going back to the room and sharing something else. Something without meaning.
Tomorrow he would say goodbye to her before he picked his brother up from the airport and went back to his life.
“Can I join you?” she asked in a husky voice.
Arm candy went through his mind, and he shook his head. Thinking about Storm and what she would say was getting pretty dang annoying.
It wasn’t fair. She was the one who couldn’t let go of the past.
The woman linked her arm through his. “Imagine what luck we had, meeting like this.”
He paused and stared into her perfect brown eyes before looking down at their arms. “You recognized me, didn’t you?”
At least she had the decency to blush. “Forbes’ bachelor of the year three years ago, right?” She gave him an innocent smile and pointed back to some people who were all staring at him. “My friend pointed you out.”
What would have inflated his ego and made him happy only three days ago now felt so empty. “Um, I think I want to be by myself tonight.” He tried to pull away from her.
She wouldn’t let go. “Oh shoot.” She leaned forward and whispered. “But I’m okay with it just being tonight.”
Extricating himself, he tugged away. “Sorry, I’m not.”
The server was kind and seated him next to a window, setting down bread right away. Tearing off a piece, he took a swig of water and opened the menu, trying to ignore the woman whose name he didn’t even want to know.
He ignored her stare and focused on eating. Man, he was hungry. He hadn’t really felt like eating all day, but he’d done enough mental self-talk to talk himself into being hungry again. He wasn’t sure what he wanted next in his future, but clearly he needed to move on. He told himself he’d simply gotten swept away in the moment. That was all.
The server came back and Nathan ordered, avoiding the gaze of the fur coat woman. Then he waited, staring out over the town.
That’s when he saw her. How could he miss that neon gear? But she wasn’t alone.
She wasn’t with Sky though because Sky was out of town.
He jolted to a stand, the chair scraping against the floor. She was with some other guy, throwing her head back and laughing, gently touching his arm. “What the h—” He stared out the window at them.
She had the gall to laugh again, and he wanted to pound the tall, semi-good-looking guy she was holding on to. Then it got worse. The guy actually stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and pulled her in for a hug.
Well, that was it. He took off, brusquely walking through the tables and out the front door.
“Wait!” the woman from earlier called out to him. “Where are you going?”
Flying down the steps to the main street, he got them in his sights and rushed toward them. How dare she? All he wanted to do was scold her for being out the night after he proposed to her. The closer he got, the more worked up he felt.
They started walking in the opposite direction of him, and he called out her name. “Storm?” He tried to say it in a pleasant tone, but it came out sounding annoyed.
She was caught mid-laugh, the kind where she was gently pushing the guy’s arm. Her face fell when she saw him.
Trying to control his breathing, Nathan looked between them, gesturing to the stranger. “Who is this?” He demanded.
Storm’s eyes narrowed, and she crossed her arms. “I can’t believe you.”
Just then, the woman from earlier caught up to him and let out a loud sigh. “Whew, I was afraid I wouldn’t catch you.” She looked at Storm. “Who is this?”
Storm was already shaking her head, a judgy look on her face.
“No.” Nathan sputtered, trying to brush the woman away from him. “It’s not like that.”
Storm’s face reddened. “Oh no, you don’t need to explain to me. In fact, I don’t even know why you’re standing here.”
Nathan gestured to the guy. “Who is this?” It wasn’t lost on him that he was acting like a jealous boyfriend.
Her glower intensified. “This is Ken Williams, who has so generously offered to fund my company and get me into the big distribution companies.”
Ken put his hand out. “Pleased to meet you. How do you know Storm?”
Stunned, Nathan couldn’t believe himself and how he’d just revealed how jealous he was. He shook Ken’s hand. “Um, I helped her sell merchandise a couple days ago,” he said trying to recover. “It’s good stuff.”
Storm put an eyebrow up and gestured to the fur woman whose name he didn’t even know. “And who is this?”
It pissed him off, how calm she was being. Like he hadn’t gotten to know her the past three days. Like she
hadn’t gotten to know him. Like he hadn’t proposed to her last night. Like it meant nothing.
Fur woman stuck out her hand. “I’m Katie. Pleased to meet you. I just met him.”
Storm glared like she’d caught him reaching into the cookie jar.
Nathan held his hands up like she was arresting him. “It’s not like that.”
Storm didn’t say anything, only cocked an eyebrow for a second. Then she turned to Ken. “We should probably get going.”
Ken looked confused, but nodded. “Nice to meet you.”
Before Nathan could stop himself from sounding like a complete fool, he called out, “Storm?”
Pausing, she flipped back, looking from him to the woman next to him. “It looks like you’ve gotten yourself back on the fast track. Good luck with that.”
Watching her walk away, he wanted to jam a fist into something. How dare she stand there and judge him after everything.
“So do you want to go back and eat dinner?” The fur coat woman still stood there.
Nathan turned away. “I’m not hungry.”
Chapter 17
Storm rolled out of bed Christmas morning, the sunlight pouring into her room. She couldn’t believe she was getting married.
Picking up her phone, she stared down at the missed calls from Sky. Reluctantly, she called him.
“Hey,” he said quietly.
“Hey.”
“We’re okay, right?”
Standing, she tried to push away the nerves pounding into her gut. “Of course. We’re fine.”
For a few seconds, he was quiet. “I’m sorry about everything.”
“I know.” She did know. Sky was sad about it, as much as he could be. “I’ll see you at the restaurant then.” She wanted to take a long bath and spend time getting ready.
“Okay. Love you.” His voice sounded fragile.
“Okay.” She hung up, not saying the words that had once felt so certain, so automatic and normal.
Nathan’s face flashed into her mind. Dang it! Nathan, in a tux, dressed with a pink bow tie. She giggled, thinking that he would hate to be wearing pink, but he would do it because he knew it would make her happy.