by Krista Lakes
“You’re such a charmer,” she said once they were safely seated on the lift.
“Just call me Prince Charming,” he replied with a laugh.
As they raised into the air and away from the ground, the sun came out once more.
“What run did you do?” he asked, settling himself on the chair. Tiny flecks of ice sparkled behind him, creating a halo effect.
“Dragon Tamer.” She tilted her head as she looked at him. “Any runs you recommend?”
“They’re all good. But my favorite is Lovely Lady. It’s a black diamond, but it’s more blue than black to be honest.”
“I’ll have to try it. Blue-blacks are my favorite kind of run. There’s just enough challenge to make it fun. I usually go back to greens at the end of the day when I’m tired.” She smiled at him. “Hopefully I can find one. This place is huge. I'm hoping I don't get lost.”
“Would you like to join me? It’s always nice to have company. You won't get lost that way.”
A slow, warm heat filled her core as she smiled at him. Holly could only imagine how proud Aliyah would be of her for not only flirting, but actually hanging out with a cute male for the day. It was almost like going on a date.
“I’d love to. Thank you.”
He grinned at her and the warm tingles continued all down her body. She didn’t care that it was below freezing. She was heated by her inner fires.
“I’m Holly, by the way.” She held out her gloved hand.
He took her glove in his and gave the closest approximation of a handshake they could with heavy winter gloves on. “Nathan.”
She grinned.
Today just kept on getting better.
Chapter 8
Nathan
He wasn’t quite sure why he invited her to ski with him.
Maybe it was her smile. Maybe it was how easy it was to talk to her. Maybe he was lonely. Maybe it was the fact that she rocked the snow-bunny look.
Whatever the reason, he was glad he’d asked her.
They did three more runs, taking Lovely Lady twice and then Dragon Tamer. She kept pace with him easily. He was a decent skier and had taken lessons from some of the top names in the sport, yet she moved with an effortless grace that he admired.
Plus, the conversation on the lifts was the best he’d had in weeks. She didn’t talk about mergers and expense reports. There was no mention of board members and equity payments.
Instead, they talked about books. Her tastes were wonderfully eclectic, ranging from romance to science fiction and then to political thrillers. It seemed there wasn’t a book she hadn’t read. They talked about plots and stories. They connected on characters and laughed about things they’d read.
It was one of the best conversations he’d had in a long time.
“Can I buy you lunch?” she asked as they finished their third run together. Her cheeks were flushed with the cold and exertion.
“You want to buy me lunch?” Nathan’s eyebrows raised. Usually, he was the one making the offer of buying lunch. It came with having the title of billionaire. Everyone expected him to pay for things.
“Yeah.” She shrugged. “My treat.”
A warm wave of surprise washed over him. “Sure. What were you thinking?”
She bit her lower lip and smiled bashfully up at him. “I actually have no idea where we should eat. I’m just hungry. Those waffles were a long time ago.”
He chuckled. “There’s two options. The lodge has great sandwiches and burgers, or there’s a restaurant at the top of the Kicking Horse Chairlift. It’s got amazing views and the food is delicious.”
She chewed on her bottom lip for a moment. “You know what? Go big or go home. Let’s do the restaurant at the top.” She grinned. “Race you to the lift.”
She took off, moving her skis from side to side and using her poles to propel her forward. Nathan stayed back, enjoying watching the swing of her hips. He found her curves alluring. He usually dated waif-like models, but they left him unsatisfied.
Maybe he had been dating the wrong kind of woman.
They took the lift to the top of the mountain. The sun played peek-a-boo behind the clouds, casting long shadows on the white powdery snow.
“Where now?” she asked, when they got off the lift.
“We go to Kicking Horse,” Nathan replied. “This way.”
He turned and took a path they hadn’t taken yet. It went down the backside of the mountain. She kept up easily, her blonde hair streaming out behind her from under her helmet.
“Turn left, Snow-bunny,” he called. She pivoted on her skis and took the turn, narrowly avoiding a clump of trees. He followed close behind her, chasing her with his speed.
She looked back at him and grinned, tucking her arms and bending her knees into a racing stance. She flew down one path, heading toward the now visible chair-lift. He was doing everything he could to pass her. She wasn’t going to let him win, and he liked the competition.
On the last stretch to the lift, his extra weight gave him the edge. He finally managed to pass her, coming in first to stop at the entrance to the lift. She came in hot on his heels and did a hockey stop, blasting him with snow.
She took one look at him and doubled over in laughter. He had snow coating his entire front. She’d hit a perfect patch of powdered snow and managed to completely paint the front of him in white.
“Nice stop,” he said, with a chuckle. He wiped his gloved hands over his glasses so that he could see again. He shook himself like a wet dog, but most of the snow stayed stuck to his jacket and ski-pants.
She reached out and carefully dusted some of the snow from his shoulders.
“You have a little something on you,” she said, leaving the majority of the snow still resting on his head and chest.
He took the opportunity to grab some snow from the drift behind him, turning it into a snowball. He threw it at her.
The snowball hit her helmet with a splat. He could see her eyes go wide in her ski-goggles before narrowing.
With a smooth motion, she used her poles to pop the bindings on her boots and freed herself from her skis. With her long skis no longer limiting her range of motion, she reached down, grabbed a snowball and threw it back at him.
It hit him square in the chest, simply adding to the snow already there.
He grinned. This meant war.
Nathan popped himself out of his skis, dropped his poles and retaliated with a well aimed snowball to her chest. She twisted, moving her body at the last second to avoid being hit, but he had a second one ready. She managed to miss that one as well.
“You think you can get me?” she teased, splattering a snowball against his arm. She’d managed to hit him twice now while seeming to avoid every snowball he threw at her. “I play dodge-ball on a regular basis. You’re going to have to do better than that!”
He sent another ball of snow heading straight for her back, but once again she danced right out from under it.
Now it was time to get serious.
He reached down and made a perfect snowball. It was bigger than his fist and full of cold, white snow.
This time, he feinted throwing it, causing her to twist away. When no snowball came, she paused and he made his move. He sprinted the short distance between them and instead of throwing the ball, tackled her into a fluffy snow drift.
He then proceeded to put the snowball down the back of her jacket.
She yelped with the sudden cold, twisting and shaking until she got the majority of the snow out of her coat. She glared at him for a second before breaking out into a grin. He smiled back at her, innocent as to her plan.
Then she pushed a snowball of her own down the front of his coat.
“Truce!” he spluttered, the cold turning wet and dripping down his front. He did his best to get the snow out, but some had melted. It was cold and wet.
“Truce.” She chuckled. “Nice tackle.”
“I played soccer in college,” he replied. Th
ey lay there in the snow, gasping for breath. Soft snow began to fall, landing gently on their upturned faces. It was then that she started to giggle.
His own laughter bubbled up, breaking past the reserved business exterior and filling the mountain with their joy. He shook with laughter. The more he laughed, the harder she laughed until they were both laying on the ground, convulsing with giggles.
He lay there with her, stuck in a snow drift with snow down both their jackets, laughing like maniacs.
He hadn’t laughed that hard in ages. It felt good. His soul felt light for the first time in years. To be honest, he couldn’t remember laughing like that since childhood.
Slowly, they both regained their composure. He managed to get up to his feet in the deep snow before turning and offering her a hand.
He pulled her up, and she stumbled forward, her hands coming to his chest. Instinctively, his arms wrapped around her.
She looked up at him through long eyelashes, the pink in her cheeks darkening. Her lips were cherry red and his mouth watered to kiss her. He tipped his chin, moving in for a kiss. She lifted her face, her beautiful mouth moving to meet his.
And their helmets bonked with a hard plastic sound. There would be no easy kiss with their safety gear in place. The moment shifted, and the kiss was lost.
She giggled again, stepping out of his arms. “Lunch?”
He nodded and together they found their poles and skis. She clicked her boots into the skis and waited for him to do the same. Together, they worked their way to the where the chair-lift spun to pick up passengers.
The lift attendant looked them both over and slowly shook his head. He’d obviously seen their snowball fight and wasn’t impressed. Nathan didn’t care. He was having fun. The next chair came and the attendant motioned them forward and onto the next seat.
He glanced over to see her smiling at him as the chair bumped into the back of his legs and sped them into the sky. The snow fell hard around them, muffling the sound of the lift. She grinned at him, looking like something from a advertisement for the resort.
His chest tightened a little around his heart at her beauty. That smile. The way she made him laugh. A couple of hours with her, and he was smiling and laughing again.
He wondered what he would be like if she was always around her. He imagined he would be happy. She was some sort of winter magic.
“You still have some snow on your jacket,” she teased, pointing to his shoulders. The dark jacket was still dusted with white from their snowball fight.
He nodded, reaching his hand up to brush it away. Only, instead of brushing it off, he brushed it in her direction. He made sure to flick as much snow as possible at her.
She threw her head back and laughed, holding up her hands to block his snowy attack.
He laughed too, feeling happy for the first time in ages.
Chapter 9
Nathan
The snow was falling hard enough that the restaurant didn’t have many patrons. It was on the top of a mountain. The only way to get to it was by chair-lift or a snowmobile. They practically had the place to themselves.
“Just wait until you try their hot chocolate. It’s amazing,” Nathan told her. “You’ll love it.”
“I can’t wait,” she replied with a grin. “I love hot chocolate. It’s one of my favorite drinks in the whole world.”
They left their skis outside and hung their jackets on a wooden peg inside the heavy front door. Warmth from multiple fireplaces made the room comfortable after the cold outside. Yet another Christmas tree sat in a position of honor. Nathan ignored it.
The restaurant was styled like an old log cabin. The furniture inside was rustic, but the windows were huge. The hostess sat them at a small table in front of the main window overlooking the ski basin.
“Wow,” Holly whispered. She sat staring out the window at the incoming storm over the craggy peaks. Dark clouds sat like unhappy hats on the tops of the mountains as snow fell, turning the dark green pine trees to white statues.
“It’s a great view,” he agreed, settling into his chair. He stretched his legs out under the table, wiggling his toes. They’d both loosened their boots and now the circulation was slowly returning to his feet.
“It’s kind of what I imagine the North Pole looks like,” Holly told him, her eyes still glued to the window.
“The North Pole?” Nathan wondered why she was thinking of the North Pole. This was more like Antarctica with the mountain ranges.
“Yeah. Like Santa,” she said with a smile. She motioned to the Christmas tree behind him and it was then that he noticed the soft music overhead was actually instrumental versions of Christmas carols.
“Oh.” He took a sip of his water and looked out the window.
“Wow. Not a Christmas fan, I take it?” She put her elbows on the table and cradled her chin in her hands.
“I like Christmas.” He shrugged.
She raised her eyebrows. “Could have fooled me. Why don’t you like it?”
“I don’t know. I guess it’s all so commercial. I stopped believing in Santa a long time ago.”
“What about your family? Do you go visit them for the holidays?”
“Sometimes. I tend to be busy. We never really did much for Christmas after my younger brother learned the truth about Santa.” He shrugged again. “I’ll visit my brother and my dad after the new year. We're not big on the holiday.”
She nodded. She took in everything about him and he wondered what she was thinking. He felt like she could read him, seeing all the unspoken lost and forgotten Christmases in his past.
“Let me guess, you like Christmas.” He crossed his arms, watching her.
Holly’s green eyes sparkled as she smiled. “I love Christmas. I know it’s cliché, but it really is my favorite time of the year.”
“Because of the presents?”
She shook her head, crinkling her nose. “No, not really. I mean, I love giving presents, and I love when someone makes me something special. My students tend to give me mugs and chocolates. I love those, even though I have more mugs than actual dishes in my house.”
He couldn’t help but smile at her upbeat attitude. “What about your family?”
“It's just me and my dad, but we love Christmas. We throw this big bash for the whole town on Christmas day. My students love it.” She grinned, lost in memory. “My dad buys books and toys for all the local kids and then Dad dresses up like Santa. It’s my favorite part of the holiday to see the kids all light up.”
Her smile faltered slightly, as if something made her sad, but she shook herself and refocused on him. “If you’re ever in Colorado for the holidays, you should come join us.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” he replied, knowing that he probably wouldn’t. Christmas wasn’t his thing. His family never really did much for the holiday other than make him feel guilty. Once he moved out of his father's house, he had started working through the Christmas holiday season. It was better that way.
A small tug of jealousy hit him. Holly looked forward to Christmas. He dreaded it. He wished that he liked it more, but the Hallmark Christmas never happened for him.
It was usually full of people trying to get more money and better presents out of him. Somehow, everyone who became his friend expected expensive gifts since he was a billionaire. Granted, he did give lavish gifts, but the entitlement rubbed him the wrong way.
Plus, Christmas just never appealed to him. It was better to work. Better to earn money than waste it.
“I’m so sorry to keep you waiting,” a waitress said, breaking into his thoughts. “What can I get you?”
“Menus,” Nathan replied. He motioned to their bare table with a forgiving smile.
The waitress looked surprised. “I’m sorry about that.” She hurried to the front reception area, glared at the hostess, and returned with two menus. “Our special today is rib-eye with our special mashed potatoes. The soup is clam chowder, and I have to tell y
ou it’s delicious.”
“Oh, I love rib-eye,” Holly said, cracking open her menu.
“While I let you look at the menu, can I get you any drinks?” the waitress asked.
Nathan glanced over at Holly, expecting to see her mouth watering as she looked at the menu. He knew the hot chocolate was on the first page. Instead she looked like she might be sick.
“Just water for me, please,” Holly said quickly. Nathan frowned.
“What about the hot chocolate?” he asked her.
“Just water, please,” Holly repeated to the waitress.
“Well, I’ll take a hot chocolate,” Nathan said. “And a glass of water, too, please.”
The waitress smiled and nodded before heading off to the kitchen.
“You okay?” Nathan asked once the waitress was gone.
She swallowed hard as she looked at the menu. “Maybe we could just get drinks here, and food down at the lodge.”
“But you only ordered water,” Nathan reminded her.
“Right.” Her forehead was creased and eyebrows drawn. “I’m actually not very hungry.”
He seemed to remember her saying she was hungry when she asked him to lunch. What had changed?
“What’s wrong?” he asked her, more gently this time. He reached out and touched her hand.
She pulled away, setting the menu down. She stayed quiet for a moment, shame painted clearly on her face.
“I know I said I’d buy lunch, but... I can’t afford this.” He almost didn’t hear her she was so quiet. She smoothed her hair back and took a deep breath. Her green eyes wouldn’t meet his. “I don’t have enough money to pay for lunch here. It's too expensive.”
Nathan sat speechless for a moment. He looked down at the menu and looked at the prices for the first time.
The hot chocolate was expensive. The rib-eye was absurdly marked up. Even just a simple side-salad cost more than a full meal at a regular steakhouse.
“I know I said I’d pay for lunch,” Holly said, filling the silence. Her voice cracked slightly. “But, with Christmas in less than two weeks... and I don’t get paid until the end of the month...”