by Hart, Taylor
Katie took a seat next to the window and Roman sat across from her.
He was captivated by the snow. By the way the town kept going even though it felt like nothing should be going. In Texas, this kind of snow would cripple them.
Katie shrugged off her Carhartt. Her lean limbs were revealed in her tank top and yoga pants. She tugged a blue scarf out of her pocket and wrapped it around her neck and smoothed back her hair. Even though it seemed funny to Roman that she would do that, he jerked open his menu
“Hmm.” Katie opened her menu. “The waffles are the best here, and they’ll even sub them for pancakes when you get an omelet.”
Roman pretended to read the menu, slightly annoyed at himself that he felt a twinge of jealousy at the way Lou had looked at her.
She flipped the pages. “This restaurant has been in Lou’s family for generations. This land is actually owned by his family. They just lease it to the ski resort. That was back when resorts would do that kind of thing—share with families. Now most of them just want to own the land and open their own corporate things.”
Trying not to dwell on how much she was talking about Lou, he decided on a ham and cheese omelet with waffles. His nutritionist could ream him later. “That’s nice.”
A server came and introduced herself. “Well, hello there.” She stopped as she studied Roman. “Can I just say that television makes you look exactly as good as I’d always pictured you would?”
Roman could feel the red creeping up his cheeks. He blinked. “Well, you look good, too.” It came out woodenly, but, Roman realized the girl with the nametag that said ‘Tiffany’—who was blond and probably in her early twenties with a lean figure—did look good.
At his compliment, Tiffany’s grin widened. She lightly smacked Roman’s shoulder. “Heaven’s, Roman Young, you do know how to give a girl a compliment.”
He grinned back at her, suddenly feeling comfortable.
“Hmm.” Katie cleared her throat. “I’m at the table too, Tiffany.”
Immediately, Tiffany jerked her gaze away from Roman. A frown touched her lips. “Katie Winters, how come I’m not surprised that you’re sitting here—with the man I claimed a long time ago.” She cocked a hand on her hip. “A long, long time ago.” She shook her finger at Katie. “His uncle used to come in here and tell me all about Roman, and I told his uncle that if he ever came to town, he had to hook me up. I’ve been the first in line since the divorce.”
If Roman could have known this would happen, he definitely would have avoided coming here and this little soap opera he’d just been made some kind of star in.
Katie pinched her lips and narrowed her eyes. “I’m. Not. Interested. In Roman.”
The words ricocheted inside Roman’s head.
Tiffany eased a smile back into place and put a pen to a pad of paper. “Good.” She gave her a meaningful look, and Roman knew that whatever small town rivalry had gone on between them would probably be an interesting story. “Well,” Tiffany said, recovering, “now that all the unpleasantness is out of the way, what will you have for breakfast?”
* * *
They’d spent the next few minutes ignoring Tiffany’s little outburst. Katie seemed bugged and Roman didn’t know what to say.
Roman watched people get on the lift. Most of them looked like locals or seasoned skiers. He could tell this by the wear and tear of their equipment. It felt like he could spot a newbie a mile away. He let out a sigh, unable to keep up with the silence. “I guess getting trapped at a ski resort for a couple of days could only improve skiing for people, right?”
Katie pretended that she didn’t hear him. Or, if she had, she didn’t acknowledge him.
If there was anything that Roman didn’t like, it was being ignored. “Look, if you’d rather not talk to me because you fear angering your high school nemesis, then that’s fine—say that. But don’t just ignore me. It’s rude.”
Her eyes flashed anger as she flicked her head, and their eyes met. The emotion made her eyes an intense green. The kind of green that looked almost blue. Ocean green. The kind he’d seen on several trips to Hawaii when he’d gone snorkeling and scuba diving with Sheena. At the memory, he yanked his gaze away.
She still didn’t say anything.
He turned back to her. “And, by the way, I don’t appreciate you announcing to the whole town that I’m Jim’s nephew everywhere we go.” He didn’t turn to look at her. It did bother him that she felt like she had to tell everyone, to explain the only reason she would be seen with him or something.
“But you are Jim’s nephew.” Her voice was low.
His leg bounced with nervous energy. He put his hand on it to stop it. “Well, they’ll find out soon enough, you don’t need to tell everyone like…like that’s the only reason you’re with me…because you’re stuck with me.” It was exactly how he felt, but it sounded ridiculous, the vulnerability tripping out of his lips.
For a second she didn’t say anything. Then she let out a dramatic sigh. “You don’t think this whole town will immediately recognize you? Wait, they might be confused you’re not with your wife. Sara, Sheila—?
“Sheena,” he finished for her.
She turned to face him. “You mean the super model.” Sarcasm washed over her face.
She was jealous? He frowned. “Look, you don’t need to compare yourself to her.”
From the look on her face, he could tell the words meant that he’d meant to soothe her, had only served to tick her off. She leaned forward. “Don’t flatter yourself, QB. There’s only one thing you can bet on in a small town, that people talk. And, well, I have had enough of being talked about for a long, long time. And my son doesn’t need that, either. So, yes, I’m up front and honest with people about stuff because I figure they’ll find out anyway. I may as well be truthful.”
The way her fierce pride filled every word made him grin.
She faltered. “Why are you smiling?”
He didn’t want to admit that he found her pride and fierceness attractive, so he asked about her son. “How did Josh’s report go for science yesterday?”
Obviously, she hadn’t been expecting this turn in conversation. “Fine,” she answered quickly.
“Good.” He turned as Tiffany came back to the table and put down their drinks. She winked at Roman before moving away. “Your food will be out in a sec.”
He took a sip of water and kept his face innocent, even though he felt guilty for some reason.
Katie relaxed, leaning back. The side of her lip turned up. “The frogs somehow jumped out and took off down the hall. It took them twenty minutes to round them all up.”
Roman let out a laugh. “No.”
A grin spread across her lips, and all Roman could think about was how pretty she was. She reached for her glass. “His poor teacher sent a note home for me that asked to please not send science projects to school that could jump.”
More laughter came out of Roman, and he envisioned a bunch of second graders chasing twenty frogs around the school. Thinking of the chaos that would have ensued brought on more laughter.
Shaking her head, she grinned. “Ahh, teachers should be sainted.” She took her spoon and scooped out a piece of ice.
His hand shot out and intercepted the ice. “Can you be trusted not to kill yourself today?”
Leveling him with a glare, she wrinkled her nose and took the ice off her spoon, popping it into her mouth. “Poor Mr. Hansen, he’s a good teacher.”
Happy for neutral ground, Roman nodded. “Sounds like it.”
They both held each other’s eyes and Roman could have sworn that Katie blushed. Feeling a rush of heat on his own face, he turned away.
Tiffany came with their food, piling the table with the extra plates of waffles. She went to a side table and got a pitcher of water, filling up the glasses. She focused on Roman. “Is there anything else I can get for you?”
He nodded to Katie. “Katie, is there anything else you need?�
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Katie met his gaze and then gave a mock smile to Tiffany. “No.”
Tiffany returned the mock grin and then put a light hand on Roman. “So, have you had anyone show you the sights since you’ve been here? I know it’s been snowy, but the view from the top of this mountain is breathtaking. If you haven’t been, I could show you after work?”
Uncomfortable, but not taken off guard, Roman let out a sigh. “Darn, I wish I could,” he said, lifting a fork to point at Katie, “but Katie has me busy for the next couple of days.”
Tiffany gave Katie an accusing glare.
Katie took the cue from Roman. “We’re finishing a few things around the inn, but maybe you kids could play next week.”
Tiffany held her stare and then shrugged and turned away. “I’ll be back in a little bit.”
Digging into his food, Roman let out a heavenly sigh. “You were right. These waffles are pretty good.”
Katie took a bite of waffle and flashed a smile. “I told you.”
When they were done, Roman sipped his water and looked out the window. He imagined the view from the top of the mountain was glorious.
“You want to know what the deal is with Tiffany, don’t you?”
The fact that she’d brought it up told him that she wanted to talk about it. “Nope.”
“It’s awkward, right?”
“No.”
“You said no too fast,” she accused.
“I did?”
“You did.”
“O-kay.”
Her eyes twinkled. “If you don’t want people to know you’re lying, you have to pretend you’re thinking about it. You didn’t think about it.”
“Wow, look at you, studying lying.”
“I do have a communications degree.”
“You do?
She grinned. “A master’s degree. My thesis was on lying in relationships, courting relationships.”
Suddenly he felt nervous. “Really?”
She smacked his hand and laughed. “But we’re not courting, so you don’t have to worry, I don’t even think of you that way. You’re my boss, right?”
“Right,” he answered quickly. Then he tried to appear to be thinking about it. “I mean, of course, that’s why we’re here, cause you have one meal a day included.”
She nodded. “You’re just the new signer of the paychecks.”
“Oh right.” The food felt hard in his gut. “Yeah.” He wondered if he answered too fast.
“So, that reminds me.” She put her fork down. “I was thinking, that you could take out ad space for the inn with the ski resort and the boat rental place down at the marina by the lake.”
The lake. Memories surged through him. He remembered going out on a boat with his uncle. “The lake.”
Her eyes twinkled. “Yeah, the lake.”
He shook his head. “I’d forgotten about the lake. Uncle Jim took me out on his boat when I was here.” He grinned, thinking about feeling the water spray on his face and the sunburn he’d had the next day. But the best part had been seeing his mother water ski. Seeing her so alive and happy. They’d eaten ham and cheese sandwiches for lunch, and he remembered Uncle Jim burying him in the sand. “That was one of the best days of my life.”
She cleared her throat.
He looked at her and caught her studying him. He blinked. “What?”
She blinked back. “Nothing. I mean, you—you look so sad sometimes.”
He decided to be honest with her. “Uncle Jim gave me everything, and I gave him nothing. I-I guess being here reminds me of what a jerk I’ve turned into.”
The moment seemed to slow, and she reached across the table and took his hand. “Your uncle loved you.”
The pain that he’d been trying to push away came rushing at him full force, like a natural geyser in Yellowstone that burst with hot air. Tears pushed themselves out of his eyes. “No, I—” He didn’t know why he was telling her this, but it all came tumbling out. “I was a fool. Sheena had this image she wanted to protect, and I see now that I got so caught up in that that I didn’t realize all the important things that she took me away from.”
Her eyes were so sympathetic. “I’m sorry.” She kept her hand on his.
“I got hurt a few months ago and that, combined with—”
“With finding out your wife cheated on you.” Her face had gone stone cold hard.
He was surprised. “You read the tabloids?”
She shook her head. “Your uncle told me you called him.”
Hope sprung out of him. “He did?”
She smiled. “He was really happy to have you back in his life.”
More tears spilled down his cheeks. “Then why didn’t he tell me he was dying?”
She gently squeezed his hand. “I don’t know, but like I told you before, I bet it was because he wanted you to get back on that field. He didn’t want to mess that up for you.”
A turmoil of emotion swirled through him. His uncle had always protected him. Helped him. Even still protected him when he needed Roman. He clenched a fist and put his head down, letting more tears come. “I can’t be here.”
“Roman.” She held onto his hand.
He looked up.
Her eyes were bright, and a tear fell down her cheek. “This is exactly where you should be, don’t you see that? Jim wanted you to come.”
Guilt surged within him.
She swallowed and nodded. “It’s okay. You’re okay.”
When she said those words a strange thing happened, the certainty she felt seared into him. She was right. He was okay. He took in a breath. “You’re right.”
Taking her hand back, she nodded. “It’s okay.”
They both sat, saying nothing.
Then she smiled. “So you’ll look into that?”
“What?”
“The ad space.”
He hated lying to her, but he didn’t know how to tell her the truth. He looked out the window. “Sure.”
“Why aren’t you looking at me?”
He turned back. “I am looking at you.”
“You’re not going to look into it.” She sighed and got out her phone.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m adding it to my list.”
“No,” he protested. “I’ll do it.”
“You will?” Her voice was doubtful.
He didn’t know why, but he knew that if he told her he would, then he really would do it. “I will.”
“Fine.”
Letting out an exasperated sigh, she sipped the last of her water. “You would think that you weren’t the owner.”
“Stop. Okay. I…you’ve just been going at this since I met you. Man, you should have been a coach, you’re relentless.”
“Relentless?” She looked pleased at this description of her.
“Yes.”
She threw her hands up. “I’m just trying to let you be the boss.”
Oh no. This sounded way too emasculating for him. The quarterback of the Dallas Destroyers didn’t need her permission for anything. “Let me be the boss?” he grinned.
She laughed. “Does that hurt your ego, QB?”
Reluctantly, he admitted to himself that he liked the way she said ‘QB.’ “No, it doesn’t hurt my ego.”
“Does, too.” She pointed at him.
He swiped her finger away with his fork. “Does not.”
They both grinned at each other.
He put his fork down. “Fine, if I’m the boss, then I say we take a day off and go sledding today.”
“You do?”
“I’ve always lived in Texas, and one year we came to visit Uncle Jim for Christmas, and we…went sledding. It was the most fun thing I’ve ever done.”
She scoffed, “You want to work on sledding?” She did not look amused.
He drizzled syrup on the fork, reasoning that if he weren’t ‘courting’ Katie, it wouldn’t matter if he sucked down syrup like a teenager, right? It felt good
not to worry about how many carbs were in the syrup. He grinned. “I want to work on sledding.”
She shook her head. “Fine, QB, we’ll go sledding.”
But before he could pay Tiffany and get out of there, Lou, the man from earlier, walked up to their table. He patted Katie on the back. “How are you?” His hand moved to her shoulder.
She smiled and covered his hand with hers. “Hey, I’m good.” Her face became gentler when looking at Lou.
Unexpectedly, Roman tensed.
Lou turned to Roman, giving him an up and down. “So Roman Young returns to claim what’s his.”
The way Lou kept his hand on Katie’s shoulder, felt like he was letting Roman know that he might be claiming the Inn, but he couldn’t claim her, too. Roman gave him an easy smile. “Yep, just here checking out the place and helping Katie get a few things done.”
Lou turned to Katie, keeping her hand in his. “My dear, why didn’t you tell me you needed help?”
If Roman hadn’t known better, he would think that Katie was actually blushing. “Oh no, it’s fine. Roman offered, and since he’s stuck here for a while....” She gestured to the snow falling. “I accepted his help.”
“Hmph.” Roman hadn’t meant to contradict Katie. But really? Offered to help? He thought of having the list shoved at him and being told it was about time he got here.
Lou spun back to him, giving him the same sizing up that Roman had given Lou earlier. “Did you have something to say, Jim’s nephew?” He glared at him again. “I thought it was a good call to go with Dumont in the big game. He did an excellent job.”
The muscles in Roman’s jaw flexed and adrenaline shot through him. One thing a quarterback easily recognizes when he looks at a man is when that man wants to hit him. He sees that look on the field all day, almost every day. Every part of Roman became very still, just like when he was about to throw the best touchdown of the game. Instantly, he knew. He knew Lou, indeed, had planned to mark his territory with Katie Winters. Roman put on his best media boy smile and laughed. “You’re right. He did win it for us.” he conceded.
Touching the side of his mustache with his other hand, Lou swallowed. “I guess I would be more on team Roman if you’d had the decency to show up to your uncle’s funeral.”