With the sun lowering in the western sky, Nick stared around the dining table. He was more comfortable than he could remember in months, if not years. Isabella was feeding tidbits to a giggling Tanner, and Eli was regaling everyone with a long and involved tale of baseball statistics and the reason the Colorado Rockies would clearly win their division this year.
Krissa glanced in his direction and he winked at her. She grinned back, but then her eyes quickly looked down at her plate. He watched her push at the last bite of turkey and then set her fork down. Nick tried to catch her attention again, but she stared steadfastly at young Eli as he wrapped up his closing arguments in favor of his baseball team.
“Nick, I’ve heard some rumors swirling about the resort,” Brett said across the dinner table to his brother-in-law.
Nick grimaced and wondered how word always did seem to spread around town no matter how hard he tried to be discreet.
“I don’t know if anything will come of it,” Nick began, “but I have a potential offer on Wescott Springs Resort.”
“Oh!” Dana said, looking crestfallen. “I didn’t know you were thinking about selling it. You and Uncle Ross put so much love into it.”
“I wasn’t really even thinking about it initially,” Nick said trying to soften the blow. “I’ve lined up a private real estate equity group that invests in ski resorts and they really like Wescott Springs and its location. They called me a couple of weeks ago and they’re taking a tour this week.”
Nick tried not to see the hurt expression in his sister’s eyes.
“We’d sure miss you,” Brett said. “It would be hard to know someone other than family owned Wescott Springs Resort.”
Dana nodded at her husband and added, “I know business comes first with you, Nick, but I can’t imagine you without the resort. You spent every waking moment there as a teenager after Mom and Dad died. It is hard to think of you letting it go. It’s almost like a bridge to the past.”
“We were pretty lucky to spend winter vacations learning to ski,” Nick said and a warm glow of nostalgia spread over him. The resort had always felt like home…especially after his parents’ abrupt death. He tried not to frown at the sudden bad memory and tamped down on the achy hollowness that filled the pit of his stomach. It still hurt to think about the loss of his parents and his uncle. His business was the important thing.
“Don’t worry about it, Dana,” Nick said in a reassuring voice. “There’s no telling if the investors will even want the resort once they see it.”
Dana scowled at her brother and waggled a finger at him. “Don’t patronize me, little brother. I know you. If these guys are coming to see the resort, I’m sure they won’t leave without giving you an amazing offer. You’re the best deal maker around. Why do you want to sell it anyway?” Dana’s voice held an edge to it.
“I’ve been offered a partnership at Robinson and the sale of the resort should cover the investment,” Nick said.
Brett and Tony offered their congratulations, but Dana sniffed disapprovingly. Nick almost laughed because she looked so much like their mother with the wrinkle of her nose. Nick tried to catch Krissa’s eye, but she was focused on serving another spoonful of melon to Logan.
“Well, I don’t see how you can do it,” Dana said. “The resort is part of the family.”
“Even Uncle Ross was going to sell it and settle into a comfortable retirement,” Nick retorted.
“And look how fast you turned away those buyers when Uncle Ross passed away in the middle of that deal. You were only twenty-two, but you dove into refurbing and improving it like you were born to it. The resort is in your blood.”
Nick sipped his drink and knew he didn’t have a good response. He glanced across the table at Krissa. She looked steadily at him, but he couldn’t read her expression. He broke eye contact with those crisp amber eyes and briefly glanced down at his plate.
“I know the place means a lot to the family, but I’m almost never around anymore.”
“You travel almost eight days a week,” Dana said with a half laugh at her own weak joke.
“Exactly. I’ve barely any time left over to properly look after the resort. I owe it to the place to be more than an absentee owner.”
Dana nibbled on a slice of garlic bread and looked wistful.
“It does sound like an incredible opportunity,” Brett said soothingly. “It’ll be different knowing that the resort doesn’t belong to the family anymore. I think you’re right, though. You need to focus on the resort or on your job with Robinson.”
“Precisely my thoughts,” Nick replied.
The room was quiet for a moment until Krissa cleared her throat a little and said, “Eli? Isabella? Are any of you ready to challenge me to another round of baseball or maybe boxing?”
Logan shouted his agreement and Eli looked to his mom for her approval.
“You guys may be excused,” Dana said with a smile. “But each of you must take your plates and utensils and put them in the sink first, and then you can turn the TV back on.”
Nick cast a grateful glance at Krissa for changing the mood in the room. She smiled for a moment, but then spun away with an armful of dishes. Nick pushed back his chair and puffed out his chest and growled, “Who dares to be my first victim?” and then chased after a squealing Isabella.
* * * *
The video boxing tournament began with Nick challenging Isabella to a match. The laughing, joking, and trash talking was thick. After Nick lost to his niece, Tony challenged Isabella. Tony won, but then lost to Eli, who proceeded to win four straight matches until Krissa beat him in a round-three knockout. Krissa’s roll continued as she won matches against Brett, Dana, and Logan.
Prancing around in a circle, Krissa pretended to flex her biceps. Nick couldn’t take his eyes off of her.
“Look at those guns!” Dana said with a laugh.
“More like chicken nuggets,” Brett said.
“Oh yeah,” Krissa said, “World Class Cham-pee-yon!”
“Bring it on, Miss Schoolteacher,” Nick said and jumped to his feet. “I’ve rested long enough. You are going down…in flames!”
“Rested?” Krissa laughed. “More like licking your wounds after the whumping Isabella gave you!”
Nick did a few exaggerated knee bends and finger flexes and then executed a flurry of fancy footwork. All the kids chortled with laughter. Dana fell over on the couch and buried her face in a pillow to muffle her squeals.
Krissa feinted left and right and in her best Jersey accent said, “Put up ya dukes. Put up ya dukes, ya mug.”
Nick’s eyes locked on her and a shot of adrenaline poured through his veins. He was on fire. His heart pounded. Krissa shimmied her shoulders and shook her tush. She took her position in front of the TV while everyone joked, cheered, and called out support to their favorite boxer.
Nick tried to keep his cool, but every time Krissa wiggled or bounced, he felt his blood pressure rise and his imagination took off. Her first punch landed and he barely recovered. They jabbed, punched, and ducked on the TV screen while both of them flushed up in excitement. Krissa’s points crept higher and Nick tried to concentrate, but the curves of her breasts, her narrow waist, and twisting hips kept distracting him. Her face showed her focus, but her cheeks were bright pink and she was breathing hard.
Their shoulders brushed and electricity fired through Nick. He inhaled and wondered if a spray of electric sparks was visible to the whole room. Krissa shot him a short, smoldering look. An invitation glimmered in her eyes and he imagined the hot tangle of her arms and legs and her breasts crushed against his bare chest. He gasped and ducked his player away from a blow. Had she faked him out?
Get hold of yourself, he said silently. This is a G-rated audience and that smoking hot redhead is Eli’s teacher. He held his eyes steady on the TV screen.
With a sharp jab on the game controller, Krissa landed a knockout blow. Nick’s avatar wobbled, teetered, and collapsed on the mat.
&nb
sp; All four of Dana’s kids danced around her, whooping and hollering. Nick groaned out loud as the game referee finished the count and declared Krissa the winner. Nick tried to catch Krissa’s eye, but she refused to look his direction and continued to dance and prance with her gaggle of cheering kids.
Nick exchanged a look with his buddy, who might have mouthed the word, “Calienté!”
“Who’s ready for cake?” Dana sang out over the melée.
“Cake?” Brett asked. “I think I’m ready for another round of dinner after that big workout.”
And then Brett pooched out his belly, rubbed it in a grand fashion, and waddled around like a very pregnant woman. Dana threw a pillow at him.
Nick laughed with everyone else, but his eyes were locked on Krissa. He was almost mesmerized watching her dig into her purse to grab her ringing phone. He watched her as she disappeared down the hall to the back of the house with the phone pressed to her ear. She waved her hand and said a muffled, “Excuse me.”
His body thrummed with heat. Nick idly rubbed the back of his neck and told the rising throb in his pants to calm the hell down. He was in his sister’s house with her children, and he was practically ready to pull Krissa to the floor and jump her bones in front of everyone.
Tony strolled over and handed him a cold brew and laughed at him with a knowing grin. Nick muffled a groan. He was about as obvious as a bull in heat. With another gulp of the pale ale, Nick guessed it must just be that he’d been celibate for so long. Krissa was a good-looking woman, but she wasn’t a supermodel. Right? But somehow, he couldn’t get the image of her curvy hips shaking and shimmying as she boxed for the Wii. She was smoking sexy.
Isabella giggled and Nick looked over at his niece. He sure had a nice family. He wished he visited more often. A quick thought of the last girlfriend he’d brought out to Wescott Springs popped into his head. Vanessa had seemed out of her element with his sister and her brood of kiddos. She’d been happiest when he’d arranged for a massage and facial for her at the resort’s spa. Not Krissa. She seemed to love playing with his nieces and nephews almost as if she was just one of the pack. Funny, Krissa had been in town for a bit more than a week and she already seemed like a regular at Dana’s house. Part of the family even.
Nick rubbed the back of his neck again as Tony plopped down on the love seat across from him.
“Who knew video games were so, ah, entertaining?” Tony said. He raised his glass in a mock salute. “Dude!”
Nick only shook his head and took another swallow of his cold beer.
Chapter 11
WITH a tap, Krissa ended the phone call, but a frown lingered on her face. Her mom was fussing about the crowd her brother was hanging around with and that Krissa should really still be in town to serve as a good role model. In the next breath, her mother started rattling on about her date with Jerry and how kind he was to her. Krissa shook her head to dispel the sound of her mother’s voice and its negative vibe.
She was having so much fun playing with the kids and listening to the loving banter between all of the family members. She couldn’t remember ever having so much fun with her mother or her brother, David. It was a great family. An image of Nick’s muscled body boxing next to hers flooded her mind and her senses. She felt her cheeks heat and almost fanned herself to cool down.
She heard the faint sounds of Isabella and Logan laughing and she felt eager to rejoin the happy family. No point dawdling back here feeling gloomy about her complaining relatives. Krissa made her way out of Brett’s office and into the dimly lit passage. She made a quick pivot into the main hallway and thudded into something tall and rock hard.
Oompf…a whoosh of air squeezed out of her and she teetered backward.
“Easy there.”
Strong arms enveloped her and pulled her close. Somehow she was all entangled in Nick’s arms and legs. Her whole body tingled and sent surges of electric heat to every patch of skin where she made contact with Nick.
Why did it have to be Nick?
Nick whispered a husky “Hello,” and pulled her closer.
Her body pulsed with fire and anticipation. Very nice to feel you, Krissa almost mumbled out loud.
She stared up at Nick in the shadowy light; his eyes were dark and unfathomable. She felt the world drift away and all she knew were his smoldering eyes and his vital presence.
Nick leaned his head closer, just a few inches, and waited. She had every chance to escape, but she didn’t wish to run. Her hand crept up his hard chest and then stroked the smooth skin of his neck. Her body hummed in response. This was exactly where she wanted to be.
“Krissa.” His voice was low and silky.
Her mouth parted ever so slightly and her full lower lip invited him to come closer. His mouth feathered over hers and sensation roared through her body. Her eyes fell shut and her world was all sparks and lightning as the kiss deepened.
His mouth pulled her closer still until she clung to him. At last, his tongue shivered across her lips. Krissa sighed softly and her head eased back lazily. With his hand sliding down her back, he trailed kisses from the tender dimple behind her ear down the column of her neck to the hollow of her collarbone.
As his palm caressed the curve of her bottom, Krissa quivered and pressed closer.
A shriek of childish laughter from the family room pierced Krissa’s brain.
With a jerk, she pulled away from Nick and her hand flew to her warm, wet lips. She glanced at Nick and took in his dazed expression. He was as bowled over as she.
Nick stepped closer, but Krissa backed up. This couldn’t happen, she reminded herself. She put herself into prim schoolteacher mode.
“That was very nice,” Krissa said in a business-like manner, “but I’m just not interested.”
“Nice?” Nick said with raised eyebrows.
She touched her lips almost without thinking.
“Okay, it was a…a wow,” Krissa conceded. Definitely, wow, she thought to herself. She shook her head. It was going to have to be a one-kiss wonder.
“And I would say we both seem very interested,” Nick said, and his eyebrows arched suggestively.
With a short step, Nick curved his arms back around Krissa and lowered his head. Krissa’s lips parted and her heart beat unaccountably loudly in her ears as she waited for his mouth to cover hers. She couldn’t move. Every fiber in her being demanded the fire of his touch.
His velvet lips enveloped her. His tongue tickled and teased until her mouth fell open. A languorous rope of heat spiraled through her breasts, and she marveled at the tightening squeeze of her feminine core. As Nick pressed closer, she felt the hardness of his erection. Wildfire tore through her.
Nick raised his head and stared into her eyes. A slow smile of contentment eased across his handsome face.
“I’d say we’re both pretty interested,” Nick said.
“It was…um, nice,” Krissa mumbled. She tried to gather her senses. “Thank you, but once was enough.” She took another step back.
“Hmm, more like twice,” Nick said with a wicked smile.
Krissa watched the tip of his tongue flick across his lips and she cleared her throat awkwardly. Nick stretched his hand out as if to entice her back. Krissa shook her head, but somehow was rooted to the floor.
“Why not?” Nick said. He stared at her. His eyes narrowed and he cocked his head to the side. “What are you afraid of?” His voice was gentle and easy.
Krissa wanted to melt into that husky, inviting question. Her pain and fear seemed a million miles away. What was she really running from? She felt a chill sweep over her heart. She couldn’t do this. Krissa blinked and her world tipped back into perspective. What was she doing? She couldn’t let anyone into her life. Not in her life nor her heart and definitely not in her pants. This wasn’t going to happen. She stepped back.
She watched Nick lean against the wall and cross his arms. It was time to beat a retreat.
“I’m not afraid, Mr. Ol
in,” Krissa said with a boldness she hoped was convincing. She couldn’t think of anything brilliant to add.
She stared at Nick. He gazed back with a glint in his eyes. Krissa wondered if he was angry or if she’d just thrown down a challenge to him. Somehow, he didn’t seem to be repelled by her words. She lifted her chin and turned away.
Every nerve in her body screamed at her to run down the hall and get as far away as she could. She needed the safety of a room full of little kids. Her heart hammered in her ears, but she forced herself to walk at a sedate pace as if she owned the hallway.
By the time Nick followed her into the family room, Krissa had planted herself on the couch next to Isabella. She refused to look up and poured every ounce of her attention on the child’s handheld video game.
* * * *
Tuesday morning dawned with fog drifting off the lake in trailing streamers. The cool mist swirled through the woods and draped the houses in a white shroud. Krissa sat at the granite bar in her kitchen and watched the steam rise from her cup of morning caffeine.
She sipped her mocha and prayed it would clear the haze from her brain. She wondered if fog in June was typical in Wescott Springs and supposed she could always ask Nick.
He was so close. With her fingers whispering over her lips, Krissa shivered with the memory of his hot mouth. What had she been thinking? So much for Ginny’s advice. Flirt a little. Have some fun. Fabulous. Sure, Nick was gorgeous and charming, but she wasn’t the one-night stand type, was she? Well, not up to this point.
Good thing she wasn’t looking for a boyfriend, because Nick had made it clear last night that he had every intention of selling the resort and leaving town.
Well, didn’t that make him fair game for a flirtation? Krissa closed her eyes. She was in a piranha pool and about to get devoured. This was way too dangerous.
An image of her ex-fiancé in a lip lock with that blonde woman sent her stomach into knots, and disgust spiraled through her. It was just too risky to even let Nick into her life one teensy inch. Tim had promised to love her forever when he’d asked her to marry him, but that hadn’t meant very long to him.
Last Resort Love Page 9