She was sinking, sinking slowly in a thick wash of desire. There was every reason to avoid this; she knew it and couldn’t make herself care. It wasn’t about all the good reasons to do so. None of them mattered. At this moment in the silent moonlight, with Gabe’s eyes dark on hers, it wasn’t about business at all. It was about man and woman, and if she didn’t find out what it was like to kiss him she was going to die.
Hadley felt his breath before she ever felt a touch. When his mouth fused to hers it seemed inevitable, a kiss begun on the dance floor that only just climaxed in this moment.
His lips were cool at first from the frozen night air, and then she felt the heat, the persuasion. The contact shivered through her as though every nerve in her body were concentrated in her lips. She could have held out against demand but his touch was more a question, an invitation, a temptation.
And it made her want more.
Passion flowed through her as her lips parted against his. She tasted a hint of chocolate and more of the flavor that was purely Gabe. Rushing heat took her over, had her straining against him. Like Pandora opening the box, she’d unleashed a power she had no idea existed.
So sweet. Gabe had never guessed she’d be so sweet, like maple sugar on snow, candy in the cold. It dizzied him. He wanted to feel the warmth of her and he cursed the layers of winter clothing that only left imagination. He’d imagined far too often for days, though all of it paled against the reality of her mouth, mobile and avid against his.
With an impatient growl, he pulled her close and dragged them both deep and hard so that the contact of mouth to mouth became everything. Then, giving in to long temptation, he pressed his lips into her neck and inhaled the sweetness of her scent. The soft noise she made sent a punch of desire through him. He fought for control.
The horse gave a snort and stamped, jingling his harness, making the sleigh shift.
Bringing them back to reality.
Hadley blinked and broke away, trying desperately to stop the dizzying whirl that had swept her up. What in God’s name was she thinking of? She already knew she was in trouble with him. What was she doing coming out here so that he could kiss her mind to mush?
No, she thought immediately, that didn’t fly. The inescapable fact was that she’d been as much a part of it as he.
She cleared her throat. “Okay, time out. This wasn’t very smart.”
“It was fun, though.” Gabe reached out to toy with the ends of her hair.
She batted away his hand impatiently. “It was also a dumb move. Look, we were probably both curious—”
“I’m still curious,” he interrupted, his eyes intent. “In fact, now I’m more curious than ever.”
She wrenched her mind loose from the lure of that dark gaze. “Well, you’re going to have to deal with that one on your own,” she said coolly. “We’re working together and we both know better than this.”
“Everybody goes off the clock sooner or later.”
“Not me.” She couldn’t afford to; he’d just graphically demonstrated that to her. “We’ve got a job to do here. This was a slip, nothing more. Now take me back, please.”
Gabe stared at her for a long moment. “All right,” he said finally. “I’ll take you to the hotel. But you and I both know there’s only so far back we can go.”
Chapter Nine
Gabe crammed his head deeper into the stylish ash electronics cabinet and cursed. He’d been waiting all week to set up his new home theater system. Too bad he hadn’t been thinking straight enough to read the directions before he’d started putting the components of his surround sound system in place.
Of course, his thinking process had been a bit derailed ever since the sleigh ride with Hadley Stone. The frustrating thing was that she was right, they had no business getting involved in a physical relationship, and yet for chrissakes, if they were adults and both interested, why shouldn’t they?
Wanting her was becoming a constant companion to his waking hours. She’d drawn the lines cleanly, but increasingly he had the urge to just walk right over them. In the light of day he’d debated whether to go find her. Instead, he’d decided to give them both a chance to think.
Which was why he was currently half twisted inside his stereo cabinet doing a lame-ass job setting up his home theater system. With one final attempt, he managed to make the connection. When he punched the on button, the display glowed blue and the system whirred. It was a matter of putting things together in the right order, making sure all the connections were complete before he tried to turn things on.
With Hadley, it meant letting her make the connections she needed, giving her the time. He could be patient when it was warranted, when the result was important enough.
And Hadley, he was realizing, was nothing if not important.
He put in a DVD and flopped back down on his couch with the remote to program the system. When the phone rang, he picked up the receiver without looking. “Hello?”
“Hello? Hello? Is that all you can say to the man who just won the freaking downhill at the Innsbruck Invitational?”
Gabe grinned at J. J. Cooper’s voice. “Put the man who just won the Innsbruck Invitational on the line, because he’s got to sound like less of a goofball than you.”
“I deserve more respect than that.”
“You want respect from someone who watched you eat paste?”
“It was high quality paste.”
“Paste is paste. So you won it, huh?”
“I seriously kicked ass. Beat Bremer by two tenths of a second. The World Cup is just a matter of time.”
“J. J. Cooper, man of destiny?”
“You know it, man. So what do you want? I had to climb off the rest of the team’s shoulders and put down my champagne just to come up and call you.”
“What a guy. It’s not true all those things they say about you.” Gabe squinted at the screen and used the remote to set the clock on his new system. “You going to be here at Christmas?”
“Why, you looking to lose some money at poker?”
“The way I remember it, I was the one who whipped your butt last time, Snow White.”
“I felt sorry for you. Yeah, I’m going to be home. Why?”
Gabe set aside the remote. “Remember the day we were skiing Crawford Notch and talking about what we’d change if we could? What would you say about really having the chance to do it?”
There was a pause while J.J. digested the information. “What, did you get a job running the resort?”
“Not exactly. We’re putting out some feelers to buy it and I need to have a big name to dangle in front of the money men.”
“And you want mine.”
“Only if you’re interested in the job.”
“Who the hell wants a job?”
Gabe leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “We’re not talking full time or even half time here. We wouldn’t even bug you in winter unless you happened to be around.”
“Don’t count on it. So what would I have to do?”
“Nothing you couldn’t handle. We’d pay you for information and endorsement, pure and simple. What I want is someone who has a good idea what we need to do with the mountain, someone who can work with designers to put in some top snowboarding slopes and upgrade the rest. If you can be around occasionally to spread a little stardust, great. We’ll definitely want to use your name in marketing materials.” Gabe waited. J.J. wouldn’t jump in without thinking, but when he gave his word it stuck.
“How much time are we talking about?” J.J. asked finally.
“Maybe five or six weeks’ worth all told, spread throughout the year. Meetings, mostly, maybe some autograph signing if you’re up for it, some photographs.”
“My agent would want to get involved.”
“First, you’ve got to decide if you want to be involved.” Gabe settled back. “I’m not looking for an answer today. Give it some thought. When you hit town, we can talk it over.”
�
�Fair enough.”
“I’m a fair guy. Now go back to your blondes and champagne. Have a few for me.”
“The blondes or the champagne?”
Gabe considered. “Champagne.” He had a blonde of his own.
Saturday. Hadley’s first day off in a week. The last thing she wanted to do was drive all the way down to Boston for a pair of Louis Vuitton bags that her sisters would use maybe three or four times before they went on to something else. There, the Internet certainly had its appeal. But she had shopping to do for her parents, as well, and she believed in the minimum grief theorem—the easiest way to make sure she got everyone things that they would like and on time was to make the drive.
Besides, it would get her mind off of Gabe Trask.
Hadley stepped into the lobby, nodding at Lester.
“Morning, Ms. Stone.”
She gave him a mock frown. “Hadley, remember?”
“Hadley, then,” he said, giving her a jaunty little salute. “Have yourself a fine day.”
“I’ll try,” she promised, crossing her fingers that Gabe wasn’t around. She could do without running into him, thanks. The night before was still too fresh in her mind. But she couldn’t very well go storming off like an insulted virgin. After all, she’d been there, too. She just needed to…chill, she decided. Put it in a box marked D for done.
She was good at that.
Crossing the lobby, she stopped at the front desk. “How’s everything going this morning, Bill?” she asked the clerk.
“Fine.”
“All the events going smoothly?”
“Fine,” he said again. Respectful, polite, nothing she could put her finger on. So why was it she could feel the chill coming off him? Tina, Hadley thought, had clearly been talking.
“I need to get down to Boston. Can you help me with that? The concierge doesn’t seem to be around.”
He frowned. “We don’t really have any maps.” He dug around and handed her a brochure for the hotel. “Here are directions from Boston. To get there, I assume you just reverse them.”
From 93 north… The next best thing to useless. “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.” Bill gave her a thin smile that didn’t reach his eyes, and walked off.
Hadley pushed down a little surge of annoyance and turned away.
“Wait, don’t go.” Angie hurried out. “I can help.”
Angie, Hadley thought in gratitude, had decided to trust her.
“I heard you asking about Boston. Hank’s brother lives in the ‘burbs so we go there pretty often. Where do you need to go?”
“Someplace called Copley Plaza?”
“That’s a piece of cake. Here, let me draw you a map.” She pulled out a piece of paper. “It’s a beautiful day for a drive,” she said as she sketched.
“So how are you?” Hadley took a closer look at the dark circles under Angie’s eyes. “You look like you haven’t been getting much sleep.”
“Trot took his name literally last night. He kept me awake for hours.”
“You’re almost there, though, right? Only a couple weeks more?”
Angie looked up. “Three, and trust me, I am counting them. Of course, then the fun’s just starting.” Her eyes glimmered.
“Oh, you’ll be a great mom. Is everything all set?”
“I’m working on it.” Angie laid down the pen and pressed her hands into the small of her back with a sigh. “I have a few more things to get but it means going to Stowe and I don’t like to drive that far at this point.”
“Give me your list,” Hadley said impulsively. “I’m going shopping today, anyway.”
“That’s really sweet of you, but please don’t bother. Hank’s back soon. I’ll get him to take me next week.”
“He’s on a business trip?”
“Sort of. He’s a trucker. He’s got a regular run to the West Coast.”
A hard arrangement for a couple expecting a child. “He must be gone for a long time.”
“Yeah, but he gets four days off between trips. He’ll be back Monday. I can’t wait.”
“Make sure he doesn’t make a mistake and wind up in Albuquerque on your due date.”
Angie laughed. “Oh, we’ve got it all arranged. He’s taking a long vacation the week before I’m due so we’ve got time to get everything all set. Now if I could just get a good night’s sleep, I’d be great.” She slid the paper across to Hadley. “Anyway, here’s your map. You just follow it in to the T—the subway,” she elaborated, “and take it in to Copley. Everything’s really well marked. You shouldn’t have any trouble.”
“Angie?” Tina poked her head out of the back office. “When you’re done talking with Ms. Stone, the advance registration needs to be done for this afternoon’s check-ins.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Angie gave a helpless shrug.
“Well, I’ll let you go,” Hadley said. “Thanks for the help. Are you sure there’s nothing I can get for you?”
Angie looked down at the mound of her belly. “A new body?”
“You’re going to have one in just a couple of weeks.”
“That’s right, I am.” And a smile spread over Angie’s face like sunlight.
Angie had been right, the day was beautiful, Hadley thought as she headed down the highway. The mountains rolled along beside her, blanketed in snow and a bristly covering of pines. She glanced at her dash clock. Nearly nine. Robert would have finished his Saturday morning tennis game and be set up in his home office. On impulse, she picked up her cell phone and pressed his speed dial number.
“Yes?” His answer was terse, as always.
“It’s Hadley.”
“I got your memo.” Not “how are you?” Not “how has your week been?” He was her boss first and her father last.
“About that memo,” she began. “You might as well toss it. That was provisionary, before I completed a real assessment.”
“I don’t know, it looked pretty complete. Certainly your recommendations are consistent with my expectations.”
Just her luck. When she liked a strategy, he usually wanted her to change it. This time she wanted to change and he was trying to hold her to it. “Now that I’ve got a better feel for the place, I’m considering some different options. I’ll be sending you something more detailed in a week or two, once I’ve really looked around. The place is in better shape than it appeared at first glance.”
“Just needs someone to run it properly, it sounds like.”
She changed lanes to pass a slow-moving truck. “I think Gabriel Trask is the right person to run the hotel. He understands the revenue stream. He’s also come up with some good, innovative ideas.”
“Innovative ideas usually cost money.”
“Innovative ideas also have a way of making money.”
“I’m not looking for you to reinvent anything up there, and I don’t want any five- or ten-year plans,” he said brusquely. “I just want cuts, pure and simple. You’ve got your targets.”
“Trust me, they’re taped to the wall just like you always taught me.”
“The first step to achieving a goal is knowing what it is.”
Robert Stone lecture #541. “Of course,” she said wearily.
“Speaking of goals, I understand Eliot Ketchum is running into some resistance at Becheron.”
Hadley’s hands tightened on the wheel. “Upper management can be a bit touchy. He probably went in a little too strong. I tried to warn him but he didn’t want to hear it.”
“Coddling management is never a good idea.”
Lecture #542. “That’s what Eliot said when he called.”
“So I understand. I also understand you were not helpful.”
“I assumed you pulled me from the project because you wanted a different management style. I’ve been trying to stay out of the way.” She didn’t add that she’d guessed Ketchum would make his share of enemies.
“I expected you to be professional enough to pass over the r
eins in an effective manner.”
It was that, finally, that got to her. “I spent nearly three months passing over the reins. There’s a point where I have to let go, isn’t there?” She found herself running up way too fast on the car ahead of her. Consciously, she eased her foot off the accelerator. “I’m responsible for targets here,” she added more moderately. “I need to focus on this operation.”
Robert considered. “We’ll leave it for now, but I expect you to be available to Eliot on a consulting basis.”
Hadley bit back a sigh. “All right.”
“Was there anything else?”
“No,” she said.
“Good. Then I—”
“Yes.” The word was out before she knew she was going to say it. “I saw a picture of you at the hotel. It’s you and Grandmother and Whit, on the front lawn.”
“What about it?” Robert’s voice dropped several degrees toward icy.
“You were about three years old. I thought you told me they separated when you were a baby.”
“They did.”
She thought of the chubby toddler, grinning in his overalls as he stood at his father’s feet. “But you were together.”
“It must have been someone else,” he said coldly.
“No. It’s you and Grandmother. She looks happy. So do you.”
“What do you want, Hadley?”
“I don’t understand. The way the people around here talk about him it’s like they knew a totally different person, and they all have good things to say. It doesn’t fit.”
“Of course they say good things. You’re a relative.”
“Didn’t you ever wonder what he was like?” she persisted, heedless of the warning tone in Robert’s voice. “Didn’t you ever think about patching things up?”
“No, I did not. I didn’t see the point. And I’m not sure I see the point of this discussion.”
“I just wish I’d known him, that’s all,” she said softly.
This time there was no reply. The silence stretched out for long moments. Finally, her father sighed. “Is there anything more, Hadley? I have work to get done here.”
Under The Mistletoe (Holiday Hearts #2) Page 11