“Okay,” I said. “I’m in. Let’s do it.”
Katie clapped excitedly and hugged me. “Awesome!”
Now I just had to hope it worked. One way or another, this was going to end up being a very interesting vacation.
Ella
Graystone Lodge looked more or less exactly like it had in the brochures: in a word, impressive. It was a huge ski lodge and hotel nestled into a secluded little section of the Rockies, all old stone and stretching timber. The flight hadn’t been bad—I’d managed to read most of the way here despite Katie’s constant attempts to draw me into conversation and Matt snoring loudly behind us.
We checked in with our bags and were led to our rooms by a uniformed bellhop who pointed out the best ski slopes in the windows we passed by. Katie and I got our own room, and Matt was assigned the one right next to us. He’d be sharing it with Nick once he arrived. The idea of sleeping in a room right next to Nick made me feel warm and fuzzy, and a little nervous too. I wondered what he wore to bed, and then I blushed at myself for even having it cross my mind.
“Whatcha thinking about, dreamy?” Katie flashed a knowing grin at me. I blushed harder, realizing I’d lapsed off into my thoughts while holding the key card to our room. The bellhop was moving on with Matt and our parents, showing them into their own rooms.
“Nothing,” I said. “Let’s unpack.” I ignored Katie’s smirk and popped the card into the slot. Our room was way nicer than I’d expected. Two twin beds, an enormous television, and a plate-glass view of the mountains.
Katie whistled softly. “Wow. The parents pulled out all the stops for this trip. I guess they’re really going to miss us next year, huh?”
I nodded. “One last big family trip before the nest empties out.” I walked in and dropped my suitcase next to the bed nearest the door. Then I stiffened. I hadn’t noticed the fireplace until I was actually in the room. The blaze roared. Flames danced behind glass, twisting and curling. I stood frozen, feeling like someone had clamped a vise on my lungs.
Then the flames abruptly flickered out. I shook my head and saw Katie frowning at me from across the room. She had her finger on a switch on the wall. “Sorry, Ella,” she said. “They should have told us there was a fireplace. It’s gas, though. Easy off.”
“It’s okay,” I said quietly, but my hands shook while I sat down on the bed. Ever since the accident, fire had both frightened and entranced me. It seemed like a bad sign. Logically, I knew it didn’t mean anything. But when your whole family dies in a fire, you tend to have some negative associations with flames. Memories swirled like ashes floating in the air, but I forced myself to push them aside. Katie came to sit next to me and put her arm around me.
“No, really,” I insisted. I forced myself to smile. I was being silly. “You’re right. We’ll just leave it turned off.”
She nodded, brightening. “Hey! You wanna go get a latte? I saw that they have an awesome little coffee bar downstairs.”
This time I didn’t have to force the smile. If there was one thing that never failed to cheer me up, it was a large hazelnut latte, extra warm. “Sure. I can unpack later.”
We headed back down to the lobby to get our coffee, and I tried to put all bad thoughts out of my head. I was here to relax with my family, to ski, and to see Nick. Seeing the fire didn’t have to mean anything. Every room in the hotel probably had them, and I sure wasn’t going to ruin my trip by letting a stupid fireplace sour my good mood.
The barista at the coffee bar cheerfully took our orders and soon served up two deliciously foamy lattes. Katie grabbed them off the counter and passed mine over. Then she shook her hand and blew on it.
“I’ll never understand why you like such hot coffee!” she exclaimed. “How can you even drink it like that?”
I wrapped my hands around both sides of the festive red cup and inhaled deeply, breathing in the rich, mingling smells of espresso and hazelnut. “The warmth feels nice,” I said. “I don’t actually drink it until it cools a little.”
“That’s way too much anticipation for me. I just want to drink my coffee right away.” She sipped her vanilla latte as an example. “You want to go watch the skiers in the lobby for a bit?”
“Sure,” I replied.
We made our way to the huge plate-glass windows in the lobby and stared out at the snow-covered peaks on all sides of us. People of all ages were zig-zagging down the slopes in a variety of brightly colored jackets. The skilled skiers made long graceful cuts in the snow, sending showers of fresh powder off to their sides with each turn, while the snowboarders seemed to be more frantic and daring, slicing frenzied turns and hitting small jumps whenever they could. Then they scrambled over to the lift to ride up and do it all again.
It was already starting to get dark. We wouldn’t be able to hit the slopes until the next day, but watching other people go was getting me excited. I’d never been a great skier, but I still had fun with it. And I was definitely a lot better than I’d been two years ago! It’d be fun to show Nick how much I’d improved.
“Katie? Ella?” a deep voice asked. I startled and turned around at the same time as Katie. Nick stood a few feet away from us, dragging a blue roller-suitcase behind him. My breath caught. He looked so much more mature than the last time I’d seen him. His curly brown hair and deep blue eyes were the same as ever, but his shoulders seemed broader and the strong line of his jaw was covered with a sexy dusting of stubble now.
“Nick!” Katie said. She rushed over for a big hug. He dropped the handle on his suitcase to indulge her.
I followed behind, suddenly timid, but after he released her he swept me up too. I tried to remember to breathe while his muscled arms wrapped around me and pulled me in close, and I had to lift my coffee up so I wouldn’t spill it. He smelled clean and fresh, but also somehow familiar underneath. I wasn’t sure if it was aftershave or cologne, but either way it yanked the butterflies I remembered right back into my stomach.
“Hi Nick,” I managed to say. “How was your flight?”
“Not bad. It’s so good to see you guys,” he said, releasing me. “Gosh, has it really been two years? It feels like longer.” It did feel like longer. I felt a little pang of disappointment that the hug was over so quickly. I could stay nestled in Nick’s shoulder all day.
“We missed you,” Katie said. “Especially Ella.” She coughed and nudged me with her shoulder. I buried my face in my drink so Nick couldn’t see me blushing, but he didn’t seem to notice. He was looking around at the lodge.
“This place is so nice! It was awesome of your parents to let me come.”
“Why wouldn’t they?” Katie said. “You’re practically family at this point. You’re staying with Matt up in 304.”
“Awesome. I can’t wait to hit those slopes tomorrow. I already checked my board in.” He pointed a thoroughly heart-warming smile at me. “You gonna try snowboarding this year, Ella? I’d be happy to show you a few moves on the bunny hill.”
“I, uh… yeah. I thought it’d be fun to try something different.” So much for showing him how much better I’d gotten. I’d never even tried snowboarding before, and if my early experiences with skiing were any kind of guide, there’d be a lot of falling on my face. But if Nick was going to be the one picking me up, maybe a few mouthfuls of snow wouldn’t be so bad.
“Are you coming to dinner with us, Nick?” Katie asked. “Mom said to meet up around six in the restaurant.”
“Sounds great,” he replied, picking up his suitcase again. “I’ll go say hi to Matt and your folks and get settled in. See you two lovely ladies at dinner.” He winked and rolled away, heading for the elevators.
Katie nudged me as soon as he was out of earshot. “You seem a little flustered.”
“I can’t believe you said ‘especially Ella!’ Jeez, Katie.” I whirled on her. “You’re supposed to help me, you jerk. Not tease me.” The words didn’t have any real heat behind them, and we both started giggling.
; “Is it just me or has college been really good to him?” Katie asked. “He looks great.”
“Uh, yeah. I’m not sure I can do this anymore. He’s like, way way out of my league.” The butterflies had started doing complicated loops and zig zag patterns as soon as I remembered that Katie was supposed to be helping me confess my super-secret crush to him. It didn’t seem like a very good idea anymore now that we were actually here.
“No way!” Katie said. “I’m not letting you get out of this that easily. Trust me. He likes you. You should have seen the stupid smile plastered on his face when he hugged you. You need to tell him you’re into him!”
“But he’s a family friend,” I said.
“And?”
“And we’re stuck here all week with him.”
“So?”
“So what if he feels uncomfortable with the idea of dating his best friend’s little sister? This could get really uncomfortable.”
“You’re looking at this all wrong,” Katie insisted, shaking her head. “If it doesn’t go your way, then you head off to college and do your own thing. Whatever. Maybe you see him on holidays once in a while. You’ll laugh it off years from now! But what if the feeling is mutual, and he hasn’t made a move because he’s afraid of making it awkward just like you are, and this ends up being the best trip ever once you tell him you like him?” She took a sip of her vanilla latte and nudged me again. “Think about it.”
I did think about it. I thought about it for the rest of the afternoon and all through dinner. He sat at the other end of the table by Matt, laughing and sharing stories about college and football, looking adorably handsome. I picked at my food and hardly ate anything. Katie’s argument had a kind of weird, twisted logic to it. This was definitely the last time I’d see Nick in person before summer, and if it didn’t work out, I could just avoid him by sticking to different ski slopes. But if it did work out, it could end up being a really magical week. Maybe some girls wouldn’t take the risk, but I’d always had a weird sort of courage. I wasn’t afraid to go after what I wanted when I really wanted it. I just needed to wait for the right time to get him alone and talk to him.
After dinner was over, we all headed back up to our rooms. Mr. and Mrs. Denton turned in for the night, but Katie and I lingered in Nick and Matt’s room, making conversation and catching up. Nick and Matt talked more about football and answered all the questions Katie had about college next year, but I could tell Katie was looking for a way to get me alone with Nick. I was still really nervous. I tried to smile a lot to make up for my lack of talking.
“All right,” Matt finally said. “I’m exhausted. You two should turn in.” He flopped back onto his bed dramatically and stifled a yawn.
“What are you talking about?” Katie asked. “It’s only 9 o’clock. You’re like an old man.” She threw one of Nick’s pillows at him, but Matt expertly caught it and tucked it behind his head.
“Thanks for the assist, sis. It’s 11 o’clock our time. Jet lag is a real thing,” Matt said, settling back against his downy pillow pile.
“I’ve got to agree with the girls, man,” Nick protested. “How often do we all get to see each other? I want to stay up for a while.”
My heart started beating a little faster. Was Nick looking for a way to spend more time with me too? But it was better not to get my hopes up…
“You all do what you want, but I’m gonna be up early before everyone packs the powder down.” Matt rolled onto his side and pulled the covers over his head. “Just don’t keep me awake.”
I shared a glance with Katie and Nick. Nick shrugged. “Did you two bring swim suits?” he asked. “We could check out the hot tub.”
Katie lit up. “Yeah, we sure did! Right Ella?”
I made a strangled noise and nodded. The hot tub. Nick wanted to get half-naked and climb into a hot tub with us. The butterflies that had quieted over the last few hours fluttered back with a vengeance. I was suddenly thankful that Katie had forced me to pack my cutest swimsuit when I hadn’t even wanted to bring one.
She pulled me off the bed with her as she rose. “Go ahead and get changed, Nick,” she said. “We’ll meet you in the hallway in a second.”
As I followed her into our bedroom, Katie was practically squealing with excitement. “This is your chance, Ella! What could be more romantic than the two of you alone in a hot tub?”
“Wait, what?” I asked. “You aren’t coming?”
“Of course not. I’ll just say I’m not feeling well and you can go down together.” She grinned at me. “It’s perfect. Trust me.”
I swallowed nervously. This had gotten really real, really fast. But Katie wasn’t giving me any time to hesitate. She fished my black bikini swimsuit out of my suitcase and shoved me into the bathroom with it. I clasped the pieces anxiously and stared at the cutesy detailing of the little pink stitching on the edges, trying to convince myself that I’d look okay in it. I hated wearing swimsuits.
“Hurry up,” Katie urged, tapping her foot outside the door. “He’s waiting for you.”
“I changed my mind,” I protested. “It’s not even swimsuit season. I look awful. And he’s going to think I’m stupid.”
“At least put it on and let me see!”
I sighed, quickly changed, and then edged out in the one pair of flip-flops I had, clutching the edges of a white bath towel I’d wrapped around myself.
“Gorgeous,” Katie declared with a smile.
“I can’t do this.” My nerve had suddenly decided to abandon me now that the prospect of actually getting into a hot tub with Nick was real.
Katie rolled her eyes. “Oh, shush. We don’t have time for a proper pep talk, but you’re beautiful, you can totally do this, and remember: he’s obviously already into you. Otherwise he would have gone to bed along with Matt.”
It did kind of make sense, but I still wasn’t sure about the whole thing. Then someone knocked on our door.
“Are you two just about ready?” It was Nick’s voice. “It’s chilly out here.”
My pulse spiked and I started shaking my head, but before I could protest, Katie yanked open the door, thrust a room key into my hands, and pushed me out. “Hey Nick,” she said. “I’m actually not feeling great, but Ella will go with you. Have fun!”
The door slammed behind me. Nick stood in front of me wearing a tight-fitting t-shirt and a pair of swim trunks, a towel slung over his shoulder. He stared at the closed door with a confused expression, but then shrugged and smiled at me. He stuck his arm out, waiting for me to take it. My knees turned to jello.
“Hey,” he said. “Shall we?”
Ella
I tried to limit the amount of swooning I was doing while Nick escorted me down to the lodge’s spa. I kept telling myself I was being silly. I’d known him forever. I’d touched him lots of times. But somehow the rock-hard bicep my fingers wrapped around also had the property of robbing me of intelligent thought and coherent speech. When had he gotten so strong? I tried to think of something interesting to say but kept getting distracted by mental images of Nick working out in the gym.
The pool area was empty, so we had the hot tub all to ourselves. Apparently nobody came to a ski lodge to swim. Nick fuddled with the controls a little bit and got the bubbles going. Then he pulled his shirt over his head and dropped it on the ground.
My jaw dropped halfway open and a little sigh escaped. His chest and abs looked like someone had carved them out of marble. Whatever Nick was doing in the gym, it was working for him. He stepped out of his sandals and slid into the hot tub, lean muscles rippling.
“Wow. The water is really warm,” he said. “Are you coming in?”
He smiled at me, and I dropped my eyes, cheeks burning. I realized it was my turn and got all fluttery. I’m totally not usually one of those girls with self confidence issues. I love my body. But I suddenly found myself making a mental checklist of every little thing wrong with me. Fair was fair, though, and it wasn’t like I co
uld back out now.
I dropped the towel and kicked off my flip-flops, trying to pretend I was as cool and self-confident as I wished I was. I could feel Nick’s eyes on me as I lowered myself carefully into the scalding water, relieved that I could hide under the foamy churn. The bubbles swirled around me and massaged my skin. The warmth began to spread through my body. I closed my eyes, leaned my head back against the rim, and sighed. Nick had been right about how hot it was, but rather than bothering me it relaxed me.
I opened my eyes again to find him staring at me with a strange expression on his face. Was he nervous, now? I couldn’t imagine it. But I found myself smiling at him playfully just the same.
“It’s good to see you,” he said. He cleared his throat. “I can’t believe how grown up you look.”
“Thanks,” I replied, suddenly embarrassed. I wasn’t sure what he meant by that. “You do too. I mean, I can’t believe how grown up you look too.”
Smooth, Ella. Keep it together. It’s just Nick. The same sweet Nick I grew up with, even if he was a lot hotter than I remembered.
“It seems like just yesterday that we were hanging out in Matt’s tree fort,” Nick said. “Do you remember how Katie used to make us all play house together?”
The memory made me smile. “Sort of. I remember you trying to humor her while Matt told us the whole thing was stupid, and that girl games weren’t allowed in the tree fort.”
Nick started laughing. “Oh, yeah. And then there was that terrible time you fell out of it! God, I was so worried about you.”
“Yeah, I sure remember that,” I muttered. That was how I’d broken my leg. “But at least you kept me company while it healed. It would have been a pretty lonely summer otherwise.”
Flame Kissed (Seeking the Dragon Book 1) Page 2