Damn. Just my luck.
A surge of jealousy spiked inside him like a dagger in his gut. He didn’t even know this girl, but it pissed him off that some guy had his arm around her. He wanted it to be his arm around her, not that guy’s arm.
This new, unwelcome detail gave him another reason to talk to her. He had to find out if this guy was simply a colleague or if she had somehow managed to bring her boyfriend with her.
So what if he isn’t her boyfriend? She could still have one at home waiting for her. Only one way to find out—talk to her.
A cough from one of the tables near the stage startled him. He jumped a little, his eyes darting quickly around the room. People were staring at him and starting to whisper. They glanced around nervously. How long had it been since he last spoke?
Sweat beaded across his forehead. What was I just saying? He frantically shuffled his papers around on the podium, trying to find his place. What was he supposed to say next?
He tried to swallow but his throat was as dry as if he’d been walking in the Sahara desert for days. Yet the crowd of people looked on, waiting for him to speak again, or at the very least, for him to tell them the speech was over so they could finally eat.
Oh god. Say something. Anything.
“Anyway, enough rambling from me,” he stammered. He still couldn’t find his proper place in the notes. So they wouldn’t get the normal ending, big deal. He had to wrap this up and move on before they realized he’d totally choked. “I hope you all have a great weekend—now let’s eat.”
Nate stepped back from the podium, trying to compose himself before he had to go and mingle with his audience. The clapping started with a trickle as though they didn’t initially realize he was done speaking. He had ended sort of abruptly, but he couldn’t very well continue on speaking when he couldn’t even think straight, let alone find his place on the page. Ending a little early was better than making a fool of himself.
His gaze fell on her again. It seemed her eyes were locked on his as well.
He wanted to go talk to her. No, he needed to go talk to her. He couldn’t believe his good luck. Not only had he found her, now he had an actual excuse to talk to her. Things were definitely getting more interesting this weekend. Now he would get to spend the majority of the workshop getting to know her.
Nate stepped off the stage, intent on going straight toward her. He wanted to know her name, where she’d come from, everything. Unfortunately, as soon as his foot hit the carpet below, he was swarmed with people who had questions needing to be answered.
If only he could walk away so he could talk to her and ignore everyone’s questions, but he couldn’t. It wouldn’t help him get his promotion if he ignored the people he was here to work with.
No, he had to do things in the right order. He would wait and talk to her in a few minutes once he’d dealt with the problems at hand. After he had completed his professional obligations, he’d be free to focus on her and his personal needs.
Nate turned his attention to the woman standing in front of him, who appeared as though she was already waiting for an answer. “Hi, what can I do for you?”
He tried his best to pay attention and answer the questions everyone asked. But it was hard to keep his mind on the question when the girl from the elevator still held his attention in an iron grip. After a few minutes, the people surrounding him thinned, having moved on to get dinner. Only a few lingered near him but they didn’t approach him to ask any questions. He politely excused himself and set off in search of Elevator Girl.
While answering questions, he’d lost track of her, but he knew she must be here somewhere. Dinner had only been served a few minutes ago and there was no way she could have eaten that quickly. Where was she?
He searched the small room for a few more minutes before it became painfully obvious she’d left. An undercurrent of disappointment spread through his body. At least he knew he’d see her again—tomorrow morning at the first team-building exercise on the ski hill. Then finally he’d get a chance to find out her name since he hadn’t been close enough to read her nametag today. Maybe he’d even get a few moments to talk to her away from everyone else.
For now, his curiosity about her would have to simmer in the back of his mind until he was able to find out more about her. He was sure his subconscious would have all kinds of fun with him later, teasing him with the possibilities of what their first real meeting would be like.
His cell phone vibrated in his pocket. The caller display said it was Jim.
Must be checking to see how bad I screwed up the kick-off speech.
“Hey, Jim.”
“Nate, how’s it going over there in chilly Lake Tahoe?”
“It’s going fine. In fact, I just finished my kick-off speech.” Nate walked out of the room to a bench that sat far enough away from the conference room that no one inside would be able to hear him talking. “I actually think it went great.”
“That’s good news. I was wondering how it went for you. So you weren’t nervous giving the speech for me?”
“No, I was fine. I tried not to think about it being any different than when I have to talk to the group to explain workshop activities, and it went great. I think I might even like to do the speech from now on.” Nate laughed at the idea. “You may have just earned yourself some competition this weekend while you’re slacking off at home sick.”
“Nice. I’m not exactly slacking off. You’re lucky I’m not there or I’d kick your ass for that comment. So I guess you aren’t missing me too much. Any interesting people in the workshop this weekend?”
Nate smiled. “Interesting people” was Jim’s way of asking if there were any hot chicks in the bunch. Jim was always on the lookout for a girl to spend the weekend with and it never stopped amazing Nate that at every single workshop, Jim managed to find someone attractive and willing. That’s not to say Nate hadn’t had his fair share of encounters on workshop weekends, but it wasn’t every weekend like it was for Jim. And he never found a girl who struck him as someone he wanted to spend more than one night with, let alone an entire weekend.
That was until now.
Now that he’d met the girl who spoke her mind, he could understand the appeal of having someone to spend time with outside the confines of the workshop. He could use a distraction from the responsibility and importance of this weekend and he couldn’t think of any better way to distract himself than by spending his free time alone with her—preferably in bed. Hopefully more than once.
“There’s one girl.”
“Oh yeah? A real looker?”
Nate remembered the beautiful girl as she blushed in the elevator on their first meeting. Damn she was cute. “Yeah, she’s a looker alright.”
Jim whistled out a breath. “Damn. By the sound of your voice, this girl already has you hooked and it’s only day one. On a ten-scale, how hot is she exactly?”
Nate laughed. “She’s a ten, maybe even an eleven. Scratch that, she’s definitely a fifteen.”
Jim swore under his breath into the phone. It was funny he was upset about missing out on one hot girl when he was with a new one basically every weekend. Besides, Nate knew without a doubt that even if Jim were here, there’s no way he would get one finger on this girl. Nate would break his hand first. Well, not really. But he’d want to. This girl didn’t seem like an average one-night stand type. Any girl who could swear at him and call him hot almost in the same breath had to be different. She had to be too feisty and spirited for a simple one-night stand. Something about her was so appealing.
“It’s good you’re not here,” Nate continued. “You’d just be grouchy the whole weekend since there’s no way I’d let you have this one.”
“Not feeling up to the competition, huh? That’s okay. I’m glad you’re at least getting a chance with this one. I hate seeing your sad, lonely eyes whenever I come back from a date.”
“I’m not sad or lonely, and there wouldn’t be a competition wit
h you here, Jim, because I’m pretty sure she’d still only be into me.” It was strange how confident he felt about the likelihood of being with her. He wasn’t usually like this, but this situation was different.
“Oh really? Well, she must be something special if she’s getting your ass into the game finally. I’ve been trying to make your weekends more fun for years and you always ignore the beauties I send your way. One morning with this girl and she’s already got you running for the bedroom. Damn, I wish I was there to see this.”
“It’s not a game to me. This girl is something else. I wish you could meet her so you’d know what I’m talking about, but I’m glad you’re not going to get the chance. You’ll just have to take my word for it.”
“Just don’t forget you still have to run the workshop while you’re there.” Jim’s voice held a tone of warning. “You’re not usually the one multi-tasking on the weekend and I don’t want to hear you blew the workshop because you were too absorbed with this girl to do your job.”
“Don’t worry about the workshop,” Nate assured him. “I want that promotion.”
Nate was currently stuck doing all the local workshops, which meant that he mostly traveled the West Coast cities. But he was tired of the West Coast and was eager to branch out a little more. Maybe end up on the East Coast for a while, or hopefully, even make it overseas somewhere.
Nate loved being in different cities, meeting different people. And he’d love it if one day he got paid to travel to far off places he’d never been to before but had always wanted to go. Paris, Athens, Berlin—they were all on his list. And the promotion that would be given to one of the guys in his office would get him one step closer to his dream.
“I’m not going to mess up this opportunity to show the bosses I can run the workshop on my own,” Nate said with confidence. “I just hoped I can find a way to get a little time with this girl, too.”
“Well, if you play your cards right, you might be able to do both. But don’t think I’m going to give up the promotion because I have the flu. I’m not out of the running yet.”
“I know you aren’t, which is all the more reason to work my ass off this weekend. Maybe there’s room for both of us to snag a promotion.”
“Listen, I gotta run,” Jim said. “Sounds like you’re in for a good weekend. I expect a recap on Monday when you get back into the office.”
“We’ll see about that. I’m not usually a kiss and tell kind of guy. Talk to you next week.”
Nate hung up the phone. It was very true. There was something about this girl that made him want to put himself out there this weekend instead of hiding in the hotel bar and his room like he usually did.
He had to find a way to talk to her, maybe even get her out to dinner with him. Then, he’d see what happened after that. He wasn’t expecting to jump into bed with the girl like Jim would, but passing the lonely after-workshop hours each day with someone would be a really nice change of pace.
And he had a damn good idea who he wanted that someone to be. Elevator Girl.
Chapter Three
Amelia stood at the bottom of the hill as the peaks of the slopes loomed above her menacingly. There were skiers everywhere, zigzagging across the mountainside like a string of Christmas lights dancing in a snowstorm. Her head swam just watching them. What would she feel like when she was the one zipping down the mountain?
Possibly zipping might be the wrong word. Perhaps moseying would be a more accurate description of her anticipated movement down the mountainside. Hopefully, disastrous wouldn’t be used to describe the trip at any point.
“God help me,” she whispered under her breath. She wondered whom she could thank for the smart idea of having a ski activity be part of the workshop. Probably some jerk sitting behind a desk all day who would never actually have to do the activities he organized.
“Hey good-looking. Ready to head up?” William motioned up to the top of the mountain. He strode over to her in his snowsuit like he didn’t have a care in the world other than looking stylish while on the slopes.
He wore the dark navy snowsuit well too. She had to give him credit for that. She didn’t know how he did it, but William really was too attractive for his own good. If only he wasn’t so cocky, maybe she would be able to give him a chance. Of course, then her friend Melanie would really want details.
“No. I’m not so sure I am ready.” She glanced back over her shoulder to the cozy chalet behind her. A soothing hot chocolate and a fireplace sounded really great right about now.
“Come on.” William tugged on her arm, pulling her toward the chairlift. “You can go up with me. I’ll show you how it’s done.”
“You’ve been on a chairlift before?”
“Yep, plenty of times. How else do you think I learned to ski? I had to get up there somehow.” He trudged through the snow in the direction of the chairlift. “There’s nothing to it. Let’s go.”
Feeling the ache of unease grow in her stomach, she shook her head and followed him despite her better judgment. If she had to go up the hill, it was better to have someone with her rather than having to brave the chairlift alone. At that moment, she was more than a little grateful to have William by her side, especially since he claimed to know how to ski.
He better know what he’s doing.
Amelia struggled to take steps through the snow, her boots too heavy and bulky on her feet for her to walk normally. Instead, she had to steady herself after each step, careful not to fall backward onto her ass—or worse, forward onto her face. Finally reaching the chairlift, William slid onto a seat as it swung around and into position in front of them. He moved as though it were the easiest thing to do.
I can do this.
William reached out a hand to help her and she grasped it tightly, shuffling forward as quickly as her gear would allow. A nervous squeak escaped her mouth as she settled herself onto the seat and it jumped forward, moving quickly up the mountainside. She took a deep breath, hoping to calm her nerves. Maybe this won’t be so bad. She forced herself to smile at William.
“Just like the Ferris Wheel at an amusement park, right?” William asked.
“I don’t actually like the Ferris Wheel, so that’s not exactly a comforting analogy.” Amelia let go of his hand and gripped the edge of the seat instead. It was cold and hard under her hand and made her feel like it might actually be sturdy enough to get her all the way up the mountainside without letting her fall to her death.
She said a little prayer that she’d only have to do this once for the workshop and then she’d be free to spend the rest of the time inside the chalet in the hot tub soaking while everyone else froze outside. That sounded much more appealing than skiing ever would.
“You can snuggle in next to me if you’re scared. I promise I won’t make a move on you—well, unless you ask me nicely.”
She could tell he was only teasing, but she wasn’t in the mood for jokes. He slid across the seat a little so that his thigh brushed against hers. Or at least it would have been if it weren’t for the layers of clothing and ski pants in between them. Still, it was too close for her comfort.
“I’m okay.” She tried to slide away from him, scooting to her side of the chairlift as much as was possible on the small seat. Of course, the closer she got to the side, the more her head swam with the height.
Suddenly, the chairlift stuttered on the track, swinging back and forth enough to make her dizzy. A yelp burst from her chest before she could contain it and William’s hand instantly grabbed onto her leg.
William’s hand squeezed her thigh tightly. Even in the clothes, his grip on her was strong, confident.
This ride just got a lot more interesting…and not in a good way.
Seeing William’s hand on her thigh filled Amelia with a mixture of shock and disgust. She didn’t really want him touching her. Although in reality he wasn’t touching her so much as he was touching her ski pants. Still, it was a little more than she was ready for.
>
She casually tried to readjust in the seat to move a little further from him with the hope that he would remove his hand. Unfortunately, it didn’t work. Instead she patted his hand lightly in an attempt to reassure him she was now okay, even though she really, really wasn’t.
Actually, she was just about as far away from okay as she could be at this moment. Swinging on a metal park bench high above the slopes would never be her idea of fun. She knew instantly that no matter how many times she was forced to ride the chairlift, she would never be relaxed on it. The ride would always be terrifying, just like the stupid Ferris Wheel was.
“It’s okay. I got you,” he said, somehow managing to slide his hand out from under hers. His large fingers enveloped her hand as he gently squeezed it.
It was strange. She hadn’t wanted to hold hands with him—even though she was terrified at the moment, but once his hand held hers, a feeling of warmth and comfort over took her. She no longer had the urge to scoot away from him.
If she was being honest, she had to admit it was nice to have his hand wrapped around hers. Better than she’d imagined it would feel to be this intimate with him. Maybe she’d been wrong not giving him a chance all this time. Maybe he really was a good guy and she had always pushed him away for no reason.
He smiled at her and she couldn’t resist smiling back. It was nice. He was sort of nice, too. Maybe she would survive this weekend after all.
“Thanks,” she said quietly.
“Maybe you can thank me properly later. I can think of a few fun ways I’m sure we’d both enjoy.”
And there it goes—the moment, flying away like a hawk on the prowl. What was once something resembling a nice normal moment between two colleagues, two friends, was now reduced to nothing more than some cocky jerk wishing for a one-night stand.
Bunny Hills and Bikinis Page 3