A Little Secret About Love

by Karice Bolton

  Everything about Dina was that way.

  He mindlessly stirred the egg and milk mixture a couple more times before pouring the first omelet into the skillet of butter. He honestly didn’t know what to do with her next. He wanted to explore the possibility of more with her, but he certainly didn’t want to hurt her. He knew it was a long shot for him to be able to step away from work long enough to make any relationship work, but for once, he was willing to try.

  But the one thing that kept churning through his head all night was Dina’s comments about this being a one-night stand.

  Was that really how she saw this? It would make sense considering his reputation, but they weren’t two complete strangers never destined to see each other again.

  There had to have been something more driving her to want to sleep with him.

  Right?

  He took a sip of orange juice and flipped the first omelet just as Dina padded into the kitchen. Her dark hair was in a tangled mess, and she wore nothing more than an oversized t-shirt, and he immediately wanted to scrap breakfast and get her back into bed.

  “Breakfast? For me?” She smiled and came over to the stove as he scooped the omelet mixture from the pan.

  He expected her to maybe kiss him or touch him, but she stood a few inches back, admiring the food he was making.

  “I thought since we never quite got to dinner last night, it was the least I could do.” He grinned and handed her the first omelet after putting the sausage and pancakes on the plate.

  “I’m starving.” She took the plate and sat down at the kitchen table as he dished his own and made his way over. “I don’t think I’ve ever burned that many calories in a twelve-hour period before.”

  Sam laughed and took a bite of pancake.

  “That makes two of us.”

  Dina narrowed her eyes on him. “Again, I find that hard to believe.”

  “Be that as it may.” He shrugged his shoulders and grinned, taking her in.

  She was beautiful, charming, and certainly had no plans for letting him off the hook.

  “Well, this town must be my good luck charm. Overnight, somehow every single consultation time got booked out for the next four weeks. I woke up this morning and all the slots were filled online.” She took a bite of the omelet and moaned. “Incredible.”

  “Hey, how do you know I’m not the good luck charm?”

  Dina giggled and took another bite of omelet.

  “I suppose it could be you.” She sat back in the chair and closed her eyes.

  She looked so refreshed and happy.

  “Do you have any plans on Saturday?” he asked and her eyes blinked open.

  She shifted in her seat and took another bite of breakfast. “I’ve never had a schedule this booked, so I’m not actually sure I am free. If these consults turn into something…”

  Sam cocked his head slightly and nodded in silence.

  “I kind of feel like I better take advantage of this since it’s all coming my way at once.”

  “Totally get it.” Sam’s chest tightened, and the truth of it was, he totally did get it. He’d made his career a priority since he got out of college. Now was her chance to shine and he had no plans to get in the way. “I’m only a phone call away.”

  “I bet you are.” She wiggled her brows and took another bite of pancake, and he knew she had no intention of making that call.

  Chapter Ten

  Dina had done a pretty good job of pretending that Sam North hadn’t just rocked her world, but the truth of it was not only had he rocked it, he threw it off its axis, and she’d been hard pressed to think about much else since. Not to mention, her muscles had been extremely sore for days after their encounter, and she was pretty certain it had nothing to do with her ski lesson.

  She also never expected her business to take off the way it had. The morning after she’d slept with Sam was only the beginning. As of this morning, all her consult times had been booked straight through December, and eighty percent of the brides she’d already met with had booked her for their weddings. She even had one bride change her wedding date so Dina could do her wedding gown and bridesmaid dresses.

  It had been two weeks since she’d been with Sam, and she hadn’t managed to see him since, and it wasn’t for his lack of trying. She actually felt really bad. He’d stopped by for lunch several times, and each time, she’d been with a bride. He’d popped up after work, only her workday was still going strong.

  She couldn’t tell if he believed her completely about how busy she was, but it was the truth. Dina hadn’t even seen Autumn since the grand opening of her store. She’d texted a few times, but that was about it. She secretly hoped Autumn had passed that tidbit on to Sam so Dina seemed more credible, but she didn’t know if that had happened.

  The only downside to all this new business was how exhausted she’d become. It didn’t matter if she slept straight from 9pm until 7am, she woke up ready to go back to bed.

  The only reason she had a spare minute this morning was because one of her brides was running late and had to switch her morning appointment to the afternoon, and Autumn just happened to promise a cup full of caffeine for a quick break this morning to catch up.

  Dina had just finished cutting silk Georgette and was admiring the crepe appearance when Autumn popped into the workroom with two large vanilla lattes in hand.

  “I can’t believe you’ve been hiding out for so long,” Autumn said, handing one of the coffees over to Dina, who took a long swallow.

  “I can’t believe my orders have exploded like they have.” She pulled out a stool for Autumn and one for herself and took a seat. “I can’t figure it out. I haven’t increased my marketing or anything. I didn’t see any write-ups so I really have no idea what’s going on, but I’ll take it.”

  “Exactly.” Autumn nodded. “Ride that wave.”

  Dina nodded in agreement and took another sip. “But I’m completely pooped.”

  “Speaking of, do you think you might need an extra hand?”

  “Why?”

  “Our neighbor’s son is looking for an internship. He just graduated with a BFA in Fashion Design.”

  “Really?” Dina’s brow arched. “And he lives in Silver Ridge?”

  “Just down the street from us. His girlfriend is still in school so he decided to move back home to save money and see where they both might land, but in the meantime…”

  “You don’t think he’d mind being wrapped in tulle all day?” Dina laughed.

  “I think that’s his goal, actually.” Autumn smiled. “He’s a good kid. Well, I probably shouldn’t call him a kid. He’s twenty-two.”

  She reached into her purse and pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to Dina.

  “His resume.” Autumn smiled. “He was actually going to come visit with it, but I told him I’d broach the idea first since I knew you were up to your eyeballs.”

  “I hadn’t really thought about employing anyone else…” Dina’s voice trailed off.

  She knew she was swamped for the next few months, but she hated to make promises to an employee if the orders died down.

  “I get it.” Autumn nodded. “But an internship might be a great way to get some extra hands with no long-term commitment.”

  “That is a good point.” Dina smiled and looked over the resume for Anton Saliando. “Well, he certainly has a name for fashion design.”

  “Isn’t it pretty?” Autumn agreed, pulling another folder out of her purse. “And here is a small portfolio with some of his work.”

  Dina laughed. “How long have you two been planning this?”

  “Since you unpacked your first box.” She grinned mischievously as Dina began flipping through the pages.

  “He does really beautiful work.”

  “And I know he’d love to learn more about the business side of things.”

  Dina drew in a deep breath and nodded slowly. “I think this is the perfect solution. I’ll call him tonight.” />
  “Do you think you might be able to call Sam tonight too?” Autumn scooted her stool closer to Dina.

  “Sam?”

  “Yeah, you know the guy you slept with and then proceeded to break his heart?” Autumn chuckled.

  “Who said I slept with him?” Dina asked, raising both brows. “And who said he has a heart?”

  “That’s cold.” Autumn shook her head, laughing. “Seriously though.”

  “Well, I never expected to wake up the morning after and be inundated with work, and second of all, I knew better than to go into sleeping with Sam North expecting something beyond a fling.” She cleared her throat and shifted on the stool. “It’s not like I’m trying to avoid him. In fact, he’s even stopped by.”

  “To only have you chase him away.”

  “Please.” She wondered if this really was how Sam felt about things after they’d slept together, or if this analogy was just her hopelessly romantic friend’s version of events. “I didn’t ever chase him away. He simply happened to appear when I had clients during the day or was trying to finish an order at night.”

  “Whatever you say,” Autumn hummed and took another sip of her drink.

  “I haven’t even seen you for weeks and you’re my bestie.”

  “True.”

  The chime sounded from the front and Dina threw Autumn an apologetic smile as she hopped off her stool.

  “Duty calls.”

  “Of course.” Autumn shooed Dina toward the shop and stayed behind to finish her latte.

  As Dina made her way into the bridal shop, she scanned the place for any sign of life and nearly dropped dead in her tracks when she saw it.

  Her three-time ex-fiancé, Dominque Tailtin, was standing in her shop with two suitcases behind him. He turned around to see her just as she let out a strangled gasp.

  “What are you doing here?” she choked out, unable to meet his gaze.

  “This weekend marks a year since we broke up and—”

  “We didn’t break up,” Dina corrected. “You left me at the altar for the third time.”

  “I didn’t leave you at the altar. I told you the afternoon of the ceremony.”

  “When I was already at the church in my gown, getting my makeup done. The guests had already started arriving.” She brought her gaze to meet his and nothing but fury churned through her veins.

  “It wasn’t that bad.”

  “Yeah, actually it was.” Her gaze dropped to his suitcases before she brought it back to his. “So why are you here?”

  “When I heard where you moved, I knew it was a sign.” He took a step forward, and her entire body flinched with repulsion. What had she ever seen in this guy?

  “A sign?” She folded her arms and shifted her weight onto one foot. “How so?”

  “I’m a ski instructor. You moved to a ski resort…”

  “I don’t see the connection considering we haven’t spoken in a year.” Dina’s pulse was pounding so hard, she could feel the throbbing in her ears. She really didn’t need to deal with this at the moment, but here the Dom was in all his pathetic glory.

  “We just never wanted to see it before.” He took another step forward. “But destiny keeps calling.”

  Dina couldn’t help but strangle out a laugh. The one thing about Dom was that he’d always been a dreamer, a fantasizer, really. Maybe bordering more on the side of delusion than dream…

  “Well, I don’t see how my living in Silver Ridge and you teaching in Lake Tahoe have anything to do with one another.”

  And that’s when the thought occurred to Dina. He must have lost his job. This was about the time he started scrambling to find roommates up at the resort because whatever room he’d probably been renting over the summer had come to an end.

  A sick feeling sat in the pit of her belly as Autumn came up behind her.

  “Dom, what in God’s name are you doing here?” Disdain dripped from each word that left Autumn’s mouth, and for that, Dina was grateful.

  “It’s been a year and I miss—”

  “Yeah, yeah. I heard all that.” Autumn flung her hand in the air. “But one thing I noticed is that since you got here, it’s been all about you. I don’t think I’ve heard you congratulate Dina once about what a fabulous job she’s done on her new venture.”

  Dom smoothed his hand over his dishwater blond hair and glanced around the store. “I was getting to that. I didn’t have a chance to—”

  “Nice try,” Autumn interrupted, and Dina held in a chuckle.

  Right when Dina didn’t think it could get any worse, the door chimed and in walked Sam North holding a vase of beautiful pink tulips.

  The air in the room stilled as Dom stared at Sam, who stared at Dom and his suitcases.

  “Am I interrupting something?” Sam asked, closing the door behind him.

  “No. Dom was just leaving. Weren’t you?” Dina cocked her head and stared at her ex-fiancé with a new set of eyes.

  “I wasn’t planning on it.” Dom straightened up and gave Sam the once over.

  Sam set the vase of tulips on the counter and walked over to Dina. “I thought with all the stress you’ve been under, these tulips might brighten your day.”

  He placed a quick kiss on her cheek, which only made her thoughts drift back to that night, even though Dom was only ten feet away.

  “Thank you.” She touched his hand and felt the spark run between them, but she saw the questioning look behind Sam’s gaze.

  “Sam, this is Dom.” Dina cleared her throat. “One of my ex-fiancés three times over.”

  Sam’s jaw twitched and he took two strides to get over to Dom. “You gave her up three times?”

  “That’s not how—”

  “Is this the guy who couldn’t teach you how to ski?” Sam interrupted Dom and glanced back at Dina, who couldn’t hide her smile.

  “Yeah. That’s him, alright.”

  “Interesting.” Sam studied the man in front of him, trying to figure out what on earth Dina saw in him. He supposed he was good-looking in a ski-bum kind of way, but it certainly wasn’t his personality that was winning any awards. He seemed weak.

  Weak and a bit of a predator.

  “So what’s brought you to town?” Sam asked, folding his arms in front of him.

  “I have an interview.”

  Dina choked out a wheeze as Autumn rubbed her shoulders.

  “Do you? It’s a pretty small town to come to for an interview.”

  “I’m used to small towns. Dina and I always talked about moving to one some—”

  “I assume that was before you left her hanging?” Sam’s brow quirked slightly, and Dina wanted to run over and kiss him.

  She’d never spoken to Sam about the particulars, but having a man stick up for her was really refreshing. She was usually the one having to stick up for herself to her family as to why she was the one at fault for the doomed relationship.

  “That’s not how it went down. Anyway, I don’t know who you are, but I don’t have to explain myself to you.” Dom grabbed his suitcases and began wheeling them to the door. “I’ll catch you later.”

  “Hey, you staying over at Silver Ridge?” Sam asked, his brows pulling together.

  “Yeah. Not that it’s any of your business.” The door swung closed and Sam laughed to himself as he pulled out his cellphone and called the front desk to make some special arrangements.

  “I can’t believe he just showed up like that,” Autumn whispered as Sam was busily taking to one of his employees. “He’s as much of a creep as I remembered.”

  “He’s unemployed so now he thinks he can work his way into my life for the season? Let me guess, he thought I’d welcome him with open arms and invite him to live with me?” She shivered at the thought.

  “He’s an absolute leech.” Autumn shook her head. “He’d suck you dry and be happy about it.”

  “It’s happened before.” She nodded in agreement. “But boy, how things have changed. I finally see
him for who he is, and that is so refreshing.”

  Sam walked over, sliding his cell phone into his jeans, and smiled.

  “You’re certainly full of surprises.”

  “Not on purpose.” Dina shook her head and scowled before looking at the beautiful arrangement. “Thank you for the flowers.”

  “I saw them and thought about you so…” his voice trailed off.

  “Well, I appreciate them. They’ll give me something beautiful to stare at as I’m listening to brides discuss their big day.”

  He nodded and glanced out the window to see Dom crossing the street with his two suitcases.

  “So what was that all about?” He pointed behind him.

  “My best guess is he lost his job and thinks he can sneak his way back into my life and free rent for the ski season while he teaches on your mountain.”

  Sam laughed. “Not gonna happen.”

  “Which part?”

  “Any of it.”

  “I told you I had terrible taste in men, present company excluded.” She smiled and glanced at the pink tulips.

  He laughed. “To be honest I’m starting to question everything I know about myself.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Dina stared at an unwelcome visitor sitting on his suitcases in front of her house. This wasn’t what she needed right now. Finally, after two weeks of coming home after eight or nine, she had finished up early and promised herself a bath and a spaghetti dinner.

  It didn’t help that seeing Dom turned her stomach and made her second-guess the bag of groceries on the backseat.

  It was weird. She was actually kind of embarrassed that she was ever attracted to this man, especially in front of Sam. It probably did make Sam question her taste level or, worse yet, himself.

  She let out a deep, frustrated sigh and turned off her car as Dom stood up from his suitcases and stared at her. She held in a laugh when she realized he was attempting to give her his best version of puppy-dog eyes. The willies swam through her as she thought back to all the times that expression had worked.