“Oh please, honey. I insist and it’s my treat.” She tugged me into the shop and looked me up and down once more. “That color doesn’t do much for you either. Here we go,” she said pulling a cream-colored suit from the rack. “That’ll fit and do justice to your creamy complexion.” She shoved the suit at me, vaguely motioning for me to take off my own.
I thought about telling her I wouldn’t undress in the middle of the shop. I thought about marching right out and going back to the shuttle stop. But I didn’t. I don’t know why.
“There, now, isn’t that better? Just look at you. You’ve got more curves than a double black diamond slalom! Now, let’s see about those skis.”
In twenty minutes Tammy and I were back at the shuttle stop, having missed the first shuttle of the day. Mr. Tammy, I mean Dale, was noticeably absent. “Oh, no. Did we lose your husband?”
She shook her head, a smile pulling at her ruby lips. “Dale doesn’t much like skiing,” she said.
“But then why—”
Tammy put her arm around me. “Dale lets me drag him to ski resorts because I’m the type who hates being alone. Then, after I’ve found a worthy ski partner for the trip, he’ll disappear in the lodge and get plastered with the other husbands who don’t ski.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “So I’m your pet snow bunny?”
“Oh, now don’t think of it like that, honey. I’m just someone to go on the lifts with who’ll keep away any creepers. That’s not so bad, right?”
I’d read somewhere that introverts sometimes have one extroverted friend who swooped in and simply pronounced their friendship. Tammy was most certainly an extrovert and while I wasn’t necessary introverted as much as I was intentionally isolated, this seemed to prove the notion. I was also grateful for the company.
I smiled and shook my head. “Not at all. But only if we get drinks afterward.”
Tammy squealed with delight. “Absolutely, honey!”
The shuttle was crowded but that was fine, I was on a Tammy high. We found a seat in the back of the shuttle and were on our way to the lifts.
“Hey,” Tammy poked me in the ribs with an elbow. “See that guy up there, he keeps looking back at you.”
I’d been too wrapped up in the Aspen scenery to notice but followed her gaze to a good-looking guy with a rather sappy smile on his face. “I don’t know. I think he’s drunk,” I said.
“He’s happy, honey. That’s what it looks like if you’re not dead on the inside like us.”
A most indelicate noise left my throat—a scoff. “I am not dead inside, Tammy.”
“No. You’re British, that’s even worse.”
Chapter Six
Jeffrey
I WAS SCARED SHITLESS.
But instead of counting all the ways I might die or permanently maim myself, I focused on the cheery people, the clear mountain air, and all the beautiful Christmas decorations. From my shuttle stop to the next I counted four snowmen, three with carrot noses and one with an icicle nose that looked like a beheading gone wrong, seven Christmas trees lit up with gold and red garland, one couple dressed as his and her elves, and another dressed as Mr. and Mrs. Claus.
When we arrived at the last stop, I honestly didn’t think we could fit any more people on the bus. But the doors opened and before I could tell how everyone managed to shoehorn in, I saw her. My heart stopped as she got on the bus, talking idly to a woman in a neon pink ski suit and not noticing me in the least.
But I noticed her.
Every bit of her. Her golden hair swept to the side, rosy, windblown cheeks and the curves in that suit, good god I could trace the swells of her body for hours.
I pulled my eyes away, boring a hole in my lap when I realized what was happening. My heart thudded in my chest and my throat turned to sand as all the anxiety about throwing myself down a mountain drained away. Nerves about skiing were nothing compared to the sick churning in my stomach over feeling something I’d only ever felt for one other person, something I hadn’t felt in years.
I knew this day would come. I knew I’d eventually find other women attractive again. But I thought it would be a slow climb. I thought I’d dip a toe in and decide when and if I wanted to go further. I did not expect it to crash down on me all at once.
I wasn’t ready for this. The knot in my stomach grew as I thought about all the ways I was dishonoring my late wife. I needed to get out of there but I was stuck, wedged between two ski instructors until we reached the lift. I breathed, I looked at the snow, and I did my best not to look crazy by putting a smile on my face.
I shot a look back at the woman in cream and white to see if maybe it was a fluke, if maybe my mind hadn’t conjured images of stripping the snowsuit off of her, of burying my face between her smooth, creamy breasts, of taking my time getting to know each line and arch of her flesh, of fucking her until she screamed my name.
Shouldn’t have done that.
Should not have looked back. It was not a fluke and now I knew how uncomfortable a rock hard cock was in rented, ill-fitting snow pants.
I breathed. I looked at the snow. I tried not to look crazy.
This was not what I bargained for.
I’d made a third promise to my wife. After promising to keep traveling and keep pushing myself out of my comfort zone, she made me promise to find someone new.
“Never,” I said even before the words left her lips.
“You will,” she said, voice fragile but sure. “You will. You won’t feel ready but that won’t stop you from knowing when it’s time to let someone in again. Promise me you’ll listen. Promise me you’ll keep your heart open for someone new.”
I would have told her anything, promised anything. And I did. I made that promise to Nat fully expecting never to feel anything for another woman. I’d had my great love and it was her. I wasn’t selfish enough to assume I’d ever find it again. But I promised all the same and even if it wasn’t the promise I thought I was making, I’d still keep it. I had to, it was Nat.
Fortunately, getting from the last stop to the lift gave me enough time to get my head on straight. I took a breath and did something I hadn’t done in years.
You were right. You’d said I’d know I and do. But I’m not pushing it. Whatever happens, happens, that’s it. Deal?
In the very early days of losing Nat, I’d talk to her. It helped. I hadn’t done it for the longest time but this seemed appropriate, like something she’d want to know.
And that was that. The rock in my stomach dissolved as I made the choice not to do anything. I wouldn’t pursue the woman in cream. I wouldn’t try to strike up a conversation. If we were supposed to happen, then we would. I washed my hands of it and instantly felt lighter.
Besides, it’s not like I was a ladies man. I was good-looking enough but I never had a big game. That wasn’t my style, so I didn’t have a bank of skills to fall back on to try to catch her attention. It wasn’t like I could just elbow my way back there and try to talk to her while her loud, pink friend judged me. Right?
Nope. Not happening.
It was also a good thing I decided to go with the flow and not approach her when I got off the shuttle because as soon as I did, I lost her in the crowd. Some people headed to the ski rental place and some went to the lifts and I was just trying to figure out which lift led to the slope least likely to kill me but in all the bustling, I lost track of her. If I had wanted to approach her, losing sight of her would have been very frustrating.
“They all go up the same slope,” said the smiling ski instructor from the bus as I did my best to read the map on the side of the shuttle station. “This is the bunny hill, and I’m about to teach a beginners lesson. Come on and ride with me. You look like you’re about to shit your pants.”
I was. But not because of anything he could help me with.
“Thanks,” I said a followed the blond guy with a snow tan to the lifts.
We didn’t chat much as we rode up the mountai
n, it got too windy for that. But as soon as we hopped off, which wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, he showed me and about ten others how to start, stop, and steer. The three S’s he called them.
It wasn’t that complicated, basic physics really. So, with an inflated sense of mastery I pushed off down the slope. It wasn’t so hard. I swung my hips to control the direction which in turn controlled my speed. I was doing pretty well. About halfway down I stopped thinking so hard and started to enjoy the ride, the wind whipping at my face, the clear blue of the sky from above the clouds. Then, to my left, I saw her. The woman in highlighter pink. If she was here so was...
I craned my neck trying to see behind me, seeing if she was with her friend. I couldn’t tell. I was going too fast to make out much of anything besides that horrendous...
“HEY! EYES FRONT! YOU’RE GOING TOO FAST! YOU’RE GONNA...”
I whipped my head back around just in time to see myself colliding into the woman in cream. We tumbled down the hill a few hundred feet, I instinctively held her close to keep her from tumbling away and creating two obstacles instead of one. When we finally stopped moving I’d lost both my skis, she’d lost her hat and I’d landed right on top of her, looking into her beautiful gray eyes.
Chapter Seven
Serene
I STARED INTO HIS PIERCING blue eyes wondering why I wasn’t angry. He could have killed me. But as I laid pinned between him and the mountainside, all I could think was how nice his face was. “Are you all right?” I asked as the man who’d barreled into me made no indication he planned to get off of me.
I was oddly okay with that.
“I’m so sorry,” he said hopping off and helping me up. “I was distracted by that woman in retina-burning pink.”
I laughed and looked around for Tammy who was a few dozen feet away, grinning and giving me the thumbs up as if she’d planned the collision herself.
“Wow,” he said, looking at me in a way I’d never been looked at before. A way that brought a flush to my cheeks and pressure between my thighs. It wasn’t a purely sexual look, I’d had plenty of those. This skirted the line between desire and... the closest thing I could think of was enchantment.
He broke eye contact, looking out into the distance. “You have a lovely laugh,” he said softly.
“I—thank you,” I whispered, surprised by his compliment.
“I’m very sorry I crashed into you, Miss...?”
“Serene,” I breathed.
He smiled like my name pleased him in some way. “Please, let me make it up to you. Drinks afterward?” He smiled again, this time full out and Jesus, Mary, and Joseph it was a killer smile. I went wobbly-kneed, reaching for his forearm to keep steady. “Whoa, hey. Are you sure you’re okay? Do you want me to get you to the medic station?”
I blushed, doubly so, from his concern and at how strongly my body had reacted to his winsome smile. “Nonsense, I’m absolutely fine.”
“Positive?” He stared deep into my eyes, a gesture that left me breathless and completely vulnerable.
I nodded, swallowing hard against the lump of tension and excitement in my throat.
“Good. Now, about those drinks.”
I shook my head. “I already have plans with the pink lady.”
“Ah. Dinner, then.” It wasn’t a question. He wasn’t asking me to dinner. It was a statement. “Eight pm. The Wild Dutch.”
I nodded and there was that killer smile again. Fuck, I’d have to be careful with this one.
Or maybe, I wouldn’t. Maybe I’d let myself get caught up in whatever pheromones Mr. Gorgeous threw my way.
“Fantastic. I’m Jeffrey, by the way.”
Oh hell, I’d been so googly-eyed I’d forgotten to ask his bloody name. Get out, get out before you make more of a fool of yourself! “Well, Jeffrey,” I somehow manage to purr. “I’ll see you at eight then.” I turned around, found my hat and headed toward Tammy all while straining every muscle in my neck trying not to look back.
“Oh, honey! He watched you walked back the whole way. Mm, mmm, mmmm, he is yummy. If I were younger... well let’s just say he looked at you like he wants to—”
“Shhhh!” I grabbed her forearm. “A little decorum, please!” I whispered.
Tammy pursed her lips at me but did lower her voice from shrill excitement to a stage whisper. “Let’s head back to the lifts and get you cooled off. You know,” she said, impish look spreading across her features. “You’re good enough we really shouldn’t be on this bunny hill. Do you want to move up to the next hill?”
I gave her a sidelong glance.
“Of course. You must be all tuckered out from that fall. Let’s head back to the chalet and get those drinks.” Tammy’s eyes glowed with mischief as she poked fun at me.
“You stop it. You know perfectly well I’m staying right here, and you know exactly why.”
“Hoping to run into Mr. Tall, Sexy, and Smoldering again?
“I’ll neither confirm or deny that statement.”
We skied a few more hours. Tammy was surprisingly good and all my lessons and holiday practice time came back quickly. When we were thoroughly exhausted but only slightly chilled, we headed back to the chalet for drinks.
“Serene! You’ve been keeping secrets!” Tammy said when I let her in my suite. She looked around appreciating the extravagance and nodded her approval. “Honey, this is nicer than my suite.”
I chuckled. I was about to explain that the room had been a gift, but completely different words came out of my mouth. “I’m an English heiress.”
“And by heiress you mean.?”
I sighed. Tammy was quick. “I mean I have a title. I’m part of the aristocracy, albeit begrudgingly so.”
Tammy’s eyes bulged for a moment, then she threw her head back and cackled. “Serves me right thinking you were some poor thing needing me to pay when you’re really a fucking princess...” she dissolved into more laughter.
I popped open a bottle of champagne from the bar and poured us both a generous glass. “Duchess, actually.”
Tammy absolutely cawed at that. “A Duchess?! Bahahahahahaha!!” When she’d regained her composure she downed her champagne. “Why didn’t you tell me? And why on earth were you wearing that awful suit before?”
I shrugged, sipping my champagne. “I hadn’t been skiing in a while.”
“Since they eighties?”
“Oh, be nice, Tammy. It wasn’t that bad.”
She hid her smirk behind her champagne flute. “But really, why didn’t you tell me?”
“I don’t tell anyone. People act differently when they know who I am.”
Tammy nodded, polishing off her second glass in one go. “When Dale and I met we were both broke college kids. We had more peanut butter and jelly sandwich and Ramen nights than I’d ever admit to. And oh, our first apartment was so tiny we barely had enough room for the roaches. But after a few wise investments on my part and some very key patents Dale was smart enough to grab up, now we’re sitting pretty. But let me tell you, it was horrible the first few years we had real money. No one tells you what to expect when you move up tax brackets. They don’t tell you how out of place you’ll feel with both your “before money friends” and the new people you meet because of the money. Every insecurity I had worsened.” Tammy leaned in and poured herself another glass. “Until I decided not to give a rip what people thought or how they acted around me. And, honestly, I’ve never been happier. I do what I want, I don’t care if people think I’m loud or rude or that I don’t belong because I’m just being me.”
I nodded. “Well, you’re a ballsy lady. I couldn’t possibly—”
“Horse shit! You can do whatever you want so long as you want bad enough to get out of your own way.”
Hmm. That point hit home a bit more squarely than I’d like to admit.
We drank and talked about everything and nothing and when six o’clock rolled around Tammy shooed me to the bedroom to get changed. She
shooed me back in when my outfit didn’t meet her, as she put it, “Jezebel requirement”.
“Is this better?” I asked and spun around in tighter black pants and a cable knit sweater that hugged my hips and tits.
“No,” she pouted. “Go put something on that’ll knock his socks off!”
I laughed. “Not happening. It’s below freezing out there.”
Tammy shrugged. “Then it’ll have to do, I suppose. Now go on, get out of here and don’t come back unless you’re coming back with him.”
“Tammy!”
Chapter Eight
Jeffrey
IF FALLING DOWN THE mountain with her hadn’t been a sign then I don’t know what was.
But as clear as that had been, this restaurant was another story. I expected the nicest restaurant in a ski town to be crowded on Christmas Eve. What I did not expect was how little privacy the swanky place offered. Tables were so close I could hear every word of every whispered conversation around me, and I was trying not to listen.
I’d made the reservation three months ago when I booked my trip. I’d looked up top rated places and made the arrangements fully expecting to dine alone. I smiled at how wrong I’d been and threw back the last of my bourbon. As I set the glass back, there she was smiling down at me.
“Did you order me one of those,” Serene asked, smiling as she seated herself.
“I’m afraid I didn’t,” I managed to say without stuttering. As beautiful as she’d been on the slopes, I was not prepared for how gorgeous she was now. She wore white sweater that showed off every dip and curve, smoky makeup perfectly framing her gray eyes, and her full, round lips were bare of any product, which of course made me wonder if her nipples were the same pretty shade of pink. She was so breathtaking I had a hard time remembering how to speak. I sat there staring at her, transfixed by her for far too long.
Christmas Crush (Holiday Studs Book 3) Page 3