“I know what you mean about relationships and trust. Boy do I ever.” Scott laughed again and the tension between them broke. “Why don’t we just try to make the best out of the time we have here? We’ll pretend it’s a paid holiday or something.”
They spent a quiet evening reading while there was light enough. Alexandra knew Scott was acutely aware of her. She certainly knew every move he made in the small cabin. Just when she thought she’d buried her attraction to the most inaccessible corners of her mind, all it took was a single movement from him to bring it all rushing back.
It was the way the muscles in his shoulders worked when he threw a piece of wood on the fire. It was that intriguing slant at the corners of those amazing blue eyes. It was his body heat, which she swore she could feel even through her blanket. In a normal situation, she would have gone for a long walk, done anything to avoid thinking of him. But this wasn’t exactly a normal situation.
He looked up at her from his book. She felt his gaze before she saw it.
“What?”
“When did your parents die?” he asked.
“Kind of personal, isn’t that?”
He waited as she put the book down and tapped the cover with a long glossy fingernail for a moment.
“I was in the second grade. I remember them—at least I have that.”
“Siblings?”
“No one. I have friends, mostly Mary. But I’m the one she falls back on when the chips are down, not the other way around.”
He lifted a brow. “She’s not much of a friend if it’s that one-sided.”
“It’s not that,” she said softly. “It’s just that I’ve never tried to find out.”
•
He’d studied her face when she’d lifted the book back up, looking away only because he knew he was making her uncomfortable.
When night fell, Scott’s thoughts shifted. He couldn’t help but notice the way Alexandra’s silk pajamas clung. Why couldn’t she have worn something loose and flannel? Something that didn’t ignite his imagination so thoroughly? Even though she’d quickly wrapped herself in her blanket, his mind repeated the vision again and again.
The pale yellow fabric slid away from her neck when she moved, exposing the creamy skin along her collarbone and down to her shoulder. If only her could hold her for just this one night. He hadn’t felt this kind of temptation in years. Maybe he’d never felt it like this at all. Wasn’t there more to life than just work? So much more for her just waiting ahead, maybe? There were so many more questions he was dying to ask, but somewhere between them was that invisible boundary line.
“I’ll bet you’re not very good at truth or dare,” he said.
“You’d win that bet.”
“Random questions, then?”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “What do you mean?”
Scott smiled. “Random question. What’s your favorite color?”
Her eyes closed. “This is dumb.” She stayed silent for a minute. “What’s yours?”
“Green. See, it isn’t that hard. Random question. Do you have any hobbies?”
More silence.
“I like to bowl,” he said. “And travel. And play tiddly winks. Definitely that.”
She laughed. Laughter was good, he thought.
“Purple, reading, air hockey and shopping. Good night, Scott.”
“Good night.”
They rolled up in their separate comforters and stretched out in front of the fireplace, gathering near the flames for heat. The temperature outside continued to drop and ice formed in crystalline flakes on the glass inside the cabin windows.
Scott began, “Alex, I can’t pretend I don’t feel what I feel here.” Maybe it was the magic of the nighttime or the glow of the fireplace, but his words took on a life of their own. He’d meant to pretend. Up until two seconds earlier.
“This may sound silly or naïve to you, but I’ll explain,” she said. “I was engaged to be married once, and one evening I surprised him.”
“He wasn’t alone,” Scott said. He fell silent for a while, then spoke again. “Someone I once thought I loved betrayed me, too.”
“Really? Then maybe you know where I’m coming from. See, I really thought he was the only man I would ever be with. I made such a mistake with him and it hurt me both personally and professionally.”
“Alex, all men aren’t like that. Some of us actually value commitment and respect the woman we’re with.”
Alexandra rolled over to face him. “Really? So when was the last time you were with a woman? Dated one for a while, slept with her and then ended it? Or how about a convenient one-night stand?”
Scott also rolled to face her. “Is that what you think of me? That I proposition every woman who registers a pulse?”
Alexandra shrugged. “I don’t think that, but they do say where there’s smoke …”
Scott cut in before she said something they’d both regret. “That woman I mentioned, Mackenzie—I was with her for over two years and I would have proposed to her. I wanted to. But, I found out some things in time, and let’s just say it didn’t work out. It would have been disaster. I haven’t been with another woman since.”
“Oh.” Alexandra looked truly taken aback. If anything, at least he wasn’t as predictable as she seemed to think all men were.
“In fact,” Scott whispered, “I haven’t so much as kissed a woman in months, until out there in the snowbank with you today. Empty flings just aren’t my style. I left teenage impulsivity behind a long time ago.”
Alexandra giggled and tucked a piece of wayward hair behind her ear. “What? No backstage romp with the pop star?”
Scott groaned. “I’m going to physically injure whoever told you those rumors.”
“So you beat up on women?” Alexandra gasped in mock horror. “See, I knew I’d find a fatal flaw.”
“It was that Sarah, wasn’t it?” He groaned again. “I can’t win.”
Alexandra’s eyelids grew heavy and she yawned. One of her long, shapely legs covered in filmy material slid out from under the blanket.
Scott inched closer to her until a mere foot of space kept them apart. “Can I kiss you again, Alexandra Hunter? Nothing sordid. Just one more kiss?”
Her eyes flew open and he watched her gaze drop from his nose down to his lips. Did she want what he wanted? To feel that powerful current again in spite of all the warnings they’d told themselves?
Her look was all the response he needed. He wrapped his hands in her soft hair and pulled her to him. But, she pressed her hands against his chest. “Scott,” she whispered. “Stop. We have to stop. Really!”
He pushed himself away immediately. “I’m sorry, Alex.”
“I’m as much to blame as you.” She rolled herself up tightly in the blanket and turned away from Scott’s view. “Let’s just try to get some sleep. No more kissing. No more personal questions, okay? Those lead to bad places.”
So much for friendly colleagues, he thought. What he was feeling put “friendly” to shame.
Chapter Five
In the morning light, Alexandra was thinking clearly again—or so she told herself. It was the atmosphere of the night, the romantic novelty of it all, she mentally repeated. Just lust, loneliness and firelight. Still, from the look of the dark circles under Scott’s blue eyes, he hadn’t slept much during the night. Neither had she, but thank goodness she had the convenience of makeup to hide it.
She wasn’t sure if it was good or bad news that came to them across the radio that morning. Though the weather still held fair, it seemed some small thing had broken inside the snowcat. The driver and his mechanic were working frantically to repair it, but the parts they needed weren’t scheduled to arrive at the hotel until later that afternoon at best. Scott and Alexandra would be confined to the cabin for another day.
“What’s on the agenda for today, Ms. Hunter?” Scott asked, charming her with that crooked grin of his.
“I think a visit t
o the finest Italian restaurant followed by a shopping spree in the city,” she joked. “Seriously, though. I wish I could just get warm. I guess I got chilled during the night.”
Scott studied her. “I let the fire burn too low for a couple hours there after I dozed off. Sorry. I can fix it, though.”
“Fix what?”
“No, really. I got suckered into going to a day spa once. There was one part of it I liked.”
She stared at him.
“Let’s give you a visit to heated opulence. Falconer’s Mountain Resort. Has a nice ring to it.”
Alexandra’s muscles were sore from sleeping on the hard wood floor and she had to admit, she was intrigued by anything warm or opulent-sounding at that moment.
“Doesn’t it bother you at all that we’re sitting up here in the middle of nowhere burning daylight while the enemy camp is probably winning over the client?” she asked.
“Yes. Which is why I’m trying to distract myself.”
“Okay, I’ll bite,” she said. “What are you talking about?”
“We have an entire day to kill here in this cabin, Alex. Let me do something nice for you.”
“Can I trust you? Nothing strange planned, right?”
“Just go to your bedroom and wait. Do you have shorts and a T-shirt or something like that with you?”
She nodded that she did.
“Good. Put that on. I’ll call you when I’m ready. Now keep your door closed.”
Scott had looked so excited that he’d turned this day of virtual imprisonment into a game. She could almost imagine she was on vacation. She slipped on a tank top and her workout shorts and sat on the edge of her bed trying to stay warm. She shivered.
“I’m ready,” he called. “Come on out and go get in the bathtub,” he commanded. “Go on.” He gestured her away playfully. “Get. I promise it’ll be good.”
Alexandra thought she must have lost her mind. She couldn’t remember having felt less stress in years. All she knew was that if he lived up to his word, this was going to feel wonderful. If it was a joke, she’d get even. She stretched out in the cold, porcelain bathtub as Scott came through the door with a bucket full of something white and fluffy. Was he going to dump snow on her? Alexandra started to sit up when a hot, steaming towel dropped across her legs.
“This does feel wonderful,” she gasped in surprise, somewhat expecting a joke to follow even still. “It’s heaven.”
After Scott had left the room and the towels had cooled, Alexandra stepped from the tub and tied the robe tight around her. She blushed furiously as shame surfaced. Duncan had certainly never triggered such a reaction from her. Unease and discomfort crept in. Scott had tried to take care of her—a normal male response, wasn’t it? And yet being taken care of was so foreign to her that her emotions simply weren’t processing it.
She had to pull herself together—and fast. She showered and dressed, then came back out to the living room as she heard Scott come back in through the door to answer a call coming through on the radio.
The fire blazed in the fireplace, and she sat in front of it. The shivers had stopped.
“Good news! Got the snowcat part in early and are heading up there in a few minutes. Get ready. You won’t have to spend another night up there,” the driver assured.
Scott left the radio, but his smiled dropped as he looked at Alexandra. “Alex, I’m …”
She put her hand up to stop his words from leaving his mouth. “Don’t say anything. We got caught up in the firelight and the seclusion, but nothing went too far. We have a presentation to give and a client to win. We have to concentrate on that. Just that.”
Scott sighed. “What about after the presentation, Alex?”
Alexandra felt another blush threaten and turned away from him. “I think we’d better get ready to go,” she whispered. “Reality is what it is, Scott.”
“Maybe reality is what you make it.”
“Do you ever run out of patience, or not know what you want?”
He simply smiled in return.
Their bags were packed and sitting by the door in very little time. The plow had made its way up to the cabins, and their ride wouldn’t be far behind. Soon they heard the sound of the motor chug up the road, and they ran out to meet the driver.
“You two had quite the adventure,” called the driver. “Stranded in the mountains. Caught in an avalanche. Bet no one else in your office has that tale to tell.”
Alexandra’s former demeanor had returned. “Certainly doesn’t help us progress much on our business deal, now does it? I imagine the potential client and our rivals have had a wonderful visit down there in the hotel for the past two days.”
The driver helped them inside and slammed the door shut. “Nah. The guys from Rio Safari got snowed in at JFK, if you can believe that. Never even made it here. Those three from that other company ain’t had nothin’ to do except sit in the lounge, stare at each other and hit the bourbon. Talk about a bust.”
Alexandra felt a wave of relief pass through her. So Duncan hadn’t had the chance to orchestrate an advantage yet. Maybe things were taking a turn for the better after all.
Scott asked, “Did Mac Stevens leave a message of any kind?”
“Just apologies. Guess they’ll be calling you later, I’d imagine.”
“Great.” Alexandra said, trying not to sound too annoyed. After all the time and expense getting here, David wasn’t going to be thrilled with the lack of results. She turned to look at Scott and wondered what he’d do if she ran her hand over the black stubble that flowed over his strong jaw line.
The driver continued, “The bright side is that you all have tickets out of this place tomorrow.”
Scott nudged Alexandra with his elbow. “Look at it this way—we’ll get to know the Zellez team a little more intimately.”
“Goody,” Alexandra mumbled. “This just keeps getting better and better.”
•
When one of the men from Zellez invited Scott and Alexandra to join them for dinner that evening, how could they politely refuse? The man had seemed so sincere and the hotel was nearly vacant due to the blizzard. As the only guests, there was no way Alexandra could have said no without being rude.
She liked two of the men from Zellez and had an easy time talking with them. If Duncan bowed out, the meal might even have a chance at being pleasant.
Alexandra dressed quickly in jeans and a purple turtleneck sweater and ran out to meet Scott in the hall. He walked at her side all the way to the lounge.
“No matter what this Duncan fellow says, don’t worry. I’ve got your back,” he assured. “And I won’t even let on that I know about his legal shenanigans.”
“That’s the least of my dread.”
The five of them sat together at a rectangular table that was far too large for their small party. Alexandra was grateful she was seated as far from Duncan as the table would allow. The thought of looking at him made her think of throwing something all over again, and this time she’d bet a lovely salad fork would quite literally make a better impression than boxes of takeout.
One of Duncan’s companions, a short man named Roger with dark hair and a ruddy complexion, broke the ice. “I suppose this is consorting with the enemy.” He lifted his glass in a toast. “Here’s to a clean fight.”
Scott refilled his glass and joined in the toast. “So tell me, Roger. How long have you been with Zellez?”
“Oh, going on five years now. The company has been really good to us. Mike here has been there seven years, and Duncan started about three years ago. Is that right, Duncan? Three years, isn’t it?”
Duncan bobbed his head in affirmation, brought his glass back to his lips and drained the contents. “Three years ago. I can hardly remember what I was doing before that.” He ran the back of his hand crudely across his mouth and plunked the empty glass down on the table.
Not missing the jibe, Alexandra sawed into her steak with renewed determination. “O
h, I’m sure it was something rewarding. You’ve built quite the career, or so it seems.” She smiled the type of perfectly polite, icy smile that made Scott glad he was no longer on the receiving end.
The man Roger had referred to as Mike picked up the conversation. “It must have been pretty alarming to be caught in an avalanche like that. What exactly happened anyway?”
Scott swallowed a bite and said, “Apparently they were supposed to set off a controlled avalanche before we got there, just as a safety precaution. Guess they got the dates wrong, if you can believe that.”
“Sounds like a pretty big mix-up to me. Could you even get out of the cabin?” Mike asked.
Alexandra nodded. “We dug out the next morning.”
Duncan’s eyes were red-rimmed as he refilled his glass. “What did you do that night, I wonder?” He snickered into his drink.
Roger cleared his throat and his face turned even redder than usual. “I’m sure he means what did you do for food and heat? Was there a fireplace?” He shot his colleague a bewildered look.
Alexandra felt Scott grow tense beside her and calmly placed her foot on top of his for just a moment to signal she was all right.
“Yes, Roger, there was a wonderful fireplace and we were fortunate enough to find food stocked in the cupboards.” Still the picture of politeness, she turned back to Duncan. “Duncan, I hope this isn’t too personal, but I’ve been meaning to ask you all night about that little scar on your forehead. Is there a fascinating story behind it?”
So Duncan wanted to play games, did he? He was about to meet his match.
Duncan sat silent, looking sullen for a moment before setting down his glass again. “I hit my head on the edge of a coffee table a few years back.”
“Oh my,” Alexandra declared in wide-eyed innocence. “Why on earth were you under a coffee table?”
Duncan leaned forward. “I wasn’t. I turned to see something flying at my head and ducked to avoid it.”
Alexandra’s insides leapt with victory as the image of Japanese takeout cartons flying through the air at him came to mind. She bet she’d hit him after all. Good.
A Cowboy in Disguise Page 5