by Mia Ford
“Hey, you don’t have to be alone,” Hailey replied. “I already canceled going to my parents’ house.”
“Really?”
“Uh, yeah,” she scoffed. “I’d choose you any day over their questions on my single status and my mother’s weepy toast about the future. You know, the one she gives at every holiday?”
“That thing needs a serious revamp.” I chuckled. “She’s the only one that gets choked up over it anymore.”
“Yeah,” Hailey said, laughing. “My father just sits there, falling asleep with his champagne in the air.”
“Well, that’s awesome,” I said, smiling. “I’ll cook dinner, get some alcohol, and we will make the best of it!”
“I was actually thinking something else,” she said. “I was thinking that I take you somewhere for Christmas. Make a new tradition, get out of that house that makes you think of Grant, and let loose.”
“Okay,” I replied. “I’m intrigued. Go on.”
“Let’s go to Aspen,” she replied. “I have a friend that has a reservation at the St. Regis that can’t go, and I told him to hold off on canceling. I may just take his reservation. We can ski, drink alcohol, and open presents in the suite he reserved. It comes fully stocked with a Christmas tree in every room.”
“I love it,” I replied. “I need change, and that is definitely a change.”
I felt lucky to have a friend like Hailey. We had been friends pretty much our entire lives, and though we were two completely different people, we really did work perfectly together. One was always strong when the other was weak, and we never let each other get weepy and depressed. She was a light in the dark for me most of the time, and always told it to me just how it needed to be said. Most people would shy away from that, especially when they just wanted to be self-loathing, but in the end, it really was the best thing for me. As much as I loved my career and my little house, those walls could start closing in on me fast. She always pulled me out before they collapsed. This time, it was most appreciated, and I was getting excited about the thought of vacationing in a winter wonderland like Aspen. I had always wanted to go, but never actually had anyone to go with.
“There will be a lot of single, rich men there, too,” Hailey said through a full mouth of salad. “I’m totally ready to hook me an old rich man.”
“You, my friend, are disgusting.” I laughed.
“What? Am I not a catch?” She smiled big, ranch dressing on her lips and spinach in her teeth.
“I mean, I think it’s sexy.” I giggled. “The last thing I need is some man that thinks he can turn me into his arm candy.”
“No, no, you are looking at it all wrong,” she said. “You turn one of those men into your arm candy. You are successful and gorgeous, even in your striped pajamas and wool socks. Any man would be more than lucky to have you as you are.”
“Well, the last thing I want to think about on my Christmas vacation, after breaking up with my boyfriend, is other men,” I scoffed.
“First of all, he broke up with you, let’s keep the facts straight,” she pointed out. “And there is one stipulation for us going on this trip.”
“Okay, now that you have pointed out the painful and obvious,” I replied. “What is this stipulation?”
“You get over Grant by sleeping with another man,” she said. “Something unexpected and wild. That is exactly what you need.”
“If it gets me a vacation in Aspen, they better line up.” I laughed.
In reality, I had zero interest in making any love matches, even if it were just for the night. I knew, however, that Hailey was not going to let it go unless I agreed, so I appeased her. I was also not looking to get in an argument over sleeping with a random stranger in the middle of the restaurant, so I knew just saying yes would handle all those issues. I would just simply go to Aspen and not sleep with anyone. I mean, what was she going to do? In the meantime, I was pretty excited, and my mind was already off Grant and my lonely spinster Christmas. This was the perfect opportunity for me to break out of my shell, do something crazy, and just have a good time. I mean, I would never see any of these people ever again, except Hailey, so what did I really have to lose?
My hopes were that I would go, get refreshed, get inspired, and come home with a whole new view on life, something that resembled being a happy, successful woman for once. I sat there thinking about the whole trip, smiling, knowing that I was about to get a break from the norm. I was about to turn this situation into a gold mine for my life.
Chapter 7
Cameron
I stirred my drink, staring down at the bubbles that were surfacing. It had been a long day already, and it was only half over. I sat there at the bar, not wanting to move, just wanting to go climb into a hot shower and then collapse in my warm bed. But I wasn’t done yet, and that was weighing heavily on me. I didn’t know why, but I was not in the mood to deal with the normal resort people that day, and even the girl that was currently walking toward me was of no interest to me. I took in a deep breath as she approached, mustering my last bit of energy. She was going to want to talk, and I was not in the mood for talking.
“Hi,” she said happily, sitting down next to me. “I’m Amanda. I’ve seen you in here the last couple of days and thought I’d come talk.”
“Hello,” I replied, uninterested. “Cameron. I’m Cameron.”
“Nice to meet you, Cameron,” she said. “My friends and I saw you and your friend out teaching on the slopes yesterday. That is such an awesome job. I would love to do something like that.”
“Mm hmm,” I said, not paying her much attention. “It’s a pretty cool gig.”
I did not want to talk to this woman at all, but I was cornered. She was hot and everything, exactly the kind of girl I would approach when I was on the hunt, but at that moment, I was just trying to relax. It was my few minutes of alone time before being thrown back into another beginners’ class with a million giggling rich girls. Seeing there was really no way out of this, and not wanting to hurt the girl’s feelings, I turned toward her and listened to her talk about coming from New York, the snow, and all the other things I heard on a normal basis. As she spoke, I kind of tuned out enough to not hear every word she was saying. I picked up my drink and took a sip, glancing over at the main doors to the hotel as they opened.
My heart did something strange. It pretty much froze. In through the door came walking one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen. She had beautiful, long, brown hair that I could see tints of red in as she walked through the streams of sunlight in the lobby. Her eyes were strikingly beautiful and a light green. She looked excited but shy, walking across the marble floors with her friend leading the way. I was so taken aback from her, I didn’t even hear the girl in front of me asking me a question.
“Earth to Cameron.” She giggled. “Are you okay?”
“Huh?” I stood up and looked out into the lobby. “Um, yeah. I’m sorry. I have to go. It was nice meeting you, though. I hope you have a great time here.”
“Uh, okay,” she said, looking out where my attention was drawn. “Bye, then.”
I had to talk to this girl, this beautiful, brown-haired vixen that just walked straight into my life. I pulled a twenty out of my wallet and handed it to the bartender, telling him to keep the change. I gulped the last of my drink and then walked forward into the lobby. I looked around at the front desk but didn’t see the girl anywhere. The lobby was pretty much completely empty, everyone either in their rooms or out at the slopes. I walked toward the doors to the outside but stopped, hearing the bell on the elevator ding. I ran over, stopping as the elevator doors slid shut, my eyes grasping at the image of this girl standing in the elevator, talking to her friend. She didn’t see me, but I most definitely saw her. I hadn’t ever been completely enamored or knocked off my game by anyone like that before. I had to find out who she was.
Maybe I was crazy for chasing after this girl. Maybe it was exactly what I was trying to avoid,
but at that moment, I really didn’t care. I just wanted to meet her. I turned around and looked at the lobby, trying to figure out how I could find this girl. I started to walk over to the reception desk, ready to use my clout at the resort to get the information out of the woman behind the counter. If that didn’t work, I would resort to using my charm. Before I could get there, though, Glen stepped out of the lobby bathroom, drying off his hands. He tossed the paper towel in the trash can and walked over to me.
“Hey, man, I was looking for you,” he said. “They canceled the next class because the snow was getting too thick up there.”
“All right,” I said, staring off at the desk and around the lobby.
“Uh, you okay? I saw you talking to that cute girl at the bar.” He chuckled. “I figured you’d be deep in seduction right now.”
I stood there thinking, formulating, and not paying a damn bit of attention to Glen, or anyone else for that matter. I had never been that enamored by anyone, and I knew that was a sign. I had to talk to this girl. For all I knew, she could be a complete wacko, but it took a lot to knock me off my game, and she had done it in two seconds flat. For most guys, that would cause them to run in the other direction, but not me. For me, that was a challenge, a challenge I was more than ready to accept. I stood there, just staring at the front desk, with Glen talking, but me not hearing a word that he was saying. Her green eyes were burned into my memory, as was the generous and sensual curve of her lower back, and the way her breasts bounced naturally up and down as she pulled her suitcase along.
“Hello,” Glen said waving his hands in front of me. “Earth to Cameron. Come in,”
“Huh?”
“Dude, what’s going on?”
“I seriously just saw a woman that stopped me in my tracks,” I said, shaking my head. “She was tall and curvy, with reddish brown hair, and her eyes, man, her eyes were this light green, almost like a cat. She was incredible looking, but by the time I got out here, she was going up the elevator, and I lost her.”
“Wow, she sounds incredible,” Glen said. “Though, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this bent out of shape over a girl before. You sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah,” I said, taking a deep breath. “She just caught me off guard. That’s all.”
“So, did you hear me about the classes?”
“Yeah, no classes today,” I said, bringing my attention back. “That’s too bad, really. At the same time, man, I was dragging myself through the day today. I don’t know what it was. I just couldn’t pick myself up.”
“Until you saw the green-eyed cat lady.” Glen laughed. “Maybe I should find her and pay her to light a fire under your ass every time I need you to be somewhere.”
“Ha-Ha,” I replied.
“You want to grab a drink?”
“No, I kind of blew off the girl that’s sitting in there at the bar to chase down the mystery girl,” I said, making a whoops face. “I should probably stay away from her for now. She was pretty put off when I just stood up and walked away.”
“Gee, I wonder why,” Glen said, laughing. “All right, well, I’ll catch up with you later tonight, okay? Maybe you can get some skiing in later. I know you wanted to do that.”
“Yeah, maybe,” I said, staring out the front doors. “If you need me, I’ll be up in my room.”
“All right, man,” Glen said, turning and walking away.
I sighed and looked around, deciding that a drink in my room and maybe some Thursday afternoon television might be what I was looking for. I took the elevator upstairs, the smell of strawberry and lavender body spray wafting into my nose. I wondered if it belonged to the mystery girl, and if when you got close to her, her skin smelled sweet and comforting like that. I reached my floor and stepped out, walking down the hallway to my suite. Once inside, I took off my shoes and snow layers and put on a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved Henley that I pushed the sleeves up on. I walked over and plopped down in the chair that faced the fireplace and the television.
At first, I just sat there, not wanting to crowd my mind with images from the television. Instead, I let the vision of the girl run over and over again in my mind, wondering what I would say if I actually caught her. She looked different than any girl I had ever hit on before. There was an air of confidence to her, like she wasn’t afraid to be who she was, like she wasn’t the girl to fall for silly tricks like the ones I usually played. What if that were the case? What if I were to make a complete fool of myself in front of her? I sighed and turned on the television, sinking down in the chair and surfing through the channels. Maybe Glen was right. Maybe I should watch the drifts and go out skiing. It would clear my mind. Obviously, I was letting this girl get to me, and it was very much unlike me.
I sighed and switched off the television, not seeing anything worth capturing my attention. I looked at the weather report on my phone, and it said that the winds should be tapering down soon. I walked over and looked out the window at the mountain just outside. I could see almost all the way to the top, so I assumed that they would open back up the slopes soon. That was good because they already canceled the classes, which would give me the entire afternoon off. It had been a long time since I was able to actually enjoy skiing. I smiled a bit and shook my head, glancing down in the courtyard before turning to walk away. I stopped, staring down at two girls standing there talking, one of them being my beautiful redhead. I watched her for a moment, telling myself to move, to run down there. I had to talk to her. I knew I wouldn’t let it go until I actually did.
I turned and jogged across the suite, slipping my shoes on and grabbing my ski jacket, stuffing my keys into my pockets. I left the room and jogged down to the elevator. I pressed the button, but the elevator was moving super slow, and my impatience got the best of me. I pushed through the stairwell doors and raced down the stairs as fast as I could. I was only five floors up, so it shouldn’t take too long to get to the bottom. When I came out of the lobby doors, I stopped and put my hands on my knees, panting wildly. I laughed at myself for being such a fool and then shook it off, pushing through the crowds and out the front doors. I looked up at the resort, trying to find my room, and took off down the path around the side to the courtyard.
When I got there, though, no one was there, and all that remained of my mystery girl were tracks left in the snow. I looked all around to make sure she wasn’t playing somewhere in the snow, and then dropped my hands to my sides, realizing I had forgotten my hat. I pulled up my hood and shivered, shaking my head and heading back inside. I knocked the snow off my now-wet tennis shoes and stood there staring out at the mountain. I had to find this girl. It was no longer an option.
Chapter 8
Bea
“So, we should figure out what we want to do,” I said, in awe from the luxury of this place.
I looked around the courtyard and smiled, the snow laying in puffs of white all around us. The trees twinkled in the sunlight, and I could see the fog at the top of the mountain beginning to clear. It was absolutely stunning in every way; even more impressive than any picture I had ever seen of Aspen. Now, I was starting to understand why everyone flocked here. It was a little, winter wonderland paradise. I couldn’t even start to imagine how much the place we were staying in cost, especially since everyone I saw was decked out in designer clothes and wearing jewelry I had only seen on television. Hailey didn’t mind spending that kind of money, though. Not only did she have a very lucrative career in investments, but she was the child of a billionaire, and her trust fund made it so no one in her immediate bloodline would ever worry for anything. Couple that with the fact that she was the investment queen, and I was pretty sure this was being paid for by the interest she made off of just a couple of her recent investments.
“Well, I think today that we should go into town and check out the shopping,” she said. “I hear that the shopping in Aspen is amazing. Then tomorrow, I definitely think that we should go skiing. We really can’t come to Aspen a
nd not go skiing at least once. I mean, I’m sure plenty of people do, but that would be silly. Besides, I think the wind on your face and the rush of gliding down the mountain would be good for you.”
“You do realize that I’ve never been skiing before, right?”
“Meh, that’s just the details,” she said, shaking her hand.
“Okay, but we’re going to need some instruction before we go gliding down the face of a mountain,” I said, laughing. “I’d like to try to stay on my feet and not break my neck on this vacation.”
“Well, we came to the right place, then, because I’ve heard they have some of the world’s best instructors,” she said, smiling. “We will be snow bunnies before we know it. We can buy some snow gear to stay warm while we’re out in town today. Besides, I don’t like renting gear. It’s like renting shoes at the bowling alley. It freaks me out. We live in a ski town, too, so if we love it, we can use our gear at home. If we hate it, we can just stick it away for our next Aspen vacation.”
“I’m pretty sure I will never be rich enough to afford to come here again.” I laughed. “But thank you for this. It’s really beautiful here, and I am already starting to feel lighter in the chest.”
“Good, that is the whole point of this entire thing, to help you clear your mind and see that Grant was probably the worst choice for you to make,” she said, smiling. “But come on. Let’s go inside, pick up some information for the instructors, have a drink, and then we can head out to the town and do some shopping.”