Daring to Love: A Contemporary Romance (The Armstrongs Book 3)

by Gray, Jessica

  His throat was dry as he tried to speak. Licking his lips, he tried a second time, admitting, "Maybe you're right."

  Heidi barked out a laugh, causing other diners to turn and stare at them. Evan examined her and then shook his head at how much enjoyment she was getting from his discomfort. This is why she’s such a good friend. She never lets me get away with anything. Especially feeling sorry for myself!

  As she continued to laugh, he found himself comparing her to Charlene and it confused the hell out of him. Heidi had never evoked those disturbingly strong feelings in him. His feelings for Charlene were a thousand times more intense than anything he’d ever experienced before. How can that be? We only shared one kiss!

  Heidi wiped the corners of her eyes with her napkin, "I never expected to hear that from you. Admitting someone else is right." She continued to giggle.

  It wasn’t until she saw the expression on his face, that she gathered herself together and sobered up. She put her hand on his shoulder and asked, "Is this girl important to you?”

  He nodded. Yes she was. Very important!

  Heidi gave him a sympathetic pat and then withdrew her hand, “You messed up. In a big way. Go and apologize. In an even bigger way."

  Now why didn’t I think of that? Evan felt some of his guilt slip away and he decided to take her advice. He’d make it right the second time around.

  “Thanks,” he whispered and reached over giving her a brief hug. Taking a breath, he changed the topic and asked her about her plans for the summer.

  Heidi's face started to shine brightly when she answered him, "I'm getting married to Romeo!"

  “Wow!” he said in surprise. “I didn’t even know you two were dating.” Romeo was another skier from Switzerland, and while Evan didn’t know him very well, what he did know of the man was all good.

  Heidi nodded her head and then thrust her hand under his nose, “It all happened pretty fast. I’m so excited!”

  Evan looked at the huge rock on her finger and smiled at her, "Congratulations. I’m glad you found your other half. You deserve to be happy."

  “Thanks.” Heidi proceeded to tell him about their wedding plans, and he could see, how much she was in love with Romeo. A punch of jealousy hit him in his chest. Would he find his perfect match one day? The one woman he could love and cherish for eternity?

  After breakfast, Evan excused himself. He wanted to go find Charlene. As he left the restaurant, Heidi’s words echoed in his mind. You messed up big. You need to apologize even bigger.

  He ran through various scenarios, and finally came up with something he thought would work. When he reached the lobby of the resort, he scanned the place. But where do I look for her?

  Seeing Tanner walking down another hallway, he hurried to catch up with him. He’ll know.

  “Hey, Tanner!”

  Tanner stopped and turned to wait for him to catch up, “Evan. What’s up?”

  “How do I find Charlene?”

  “Wow! You don’t waste any time do you?”

  “No. Now tell me where I can find her.” When Tanner raised an eyebrow at him, Evan shrugged his shoulders and rolled his eyes, “Please.”

  His friend grinned at him, “What’s it worth to you?’

  “Come on, man. Don’t be that way. Just tell me where I can find her?”

  Tanner laughed but he gave him the information he wanted. Evan could hear his chuckle all the way back down the hallway, but he didn’t let it dissuade him from his purpose. He had a woman to find and an apology to make.

  Chapter 7

  Charlene and Darcy reached the employee morning meeting just in time. After the usual weather updates, slope conditions, and their assignments for the day, their boss Carter informed them about a scheduled technical training later in the week.

  She whispered to Darcy, “Crap. I thought he’d forgotten about the technical training this year.”

  Darcy nodded, “Yes. Not one of my favorite things to do.”

  Carter glared at them, “Darcy, Charlene. Do you have anything to say?”

  Charlene felt herself blush, “No. Sir. I just mentioned that it’s good the World Cup event hosted in Eagle Mountain is over and we can return to business as usual.”

  She couldn’t tell if Carter bought her excuse or not. He probably knew how much she hated the technical training, even though she’d been careful not to show her aversion when her boss was around.

  He didn’t reply, but continued to pair up two of the instructors with one trainer. “... Charlene and Darcy, with Dustin Keller ....”

  Why me? Is this the bad luck week or what? As if the technical training itself wasn’t enough to get her worked up, she’d hit the jackpot. Dustin Keller was the one trainer everyone despised. He prided himself to rehearse each and every of the safety and other rules to the letter and after that awful theoretical part was done, he took the instructors out to the bunny slopes for boring hours of practicing the basics of skiing. His favorite sentence was, “If you don’t learn it on the flat, you can’t do it on the steep slope.”

  Charlene shivered when thinking back to another technical training a few years ago, where she had first met her friend Graham. They’d liked each other from the first moment and had been best friends for years. Now he was dead. And it was her fault!

  But the training wasn’t something she had a choice about, if she wanted to keep her instructor’s license. Suck it up and go through it! It’s only once a year. You can do that!

  After the meeting, she went to meet her new group of students. Carter hat classified them as intermediate skier according to their self-assessment. But she always wanted to check out their level herself. She figured that taking them up to the red slopes, would give her plenty of time to assess their skills and help them with any deficiencies they might be dealing with. Then they could decide together what they’d work on during the week’s course.

  Up on the mountain, she tried hard to focus on the beautiful day and the people she was working with, but her mind kept returning to Evan. With no signs of getting fixed on something else in the near future!

  When she thought of him, she was both confused and angry. How can I be thinking about repeating that kiss, and close to hating him at the same time?

  Her only salvation was the child in her group. They all knew each other and for some strange reason they’d decided to bring a 7-year old boy with them on the skiing class. These people are insane! Can’t they see that he’s quickly getting frustrated, because he’s so much behind the others?

  While the adults had everything well under control, she focused her instructional time on the boy. He’d been bored and frustrated with the class, but after just a few minutes of her undivided attention, his attitude changed 180-degrees and he eagerly performed the creative games and tasks she’d given him. The rest of the group quickly noticed Allan’s delight and joined in the fun. Soon all of them were playing “pizza and fries” and other silly games.

  Charlene had designed those games to teach young kids the basics of skiing. Pizza was just another word for the snowplow, an elementary turn where the tips of the skis are closer than the tails. Fries was her name for keeping the skis parallel. She was amazed at how much the attitude could change by giving those technical moves easy to remember names, that also conveyed their meaning.

  At the end of the day, she was more convinced than ever that a school focused only on teaching kids was the solution. She’d been planning to take on kids as young as age four, and already had ideas on how to create a special area just for them. It would be almost like a winter playground, and involve more fun and success than failure and frustration. And everything would be safe!

  She’d discussed this idea with her boss several times, hoping that it was something that could be worked on during the summer months. But he hadn’t been interested, saying it was too expensive. He tended to shy away from any investment that didn’t clearly show it could recoup the money in short order. And he didn’t see
a big playground area bringing in enough money to justify the expense.

  That was the very reason why she wanted to open her own school. I need a lot more money before that can happen. She had done her research, and making the playground area would require a six-figure investment. Of course, she figured she could get a loan from the bank, but she needed to have some equity to put down first. And then came other expenses, such as employees, insurance…. What she was dreaming about was a huge project. It might even be too big for one woman alone to take on. Perhaps I should look for a partner.

  ***

  Darcy had spent the entire night throwing up, so Charlene faced the dreaded technical training all alone. God, this is going to be so awful. A very long, boring, awful day!

  She was up on the mountain by 8:30, in the place where she was supposed to meet Dustin. He was already there waiting for her. Off course! Dustin was never unpunctual. She nervously checked her watch, but she was still one minute early. No need to worry.

  With a fake smile plastered on her face, she skied up to him. He doesn’t have to know I’m hating that technical training so much. But as she drew nearer, there was something about him that didn’t fit.

  When he turned to watch her approach, her heart dropped into her stomach. Evan? She blinked and then looked again. It’s him. No way! I must be hallucinating.

  "What are you doing here?" she fumed, all of her anger and disappointment coming back full force.

  "I'm your trainer for the day." When he followed up his statement with a crooked smile, she wanted to stamp her foot, but they were currently attached to her skis!

  Why does he have to smile? And why would he want to see me again after what happened? She felt her anger grow and then a bolt of worry flashed through her mind. What if he’s here to play another trick on me? Is he out to humiliate me even more? Not that he could! She mentally girded herself with an armor of steel against his charms. He won’t play the same trick on me again! Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me!

  She took a calming breath and asked, "Why? How? Where’s Dustin?”

  He flashed a mischievous smile, obviously pleased with himself. That damn smile that set her traitorous feminine parts on fire and had her almost ready to forgive him. Almost!

  "I had to pull a few strings, but I wanted to see again. And apologize."

  He wants to apologize? For real? Or is this another joke? She was still wary, and asked, "Why not just meet me in town and apologize?"

  "Because I fucked up big, so I needed to make it up to you in an even bigger way."

  She relaxed a bit; just a bit. Her heart softened to the sincerity in his eyes, but could she trust him? One million questions were burning on her lips, but she decided to keep quiet. At least for a while. Should he do the talking.

  But he didn’t. The seconds trickled away in silence. He’d moved closer to her and was now standing close enough to touch her. She inhaled his spicy scent, becoming overly aware of his insanely handsome face and rock-hard body. Remembering the kiss they had shared… Her eyes tracked back to his lips. God, I want to repeat that kiss! And to feel his body against mine again…To immerse myself in the passion and desire.

  Her knees weakened, and she steeled herself against falling into his arms. Remember how things ended the last time? He said no. No need to make yourself look anymore foolish than you already have. She wouldn’t go down that sorry path again. She’d already been burnt. It was his turn now.

  His expression, when she met his eyes, was soft and inquiring. But rather than asking her what she thought about him wanting to apologize, he said, "We should get started. What do you want to do?"

  Why would he ask her what she wanted to do? He was the trainer. Not her! “You’re asking me?“

  "Yes, I told you. I'm here to apologize. So I’m letting you chose. We can do anything you wish…” There it was again. That sexy smile of his that was capable of setting her entire body on fire! Damn it! It was all she could do to not throw herself into his arms.

  Evan continued, "…as long as it has to do with skiing."

  This man is too dangerous for me. And is it just wishful thinking, or did he just insinuate that we could make out?

  When she still didn't say anything, but gaped at him with pure lust in her eyes, he said, "You know, I am more than just a sex object."

  How embarrassing! He'd caught her ogling him. She quickly turned her face so that he wouldn’t see the blush suffusing her face.

  Evan asked, "What do you want to learn the most?"

  I know what I should learn, but I'm not going to tell you. She hadn’t come up with the courage to tackle Devil’s Nose since her friend Graham’s accident. That was the reason she only taught beginner’s classes. Even though they bore me to tears. With beginners, there was absolutely no risk that they would beg her to take them down that hill. No risk at all.

  Every skier worth his salt wanted to do the infamous double black diamond run at least once. The champions slope. Evan had won there at least five times. Just last week again. He’d be able to give her back the confidence she needed. With his help she could tackle that dreaded slope.

  But she opted for the safe way out and said, “Let’s go to the Powder Balls.” It was a difficult slope on the back side of the mountain, but it didn’t intimidate her like Devil’s Nose did.

  Evan raised his eyebrows and said, “And here I thought everyone wanted to speed down the Devil’s Nose.”

  Before she could stop herself, she snapped at him, “No. Not everyone.”

  Chapter 8

  Evan didn’t question her choice, and in fact, they had a ton of fun. Charlene was a great skier. And as they began their final ascent of the day, he realized he’d never enjoyed a day more. It’s because of the company, you dolt!

  When they sat down on the lift together, she was so near, his body ached to touch her. In a desperate attempt to keep his hands at bay, he reached out and gripped the safety bar. It was so tempting to caress her knees, move his fingers up her thigh. Hold hands. But he wasn’t there yet. Even though she had relaxed and was at ease with him, he didn’t take it further, afraid she might shut down again.

  He was determined to do things right this time. That meant he needed to get to know her, and allow her to do the same. Earn her trust.

  “You’re an excellent skier,” he complimented her.

  “Thanks. So, what’s it like being a competitive skier?”

  “Hard work. The media makes it appear easy and glamorous, but it isn’t. During the last year I trained or competed every single day. I get up every morning at six and practice 6 to 8 hours. Strength training. Endurance training. Technical Training. Mental training. Every single day.“

  He usually didn’t like to tell about his daily life. For one he considered his routine boring, and then he didn’t want to give the impression that he was complaining.

  “And during race days?“ Charlene asked with honest interest.

  “No training on race days.“ He flashed her a smile. “Do you really want to know the boring truth?“

  He felt a rush of heat pulse through him when she answered with her sweet voice, “Yes. Please. I’m sure it’s anything but boring.“

  “A race day is a million times more demanding. From the moment I wake up adrenaline is rushing through my veins. It starts in the morning with a walk down of the run. The psychological war games played between the competitors. The waiting. The dreadful waiting until it’s my turn to race.

  That was my biggest problem when younger and my coach often says that races are won in the waiting zone. I have learnt to quiet my thoughts and calm my nerves with meditation. Then I race and even though it takes only a few minutes from start to finish, I’m exhausted to death. I barely can keep myself standing up after the finishing line. Now the worst part comes: staying behind the finishing lines, watching the TV when my competitors race down. When I’ve given my best and all I can do is wait how the others score. That’s awful! .
..“ his voice trailed off.

  “Wow. Not at all how I imagined it! What is your least favorite discipline? And why?“

  He had to grin, now it got personal. His likings and dislikings of the different disciplines gave away a lot about his personality. His first impulse was to balk, but his inner critique Bob raised his voice and said, Trying to impress again, stupid? He hated Bob, but then, he was right. Like always.

  “Slalom. It’s much too slow and technical for my liking. I love the speed, the challenge, the adrenaline push when racing down the mountain. I’ve never been able to score high in a slalom, let alone win a race. A few years back I outright hated it. But when I set my mind on winning the overall World Cup I knew I had to conquer the slalom. So I trained extra hard. At first I hated every minute, but I’ve made my peace with it and now it’s ok. And it has paid off. I won the combination this year.“

  He turned to face her and gave her a glimpse into his soul, “You know, when I’m determined to get something, I do everything to pursue that goal.“

  Her cheeks showed a deep red blush. A damn cute blush that heated up his body. He wanted to kiss that cute face of hers, taste her warm and soft lips again. But she wasn’t ready yet, and quickly turned the subject back to skiing.

  “So how do you train during the summers?” she asked.

  “Well, I usually head home to Chestnut Mountain for a large portion of the summer, and then spend several weeks at some altitude training camps.

  “Where is Chestnut Mountain and home?” she asked.

  “About three hours from Chicago,” he answered, releasing his grip on the safety bar as they neared their destination. Suddenly, the lift stopped and he looked up ahead to see that it was not major, just the attendants helping a skier with a disability get off the lift.

  “They’ll get it going again in a moment,” she told him.

  “So, what do you want to do? Do you always want to be a ski instructor?”

  She shook her head and her eyes took on this light he hadn’t seen before. “I want to open up a ski school for kids. Everything designed to help kids learn to love the sport, in a safe and fun way.”