by Ellie Hall
She’d heard that he’d gone to Canton, Ohio to look for her, but she’d been smart and gone home, to her mum’s place in Sheffield for a few weeks to recoup before she started her new job. When she found out the dodger had followed her to England, she’d completely lost her mind and begged her saintly mum to shelter her. Her mum had told a falsehood for her when Breck showed up on their doorstep. Of course Mum had also fallen for his charms, but she’d held to her mistruth that Rissa wasn’t there. Rissa had hidden out until she was certain he’d left town, her mum begging her the entire time to “give the charming chap a chance.” Breck Judd had lost his charm and his chance with her, and she felt her dad was agreeing from heaven. Three weeks later, she’d flown to Ohio to start her career. Luckily, “the charming chap” had gone back to North Carolina.
Breck had phoned, texted, and emailed so incessantly for months that she finally let herself answer. She never told him the truth—what she’d seen that fateful day, how he’d gutted her, or her heavenly inspiration. She simply insisted that they were never going to work as a couple. A woman did have her pride and knew her weaknesses. Breck was her weakness, and he could easily talk himself back into her heart if she was wanky enough to let him see her in person, talking to him on the phone was test enough for her frail heart.
They’d maintained an odd friendship over the past three years, but only because Breck had insisted on calling, texting, and emailing every few days. After her anger settled, and she knew he wouldn’t come break down her door demanding answers, she’d enjoyed each message or phone call. He always made her laugh and brightened some gloomy and hard days when she was missing her dad, but she’d stayed strong and hadn’t seen him these long, lonely years.
Her spine straightened as she got into her rented Audi and her phone rang again. She knew he hadn’t been lonely. She’d seen pictures of him online with woman after woman, and her school chums who were still in North Carolina confirmed that he blew through women faster than designer suits.
She let the phone ring through to voicemail three more times as she drove the half an hour from Gunnison to Crested Butte, loving the mountain pass and especially the breathtaking valley of Crested Butte with rugged green mountains surrounding it. She found the Elevation Hotel and Spa next to the ski resort on the far side of the valley. After checking into the hotel, she turned around and drove back downtown to find dinner and explore the quaint downtown strip. It wasn’t as quaint as Clovelly, but it was smashing for an American town.
She admired everything about this remote mountain piece of heaven. Crested Butte’s small downtown area was a delightful collection of restaurants and shops. She walked around for an hour in the beautiful, fresh, crisp mountain air, looking over her shoulder every few minutes but not seeing Breck Judd. Her phone had stopped ringing, which concerned her even more than it ringing.
She’d eaten a leisurely supper at Teocalli Tamale, enjoying the steak fajitas, but also pondering how her adorable toy designer, Summer Anderson, had tricked her into jetting across the country for Summer and Chance Judd’s wedding. She and Summer had become close friends over the past nine months, and as CEO of KJ’s Fun Zone, Rissa had never been happier with the innovative designs coming out of production. But attending this wedding was asking more of Rissa than even her professional façade could handle.
Of course, she hadn’t confided in Summer about her worries of coming face to face with Breck for the first time in three years. Summer assumed her future husband’s brother and her new boss were chummy. Breck had, after all, gotten Summer the job with Rissa. She and Breck were friends, of sorts, mostly because he insisted on keeping in contact. Yet how could you truly be mates with the only man you’d ever loved? A man who had broken your heart into a thousand pieces and was certain to easily accomplish the act again if you made the mistake of wankily letting him close?
Her phone rang again. Ah, Breck. Persistence was one of his many, many talents. She let herself answer, steeling herself to be strong but so chuffed to hear his voice she could hardly keep the breathless quality from her voice. “Hello?”
“Ah, there’s the most beautiful voice in the world. How was your flight?”
“It was ace, thank you.” Summer must’ve given him details as Rissa hadn’t admitted to him she was flying in tonight.
“Where are you?”
“I just finished supper and I’m headed back to my hotel.”
“I’m sorry I missed you.” He didn’t even reference her not picking up her phone or try to make her feel guilty about it. Another Breck Judd talent—gracious and never belittling. “Meet me for ice cream? Please?”
She signed the credit card bill and mouthed a thank you to the waitress. “I’m knackered. Traveling all day, you know?”
“I would’ve picked you up in my jet, but a particular incredible lady I know is too independent.”
She laughed. Even though she’d dumped him he still tried to spoil and protect her. “I don’t need you spending your mint on me.”
“Yes, you do.”
How she wished she could let him spend his money and pamper her. No. She was independent and feisty and not one to forget how bad it hurt to get blinded by his mangy ways. The problem was … Breck. The very sound of his masculine voice made her go bananas.
She walked out into the crisp evening air; even in late summer, the mountains of Colorado were chilly in the evening.
When she didn’t answer, Breck said, “Ice cream … please.”
She hurried up the street, trying to remember which side street she’d parked her rental car on. If she knew Breck, he was probably downtown already. This town was far too small to hide in. Any minute now, he’d appear around a corner and hug her. She’d only resisted him for three years because she hadn’t seen him in person. How she was going to survive the wedding tomorrow she had no idea. There was safety in a crowd, so she’d attach herself to a group and hang on to someone’s elbow for her own sanity. Maybe a burly lumberjack of a man she could hide behind.
“Are you still downtown?”
“No,” she lied, figuring she was justified as he’d lied to her that fateful day and said he didn’t have time for lunch. He’d had time for that brunette, that was for certain. “Heading back to get some rest. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She said the words too brightly and slightly out of breath as she darted to another side street and no silver Audi waited. Shoot. Where was that wanky car? She started clicking the remote unlock button … nothing.
“I’m standing outside of Third Bowl Ice Cream. Turn that rental car around and we can start the reunion early. It’s just ice cream.”
Third Bowl Ice Cream? Jiminy Christmas, the sign was ruddy a block ahead. She ducked into an open door, realizing too late it was a sports bar crowded with men cheering for their American football teams.
“Are you already at the hotel?” he asked. “Is that why it’s so loud?”
“Yes, huge bash going on at the hotel.” She gave the men at the first few tables, who were now staring at her instead of the big screens, an embarrassed smile and a wave. Sneaking back toward the open doorway, she peeked out. Sure enough, there Breck Judd stood in all his glory. Less than a block away. He was staring across the street with his phone to his ear. He was as tall, fit, and irresistible as she remembered. Oh, she was never going to make it through that wedding tomorrow. She had been lying to herself thinking she could be impervious to the man she’d assumed was her destiny and sadly she still dreamt about. He’d ruined her for any other man.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said before he could say anything. “Thank you for the invite.”
Without waiting for a response, she pushed end on the phone and slipped it back into her purse. She hovered in the doorway, watching him. Please, please let him go the other direction. As if the saints above had turned on her, Breck pivoted and those dark eyes she could get lost in zeroed right in on her.
She darted back into the doorframe. “Oh, blimey!” she ca
lled out.
Turning, she saw almost the entire bar staring at her now. The football game had apparently lost its appeal in the face of a wanky, dark-haired English woman in a pencil skirt and heels.
“Pardon me,” she managed, running past tables and asking no one in particular, “Is there a back entrance by chance? If you could point me the way that would be lovely.”
“No back entrance,” several men said.
She was in a heap of trouble now. Breck would be here any second. She had no choice. She dropped to her knees and scrambled underneath a table and behind some burly chap’s legs. He looked down at her, his bearded mouth sagging open in surprise.
“Lie for me,” she begged.
“Some loser trying to hurt ya?”
“No, but he cheated on me and is trying to claim he didn’t.”
He nodded, his hazel eyes serious.
Rissa cowered behind his thick legs, kneeling in sticky, warm beer—oh, it was ripe—and praying that Breck didn’t find her. She’d have to somehow face him, but not until tomorrow. She wasn’t prepared tonight.
“Excuse me.” His cultured, beautiful voice was only a few feet away. Oh, blimey!
Rissa’s pulse ramped up. He was going to find her and think she was an absolute wanker. He’d tease her about hiding on the beer-soaked floor behind a mountain man’s legs, and then she’d crumble to his charm like every other woman he set his alluring deep-brown eyes on. She and Breck would end up kissing the night away because of how weak she was for him, and he’d move on to somebody new at the wedding party tomorrow. Her father’s voice had told her to run that fateful day three years ago. She strained but was getting no heavenly instruction at the moment. Maybe because she’d just asked some innocent man to lie just as she’d forced her mum to do three years ago. Please forgive me for lying and please somebody up there help me, she begged frantically.
“Did any of you see an absolutely gorgeous woman come in here? Tall, long dark hair, spike heels, perfect legs, English accent.”
Someone grunted, but nobody answered him.
Were these men going to cover for her? Had her buddy given them some kind of American football-loving hand signal? She’d never known she fancied mountain men, but she did now. These were her people.
His footsteps came closer and then she saw dark brown dress shoes that she knew belonged to the man she still loved. What was she doing wrong in her life that she’d been brought to this moment? It was him who’d cheated, not her, and it was him who’d insisted on maintaining a relationship with her throughout the years. Gormless git she was, she’d been too weak to sever all ties. She should’ve dated more, moved on, kissed hundreds of men to put him from her mind. Most importantly, she never should’ve come to Crested Butte and Breck’s brother’s wedding thinking she could somehow be immune to the most lush chap on the planet.
“She’d be hard to miss,” Breck’s voice said, so close now that she longed to peek up and get her fill of those deep brown eyes. She loved the way they looked at her. “Imagine the smartest, sassiest, most beautiful woman in the world wearing a button-down shirt and a pencil skirt, captivating you with that beautiful accent, and you’ll know it’s her.”
Again, the only sound in the formally-noisy bar was the commentator and crowd cheering on the telly. Breck threw flattering words around too often, but the way he described her hit her like a double-decker bus. Did he truly think she was the smartest, sassiest, most beautiful woman in the world, or did he know she was hiding under here and was laughing to himself? The man’s charm had no end. If only it hadn’t worked on every woman in the world, charming the knickers off of any attractive female that came within a hundred miles of him.
Okay, that was an exaggeration. He’d been a gentleman when she’d dated him, and he probably only charmed his adoring female crowd out of kisses.
Her face heated as she remembered his lingering and all-encompassing kisses. Breck had treated her like a princess and made her believe she was the only woman for him. She was much more clever than that now.
Please let me be clever, Lord, she prayed.
Please inspire me, Dad, she threw in for good measure.
Three years and she still couldn’t forget how Breck had made her feel. He’d probably dated a couple thousand women since then while she’d married herself to her job and risen to be one of the youngest and most successful female CEO’s this side of the Atlantic. Headhunters approached her constantly, trying to woo her to different companies, but though she missed her mum, and some of the offers across the pond were tempting, she loved PJ’s Fun Zone with all her heart. It was like her first-born child, and she couldn’t imagine ever leaving it. Thank heavens her work sort of filled the emptiness only Breck could satiate.
“We ain’t seen your lady, pretty boy.” The man she’d talked to said gruffly and then stood. “And I think you need to leave straightaway so’s we can enjoy our football game.” His voice was hard and mean. Rissa winced. She hoped they wouldn’t beat Breck up because they all thought she was running from him. Maybe they thought he’d hurt her, except the guys near this table who’d overheard her say he’d cheated on her.
Breck was tough, super tough, but these good old boys would know how to fight, and they wouldn’t take him one on one. She prayed hard that they wouldn’t hurt Breck, but she also prayed that he’d leave.
Tomorrow. Tomorrow she’d be brilliant, strong, ready to come face to face with him, but not like this. Not kneeling in beer.
“Sorry to interrupt your game,” Breck said evenly and confidently. He wasn’t afraid, but he didn’t want to fight some guys for no reason either.
His shoes turned and then tapped away. The noise in the bar ramped up again. Rissa stayed frozen for a while. A good, long while. Finally, the guy leaned down and said, “He’s gone, ma’am. Johnny-boy trailed the cheater and watched while he drove away in a fancy sport utility vehicle. You know, one of those spit-shined ones only a pretty boy would drive. Do you want me to walk you to your car?”
She managed a smile and took the hand he offered, stuttering to her feet, her legs numb from kneeling on the sticky floor for so long. Most of the men in the bar swung to stare at her. “Would you mind terribly?” she asked shakily, straightening her blouse and sweeping her hand down her skirt. She’d made quite the spectacle of herself.
The man and his friend edged in on each side of her to escort her out. They were a few inches taller than her and thick. Sandwiched between them, she gratefully made her way down Elk Avenue, Crested Butte’s Main Street. Her eyes darted around for Breck, but it appeared Johnny-boy was right. She didn’t see him, and they found her car down the next block, ironically right behind the ice cream shop.
She thanked her new mates, Mark and Johnny-boy, and slid into her car. Banging her head on the steering wheel, she promised herself that tomorrow she would be ready. She’d be brave and she’d withstand Breck’s charm. No matter what, she wouldn’t hide under a sticky bar table and ruin one of her favorite skirts.
Tomorrow.
She was dreading it and buzzing to see him at the same time. She’d better text her mum to pray for her. She was going bonkers.
2
Rissa thanked the driver of the beastly four-by-four truck for the ride up the mountain and then picked her way around the grassy plateau in her three-inch heels. The beautiful setting for the wedding of the year was hidden in the lush green mountains above the main ski resort of Crested Butte. The mountainous town, valley, and especially this secluded wedding spot were gobsmackingly breathtaking. She loved the majestic peaks and all the pine and aspen trees. They had a lot of green back home in England, and Canton, Ohio was lush as well, but not the looming crests that were so high that at the tip-top they were actually above the green tree line and it was just gray, jagged rock. The contrast was brilliant.
Most of the guests were seated, but a few latecomers like Rissa were still filing in and taking their seats. Rissa recognized some of them f
rom the American tabloids—NHL star Beckham Taylor and his exotic-looking artist wife, Alyssa. Then she noticed billionaire creator of the Friend Zone, Tucker Shaffer, and his petite, blonde wife. She couldn’t remember her name, but she was a beautiful lady. She grinned over at Rissa like they were the best of friends. Rissa was tempted to go introduce herself and see if she could sit with them; maybe they could insulate her from Breck’s charm.
At that instant, the man of her dreams and her nightmares appeared in her line of sight.
She saw him first and was able to admire the way his tall, well-built frame filled out a tailored navy blue suit before his gaze found her. His dark eyes focused in on her as if she were the only woman in the world. Breck Judd’s eyes lit up and he walked toward her with panther-like grace. When he flashed that smile at her, the years since they’d been together melted away. Despite how barmy it was, the only thing she wanted was to be in his arms again, for him to kiss her thoroughly and tell her she was the one he wanted to be with.
Yet it had all been tricks and lies. She needed to remember his deception at this crucial moment, or three years of staying strong and listening to her dad’s advice from the other side would go down the loo.
He reached her and she straightened her spine, tilted her chin up, and extended her hand.
“Oh, no,” Breck chuckled. “I haven’t seen you in three years and you think you’re getting away with a handshake?”
Rissa swallowed and didn’t have any response. Breck wrapped his arms around her, and she felt like she’d come home. He smelled insanely good. Tom Ford cologne, if she had to guess—a citrus, musk, and vanilla blend. His muscled chest pressed against her was enough to drive her bonkers. It was all she could do not to lift her head and see if his kiss was as brilliant and intoxicating as his smell and her memories.