A smile for him, a frown for me. Then she retreated. I tried again.
“Elliot, I need to tell you—”
His phone rang. He gave me an apologetic grin. “Sorry, sis. One sec.”
He answered it, then got to his feet and stepped away from the table. Nerves coiled in my stomach. I unfastened the top button on my shirt and fanned the collar. Now I’d made the decision, I needed to get this over with.
“Sorry, sis, what were you saying about Ryker? Is he giving you a hard time? I know he can be an irritating asshole. It’s because he’s a perfectionist.”
“No, it’s not that.”
Elliot’s eyes narrowed. “He hasn’t made a move on you, has he?”
“No,” I said hastily, my cheeks blooming with color. “Of course not.”
Elliot laughed. “Only teasing, sis. He knows better than to lay a finger on you.”
Fuck’s sake.
“Seriously, Athena. You look tired,” he said. “We’re not overworking you, are we?”
“Not at all,” I said, swiftly abandoning the plan—for now. I’d find a better time to sit him down properly when he wasn’t so distracted, and I’d worked through exactly what I wanted to say. “I’m bound to feel a little shattered. It’s hard work learning a new job.”
“That’s true,” Elliot agreed, nodding. “You like it, though? Think it’ll work out?”
“Yes,” I replied emphatically. “I love it.”
“That’s good.” He reached across and squeezed my hand, then leaned away as our food arrived. Once the server retreated, Elliot picked up his fork, letting it hang in midair.
“What’s this about Ryker then?”
I sipped my water. “It doesn’t matter. It’s nothing, really. Just me being silly.”
“Sure?”
When I nodded, he let it drop.
“Elliot, I was thinking… about moving out. Would you loan me the money for a deposit on an apartment? I’d pay you back. You could take it out of my salary.”
His forehead creased, and his lips twisted to the side. “I’d kinda hoped you’d given up on the idea. Surely the house is big enough for you? Maybe we could convert part of it to a self-contained unit, or do something with the pool house.”
I rubbed the space between my eyebrows and sighed. “Elliot.”
He held up his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay. I get it. How about we wait until after Christmas, and then I’ll help you look. And of course I’ll loan you the money. Hell, I’d happily buy you an apartment, but I know you want to stand on your own two feet.”
“That seems fair.” Christmas wasn’t that far away, and I’d made it this far. Another few weeks wouldn’t hurt.
“What are your plans for the weekend, sis?”
Ah, the weekend. Two long days stretching ahead, and nothing to look forward to.
Out of nowhere, an idea came to me. I bit my lip. “Are you using the chalet at Belleayre this weekend?”
Elliot owned a gorgeous, quaint ski chalet close to the Belleayre ski resort, about two hours north of Manhattan. It had been ages since I’d gone skiing. The fresh air would do me good, as would the distance from Ryker. He and Elliot often hung out together on the weekends, with the vast proportion of their time spent at my parents’ house. Two days without seeing him was just what the doctor ordered.
He smiled. “I approve. It’s all yours.”
I stood and hugged him. “You’re the best brother ever.”
“I’m your only brother,” he said. “You can take one of my cars, too.”
I rubbed my hands together. “The Rolls?”
Elliot snorted. “The time and money it cost me importing that baby from Europe, and you think I’d lend it to you? Not a chance. You can have the Merc.”
I shrugged. “Spoilsport.”
“Why don’t you take Monday off?” he suggested. “You won’t get there until late this evening. At least that way you’ll have two full days on the slopes.”
“I can’t do that,” I said. “I only just started.”
“You can if I say you can. I own the company.”
“Part own the company,” I corrected.
“Yeah, and I own the part that says I can give my sister an extra day off.”
I frowned. “I’m not sure, Elliot. It feels like taking advantage.”
“I admire your commitment, sis, but you really do look tired. You’ll be no use to anyone if you fall ill. Take the day, and if it bothers you that much, make up the time later.”
“I guess I could.”
“That’s settled then,” Elliot said. “I’ll square it with Aaron.”
Hence, at five thirty that evening, I found myself on the interstate heading north. I turned up the radio and, with my mood vastly improved, started singing along at the top of my voice. A couple of days away would soon fix me up. Fresh mountain air, the thrill of zooming down powder-white slopes, all that time alone to sort through things in my head and forget Ryker had kissed me.
Yeah, like that was going to happen.
A little over an hour into my journey, I passed the turnoff to West Point and saluted—a tradition I always followed. Seconds later, a horrible rattling sound came from under the hood. The car began to shake, and the steering wheel juddered beneath my hands.
The engine lost power. Limping to the next exit, I coasted into the parking lot of a Seven-Eleven. My knowledge of cars began and ended with checking they had gas. Oh, and that the tires were pumped up. Other than that, zilch.
I scrabbled around in my purse for my phone. I’d call Elliot. He’d know what to do. After all, it was his stupid car. I should have insisted on the Rolls.
The call went to voicemail. I dialed a second and then a third time. Eventually he picked up.
“Athena, you’d better be dying.”
“The car broke down.”
“What?” he exclaimed. “What the hell did you do to it? German cars don’t break down.”
“I didn’t do anything,” I said. “And clearly they do. I was driving along, and it made this horrible rattling noise. I managed to pull off the highway. Can you come get me?”
“Where are you?”
“Just past West Point.” I gave him the address where I’d parked up.
“Okay, sit tight.”
Without the heat from the engine, the car had already turned cold. I reached into the backseat and picked up my coat, then decided to grab a coffee and something to eat. Even if Elliot left right now, it would take him over an hour to reach me. Just my luck. Still, I’d get him to drop me off at the cabin and then ask Dad if he could pick me up on Monday morning. He’d be fine with that.
Loaded up with a bagful of unhealthy snacks, I returned to the car and hunkered down.
Nothing to do but wait.
12
Ryker
I finished the chicken casserole my housekeeper had left in the fridge and stacked the plate in the dishwasher. Look at me. Twenty-eight, and the only thing I had to look forward to this Friday evening was reviewing a new supplier contract and binge-watching Netflix.
I poured a glass of scotch and settled on my couch. I’d taken a single sip when my phone rang. I reached over to the coffee table. Elliot. What did he want? We weren’t supposed to catch up until tomorrow.
“Yeah.”
“I need a favor. I was supposed to have a conference call with the Addison’s crew this evening, but Athena’s just called me. She’s broken down on the interstate on the way up to Belleayre and needs rescuing. Can you head up the conference call?”
I swirled the scotch in my glass. The Addison’s contract was Elliot’s baby, a joint venture with a global player in telecoms, and a big deal for ROGUES. He’d been working on it for months, and finally, we were heading into the home stretch. “Tell her to call Triple A.”
Elliot made a sound of frustration. “Fuck, man, she’s my sister, she’s in the middle of nowhere. It’s freezing, and she’s alone. I don’t really wa
nt to send some strange guy out to get her. You can’t be too careful these days. I’d send Dad, but he and Mom are away visiting friends this weekend.”
An idea formed in my mind. The journey up north would give me an opportunity to apologize to Athena for ‘The Kiss’. The one I hadn’t planned. The one I should regret but didn’t. I’d made excuses to visit IT on so many occasions this week, hoping to catch a glimpse of her. Yet when I had caught her eye, I’d glowered instead of smiled. Retreated instead of manning the fuck up and talking to her.
Tasting Athena again after all these years had brought every suppressed memory rushing to the surface. Except nothing had changed. She was still Elliot’s sister, and I was still his best friend, and any non-platonic relationship was still taboo. Bro code rule one-oh-one. Athena and I didn’t have a future.
The problem, though… I couldn’t stop running through permutations and scenarios where the forbidden became acceptable.
So far, I’d come up empty.
“I’ll go get her. You’re more familiar with the Addison’s deal than me. It makes more sense if I go.”
Elliot sighed in relief. “I’d kind of hoped you’d offer. We’re planning to review the latest contract changes tonight, and it’d take me a while to bring you up to speed. You can just drop her at the cabin. I’ll arrange for someone to tow the Merc to a nearby garage.”
“Got it. Where is she?”
“I’ll text you the details. You’re a legend.”
Elliot hung up and, seconds later, my phone dinged with an incoming text. Suppressing excitement I shouldn’t feel, I grabbed an overcoat, slipped on my shoes, and rode the elevator down to the underground garage. I checked the weather reports. Looked like a band of snow was heading our way. Choosing the all-wheel-drive SUV—the last thing we needed was my car skidding off the road on a patch of ice—I set off.
The farther North I traveled, the worse the weather became, sleet morphing into snow. I sped up, contrary to the conditions. If Athena had broken down, she wouldn’t have heat. Even if she changed into her skiing gear, she’d still be cold.
I exited the freeway, spotting Elliot’s car instantly. I pulled up alongside and cut the engine. When I knocked on Athena’s window, she jumped, smiled, then frowned.
“Where’s Elliot?” she asked through the crack she’d opened in the door.
“He’s working on the Addison’s deal.” I yanked the door wide open. “It’s me or Triple A.”
She folded her arms across her chest and stared through the windshield. “I choose the latter.”
So much for having a civilized conversation about my unplanned pass.
“I’ll wait in the car. Take your time,” I added sarcastically.
I slipped into the driver’s seat and waited for her to get over her snit and join me. Eventually she did, although she slammed the door closed to make her point. Snow stuck to her hair and coat, and she shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. I turned up the heat.
“Put your seat belt on,” I said, shifting the car into reverse.
“What about Elliot’s car?”
“He’s making arrangements to have it towed.”
I pulled back onto the freeway, heading north.
“You’re taking me to the cabin?” she asked, surprise in her voice.
I gave her a sidelong glance, then returned my attention to the road, the weather worsening by the second.
“That’s where I’ve been instructed to deliver you, yes.”
“How will I get to the slopes?”
I rolled my eyes and sighed. “Call a cab, Athena.”
She huffed, then fell silent.
The roads grew eerily quiet the closer I edged toward Belleayre, the snow falling thickly, reducing my vision dangerously close to zero. I considered myself a very competent driver, and even I experienced a sense of immense relief when I finally nosed the car into Elliot’s driveway. Athena ran on ahead to open up while I fetched her bags from the car.
I placed her things by the door and brushed snow off my shoulders. The wind whipped up, the sound whistling through tiny gaps and cracks in the wooden structure. The journey back wasn’t going to be fun.
“You can’t drive in that,” Athena said as though reading my mind. “You need to wait it out and hope the weather improves.”
Reluctantly, I nodded. “I hope the storm passes quickly so I can return to Manhattan.”
She snorted. “I bet you do.”
Snatching her bags from the floor, she disappeared into the bedroom.
I followed, propping my shoulder against the doorjamb. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
She unzipped her case and scooped out her clothes, tossing them haphazardly into the dresser drawers. When she’d finished, she spun around, hands on hips. “It means, Ryker, that of course you want the weather to improve so you don’t have to spend a second longer in my company than is absolutely necessary. What are you so afraid of? That I’m going to jump you?” She snorted again, then jabbed her finger in my direction. “You jumped me in that car, then left like a complete wuss, and have refused to even look at me, let alone discuss it ever since. And you accuse me of behaving childishly? I suggest you take a good, hard look in the mirror. It’s about time you were honest with yourself, even if you’re not honest with me. Oh, and you might want to let poor Lissie know you’re a cheating asshole.”
She snatched her red ski jacket off the bed and stomped past me, returning to the main living area of the cabin. Shrugging into the jacket, she marched over to the front door.
“Where do you think you’re going?” I demanded. “It’s a blizzard out there.”
“I’m going to the store. I need a few things.”
“I’ll come with you.”
She glared at me with enough fire in her amber irises to set me alight. “No, you won’t. Not unless you want to risk my knee connecting with your balls.”
She pulled the door closed behind her so hard, it almost came off its hinges. I crossed over to the window, watching as the snow gradually enveloped her until she completely disappeared. I wasn’t worried. The store was literally five minutes away, and she’d been coming to this cabin for years. She could find her way there with her eyes closed. As soon as she returned, I’d sit her down and apologize for kissing her, as I originally intended to. She had a point. I’d behaved like a complete prick, and I owed her an explanation.
I connected to the Wi-Fi and checked the weather. The storm seemed to be heading east. Forecasts showed it should pass through Belleayre in the next hour or so which meant I’d be able to set off for Manhattan by ten at the latest. At least the slopes would have had a fresh dumping of powder. Better for skiing.
Twenty minutes passed, then half an hour. I paced the room, glancing out of the window every few minutes. No sign of her. Worry gnawed at my gut, my palms slick with sweat, and a feeling of trepidation caused a prickling sensation to shoot down my spine. Where the hell had she gotten to? Five minutes to walk to the store, ten minutes buying a few groceries, five minutes back. Even if she’d passed the time of day with the store owner, she should be back by now.
The snow was coming down so heavily, the visibility had been cut to a foot or two. Shit. She could easily have wandered off the pathway and become lost. In these temperatures, she’d freeze to death.
I grabbed my coat and headed outside. The wind whistled and swirled, and the cold bit into my face. By the time I reached the end of the driveway, my lips tingled, and I couldn’t feel my fingers or toes. I slipped on a patch of ice and saved myself only by grasping on to a nearby tree trunk. Damn these shoes. If I’d known the weather would come in so fast, I’d have worn boots with a decent tread.
Athena’s footprints had long since disappeared under the heavy snowfall. Thankfully, I was as familiar with the route as she. I walked as fast as the conditions—and my inappropriate footwear—would permit, using the torch on my phone to light the path.
The buttery yellow l
ight of the store appeared in front of me—a warm and welcoming sight. I pushed open the door. The bell overhead dinged, and a blast of warm air hit me in the face. I closed the door behind me, shutting out the wind and cold, and strode over to the counter.
“Hi, I’m looking for someone,” I said. “A young woman by the name of Ath—”
“Ryker?”
My head snapped to the left. Athena was sitting at a small bistro table, warming her hands around a large cup of hot chocolate.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I roared, stomping over. “I’ve been worried sick you’d gotten lost, or fallen into a ravine, or been fucking kidnapped.”
She lifted her mug and grinned in a completely unapologetic kind of manner. “Want one? It’s delicious.”
“No, I don’t fucking want one,” I bit out, the fear-driven adrenaline that had raced through my body receding at a rapid rate, leaving me shaking and furious. “Jesus, you are so… so… exasperating.”
“Take it easy, Ryker.” She leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs. “You’ll burst a blood vessel. It was either stay here and take the time to calm down or return to the cabin and continue a pointless argument.” A slight curve showed her amusement at my expense. She set down her mug. “I’m feeling much better now.”
“Good for you,” I snapped. “Now get your ass back to the cabin.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”
“No, I damn well won’t excuse you. I imagined all sorts of shit, like having to tell Elliot I’d found his sister’s frozen body.”
She laughed. “Don’t you think you’re being a little ridiculous?”
That did it. I’d had enough. I gripped her upper arm, hauled her to a standing position, and propelled her toward the exit. “Out!”
She surprised me by trotting out the door, although the smirk she wore almost had me losing my shit.
We tramped back to the cabin in silence, each slip on the ice bringing a curse to my lips. The biting cold ate through my clothes. I wasn’t exactly dressed for tramping through the snow. No gloves, no boots, a pea coat instead of a thick, quilted ski jacket. By the time we returned to the cabin, I swore I had frostbite.
Entranced (The ROGUES Billionaire Series Book 1) Page 10