“Sounds like a regular Prince Charming.”
“He was,” she said, her cheeks turning red. “And I liked watching him ski. He’s really good. I was impressed. I’ll never be able to ski down a trail like that.”
“Sure you will,” I said.
“Today I didn’t actually ski on anything other than the bunny slope, but at least I graduated from ski class.” She jerked her thumb at Leah. “Klutz over here has to take the class again tomorrow.”
Leah wiggled her eyebrows, not at all offended. “You bet. Ian is such a hottie. He’s Australian and has the most delicious accent. I adore it. He promised to give me private lessons if I don’t do any better tomorrow.” She leaned forward and whispered, “I won’t do any better tomorrow.”
“He’s that hot, huh?”
“His presence melts snow.”
I laughed. “I’ve got to see this guy.”
“Just remember that I had first dibs on him.”
I watched the marshmallows bobbing in my hot chocolate. “I guess Brad hung around with Cynthia all day.”
“Like a sliver of metal against a magnet.”
I grimaced. “She’s too old for him. She’s gotta be like, I don’t know, twenty-four.”
“At least,” Leah said.
I wondered what Brad really saw in her, other than her tight pants and too-small sweaters.
“Whenever she talks, she sounds like she’s on the verge of hyperventilating,” Allie said.
I laughed. “She does take heavy breathing to the extreme.”
“You wouldn’t have liked seeing the way she sat on Brad’s lap in your brother’s SUV, ‘practicing’ for tomorrow when you’d be with us and there wouldn’t be enough seats.”
“Great,” I mumbled.
My parents had given Sam the SUV when he’d graduated from high school. It gave him freedom that I didn’t yet have. He and his buds had been able to drive up while my friends and I had flown.
Of course, we’d left from different destinations as well. Allie, Leah, and me from home, the guys from college. The university was about six hours from where we lived, so I completely understood Sam not wanting to come and get me, even if he had known I’d be there. Besides, I wouldn’t have wanted to be in a vehicle with him for fifteen hours, anyway. Fifteen minutes with him was a stretch of my patience.
“I think I’m just going to have to give up on Brad,” I muttered.
“Maybe not,” Leah said. “What’s Cynthia got that you don’t?”
“Lots of curves.” I wasn’t totally flat, but my chest resembled hills, while Cynthia’s looked more like the Grand Tetons. And my hips didn’t exactly flare out, not that I wanted them to.
“Look, we’re going to that party tonight,” Leah said. “We’ll all look our best, and before the night is over, maybe Brad will come around to noticing that you have a lot more to offer personality-wise than Cynthia. And you don’t have any trouble talking and breathing at the same time.”
“I doubt he’ll notice me.”
“Don’t be such a negative Nancy,” Leah said.
I rolled my eyes. “Have you been talking to Aunt Sue?” Aunt Sue had all kinds of quaint descriptions: Sad Sally, Happy Hannah.
Leah grinned. “Come on. So Brad spent the day with Cynthia—”
“Let’s not forget that he also spent the night with her.”
“Probably because he didn’t have a key and a way to get in. Give him a reason to want to be with you tonight.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
But I was also wondering if I wanted him that badly. Was he really worth it?
“Hey, you girls walking, or riding back to the condo with me?” Sam asked.
Allie popped off the loveseat. “Riding.”
Leah got up, too. “How long are you gonna work?”
“I’ll help with the late afternoon rush, then I’ll be back at the condo.”
“Okay, we’ll see you later.”
I sipped on my hot chocolate, contemplating what I might wear for the party. Most of my sweaters were bulky, designed to keep me warm rather than to show off the shape of my body. I thought about stopping by the Knitted Cable to see if I could find something that might prove a little more interesting to Brad. It was a boutique. All the stores in the village were labeled a shop or a boutique—they weren’t really big enough to be anything else. And they all smelled like pine and were as cozy as a fire in winter. I guess because most had fireplaces and it was winter.
I heard a footstep and turned my head to see Joe standing there. I hadn’t realized he was still hanging around. I should have. I mean, I hadn’t seen him leave, but he just wasn’t on my radar. Not totally true. He was on my radar, I just preferred that he not be. After all, he’d witnessed one of my more humiliating moments.
He held up a paper bag that looked like it contained a book. “I was browsing. Looks like I got left behind.”
“Yeah, Sam already left with Leah and Allie.”
“That’s all right. What’s a little walk after trudging up mountains all day?” He sat down on the loveseat across from mine. “Think you’ll go with us tomorrow?”
“Probably. How did you enjoy the lessons?”
“Didn’t take any. I know how to ski.”
I felt myself blush. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“No reason you would know.”
“So you’re not as mesmerized by all this as Allie and Leah are? No building snowmen for you?”
“Sure, I build snowmen, and make snow angels. It’s the magic of snow. It’s gotta be done.”
“You don’t agree with Sam that playing in snow is just for kids?”
“The way I play in snow isn’t for kids. Maybe I’ll show you sometime.”
Those hazel eyes of his unexpectedly darkened, and I thought maybe he was thinking about things that would warm up a girl. Dangerous things.
Now where did that thought come from? Brad was the danger, not Joe. Or at least I didn’t think the danger was Joe. But the way my heart was thudding against my chest, I suddenly wasn’t so sure.
“Have you ever been to Snow Angel Valley before?” I asked, wanting to change the subject.
“No, but I’ll be sure to come back. It’s beautiful country. I love being around mountains. I grew up on the Texas coast—flat as a pancake.”
I hadn’t known that, either, but then we really hadn’t talked except for last night while I was making my pitiful attempt not to look like I was waiting for Brad. And we hadn’t delved into each other’s histories.
“Where did you learn to ski?”
“Wyoming, New Mexico, other parts of Colorado. My folks would take us every year.” He shook his head from side to side as though contemplating how much to tell me, how much I might really be interested. He gave a little nod like he’d made his decision. “I prefer rock climbing and mountain climbing, though.”
“You and Aunt Sue should talk. She scaled Everest.”
“We did talk. She’s a fascinating lady.”
“She’s definitely that.”
“Do you have any interest in mountain climbing?”
“I like to hike snowy trails through the mountains, but it’s not the same thing.”
“No, it’s not. When we were walking through town, I noticed that a little theater is showing Touching the Void. Have you seen it?”
I remembered hearing something about the movie. The Last Buck Theater—which did, in fact, have a stuffed deer standing outside the entrance and only charged a dollar—usually showed movies that had already done their time on prime cable channels. The more obscure the movie, the more likely it would make an appearance at the Last Buck.
“Wasn’t that a documentary about those two English guys who almost died on a mountain?” I asked.
“Yeah, one had to cut the other guy’s rope when he was dangling over a crevasse. It’s really incredible that either of them survived.” He hesitated. “Don’t suppose you’d want to go see it?”
“What? The movie?”
“Yeah.”
“Sure. Why not? Maybe tomorrow night, since we have the party tonight. I’ll check with Allie and Leah and see if they’re up for it.”
He pressed his lips together into this funny shape like he was trying to stop himself from saying something.
“Right,” he finally said. “Yeah, let’s see if everyone wants to go.”
Oh, gosh, sometimes I’m as clueless as my brother.
“You weren’t asking me out on a date, were you?”
“Heck, no. I just wanted to see the movie and thought it might be fun to not see it alone. The more the merrier.” He stood and tapped the bag against his leg. “So I guess—”
Whatever he was going to say was lost as a crowd of people came through the door. Snow Angel Valley’s version of the rush hour traffic had just descended upon us.
Chapter 9
Joe surprised the heck out of me by not heading out the door as soon as it was clear of customers stampeding inside. Instead he shucked off his ski jacket, hung it on the coat rack in the corner, shoved up the sleeves on his sweatshirt, revealing those amazing forearms, and said, “Tell me what to do.”
The task that required the least amount of instruction was taking orders, so I gave him a pad of paper and a pencil and set him off to find out what kind of brew the people wanted. Aunt Sue and Paige joined us.
I was mixing chocolate with warm milk—Aunt Sue’s secret ingredient. Real whole milk, which was a total surprise coming from someone who thought nothing of tossing freshly squeezed asparagus juice into her morning shake. I’d have thought she’d go with skim milk, but nope—whole all the way. And she definitely doesn’t believe in using those hot chocolate mixes that require water.
“Hot chocolate should be sinful, and I don’t believe in sinning in half measures.” Her words, not mine.
So I stood at the back of the counter adding two scoops of chocolate powder and eight ounces of whole milk—warmed on a burner, not in a microwave. I stirred until the powder was dissolved—hand-stirring was another secret—dropped in mini-marshmallows, and set the mug on the proper tile that identified the type of hot chocolate inside. A section of the back counter was comprised of rows of blue tiles, etched with the name of the chocolate that went there. Aunt Sue had efficiency down to an art form.
Joe grabbed the mugs and took them to the appropriate customers. Clockwork. We were in complete sync. I was amazed.
During one brief lull, he leaned over to me and whispered, “I meant to ask you earlier. Paige Turner? That can’t be her real name.”
I peered over my shoulder at Paige before looking back at Joe and shaking my head. “No. My theory is that she’s in the witness protection program. Maybe she got to pick her own name and said, ‘I want to be Paige Turner working in a bookstore at a small ski resort.’”
Joe chuckled. “I guess that’s a better explanation than having parents with a wicked sense of humor.”
“It’s only wicked if they’d known she was going to work in a bookstore.”
“Good point.” He grabbed the mug of Delightful Decadence and walked away. No, it wasn’t exactly a walk. It was more of a swagger, brimming with confidence.
And confident was surely what he was. He’d never worked here before, but the customers couldn’t tell from looking at him. He smiled and chatted and took their orders as though he’d been doing it all his life.
I was impressed. He was really quite charming, and I thought his ability to fit in would probably serve him well if he did ever go to work for the FBI or the CIA. Watch out, bad guys. Joe would have their number, charming them into confessing their illegal activities.
Twilight had arrived by the time the crowd diminished enough so that Joe and I could leave.
“Don’t forget about the party,” Paige called out as Joe and I were walking out the door.
I waved back at her. “We won’t. See you soon.”
“Both of you!”
I looked back at her and gave her a thumbs-up sign. When Joe and I were on the sidewalk, walking up the hill toward the condo, I said, “Paige has the hots for you.”
Joe stopped walking. I stopped as well and looked at him.
“You’re kidding.”
I shook my head and smiled. “Nope. She told me.”
I wasn’t sure if he was blushing or if it was the cold breeze chapping his cheeks.
“Maybe I’ll skip the party.”
“Why?”
“You think I want to get involved with someone in the witness protection program?”
I laughed. “That’s just my theory. Besides, if you get close to her, maybe you can learn the truth about her name.”
“What’s it worth to you?”
I stared at him. “What are you talking about?”
“For me to go undercover, to get the information you want.”
I rolled my eyes and gave him an impatient look. “Don’t do it for me. Do it for yourself, because you’re interested in her.”
“Only I’m not. So I guess we’ll never learn the truth about her past.”
He started walking again and I fell into step beside him.
“How can you not be interested in her?”
“How can you be interested in Brad?”
Okay. I wasn’t expecting that. Now I was the one to stop walking, my heart pounding hard enough to start an avalanche. Joe stopped as well, turned slowly, an eyebrow raised as though he actually expected me to answer his nosy question. I won’t even go into why his question was nosy and mine wasn’t, but it had something to do with my heart being involved and his not.
“My interests are none of your business,” I finally managed through the lump of emotion that had settled in my throat.
“And my lack of interest in Paige is none of yours.”
“You don’t have to get so touchy. I wasn’t trying to butt into your business. I just thought you might want to know that someone thinks you’re hot.”
“Well, I don’t need you doing any matchmaking for me. I happen to be very interested in someone else around here.”
“Then you should have asked her to the movie.”
“I did.”
“And she said no?”
Sighing, he shook his head. “Forget it.”
He started trudging up the hill again.
I hurried after him. “Did you meet her on the slopes?”
“None of your business.”
“Does Sam know about her?”
“None of your business.”
“If you point her out to me tomorrow, I’ll put in a good word for you.”
“I don’t need you putting in a good word for me.”
He was walking so fast that I was having a difficult time keeping up. He really was in good shape. He had to do aerobic workouts in addition to the weights or whatever it was he did to keep those firm muscles.
“Oh, wait, maybe she’ll be at the party tonight,” I said. Wouldn’t that be interesting? I wondered if I needed to warn Paige so she wouldn’t get her heart broken.
“She will be,” Joe said.
“How do you know?”
“I just know.”
“You sure ‘just know’ a lot of stuff.”
“Yep.”
“Maybe you can make a move on her at the party.”
“I doubt it.”
“Why?”
“She’s not interested in me.”
“How can she not be interested?”
He spun around. I came up short, almost barreling into him.
“You tell me,” he demanded.
“Tell you what?”
“How she cannot be interested? Or better yet, why would she be interested?”
“You’re nice.”
He grimaced. “So is my grandmother.”
“You’re hardly a grandmother. Dress up tonight. That’s what I’m doing. Then pour on the charm.”
“That’s your plan for the nig
ht? To pour on the charm?”
I heaved a sigh. “I’m going to try.” Make a last ditch effort to win Brad over.
Joe slowly shook his head. “You don’t have to try, Kate. Or dress up. You’re terrific just the way you are.”
I couldn’t believe I was going to say this, but it wasn’t as though I was revealing anything he didn’t already know. “Then why doesn’t Brad notice me?”
“He’s an idiot.”
I barked out a bit of laughter. “So is the girl you met on the slopes.”
“I didn’t say I met her on the slopes.”
“Then where did you meet her?”
“How come I can’t get it through your head—none of your business!” He reached down, grabbed a handful of snow, and tossed it at me.
“Hey!”
I rushed past him. Felt snow hit my back. Without stopping, I reached down and scooped up my own handful, packed it together as I ran into the front yard of the condo, then spun around—
And went flying as Joe tackled me to the snow-laden ground. When I tried to gather up snow to toss at him, he grabbed my wrists and held them in place beside my head. He was heavy on top of me, straddling me, but it didn’t hurt.
His face was so close to mine that I got a real good look at the color hazel. I was intrigued—by the color and the way he was studying me.
“Don’t try to hook me up with anyone, Kate,” he finally said.
I nodded slowly, my breath not having found me yet. “Okay.”
We stayed there, just staring at each other. I was barely aware of the cold beneath me, because I was so aware of the guy on top of me.
“Are you going to let me up?” I eventually asked.
“Is there going to be dancing at that party tonight?”
Where did that question come from? I shrugged as much as I was able. “I don’t know.”
“Will you dance with me if there is?”
“Sure.”
He grinned. “Then I’ll let you up.”
But he just stayed there, smiling and looking at me, until he finally shook his head and muttered, “Brad really is an idiot.”
Then he rolled off me, got to his feet, and pulled me to mine. As we walked up the steps to the condo, I couldn’t help wondering if maybe I was an idiot as well.