“Those are nice.”
I look up from the rack of yoga pants with embroidered designs down each leg to see Garrick. He’s lost the winter coat and is in a Henley that clings to every one of his perfect muscles.
“Uh-huh,” I say. “I’m ready to start the tour.”
He chuckles. “We’re not leaving this store until you buy at least two things and put them on my parents’ account. I insist.”
I pop my hands on my hips. “Aren’t you on not great terms with your parents? What will they think of you spending their money?”
“You’re their guest. That trumps whatever’s going on with me.”
“Well, that’s too bad. I’m spending my own money.” I know the obligations that go along with taking money or favors from other people, and I want nothing to do with them. “Or I’m going as I am.”
Garrick doesn’t look happy, but I grab the leggings and head for a dressing room. If I didn’t love these leggings, I’d absolutely make do in what I’m wearing, but I’ve never seen yoga pants like this anywhere else. And I have money now. I sometimes forget that I can afford to splurge now and then.
The pants fit like a comfy glove. I pull the tag off and pay for them before Garrick has a chance to charge it to the family account. He probably just wants to do it to annoy his parents, anyway. It’s beyond clear his mother can’t stand me.
I stuff my long underwear in a plastic bag, thank the clerk, and head off to find Garrick.
“Ready to go.” I join Garrick, where he’s absorbed in studying ski goggles.
He looks up, clearly surprised. “Already? Did you pay?”
“Yep. What are you going to show me first?”
His eyes light and roam over me, and I heat in all the most wonderful places. I want everything he’s offering with that look.
He clears his throat. “There are so many things I want to show you, but let’s start with the balcony I jumped off of and broke my leg.”
He grabs my hand and pulls me from the shop. We make a quick stop at the lockers to stow my long underwear before continuing on. The lodge is a massive, sprawling two story building, and he takes me down the long hallways, telling me about every shop and eatery we pass.
He doesn’t actually tell me about what they sell or serve. He tells me about how it came to be, whose idea it was, what he shoplifted from there, or what dates he took there to annoy his parents.
By the time we reach the atrium, with a sparkling indoor fountain, and he’s pointing up at the wood-beamed ceiling and the balcony from which he leapt on a dare, I’m beginning to side with his parents in my surprise that he started his own successful business.
“And what did you get for completing this dare, other than a cast and grounded?” I ask, staring up.
He grips my chin and tilts my head down until I’m looking at him. Then he releases me and points at the scar on his top lip. “I got this.”
Never in my life have I wanted something more than I want to kiss this man right now. “Anything else?”
He shrugs. “Bragging rights and twenty dollars.”
“Twenty dollars?” I shake my head. “You almost killed yourself for twenty fucking dollars?”
“It was fun until I hit the ground.”
“Uh-huh. You’re an idiot.”
He laughs. “There might have been a girl I was trying to impress.”
I snort. “Now it all makes sense. I hope she also told you you’re an idiot.”
“She never talked to me long enough to tell me anything.”
He grabs my hand again. His palm is calloused and warm and I lace my fingers through his, laughing as we hurry down another hall, where he promises to tell me about the time he got to second base with a girl in front of an unexpected audience of his parents’ staff.
After he takes me through the lodge, we grab our coats and gloves and he takes me outside. He shows me around the small village at the base of the mountain and points out the town below that.
