“You’re so fucking pretty, Val.” I wanted to lift a hand and cup her cheek but settled for watching those cheeks tinge pink at my words.
As we shuffled toward the loading area, a cold sweat slicked my back. My heart thudded as the metal chair entered the station, slowly rotating until it was behind us. It hit the back of my knees, forcing me to sit, then it scooped us up and carried us hundreds of feet in the air—and to my death, probably.
Val’s hand gripped my leg and my breaths wheezed in my chest like a goddamn broken accordion. “It’s okay, Nolan. You’re safe. Everything is fine.” An unending chant of reassurances wrapped around me in a meaningless flow of words. I didn’t hear what she said. Didn’t care. I just wanted the soothing sound of her voice, my tether to reality as I closed my eyes.
“This is a big step,” Val said. “I’m proud of you for taking it. Your mom would be proud too.”
I opened my eyes and found hers, glowing in the sunlight.
“What made you decide to take the leap?” she asked.
“You took a leap first—getting involved with me even when I’ve given you every reason not to. And I don’t want to be afraid anymore.” The double meaning of my words wasn’t lost on me. I didn’t want to be afraid of ski lifts, nor did I want to be afraid of this thing with Val, even though the deck was stacked against us. I couldn’t give her as much as she deserved, but maybe getting on a lift with her for the first time in twenty years would show her how much she meant to me.
The ride to the top was ten agonizing minutes—I knew because I counted all of them. When we finally got off the lift, I sucked in lungfuls of air. Val pulled me into a hug, bouncing up and down. “You did it! How do you feel?”
With her bright smile flashing in the sunlight, the smile that had first captivated me over a month ago, something grabbed my heart and squeezed. I took off my glove so I could drag my fingers across the curve of her face, not caring who was around to see. The touch was innocent enough, but this thing brewing between us certainly wasn’t.
“Fucking amazing,” I said. “Really fucking amazing.”
At my words, her impossibly bright smile grew even wider.
“But I can think of something even more incredible,” I said with a slow grin as she leaned into my touch.
“Oh yeah? What’s that?”
“Climbing into a hot shower with you after freezing my ass off all day.”
Val’s cheeks turned that pretty shade of pink I liked as she said, “I think that can be arranged.”
Chapter 24
VAL
Unclippingmybindingsatthe base of the mountain, I brushed globs of snow off my board as Frankie swooshed in beside me.
“So how’s Mr. Hot-and-Cranky?”
“A lot less cranky than he used to be,” I said, suppressing a smile as Frankie made a purring sound with her tongue. A few weeks had passed since my family’s visit, and Nolan and I had gotten pretty hot and heavy since then. In between our Arthur-mandated itinerary where we maintained a respectful distance, we snuck away together every chance we got. At work, he’d ambushed me in the rental supply closet more than a few times, working me into a frenzy with his hands and tongue. We still hadn’t, um,gone all the way, and with each passing day, I questioned my need to hold back from him. He wanted me, I wanted him, and Cressida supported us. So what was the problem?
“This competition will put a bit of a damper on things,” said Frankie, interrupting my internal monologue. “Or make it that much more fun to sneak around.”
“Ugh,” I groused as we headed inside to stow our equipment. In a last-minute bid, one of the biggest regional winter sports competitions was descending on Big Sky this weekend. Hale’s Peak would be packedwith spectator overflow and media hoping to catch a glimpse of the athletes enjoying après-ski, so we’d need to be extra cautious, and… “Erica’s still skulking around too. She tried to intrude on Nolan’s nightly scotch with Hugh yesterday, but he told her off.”
“Bet you loved that,” Frankie said with a smirk as we reached our lockers.
I shrugged, but my grin gave me away.
Leaning against the lockers, she crossed her arms. “You like him,” she said.
“Yeah, obviously.”
“No, I mean, it’s more than just having the hots for the guy, Val. That’s why you’re doing all of this. The sneaking around, pretending to be his lady butler. Lying for him.” Frankie ducked down so she could look directly in my eyes. “You care about him.”
“I care about me,” I countered, shutting my locker. “All of this is necessary so we don’t get caught. Nolan has that big board meeting coming up and his reputation can’t afford any bad press. And I don’t want to be in the media spotlight either.”
As we headed to the onsite convenience store to grab a snack, Frankie continued. “He cares about you too. I’ve seen how that man moons over you, and trust me, it’s enough to melt even my frigid heart.”
I rolled my eyes but a spark ignited deep within me.
