by Hart, Taylor
Chad’s eyes lingered on her in an unspoken invitation until she shut the door behind her and then forced herself to silently turn the lock. “Whew, Bear. Wow. What am I doing here?”
“Having a little fun, I hope.” He called from the other room.
She gasped, relieved he couldn’t see the bright red flush heating her cheeks. “Goodnight.”
“Night.”
She woke to the smell of bacon and tea and was pleasantly surprised at the comfortable ease between her and Chad. There was none of the awkwardness she might have expected.
“Good morning, beautiful.” His warm smile sent a shiver of expectation to her toes. Her body had not forgotten her response to him last night. And she couldn’t blame herself one bit. He was simply delicious in the morning. His scruff along his jawline was more pronounced, his green eyes bright, his hair mussed with curls poking out—thick in some places, and flattened in others—and she hoped her quick work in front of the mirror had managed to make herself half as enticing.
He waved her over to the table. He had cleaned up all evidence of his night on the couch, folded the blankets, and set the table for breakfast. They lingered over their food, his eyes catching hers every few bites until she laughed. “What?”
“You’re a pleasant sight in the morning,” he said. “Is it too soon to say I was just thinking how much I would enjoy waking up to such a sight again.”
She laughed, uninhibited and thrilled at his response. “As long as it’s not too soon to admit I was thinking the same thing.” She stopped. “Not that…I didn’t mean…” Ugh. She didn’t want him to think she was inviting something more than she meant.
“No worries here. I think we understand each other.” His warm eyes were asking something. She wasn’t sure what. But she smiled in return.
They hurried through cleaning up and bundled for the outside weather.
Once in the truck, he blasted the heat. “No snow. Not yet.”
“Did the forecast estimate when it would start?”
“They pushed it back another hour. We have time for a solid climb and for rappelling back down.”
“I’m excited. Do you think we can do it in the cold? Our hands, gloves?”
“It won’t be windy. I’ll take us to a sheltered place, and, with the clouds, it won’t seem as cold.”
“Okay, I trust you.”
He stopped the truck in the middle of the road and turned to her, his eyes earnest. “Do you? Because I’m going to need you to trust me.” He waited.
She studied his face and wanted to give a sincere response, not just a polite one. And she realized she did trust him. She must. He’d slept over in her camper last night. But it was more than that. He had a solid certainty about him, a goodness in his face that she liked. She suspected he gave good advice and that he tried to do well in the world. She lifted her chin and nodded slowly. “I do trust you.”
A pleased twinkle lit his whole face. “Perfect.” He stepped on the gas as he faced forward again. “This is going to be epic.”
They arrived in a secluded canyon area with rock face on each side. When she squinted, evidence of climbing spikes marked vertical ascents in many places. Energy coursed through her. “I’m excited.”
“Good. We have time to do a few climbs if we want.”
She nodded. “I do. I think.” Suddenly, she hoped she would be brave enough. She’d never climbed so high or rappelled down that far either.
His eyes held hers for a moment and energy flowed through her in a greater surge. Then he grabbed a pile of ropes, their harnesses, and a backpack out of the back and took off at a slow jog into the canyon, down a path off the side of the road.
She followed, cold at first, the wind biting into her skin, but as soon as she descended into the lower canyon area, with walls on either side, the wind stopped and the air warmed. The hurry to follow Chad warmed her, and soon she was unzipping her jacket.
When she reached his side, he stood at the base of a cliff, making knots in the ropes. “Everything’s still in place. We’ll both be clicked on the whole time. I’ll send you up first, and you can belay for me from the top.”
She nodded. “Okay, cool. I remember how to do that.”
He reviewed what the ropes would look like and where she could clip in to make sure that her weight and ropes would hold him if he slipped. Then she started up the wall.
The foot and handholds were obvious, and the wall felt surprisingly warm. The world around her quieted, and she focused on each step, each reach. She had missed the exertion in her muscles. Then a voice in her ear almost made her jump. “You’re stunning.”
“Oh my word.” She took two deep breaths, holding her still position with great concentration. Then she turned her face to his.
His eyes were inches from her face. He reached an arm around her back and grabbed a handhold on the opposite side so his body cocooned hers, his eyes still staring into her own. “Truly stunning. You’re a natural at this.”
His words flowed through her like a cool river across tired muscles. She wanted to lean into him, and almost did, but then jerked forward again. “Oh my gosh!”
“Don’t worry. I’ve got you.” His eyes were earnest again, urging. She adjusted her weight so that instead of clinging to the wall face, her body leaned back against his. She thrilled at his touch.
“I’ve got you, see.”
She nodded, her mouth lifted in a small smile.
Then he moved his face closer, his gaze travelling down to her mouth. Her lips tingled in anticipation. She tilted her head, and he pressed his mouth to hers, the strength of the mountain pulsing beneath her fingers, the height below a dizzying thrill as his lips explored hers. She tipped further into him, and he put his legs up against the rock face, pulling them both away from their handholds and holding her fifty feet in the air. She clung to him, turning more to reach his mouth.
His kiss deepened and she thrilled at his touch. His hands held the ropes, and she held him. Then she shifted, laughing. “Wow. Okay.” She turned to face the wall again, and he pulled tighter on the ropes so that she was once again standing with her weight on the tiny crevices for her feet and gripping the handholds with her fingers. “I’m gonna keep climbing.”
He still stood behind her, his body pressed to hers, and she knew she would never forget this climb, ever. “I’ll be right here.” He scooted over to her right. “You go up ahead.”
She nodded, swallowing. Her lips tingled. And then she began to climb again. Wow, wow, wow. What was she gonna do now? That had to be the best kiss of her entire life, and she didn’t even know this guy—not well enough. But she didn’t care. Something about him was comfortable, good. So she went with it.
And anything was better than trying to get together with a guy from her crowd. She didn’t know his family; she didn’t care about his connections. There were no complications, just two people who met, shared an interest in each other, spent the night in her camper, and then made out while rock climbing. She chuckled to herself.
“You laughing up there, Grace?”
“What? Not really. Well, a little bit.”
“Care to share?”
“I just can’t believe I made out with a hot guy while climbing the face of a cliff.” She wanted to bite her tongue, but the words were already out.
“Hot guy, huh?”
She could hear the grin in his voice.
“Oh boy.”
“So, how hot is hot?”
“Typical hot.”
“Now I’m typical? So all the guys you date are hot?”
“Are we dating?”
Silence. Good, she’d unsettled him a little bit too.
Then his voice, close again, “I’d like us to be.”
She turned to him. His eyes were full of sincerity and adventure. He offered something so enticing that she almost didn’t dare consider it.
The ledge was just above. So she nodded and then hurried up the rest of the cliff until
she pulled herself up and over. Then she hurried to clamp in solid and backed up in case he needed her weight to belay. “I’m clicked in.”
Twenty seconds later, his head peeked up over the top, his eyes sparkling, his grin wide. “So, how’s about it, Grace with no last name? Can I see you again?”
She was in, so in. “Absolutely.” What harm could there be in a relationship without complications, without her family and the press and everything getting in the way? When he found out who she was and everything that came along with dating her, he might already be long gone. As he cleared the top of the ridge and came to stand beside her, all six-foot-two of his nicely toned bulk, she hoped he’d stick around.
What a kiss. Chad was definitely intrigued. Blown away more like.
Back in the truck, snowflakes started falling in thick, fast droves, and they hurried back to her camper. “So, we know you can kiss…”
She choked. “Pardon me?”
“Well, you’re sizzling hot on a rock wall. We know that too.”
Her eyebrow rose, just a little. He couldn’t tell if she did it on purpose or if it was just one more adorable thing about this woman who had so completely captured his attention. “So, I’m intrigued. What makes Grace tick? Tell me about something that’s important to you.”
He made his windshield wipers go faster, and his phone dinged again. It had been going off for about ten minutes. He figured it was the guys’ group chat, planning their arrival tomorrow.
“I want to tell my story.”
“Ah, so Grace has a story.”
“Everyone has a story.” She turned from him.
“But you don’t want to tell your story to me?”
She turned back. “Not yet. I need to get it out, type it up into a book, and then I can share it. Besides, I like what we have.” She toyed with her coat sleeve. “Without bringing all that into it.”
He studied the road, thoughtful. He had no idea what secrets she hid or what story she was writing, but he wanted to unravel each one. “Fair enough. I like what we have, too.”
“Besides telling my story, I want to find a way to live in this world and just be me.”
Interesting.
“What about you?”
“I want to be successful.”
She snorted.
“What? What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing. But, I don’t know, this is probably coming from my current place right now, but isn’t everyone all about success? Driven to get more money, more prestige, more of everything, thinking it will make you happy. But, it doesn’t make anyone happy.” She paused. “At least, that’s the way it looks to me.”
So, she had a problem with the rat race. Well, didn’t everyone, really? “I guess it depends how you define success. I was thinking I’d like to prove myself apart from my father’s expectations.”
Grace nodded. “Yes. That is exactly what I want for myself. My own thing. For once, I want to do something start to finish all on my own.”
And that is exactly what he’d been missing. She understood a part of him no one else had been able to. And suddenly, he wanted this bubble to continue. He wanted a haven where he could be himself without the trappings of his name or other expectations, without his parents’ social world. “So, Grace with no last name, how about I be Chad with no last name, and we’ll just see where this goes?”
Her eyes lit. “Excellent. I’m game. I’ll be up here for the summer.”
“The whole summer?” He still couldn’t believe someone could just take such a long break. He’d have to get back after this week. “Looks like I’ll have to take a few more trips to Tahoe than I had planned.”
They pulled into the campground, and the camper already had a couple inches on the roof. “I don’t know about this storm. Let’s see what the projections are.”
He pulled out his phone. His friends had left fifty messages. “What...” He quickly scrolled through the first of them. Apparently Brilee hadn’t shown at the party last night because she was in hiding, as he had suspected. And she was all over the press because of it.
The papers were claiming she’d been disowned. That seemed pretty harsh. When he’d last seen her parents, they had sounded like they’d expected her to have some sort of relationship with him. As he skimmed the texts, his mouth dropped open. The press had gotten wind of their parents’ manipulations, and the headlines read, “Billionaire debutante goes into hiding to avoid arranged marriage.” He clicked on the images, but nothing would come up. His coverage wouldn’t download anything.
He groaned as he tried another with no success.
“What is it?”
His eyes whipped to hers. What a mess. Was he free to pursue anything with Grace when his life was in the headlines? He swallowed. This fun, new interest in a woman with no last name appealed all the more, if only to give him a respite from his crazy life. “Nothing.”
“You’re not married, are you?”
He held up his hands. “Not even close.”
She breathed out. “Okay then. You tell your story when I tell mine.”
He settled back in his seat, the truck heater keeping them warm. He could do that. He wasn’t hiding anything as long as they both admitted they were keeping things to themselves. That seemed fair. “Deal.” He scrolled some more. “Oh, man.”
“What?” She laughed. “If you aren’t going to tell me anything, then you are going to have to make it sound really boring. I’m dying of curiosity.”
“This I can share. They’ve blocked the passes into Lake Tahoe. Worried about an avalanche.”
Her eyes lit. “So, your friends?” A small smile tried to stay hidden, but she couldn’t keep it down.
“You don’t seem very concerned about my friends. They could be stuck at the side of the road for all you know.”
“I guess I should be, especially if you need to go. And I do feel like I should be sad you are missing out on your guy trip…”
He reached for her hand. “They’re fine. And, you know, I can’t find it in me to be unhappy at all. My present company is suddenly much more preferable. Though, we are going to change up our sleeping arrangements.”
He enjoyed a wicked moment as he watched her face flash through a series of reactions: planning to decline while hiding a bit of secret pleasure, a deep blush, and then her mouth opening to respond. He said, “I only mean I have a chalet booked for the week, just off Heavenly Valley Ski Resort, and the snow is gonna be epic. If we can get to it before they shut down all the roads, we’ll have the resort to ourselves.”
“And I bring Bear.”
“Bear is also invited.” He ran a thumb along the knuckles of her hand. “I have a cook who’ll be living with us. And you’ll have your own room.”
“Wow, this sounds fancy.” Her eyes narrowed just a bit, and he didn’t know what to say. Did she have a problem with wealth?
He’d try not to be too obvious about his money, but the cook helped smooth over any awkward feelings about the two of them sharing a condo when they hardly knew each other. “I’m not going to complain about ready cooked meals, especially if we become snowed in,” he said.
She nodded. “Fair enough.” She wrinkled her adorable forehead and then turned to him. “If you don’t mind the company, I’d love to come. I’m sure I’d be trapped here in just a few hours.”
They both eyed the snow and the collecting inches on top of her camper. “Let’s get our things.”
Soon they had everything loaded into the back of the truck. He pulled the cover flat across the back while Grace locked up the camper and put Bear in the back seat. They weren’t far from Heavenly, but the snow was falling fast. He switched the truck into four-wheel drive. “Wow, it’s really dumping now.”
Her eyes widened with wonder. “I’ve never seen so much snow.”
“We’ll take it slow.” He watched her out of the corner of his eye. So, she wasn’t from around here at least.
“The trees look magica
l. I love to see pines with new snow caught in their branches.”
“Me too, especially going up the ski lifts. I feel like it takes me to their realm or something.”
“Realm? I love that.”
“You gonna add it to your book?”
She laughed. “No, no, this isn’t a fictional story.” She shook her head, and he thought he caught her mumbled words, “If only.”
“So, you’re writing your story, as in, your real-life story?”
She hesitated a moment and then nodded. “I am. I want people to hear it from my own perspective.”
He nodded but didn’t ask more. He wanted to keep their private lives outside of their bubble for as long as possible. Who knew if she would even want to be part of his life once she knew he was all over the headlines? He gritted his teeth. The idea that he’d be involved in an arranged marriage was absurd. What century did everyone think he was living in? He’d have to get his father working on changing the public story.
They pulled into the chalet, and Chad was glad the helicopter hangar was hidden from view. For some reason, he wanted to appear as normal as possible to Grace. The three floors of natural wood and stone, the snow melting off the roof and sidewalks from thermal heating, and the granite tile of the sidewalk would all give away the wealth he was used to.
But he didn’t feel the need to apologize, he just wanted to continue to get to know her before all the outside influences crashed around them.
Soon they were unloaded, and Grace stood at the large floor-to-ceiling windows, staring out at the slope and the falling snow. He rested his hands on her shoulders, and she turned to him. “This is incredible. We might be one of the few up here. Will they keep the lift open?”
“I called, and they said yes. For all the people already up here, staying at the lodge and in the chalets, tickets will go on sale. But the roads are closed. Solidly gifting us the most epic day of skiing I’ve ever heard of.”
She rubbed her hands together. “This is incredible. I mean, who gets to do this? Thank you.”
“Thank you. You saved me last night. It’s the least I could do. Besides I wouldn’t be able to sleep, thinking of you trapped in your camper.”
