I smirk at his grin. I’ll bet you would, considering what I was just thinking about you less than a half hour ago. “I think you liked that I called you sexy.”
He chuckles as he backs out of my driveway. “Yeah, I liked that, too.”
Feeling bold after my morning of sexting I say, “I’ll say it sober too. You’re hot. But I think you already knew that. Your reputation precedes you.”
“My reputation? What have you heard?”
“Oh, I was warned off you by a few friends. Seems you were a player, but Nika assures me that was in the past.” And that is exactly why I can’t pursue a relationship with you, Neal Morgan.
“Really?” He cuts his eyes at me, but they’re crinkled in silent laughter. “I’m surprised you took a chance with me, knowing all that.”
“You dazzled me with your brain, not your body.”
He reaches over and tweaks my knee, making me flinch. “Sounds like I’m the perfect package for you.”
I frown because I think I just went too far and can’t come up with a clever reply. “You’re the perfect package for someone, and she’ll be lucky to find you.”
Neal nods as his smile fades. I’m afraid I’ve said the wrong thing so I move on. “The silks are still in transit, and we’ll probably finish sewing today.”
“When are they supposed to arrive, Friday?” His eyes glance at his rearview mirror.
“Yeah, if all goes as planned, but that means for at least two days I won’t have much to do. Are there store fixtures to assemble yet?”
Neal nods. “Yes. Most of them have arrived. But you’ll want help; they’re probably not a one-person job.”
I wonder if Elaina, Lisa, and Garret would be up for that and will have to ask them later. “Okay, good to know. I’ll go check things out this morning before I go back home.”
“I’ll walk through with you. The guys should be done in a day or two.”
“Wow, if not for the clothes, we could open early.”
“We could. Would you have enough ready for a week early?”
I recall the bare minimum for inventory and determine that we’d be fine. “I think so. I’m sure the girls I hired as sales clerks wouldn’t mind starting a week early either. I’ll contact them. But I’ll have to quit Rhinestone Cowgirl completely.”
“Good. I’ve been waiting for you to be ready to do that. I’ve already built a salary into the budget for you. So let’s make a tentative plan and I’ll adjust our timeline. The sooner we open, the sooner we start to see money.”
“Money would be good, wouldn’t it?” I smooth out my skirt, and the fabric is a little rough under my palms. Adding a salary for me makes me more of a burden. I continue to rub my thighs as I think about how much things have cost and that it’s been Neal paying the bills.
His hand reaches over to take one of mine. “You’re fidgeting, and that tells me you’re uncomfortable. Is it finances?”
“Yeah, I know you were aware how much things would cost, but I still find it awkward. It’s like I’m not doing my part.”
Neal turns into the parking lot. “Don’t. This is how partners work. We both bring what we’ve got to the table.”
He parks the car and turns off the engine. The silence seems to intensify his gaze. “It’s just like relationships, Ruby. We offer each other our best, and share the journey.” He holds his palm out to me.
I place my hand in his as I smile and wonder how it is I was lucky enough to find this man. “Thank you, I can’t think of a better person to be sharing this with.”
Chapter 18
I smile at the music blaring from my small house as I approach the door. Everyone is here, and I hope they’re close to being done, because I have celebratory champagne thanks to Neal’s suggestion, and shop. Of course, Neal being who he is, I have two bottles. One for today and one for me to enjoy on my own, though I think he may have been hinting he’d like to be here with me when I open the second bottle. His ego must have liked last night, and he probably wants to repeat it.
I decide to leave the alcohol in my car and keep it a surprise. I push open the door, and Garret notices me first. He yells, “We’re down to the last pieces, boss!”
The music lowers as Lisa turns it down. “We each have one more project after we finish what’s on the machines.”
“I want to talk to you all about that.” Quiet settles over the room as everyone stops working. “You guys are amazing. Thank you so much for exceeding my expectations.” I scan the happy faces. “As you know, we’re being held up by the silks. They won’t be here until Friday at the earliest, and that means you’ll have a couple days off.”
Garret says, “Woot!”
“I can’t believe none of you have taken a whole day off since we started. You’re crazy, and I love you for it.” I drop my coat on the couch and decide I can’t ask any of them to help with the clothing racks and displays. Maybe I can get Kaleb or Nick, my friends’ boyfriends, to help me out.
Elaina says, “You’re pretty crazy, too. Every morning I feel like Cinderella’s mice have been here when I see new clothes hanging.”
I snort as I walk over toward Lisa’s table. “Yeah, I tend to sew in the middle of the night or early morning.” I squat down to pick up scraps under her workstation. “I have a surprise for you when you’re all finished. So.” I stand and clap my hands as I grin. “Get to it!”
I turn up the music and continue to clean up around them as they sew. When I’m done I retrieve the two bottles of champagne from my car. I sneak into the kitchen and put one in the refrigerator. The cabinet clicks open, and I pull out the four wine glasses I own. They clink lightly on the counter when I set them down.
Garret finishes his work first, and when he notices what I’m up to, I hold a finger to my lips. He winks at me as long arms stretch above his head.
Lisa finishes next and can’t keep the secret. She’s recognized what I brought because she sells it for Neal at the Wine and Cheese Shop. “Elaina, hurry up! Ruby brought champagne, and I know the bottle. It’s the good stuff.”
Elaina chortles but keeps her head down, intent on her sewing. Wheels roar across my floor as I take the opportunity to pull out the rolling racks so we can all get a visual of what’s been accomplished.
Elaina’s machine stops, and she throws her hands up in the air. “Done!”
Garret grabs the bottle, and the cork pops as he opens it. Lisa hits his arm and yanks it out of his hand just as foam threatens to spill over. She mumbles, “Amateur.” And pours it in a tilted glass.
When all the glasses are full we raise them in a toast, and I say, “To the best employees ever.” Bubbles dance on my tongue when I sip. It is good champagne, and I decide I don’t want to know how much it cost.
Garret raises his glass and says, “To the best boss ever!”
We all drink again, and I determine we need to make sure Neal is part of this. I pull out my phone and FaceTime him. “We need to toast Neal, too.”
When he answers we all squeeze into the frame and do our best to raise glasses to him. “To the best bosses ever!”
He’s laughing when Lisa says, “Thanks for sending my favorite champagne.”
“You’re welcome. Enjoy it, guys.” Neal waves good-bye as they leave just me on the call.
I say, “Nice idea, it’s clearly a hit.”
“Great. Now don’t drink too much, I’m not there to keep you safe.”
I grin at him. “I’ll be good, promise. Bye.”
My phone clicks as I turn it off, and an evil thought occurs to me. I turn it back on and text Trevor. “I’m home, done with work for a few days and drinking champagne. Busy?”
His reply comes back quickly. “You drinking? I’ll be right there. Where do you live?”
I text him my address and recall the reason he likes it when I drink. I lose my shyness and things such as we described over texts earlier used to happen. While I don’t plan on going that far yet, my body is definitely crav
ing a little making out.
I spend time chatting away with the group as we finish off our champagne. By the time they leave I’m expecting Trevor any minute. Suddenly nervous, I make myself busy cleaning up the kitchen.
With very little work to do over the next couple of days I’m not sure what I’ll do with myself. Perhaps this is the perfect time to reconnect with Trevor and see if we still have something. The thought puts a smile on my face that stays when the sound of a car in my driveway tells me he’s arrived.
I open my door in time to watch his long legs as he saunters toward me. His dark blond hair is messy, and my fingers long to hold it as I recall what I pictured this morning. Yeah, making out is definitely part of my plan for this guy.
Trevor says, “Cute place.”
I let him inside. “Thanks.”
“Whoa.” He stops after walking through the door and surveys the work area. “You’ve been busy.”
“Uh-huh. Want me to show you my lines?”
Trevor steps close to me and holds my face between his hands. His fingers are warm on my jaw, and the idea of anything but him has left my mind. He says, “Yes, but first I want to kiss you. Is that okay?”
I nod, and his lips touch mine. He knows me well, and it’s gentle at first. But as I lean against him with desire, his mouth nips at me, and his tongue dances with mine.
I move my hands under his shirt, and the strong cords of muscle in his lower back flex under my touch. His scent is familiar as we fall back into the way we were. When he pulls away, my fingers go to my mouth, and I wish he hadn’t stopped.
“God, Ruby, this is just like I remembered.”
“I know.” I lean into his chest as his arms wrap around my waist.
He tips my face up with a finger. “Earlier today was hot.”
Those pale blue eyes are like pools of water, and I’m tempted to jump in. “Uh-huh, but—”
Trevor twists a strand of my hair. “We’ll go slow. I love you for way more than the sex.”
I sigh. “Okay, good. Because I’m scared.”
“Of getting pregnant again?”
I snort. “No. You’ll be wearing layers if I have any say.”
“Are you on birth control?”
“No.” While it was the first thing I did after having a baby knowing I was going off to college, since I moved here there hasn’t been a reason, and I let my prescription run out. “But, that is a definite has-to-happen before we, you know—”
“Fuck?” He grins at the face I make and says, “Screw?” I shrug, and Trevor’s finger traces along my lower lip. “How about make love?”
“Ah?” Do I love him?
Trevor steps back to give me space. “We can figure out what to call it when the time comes. Does that work?”
“Yes.” My shoulders loosen as I relax.
“Why don’t you show me your line?”
I direct him to the couch and spend time pulling out the pieces and demonstrating to him how they mix and match by holding them up to my body. Trevor laughs at the way I dance around with my clothing, and I remember how easy it is to be myself with him.
Trevor says, “You’ve found what you’re supposed to do. Not only are you great at it, but I love the way sharing this with me makes you happy.”
I tuck a leg under me and sit down so I can see him. “I think I have. Not only do I love designing, but selling them to women that adore my style is such a crazy-good feeling.”
Trevor takes my hand. “I get it. That’s how I feel coaching kids. When they’re successful at something we’ve worked on, it makes my heart soar.”
“Heart soar? You’re getting soft on me.”
His voice lowers as he leans in close. “Something else makes my heart soar lately.”
When his lips touch mine I move us to the next level quickly. Within seconds his body is lying on top of mine, and his thigh is in the perfect position for me to grind into him.
Oh, God, I want so much more than just a kiss right now. But fear of going too fast makes me stop abruptly. “Wait.”
Trevor lifts his chest off me and leans onto his elbows, but his lower body is still touching me. “You call the shots. I’m not going to do anything you don’t want me to.” He flexes his hips slightly. “I think you can tell I’m so hard for you I could burst, but I won’t be an asshole like I was in high school.”
The truth is Trevor did convince me to have sex before I was ready. And because I ended up loving it, and wanting it as much as he did, he never let me live it down. He would pull that out any time I was hesitant about trying something new.
I push at his chest, and we both sit up. “You’re really going to let me make the first move?”
He winks. “Yup, I guess the moment you get that birth control, the brakes will be off. I know you can’t resist what I’ve got.”
I chuckle at him and his cockiness. Straddling his lap I lean down to kiss him again. “Are you ready to do what I say this time? Because I’ve got a lot of new ideas.”
“Baby, whatever it is, if it’s with you, the answer’s yes.”
Chapter 19
Today I’m not going to do one bit of work. I’m skiing with Trevor, Casey, Jason, Megan, and Nick, and we have plans to go out for food afterward. My skis clatter as I wiggle them into my car. I run a mental checklist to make sure I’m not forgetting anything.
Trevor and I hung out with pizza and a James Bond movie last night, and he left by nine so I could get a solid night of sleep. Going no further than kissing, he was true to his word and didn’t push for more.
I text Trevor I’m on my way. Because everyone else is an instructor, their things are in a locker room. However, I have to park and then take a shuttle to the base of Peak 8 where the others will meet me. We got a nice dumping of powder last night, and I’m looking forward to a great ski day.
The windshield wipers skip across my dry window as they return from swiping off the light dusting of snow that accumulated while I was getting ready. I smile, thinking about how the girls must be dying for the scoop on Trevor and me. I’ve been too busy for girls’ night, and the only information they have is from brief texts. My guess is there will be at least one chairlift ride that excludes the guys so we can catch up.
My wheels rumble over the paths of packed snow on the road to Breck. Up ahead is a remote parking lot, and I pull in, noticing a shuttle down the road and on its way. If I scramble, I can catch it instead of waiting ten minutes for the next one.
Sweat trickles down my neck as my bottom lands on a hard plastic bench. Heat is blasting, and I unzip my fleece to cool off. A family is across from me, and the young boy is poking his sister while the parents are ignoring them. I do too and turn to watch the scenery pass by. Dark green pine trees are frosted with white and set against the gray sky, making the world look as if it’s done in mono-color.
Clomping down the metal steps from the bus, a snowflake tickles my nose, and I wait my turn to pull my skis up and out of the pockets for storage on the outside of the shuttle. Trevor told me to text when I arrived and he would come meet me in the lodge.
Fifteen minutes later I’m on the chairlift with only Casey and Megan. Casey pulls the metal safety bar down, and it thumps before she says, “Spill it, girl. We’re dying here.”
I snort. “I bet you are. Okay, Trevor was my high school boyfriend. And when we saw each other after all these years, we decided to try again.”
Megan says, “Wow, so you two still have a spark? That’s quite romantic.”
I grin. ”Yeah, it kind of is.”
Casey asks, “So what happened to break you up?”
Oh, boy, I can’t tell them about the pregnancy, and I know how the cheating thing would sound. “I moved here my senior year, and we lost touch.” Or I just didn’t respond to Trevor’s texts. That’s the same thing, right?
Casey says, “Well, he’s most definitely a hottie, so good for you.”
Megan hits her arm. “He’s a nice guy, too
. I swear, all you think about is sex.”
Casey replies, “And you don’t? I’ve seen that secretive look Nick gives you at least once a day.”
“What? He does not!”
I chuckle at my friends as Casey says, “Not buying it. I think you living-in-sin types just don’t realize not everyone has access to bedroom gymnastics every day.”
Megan says, “Oh, my God, I don’t even know what to react to first. Bedroom gymnastics?” She hits Casey again. “And from what I hear, you’re practically living in sin yourself. You and Lori have the whole slumber party thing going on at your house.”
Lori and Casey are roommates in a family-sized house. Their boyfriends live in a big lodge along with Trevor and a few other guys, and it’s known as a party house.
Casey says, “Well, the guys’ house is crazy this year. All it takes is two wild ones, and the parties just happen most nights.”
I ask, “Who are the wild ones?”
Megan leans over Casey to look at me. “Trevor and another new instructor named Ned.”
“Oh.”
My voice must have sounded upset because Casey jumps in to reassure me. “Don’t worry, the novelty of being hung over every day when you’re skiing wears off quickly. Besides, it’s probably not as bad as everyone says.”
Is Trevor hung over every day? I sure hope not. I partied in high school before we moved and some in college, but I’ve grown past that, and it’s no longer my thing.
I placate myself with the idea that Jason and Kaleb would rather be with their girlfriends, and it’s easy to use a wild house as an excuse. I push the thought out of my head as we approach the top of the chairlift where we’ll ski down a ramp to get off.
Sliding over snow on my skis is like coming home. I can’t remember a time I didn’t know how to ski. The guys rode up ahead of us, and we all convene to tighten our boots. Buckles snap as metal hits the hard plastic on our feet. Trevor sides up to me. “Think you can keep up?”
I shake my head as I pull my goggles down. “Oh, please.” It’s my first day of the season while the rest of the group has been skiing for a couple weeks, but I have no doubt I will do more than keep up. Casey and Megan were never racers, and if I know anything about skiing, it’s how to go dangerously fast.
Exposed: New Adult Sport Romance (The Boys of Winter Book 5) Page 9
