The Christmas Match: Castle Ridge Small Town Romance

by Burton, Allie

  That thought threaded through his mind and knotted. Bitterness stuck in his throat like a gigantic pain pill. His defensive shields went up, and with it a bit of revenge. Toying with Dani might be fun while he was in town. He’d show her that he hadn’t wasted away pining for her.

  He could flirt with a bunch of different women, making sure she saw or heard about his escapades through the rumor mill. He could ask his agent to visit and act like a girlfriend. Or if Dani was no longer married, he could romance her to get her into bed making up for the hurt and confusion she’d caused him in his late teens. Maybe it could be almost like old times.

  The desirous kisses. The constant caresses. Their passion finally taking the step over the line of temptation that one time.

  A Cheshire-like grin slipped onto his face. He wiggled his eyebrows. “Hellooooo, Dani.”

  * * *

  Danielle Marstrand never thought she’d hear her name said in quite the same way, with quite the same flirtatious diction. Her heart instantly picked up its pace. Blood rushed through her veins, making her feel lightheaded. A live replay of her constant nightmare.

  The man lounged against the lockers in a sexy, casual pose. His messy blond hair stuck up in a few places, as if he’d just removed a cap. His thick eyebrows arched over the deepest green eyes she’d ever seen. A mustache and scruffy beard made him appear rough and tumbled.

  Like she wanted to tumble with him into bed.

  Luke Logan.

  His name pummeled through her brain like a long-lost love letter.

  After everything he’d done to her, how could she still be attracted to him?

  Her shock passed into fear. Her knees trembled. She took a step forward, wanting to grab Brianna away. “What’re you doing here?”

  With my daughter.

  The thick, sexy brows flattened above a narrowed gaze. “Hi to you, too.” He sounded surprised at her hostility.

  He hadn’t even responded when she’d placed her urgent call thirteen years ago, why would she welcome him now?

  Danielle’s gaze darted between him and her daughter. Back and forth, and back and forth, like a ping pong ball. She noted the similar curious glances and the quirked chin. She’d kept this secret for thirteen years. Only her brother, her best friend Isabel, and Parker knew the truth about Brianna. Danielle had become engaged, moved away, and then moved back to town to throw people off the truth. Although that didn’t stop the nasty gossip.

  She couldn’t let him think she was afraid. Couldn’t hint at the truth. Calm down. Act natural.

  “Sorry. You surprised me.” She brushed at the already-melted snow on her coat. “What’re you doing in the locker room?” In Castle Ridge?

  “Nice rudeness, Mom.” Brianna slipped on her regular coat. “Mr. Logan says I’ve got potential as a skier.”

  Danielle’s mind fuzzed. The image of Luke and Brianna together struck her over and over again. She cleared her thoughts and her throat, and tried to sound pleasant, not accusatory. “He did, did he?”

  “I was just telling Brianna that she’s got a natural ability for the slalom.”

  Like Luke.

  Danielle’s stomach vaulted. The acid burned in her lungs and threatened to come up her throat. Oh my. He guessed the truth.

  “I got skills. I got skills.” Brianna whooped and danced around in a circle.

  “Like someone else I know.” The sound of his deep voice rumbled in her chest, but the words sounded like a threat.

  Was he comparing Brianna to himself?

  Danielle’s vaulting stomach swooshed, as if she were skiing around gates of fear and anxiety. “Well, uh…”

  “You were a phenomenal skier back in high school.” His voice nudged, hinting at their shared passion.

  “She was?” Brianna stopped dancing and stared. An astonished expression landed on her face. “I thought you hated skiing, Mom.”

  Danielle was going to have to explain herself to her daughter. But not here, not now. “I do hate skiing. Now. For you. It’s a dangerous sport.”

  Dangerous because the sport had broken her heart and taken away the one man she’d loved. She refused to lose her daughter to the sport as well. That’s why she’d held Brianna back from learning to ski until she’d begged and begged and Danielle couldn’t resist.

  Luke’s teasing smile appeared fake, and yet still melted her bones. “I’ve survived.”

  She almost hadn’t. His leaving had almost destroyed her.

  Sixteen. Pregnant. Alone.

  “Have you?” Narrowing her gaze, she shot a glance at his knee.

  “The knee’s getting better. Thanks for asking.” The sarcasm in his tone sounded just like Brianna’s earlier comment.

  Danielle sucked in stale air. Had he noticed?

  The tone, the smile, the attitude. Brianna was a carbon copy.

  “Brianna, we need to get going.” Danielle hoped he didn’t hear the slight tremble in her voice.

  “I need to talk to Coach about borrowing a different pair of skis.” Brianna picked up her backpack and shut her locker. “I’ll meet you outside.”

  They both watched her leave. Luke’s gaze was intent—a look she’d seen often when he’d been focused on reaching a goal. Was her child now his goal? A vibration of stark terror raced across her skin.

  Silence filled the locker room. Everyone else was gone. She smashed her lips together and turned to say goodbye, because it was the polite thing to do. The normal thing to do.

  Their eyes connected. His green color appeared smooth and calm and sexy. Hers were probably swirling with the chaos of her emotions. Attraction and fear. Hate and loathing.

  He stepped toward her. “It’s been thirteen years, Dani.” He fisted his hand and brushed across her cheek.

  The light touch sent a shiver of desire cascading through her body. Followed by abhorrence. Of him. And of herself for feeling anything for Luke. She took a step back and bumped into a locker.

  “Yes.” He still left her tongue-tied. “I, um, I should get going.” She stood her ground, angry that he’d affected her. Angry that he assumed touching her was okay.

  “In a rush to see the mister?” Angling his head, his expression scrunched in confusion. “Why does Brianna have your last name? What happened to Parker Williamson?”

  Danielle’s lungs deflated. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. She didn’t want to answer. It was none of his business. If he asked anyone in town, he’d find out the truth. “There is no mister.”

  “Not married to Williamson anymore?” The lines on Luke’s face smoothed and disappeared. “I never got married.”

  Her heart fluttered. What did his single situation matter to her? She arched one brow. “Big shocker.”

  From all the stories she’d read about him in the gossip…sports pages, she was surprised someone hadn’t trapped him.

  His full lips lifted into a sensual smile, quirking at one end in a teasing grin. His eyes glimmered with a hint of fun and daring and something hard she couldn’t name.

  She remembered that look from high school. It was the look that got all the girls giggling and doing what he wanted. It was the look that got her in big trouble.

  He leaned toward her. “We should get together while I’m in town. Do something.”

  Her insides squirmed. She imagined what that something would be. The fluttering in her heart increased and heat swamped. She tugged at her coat. “I-I-I thought you were doing intense physical therapy to recover from your injury. No time for anything else.”

  He took a strand of her brown hair and twisted it around his finger. “Any kind of exercise helps.”

  The heat flared into anger. The nerve of this guy. Strutting in after leaving her in the lurch thirteen years ago—ignoring her urgent call—and then thinking he could just pick up where he left off. She knocked his hand off her hair, feeling his finger tug. “No.”

  Her mouth said no, but her body said yes. Liquid heat pooled between her legs. With a hint
and a smile, she wanted to succumb to his charm. But she was smarter now. She wouldn’t fall for Luke and his allure again.

  Chapter Two

  Brianna skipped beside Danielle on Main Street like the snowflakes dancing from the sky. “Can you believe Luke Logan said I was a natural?”

  The word natural scraped down Danielle’s lungs and scratched at her heart. She knew where her daughter’s talent had come from.

  She pulled her around a group of carolers singing happy Christmas carols. “Do you even know who Luke Logan is?” She hoped not.

  “I know he’s a professional skier and I know he’s from here and I know he thinks I’m good. Good!” Brianna’s voice rose.

  Danielle glanced around, hoping no one who knew her and Luke overheard this conversation. They passed the ice cream parlor decorated for the holidays—a place she and Luke went frequently after high school ski practice. They glanced in the window of a high end clothing store—a place she’d stared in longingly and Luke had promised to buy her something from one day. They dodged holiday shoppers leaving a restaurant—another place she’d gone on a date with Luke.

  Every place had memories of him. Memories she’d thought she’d squashed into oblivion. But no, one look from him and she felt how Brianna acted. A schoolgirl with a crush.

  Everything inside hardened. Her gait became stiff and awkward. I’m such an idiot. Luke Logan has flirted with the best. Bedded hundreds. Flirting is probably his natural way of speech around any woman under fifty.

  “Mr. Logan said I had great potential.” Brianna twirled her knit cap in her hand.

  Normally, Danielle enjoyed when her daughter wanted to talk. Loved hearing her thoughts and ideas and dreams. Loved her enthusiasm.

  But enthusiasm for Luke she could do without.

  Her brain clicked and ticked. She needed time to think. Time to get her head together, and figure out a way to keep Brianna and Luke far apart. And to keep herself far away, too.

  The one and only time Danielle and Luke had made love was right before he’d left town. She was hoping for a promise, or at least an I love you. Something to comfort her in the lonely months ahead. Instead, she’d gotten pregnant.

  They hadn’t planned on having sex, and they weren’t prepared. She’d been in love and wanted one special moment to remember. She’d gotten that memento.

  Brianna slowed her pace and glared. “I didn’t think you knew how to ski, Mom.”

  She shot her daughter a fake-confused-look. “I used to ski. When I was younger.”

  Used to do a lot of stupid things when she was younger. Like falling for Luke.

  “If I train hard and practice a lot, I could become a great skier. Maybe as good as Luke Logan. I could compete all over the world, maybe even the Olympics. Win a gold medal…”

  Each of Brianna’s dreams smashed into Danielle’s heart.

  She’d heard these dreams before, had lost her heart because of them. She didn’t want to lose Brianna. Gnawing guilt ate away at Danielle’s stomach. The guilt of a mother who’s held her daughter back. Who kept her away from skiing for as long as possible, even though everyone in town skied or snowboarded.

  Sure, she’d used the excuse that they didn’t have the money. But it was more than money.

  Ever since Coach had moved Brianna to the first team, she’d been talking about skiing professionally. Brianna might not be allowed to follow the sport, but she knew it existed. How could she not, living in a town based on the ski industry?

  “School is more important than skiing.” Danielle spouted her favorite line.

  “Says the woman who dropped out of high school because she was pregnant.” Brianna did a noodle nod. The nod with sass and superiority. “And didn’t start college until her late twenties.”

  “That’s enough.” Danielle absorbed the hurt, knowing Brianna was trying to get a reaction. “Do you want to be grounded from the ski team?”

  How did she explain to her daughter that she should do as she said, not as she did?

  “I’m sorry, Mom.” Brianna took her hand. “I was shocked to be told you could ski. You’ve always hated the sport with a passion. Why?”

  * * *

  After avoiding Brianna’s question, walking her home and getting dinner started, Danielle headed off to her job at the Castle Ridge Lodge and Resort. She worked the front desk, and the job accounted for the internship she needed to graduate from college. Only one semester left after she finished her finals this semester.

  She hated leaving Brianna home alone all evening, but it was only a few more months. Once Danielle got her degree, she’d only have a job to worry about. Not classes and homework. Then, she could find a daytime resort-management job while Brianna was at school.

  “Sorry I’m late.” She hung her scarf and coat on the door behind the front desk of the hotel. Overnight, the lodge had been decorated with trees, holly and wreaths. She smelled cinnamon and evergreen. “Brianna wanted to talk about skiing.”

  The other clerk nodded and went to the small office behind the front desk to clock out.

  The wood-framed hotel brought to mind ski lodges from the past. Wide timber poles, tall ceilings, large picture windows. A decorated Christmas tree sat by the entrance, and the windows held twinkling lights.

  Christmas held mixed emotions for her. She’d loved the holiday as a child, and loved seeing the excitement in Brianna’s eyes when she opened presents. At the same time, she missed her dad and hoped her brother would come home this Christmas.

  Parker Williamson, the hotel owner, strolled in from his private office back by the spa. His height made his stride extra-long. His thin build was deceptively strong—she’d seen him practicing martial arts. Not a strand of his thick, black hair was out of place. “Danielle, we need to talk. Privately.”

  “I didn’t realize you were back from your business trip, Parker.” Danielle shot the other front desk clerk a look. Parker had been traveling a lot lately, working on a deal he refused to discuss. She would’ve paid more attention to the time if she’d known Parker was back in town.

  “I’ll stay a few extra minutes.” The clerk set her coat and purse on the counter.

  “Um, okay.” She didn’t understand what Parker needed to say to her in private. They were friends, that’s all. “I’ll be right back.”

  Danielle wiped her hands on her black pants. She didn’t like being alone with Parker at the hotel, because she didn’t want people to gossip about their relationship. A relationship firmly in the past. Plus, she regretted how she’d used him. Now, he employed her, keeping her hours flexible for school and Brianna. She was grateful and beholden.

  And guilty.

  His office was much bigger than the one by the front desk. Besides the large wooden desk and cushy desk chair, there was a sidebar with a selection of bottles, and a couch with a small coffee table in front.

  “Take a seat.” Parker poured himself a drink from a bottle of Scotch.

  “What’s wrong?” Danielle smoothed her slacks again and perched on the edge of the deep-burgundy couch. He seemed more upset than simply about her being late again.

  He paced to stand beside the couch. “There’s something I need to tell you.” One hand held the drink and the other he placed on her shoulder. “I’m not sure how you’ll handle it.”

  The weight of his hand weighed on her conscience. “I was only a few minutes late.”

  He squeezed her shoulder and she hoped it was only meant to be a friendly gesture. “Luke Logan is back in town.”

  Danielle let her shoulders droop. “I know.”

  Only a few people knew who her daughter’s father was. Parker was one of them. He’d been a good friend since grammar school, and had consoled her when Luke had left town. When she realized she was pregnant and Luke hadn’t responded, Parker had offered to help, to take care of her, to marry her. She’d always be grateful.

  He pulled his hand away and the weight on her conscience lifted. He paced across the office
. “Luke’s staying at the lodge. I would’ve denied him, told him we were overbooked for the holidays, but I was out of town when he made the reservation. And when he checked in.”

  Parker paced back to her side. He seemed totally nervous about Luke. Almost as nervous as she was. Did Parker just assume she’d jump back into bed with Luke? She wouldn’t. Not after what he’d done. But even if she did, it was none of her ex-fiancé’s business.

  “Is something else bothering you?” They’d been friends for a long time and she sensed there was more.

  Parker paused, contemplated her, and then took a large swig from his glass. “If you want to take time off so you’re not around Luke Logan, I understand.”

  He didn’t answer her question. Refused to confide in her.

  “I can’t take time off. I need the money.” She wouldn’t let Luke being in town change her routine. He might cause her palms to sweat and her heart to race, but he would never know his effect on her. “Besides, you’re already short staffed over the holidays. You need me.”

  Parker’s expression darkened. His brown eyes glinted as if she’d slapped him. She shouldn’t have put it in quite that way.

  “What I mean is, I need to work and I’m not afraid of being around Luke Logan.” She was only partially lying. She was more anxious about Luke being around Brianna.

  “You’re right.” He set the drink down on his desk with a loud clunk. “You can’t hide forever. When you see him, you’ll be in the official capacity as my employee.”

  His parents had given Parker the hotel a couple of years ago. They’d stuck around to help while he learned the ropes, then they’d left on a year-long trip around the world. A couple of other employees had asked for time off around the holidays, too, and they were booked solid. Castle Ridge was a fairly well-known ski town.

  “I already saw Luke.”

  Saw that he’d aged well. A rugged, tanned face. Short-styled hair. Designer jeans that molded to his muscular legs. Her body heated and she lifted her hair off her neck.

  “Why? Where?” Parker picked up the drink and set it down again. His agitation as clear as the peaks on a sunny day.