“It certainly helped mine.” Reed scooped up Quinn’s hand as if he couldn’t stand to be separated. “I was against it at first, but so glad I came around.”
That statement could describe their entire relationship. Danielle sighed. The love between the two of them was palpable. She was happy Reed had found the love of his life and envious because she wished she could do the same. She glanced at Luke.
His expression appeared almost shocked with his rounded mouth and wide eyes. “That’s great.” He cleared his throat again.
Bri wandered ahead toward the next shop and peeked in the window.
“I’m starting a men-only dance class after we get back from our honeymoon.” Quinn’s voice tinkled with joy.
“Are you taking it, Reed?” Luke sounded skeptical.
“You bet. I don’t want her around a bunch of other guys.”
She slapped him playfully. “You’re worried?”
“No. I’m in love.” He drew her in for a lingering kiss.
Danielle sighed again. “Well, we should catch up to Bri.”
“Yeah.” Luke grabbed her hand and tugged her forward as if he couldn’t get away fast enough. “That was awkward.”
“It was beautiful. They’re so happy and in love.” The love between the couple warmed Danielle inside. If only her and Luke’s relationship could be that simple.
When they caught up to Bri, Luke dropped her hand to walk beside their daughter. The sun shone on them as they joked and laughed and pointed. It was as if they were old friends.
Except they were bonded by blood.
They strutted with the same swagger, although Brianna’s was less pronounced.
Talking, they bobbed their heads in unison.
The two of them stopped in front of a shop window. Danielle knew this window. Dreaded every time she and Brianna passed. Knew what was coming.
Huddling into her coat, Danielle braced for it.
“Look at those skis.” Only the exact same words didn’t come out of her daughter’s mouth. They came out of Luke’s in the same tone of awe.
“I know. They’re incredible.” Her daughter’s eyes glowed.
One would think they were beholding a miracle, not sports equipment.
Okay, she’d once reacted similarly to new skis. She’d been young and stupid. She since realized there were more important things in life than new boots and bindings.
“Can we go inside?” Her daughter pleaded, knowing the answer was always no.
“Of course.” Luke held the door open for both of them.
Brianna glided inside.
Danielle plodded with heavy feet.
It wasn’t that she wouldn’t love to buy Brianna the latest skis and bindings and poles, the best wax and the most comfortable boots. But Danielle’s wage at the hotel barely covered insurance and utilities and tuition for her college classes. Good thing her father had paid off the mortgage on the house.
Once she graduated in the spring, she’d make up for the scrimping and saving. She’d buy Brianna the best of the best of something. Just maybe not the best skis. Brianna didn’t need to ski faster or crash harder. She didn’t need to get better so competition would take her away from home. She already spent enough hours on the slopes.
“Look at these.” Brianna slid her fingers across a colorful pair of skis. Her face beamed.
“Nice.” Luke picked up a different set and examined the edges. He wore another pair of tight-fitting jeans and a ski sweater under a light jacket. He didn’t wear a hat, letting his messy blond locks cap off the rugged appearance. “These would suit your ski style better.”
Anger slid down the slippery slope of Danielle’s patience. Getting to know Luke would make her daughter closer to the sport Danielle hated. Over the years, she’d refused to buy ski magazines and purposely watched Luke’s ski competitions in her bedroom so Brianna didn’t see.
“Oooh.” She ran her finger over the sharp edge. “These would cut into the slope.”
“Exactly.”
The two of them ogled the skis. They oohed and aahed. Their gazes held in rapt fascination, and both their mouths pursed in concentration.
Danielle understood the basic needs for ski racing, and yet so much had changed since she was on the high school team. She felt left out and unknowledgeable. Luke and Brianna had become their own team. Excluding her.
He’d barged into their family unit. Why? Could she trust him to keep the secret?
“Luke Logan?” A young clerk with shaggy hair and a goatee came out from the back room. “Oh dude, it is you. Would you mind signing stock?”
Luke’s cheeks reddened. He shifted back and forth on the balls of his feet. “Um, sure.”
What happened to cocky Luke? You’d think he be preening from the attention. Instead, he acted uncomfortable. This unsure Luke was a curiosity. She’d be interested in learning more about him.
She glanced at Bri. Her grin was as wide as the length of the skis in front of her. She obviously thought being with a sports star was pretty cool.
The clerk led Luke to the stockroom while talking about this win or that run, or the time Luke had wiped out.
Danielle shivered. She’d seen the accident replayed again and again on the sports channel. She hated thinking about the danger. To Luke in the past. And to Brianna in the future.
“He is famous.” Brianna’s expression shone with hero worship. “And he’s nice.” She glowered, challenging Danielle. “Why am I on your date with Luke?”
She twisted her gloves in her hands, weaving the fingers together and pulling them apart. “D-d-date?”
There was that word again. The word Luke had thrown like a snowball made of ice as he sat naked in a tub. The threatening word. Date or tell. Date him or he’d tell their daughter the truth.
The threat had slashed and she’d accused him. “I won’t be used.”
He’d shrunk into the tub, offended by her response. “Pretend date.” His words had been colder than the ice water he soaked in.
Heat had swooshed up her cheeks in colored flags of disappointment and embarrassment. He didn’t want to date her. He wanted to pretend to date so he could get to know Brianna.
“You know, a date is when a guy and a girl go out for lunch or dinner. Together.” Brianna spoke as if Danielle was in grammar school.
“I know what a date is.” Danielle shoved her suddenly cold hands into the gloves. She’d been tempted by Luke’s offer. For a second, she’d wanted to give dating another try, to give kissing another try. Until she’d comprehended his suggestion of pretense.
Dangerous, dangerous thoughts. He’d be gone soon. She didn’t need another broken heart and neither did Brianna.
“Are you sure? Because I don’t remember you ever going on a date before, Mom.” Brianna’s tone kept digging.
“I’ve dated plenty.” Danielle didn’t have a choice about this date with Luke. He’d insisted. No, blackmailed. Better for Brianna to believe when Luke left he was only leaving Danielle. She took off the gloves and held them tight.
“Yeah, right.” Her daughter ripped the gloves from her hands wanting her to pay attention. “Why did you insist I go with you on your date? Are you afraid to be alone with Luke?”
The question punched her in the gut. Got it in one.
“Of course I’m not afraid.” Pivoting, she pretended interest in bindings mounted on the wall.
“Why didn’t you sit next to him at lunch? Or even hold his hand?” Brianna was too smart.
How long would she fall for this pretend dating? “It’s Christmastime. I don’t want you spending time alone.”
“I always spend time alone.”
Crevices of guilt fractured inside Danielle. She was a single parent who had a full-time job and was taking college classes. She had no choice except to leave her daughter alone.
“Yeah, I know.” She kissed her on the forehead.
Brianna’s eyes rounded. “And I’m fine with being on my own. Onc
e you graduate things will get easier.” She glanced out the window and a smile lit her face. She tossed the gloves back at Danielle. “Look, there’s Chloe. Do you mind if I hang out with her?”
If Danielle objected, Brianna would get even more suspicious. “Sure. Have fun. See you at home later.”
The nerves in her stomach fluttered like wings. She’d have to tell Luke what happened and why Brianna had left. They’d have to pretend to continue on their date. Or maybe Luke would decide the date was done. The fluttering took a nosedive.
“Where’s Brianna?” With an annoyed expression, Luke practically ran out of the storeroom.
“She spotted a friend and took off.” Anger at her own reaction made her voice hard, challenging him to say something.
“Oh.” He sounded disappointed. Disappointed to be with Danielle?
“You can go back to the hotel or wherever.” She tried to be dismissive. It wouldn’t bother her if Luke left. They were only on a date for one reason.
“That would appear odd.” He angled his head, questioning. “To have our date end the second Brianna leaves.”
“Probably. She’s already questioning why we brought her along.”
“Let’s make this look real.” Luke grabbed Danielle’s hand and sparks shot from contact. “Come on.”
He tugged her out of the shop and to the end of Main Street to the park where they’d played as kids, where they’d hung out as teens, and where they’d kissed in high school.
“You’re kidding?” She hadn’t been to the park since bringing Brianna as a toddler. “The park is covered in snow and we’re adults.”
Responsible.
She’d drilled the emotion into her head from the moment she found out she was pregnant. She was responsible for taking care of her health. Responsible for a baby. Responsible to provide for her child.
“Doesn’t mean we can’t have fun.” Sitting on a swing, Luke started moving.
“Fun for five-year-olds.” Since her mother’s death in middle school, she’d taken care of her dad and brother. The only time she’d let go and have fun was with Luke. And look at the trouble that had caused.
“You’re only saying that because I could always jump farther than you.” His teasing grin challenged.
His challenge nudged her. She wanted to get on the swing and go. And that in itself should’ve stopped her. “I don’t care who can jump the farthest. Besides, you’re bigger than me.”
“Afraid?”
“Ridiculous.”
“Come on, then. Let’s see what you got, Dani.”
“Danielle.” The automatic correction slipped out.
She wasn’t Dani any longer. Dani had been Luke’s girl. No one else had called her the nickname and she’d acted differently around him.
“Come on.” He urged, reminding her of when they were in high school and how being silly was fun.
She plopped onto the cold plastic of the swing. Her legs pumped. The cold air hit her face, stinging. Awakening. “I feel stupid.”
“No one’s watching.” He pumped his legs harder and faster. “On the count of three.”
“One.”
Adrenaline spiked, remembering the daredevil she used to be. How much fun they’d had together. Bittersweet memories of the past wallowed in her throat.
“Two.” He glanced at her and sent a rakish grin.
Her heart flipped. Happiness soared like the swing.
“Three.” He let go of the swing first, flying through the air.
She let go of the chains, lifted her body, and flew. The second of weightlessness rushed freedom and fun through her system. Her stomach dropped and rose and dropped again.
Her snow boots hit the hard-packed snow. She put her hands out to brace herself for impact. Luke, already on the ground, rolled to his back and grabbed her around the waist to slow her fall, tugging her down. Down toward him. She tumbled on top of him. Not the snow.
His body felt almost as hard. His fresh pine scent cocooned her in smells of winter. Spirals of desire flared between them. Her coat-covered body reacted as if she were naked—increased heartbeat, scorching heat, melting bones. She gazed into his eyes and saw the gleam of answering desire. His mouth opened.
Her lips tingled, remembering their recent kiss in his hotel room. That kiss swirled together with their passionate kisses of the past. Which had led to making love.
And pregnancy.
She jerked out of his arms and rolled off him and onto the frozen snow. Taking deep breaths, she let the snow cool her passion.
“Nice jump.” Rolling to his side, he leaned on his elbow and stared.
“Thanks. You, too.”
In the past he would’ve claimed his jump was better or went farther. They would’ve argued and ended up in a snow fight or each other’s arms. His polite talk disappointed.
Which was silly. They were adults, not children. They weren’t on a real date, or even a playdate.
Getting to her feet, she brushed off the snow. “I should get going.”
Luke took a bit longer standing up. “It’s early.”
His leg must hurt. He shouldn’t have taken her in his arms. What if she’d fallen on his bad knee?
“I’ve got to work later and I have to study for finals.” Responsibility pulled her away. Usually, she didn’t mind. This time was different. She wanted to escape and have fun and be with…Luke.
Oh. Hell. No. Her heart stopped for a beat. And then another. What the heck was she thinking? He’d be gone in a few weeks.
“I’ll walk you home.” He insisted and she didn’t have the strength to argue.
“Fine.”
“Bri told me you were going to school. For what?” He’d shortened their daughter’s name like he did hers.
It sounded nice. Easygoing and simple.
When she’d been known as Dani, she’d been young and carefree. Danielle seemed more mature, professional. “For my Bachelor’s in hotel management.”
“You didn’t go to college right after high school?”
“I was a little busy raising a daughter and paying the bills.” Her resentful tone bothered her. She didn’t regret one single moment with Brianna, but she hadn’t had the carefree youth he’d experienced.
“You didn’t give me the opportunity to help.” His cruel accusation sliced through any enjoyment she’d had throughout the day, cutting her in two.
“I did try.” She was done being the martyr. It was time he learned the truth. “Can I help it if you didn’t get my letter, or your girlfriend didn’t tell you I called?”
“What letter?” He swung his head to glare, his eyes popping in surprise. “What girlfriend?”
“Your agent who spent the night in your room. She said you were in the shower and she’d give you my message.” The torment from the phone call rang in her mind, bouncing back and forth, causing pounding in her head.
She remembered the woman’s sexy voice and disregard for her own feelings. Danielle had cried on the phone. Cried to some stranger who didn’t care and was having sex with the man she’d loved.
“I didn’t get a letter.” He grabbed Danielle’s hand and tugged her to a stop. “And my agent was never a girlfriend.”
“That’s right.” She yanked her hand out of his. “You didn’t have just one. You had many girlfriends.”
“I can’t remember everything from over a decade ago. Maybe my agent was in my room, I don’t know. But I never received a letter or a message from you.”
Could she believe him? With his travel schedule, he hadn’t had email. She’d sent the letter express to the French hotel he’d been staying in, even had his room number on the envelope. She’d waited and agonized, expecting a response from the letter. A phone call, or maybe even a visit. She’d heard nothing. So she’d made the fatal call and the woman in his room had insinuated Luke had moved on. Not physically. He stayed in the same hotel where she’d sent the letter. He’d moved on emotionally.
To someone new.
To several someones.
The silence of their thoughts was only broken by their footsteps. Her thoughts ran in a million directions. What if he wasn’t lying, and never got the letter? What if the agent-girlfriend had lied?
* * *
Luke swung his arms at his sides with the pace of his thoughts. Dani had tried to tell him. She hadn’t purposely tried to keep him from his child. So, what had happened?
Until he’d learned of her engagement he’d been loyal to Dani. The only other female in his life had been his greedy first agent. She’d had access to his hotel room and his mail and messages.
And his money.
He could see her being threatened by the love of his life, especially if she’d known Dani was pregnant. His first agent had guarded him from other grabby hands as if he was a prize moneymaker. She would’ve seen a possible wife and baby as a threat to getting the most out of Luke. The most medals and the most earnings.
Bitterness burned. He’d been so messed up over Dani and losing his parents he hadn’t noticed the financial indiscretions for two years. That’s when he’d finally fired the agent. He’d gone through two other agents before being happy with Vivienne’s financial acumen and personality.
Blowing out a breath, he glanced at Dani. Her face set in rigid rejection. Her snow boots plodded on the shoveled sidewalk. Her hands were shoved in her coat pockets. She wouldn’t believe what he had to say, at least not right now. Time to change the discussion and learn more about the girl who’d grown up without him.
Learn a way back into her heart.
“Bri mentioned you’re going to college. What’s it like being the oldest person in class?” He had a personal stake in Dani’s answer.
“Oldest?” She smacked him on the arm. Her bright smile returned and he was glad he was the one to put it there.
“What I meant is, do you feel out of place?” Would he feel out of place?
“There are several people our age in my classes. Some never got the opportunity to go to college when they were younger. Others are there for a second degree.” She studied his expression. “Why?”
Even though she studied him, it didn’t mean he had to tell her his thoughts. “I never had time to go to college.”
The Christmas Match: Castle Ridge Small Town Romance Page 8
