by Sandy Loyd
“Okay.” And because he had taken the first step, she offered, “I guess we can ski together, too, since you’ll be giving me a ride tomorrow.” Suddenly not sure, she searched his face to see his reaction. “You are going to, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, I figured that was included in the deal when Judith recruited me. You want to shake on it?” Paul said at the same time he stuck out his right hand.
“Sure.” When her hand disappeared inside his bigger one, warmth immediately engulfed her fingers, spreading all the way to her core. She ignored the tug of attraction she felt after spying his smile, a smile that reached those crinkling baby blues. Not wanting to dwell on the way his touch or his affable, teasing smile affected her in a dangerous way, she gave her head a slight, sobering shake. She was in love with James, and had no business finding his brother attractive. “Also, after skiing can you drop me off at the store to stock up on food?”
“Why don’t we do that tonight after dinner?”
“Sounds like a plan.” Despite her mind’s warning, she gave in to the impulse and flashed her own smile, mirroring him. His grin, aimed exclusively at her, was too engaging to ignore for long. “We should easily survive the next twenty-four hours without killing each other.”
~
Grunting, Paul got out of the car, then ran around and held her door open while she got out. He then turned to the task of unloading, with his thoughts on Kate and why all of a sudden he found her attractive. He couldn’t erase the image of her just after they shook on their agreement. Nor could he ignore the result of her touch. He’d definitely felt a jolt, which had knotted his insides. When she smiled, her entire face lit up, reminding him of a burst of sunshine peeking out from behind a cloud on a rainy day.
Damn, now he was thinking like some kind of lovesick poet, he thought, as Kate came up to stand beside him. He handed her the keys. “Why don’t you go unlock the door and hit the light switches?”
He shouldn’t be affected. He snorted. Of course, he wasn’t affected. His heart belonged to Judith. He might find Kate attractive, but he could deal with it. He would certainly never act on it.
Despite his mental pep talk, he sighed, not completely agreeing with Kate’s last comment. “I’ll unload, get the water on, and turn up the heat.” The next twenty-four hours might be harder to survive than he imagined. Mainly because he was starting to like her.
“Okay.” Kate nodded, paying rapt attention to the keys in her hand. “By the way, I’m staying in the guesthouse.”
Something in her movements caught his attention and he eyed her closely. The woman was actually nervous. He grinned. In a heartbeat, his amusement increased, while his trepidation at finding her attractive diminished. “No problem. I’ll take the master with the wood-burning fireplace. I like real fires. The gas fireplace in the living room just doesn’t cut it for me.”
“Sounds good.”
“Was it something I said?” he teased, chuckling.
“What do you mean?”
Despite her chin lifting a good two inches, she still wouldn’t meet his gaze, which meant only one thing.
“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “You seem a little uneasy. You’re not afraid to be alone with me, are you?”
“No way!” She stiffened, finally chanced a glance his way, and offered a nervous half laugh. “Why would you think that?”
Loaded down with bags and boots, he pierced her stare with a knowing look and mocked, “I can’t imagine what has given me the impression.”
“You give yourself too much credit, Morrison,” she said huffily, before storming up the walk to unlock the door. “I’m not afraid of you.”
Paul followed in her footsteps, still grinning. “Whatever you say, Kate.”
On the stoop, he crowded her a bit, just to gauge her reaction and to prove his point. When she bristled, he took pity on her and stepped back, giving her plenty of room to open the door.
Once inside the main house, Kate turned on lights as she went, heading to the door that led to the guesthouse, which consisted of a separate bedroom and bath, complete with a couple of chairs and a television. The two rooms were only accessible from the deck outside through a connecting covered walkway. The guesthouse added the final leg of the U to the main house that had originally started out as L-shaped. Along the center of the U, a wall of glass doors provided a spectacular view of Lake Tahoe. A huge outdoor deck, about five feet lower than the house and sporting a hot tub in one corner, wrapped around the back half of the house and guesthouse.
Paul dropped Kate’s boots and her bag in the middle of the living room, placed her coat on top of the pile, and then went back for the skis.
Now loaded down again, he passed the patio door on his way to the mudroom and caught a glimpse of Kate unlocking the guesthouse. Leaving it open, she walked toward the living room to retrieve her things.
He flipped on the light in the mudroom, adjacent the two-car garage where all the main switches were housed. Once divested of his load, he focused on turning on the heat and the water.
While he fiddled with the dials, she yelled, “I think I’ll go and take a rest, maybe shower and stuff. What time do you want to go to dinner?”
Paul glanced at his watch, ignoring the stab of disappointment at realizing she was disappearing so quickly. He should be relieved, not disappointed. “It’s almost six now. How about seven thirty,” he shouted back, and added, “The water should be hot enough for your shower in about ten minutes. The heat’ll take a couple of hours to be comfortable, but it will feel warm coming out of the vent.”
Kate’s thanks rang in the air when he exited the utility room. With everything turned on, he made his way back to the living room to pick up his bag and headed for the master bedroom. He had plenty to keep him busy.
First on his list? Bring in wood to fill the bin and lay a fire for later tonight.
As he worked, his thoughts shifted to Kate. Maybe he could talk her into joining him in the hot tub, but the minute the thought was out, he discarded it. Not a good idea to get too chummy.
Remnants of their earlier conversation floated back, and he remembered her hurt look, so totally different from what he’d expected. She’d always been as bold as brass and twice as ballsy, pushing her way through and chasing after James like she did. Nothing had ever seemed to faze her. He didn’t like the feeling of knowing his humor had made her feel bad. Hell, she always returned his taunts and they were so cutting, he just assumed his words were ignored. Verbal jabs, thrown back and forth, had been the habit between them for too many years to count, so it would be hard not to want to lob a few. But he was willing to make the attempt because he never wanted his words to hurt her again.
Besides, after spending the past few hours in Kate’s company, he realized Judith was right. Who was he to judge when his situation wasn’t much different from hers?
That thought brought him full circle to his own predicament. In seconds, he was depressed. He placed the last piece of wood in the bin and reached for the TV remote. Seven thirty couldn’t come soon enough. Pushing both Judith and Kate out of his mind, he sat back on the bed, and flipped through channels. He settled on a basketball game and tried to ignore the lameness of his default activity of late—watching sports. By himself.
Chapter 4
“I love the burgers in this place,” Kate said, as Paul helped take off her coat. It was such a gentlemanly thing to do and it flustered her a bit. James never bothered with stuff like that. She turned her face to hide her reaction as she slid into the booth. “Not crowded, either.”
“Tomorrow, it’ll be packed.” Paul shrugged out of his parka and placed it with Kate’s on the bench before sliding in next to them.
Kate nodded and peered out over Lake Tahoe. The restaurant’s floor-to-ceiling windows gave her a good vantage point to enjoy the moonlight’s reflection shimmering on the water. “It’s beautiful here, especially the view tonight.” Romantic even, except the person she was sharing it
with happened to be the wrong Morrison.
“Looks like the storm’s moving in.”
She smiled, thankful to have something to think about besides what she was missing with James. “Yeah! Fresh powder if it stays cold and doesn’t rain.”
In between the attentions of their waitress, they discussed the next day’s skiing. Eventually, the woman returned to place their plates, each loaded with steaming fries and a burger, in front of them.
A tantalizing aroma wafted under Kate’s nose and her stomach made funny gurgling noises. She laughed to cover the sound, then quickly dug into the thick, juicy cheeseburger.
Kate took a bite and closed her eyes, savoring the taste. When she opened them, she caught Paul watching her, a lopsided grin plastered on his face.
“What?” Self-conscious all of a sudden, she traced the edges of her mouth with her tongue, then wiped her lips with her napkin.
Still grinning from ear to ear, he shook his head.
When his slow rumble of a chuckle erupted, she glanced down to make sure there was no ketchup on her turtleneck. “What’s so amusing?” she asked, meeting his gaze. “Don’t tell me it’s nothing because you’re grinning like an idiot.”
“You’re inhaling your food with gusto.” He indicated her plate with a nod. “I was just wondering where you put it all in that minuscule body. What are you? Five feet and maybe a hundred pounds?”
“I’m five two,” she corrected. “And no woman reveals her true weight. Ever.” She was too vain to tell him to add eight pounds. Let him think she weighed less than she really did. Why the thought pleased her, she had no idea.
“I see.” He nodded slowly. “Still, it’s nice to be around a woman who can enjoy her food without worrying about dieting and all that nonsense.”
A flush of heat washed over her as the approval in his voice wrapped around her like a warm blanket. She looked down at her plate, not liking the tingling sensation on her neck those enthralling, liquid pools of blue generated. She studied her burger, working to keep both from affecting her further. Finally, she was able to say with a modicum of normalcy, “I guess I’m lucky. I never gain an ounce and I love to eat.” She took a bite and slowly chewed until the feelings dissipated, before swallowing. Once they did, she spoke with more conviction. “I think it’s all that nervous energy I expend.” She shrugged. Her focus landed on his plate. “It looks as if we both appreciate a good burger.”
“What’s not to like?” His beguiling smile was back. He captured her gaze once more and, not letting her look away, added, “I’ve always had an appetite for the finer things in life.”
Another warm flush seeped from her belly to her extremities. To break the spell he innocently cast, she glanced out at the water and took deep breaths, without noticing the view this time. If she didn’t know better, she could have sworn he was flirting. But she did know better. Paul Morrison never flirted with anyone, not even Judith, whom he loved more than life itself. More likely, he was trying to rattle her.
As her gaze remained fastened on the scene outside, big white feathers began floating in the air, increasing in density by the second. Her attention refocused on the view. She pointed. “Look, it’s snowing.”
“Really?” His gaze followed her finger, to see snow now falling in earnest, but the flakes dissolved as soon as they hit the water. “Wow! Look at it. I hope it keeps up.”
“Maybe we should do the snow dance,” she teased, glad see that his thoughts had moved to something else besides tormenting her.
“Snow dance?” His eyes narrowed.
“Yeah. It’s a lot like the rain dance only it produces snow, not rain.” Tsking, she shook her head. “Surely, you’ve done one?”
He laughed. “No, you’ll have to educate me.”
“I’m sure there’s not much I can teach you.” She mentally groaned at the unintended double entendre. Good job, Kate. Why not give him an open invitation to torment her more?
“Oh? I’m sure you’re full of surprises and could teach me a lot,” he said, without missing a beat.
His mischievous voice, full of innuendo, sent a small thrill up her spine. If that wasn’t enough to worry her, another infectious grin reaching all the way to his eyes had her stomach turning somersaults. For heaven’s sake, he belonged to her best friend and just because Judith’s biological clock wasn’t ticking as loudly as hers didn’t change that fact.
Don’t look at him. He reminds you of James. That’s why your insides are twisting like a pretzel.
“Whoa, back up, bucko,” she said, once she found her equilibrium. “We’re getting way off base.”
“Oh, come on. We’re just having a little fun. It doesn’t mean anything. You can’t tell me you’re not enjoying this as much as I am.” His eyes flashed pure amusement, sending enough warmth to her core to further impair rational thought.
She couldn’t stop the smile from forming. “That may be so.” Why deny it? She was enjoying him for once in her life. But she wasn’t without some sense. This was Paul, and he and Judith loved each other. “We’re still sworn enemies. I’m willing to be nice, but I don’t think I’m ready to bury the hatchet yet.”
He shrugged. “Okay, it’s your loss.” He sighed and took a sip of his drink. “But let me know when you’ve buried it deep enough because I find I don’t mind playing nice with you.”
Twisting her napkin in her lap with one hand, she cleared her throat and concentrated on bringing a fry to her mouth with the other. To answer him would be pure madness. Oh, he was good. So good at rattling her. Instead of humor and snide remarks, he was now using the infamous Morrison sex appeal and charm.
The man is not attractive. Repeat ten times and stop stealing glances at him. He was James’ brother, for Pete’s sake. She needed to ignore him. She needed to remember he was Paul Morrison, her hated enemy. She needed a drink. No, what she needed most was distance.
Remaining silent, she sighed and resumed eating.
Paul didn’t seem to notice her newfound absorption in her food. He continued talking while she pretended not to notice the cute way his eyes crinkled at the edges when he smiled or the devilish gleam in them when he found humor in something and shared it with her. Feeling trapped like a charmed cobra unable to break away from the charmer, she breathed a sigh of relief when he got up to go to the restroom.
She couldn’t wait until the meal was over so she could escape to her secluded room.
~
Paul washed his hands and glanced into the mirror. What the hell was he doing?
He snorted.
Flirting.
That’s exactly what he’d been doing. With Kate Winters! His brother’s problem. The same Kate who gave back in triplicate everything he threw at her. How had their game changed? Had the earth turned on its axis? He hadn’t been able to stop himself, the words just flew out of his mouth. Now, searching his reflection, he couldn’t deny one fact. She intrigued him, made him want to keep flirting. No woman had ever intrigued him like this. Except Judith, and he never flirted with Judith.
He started out of the restroom and halted. Why was he in such a hurry? He shook his head. No way. He couldn’t be attracted to her. Never in a million years would he think he’d ever enjoy her company, and never in a gazillion years would he think she’d attract him.
“Not good, Morrison,” he muttered. Although he didn’t think James would ever commit to Kate, he had no business encroaching on his brother’s girlfriend. He had no business finding her attractive. Remember, she’s the enemy—her words, not his—so he should avoid her.
Instead of listening to his mind’s warning, he grinned as he walked toward the table when she glanced up at him. He was just having a good time, something he hadn’t had in a long while. He could handle Kate.
Still, he wasn’t a total fool. He’d keep the conversation going, but restrain from any and all sexual innuendos. No eye gazing. No charming smiles.
He sat back down and for the rest of the meal d
id just that. He had no idea if she was following his lead or not, but he was grateful all the same that she restricted her tongue as well.
Finally, after paying the check, he stood and helped her into her coat.
Thank God the ordeal was over, he thought as they headed toward his car. The snow was still coming down, but wasn’t sticking to the ground. Yet.
“Can I tag along in the store?” He clicked the keyless entry as they neared his BMW.
He glanced at her, realizing by her puzzled look she hadn’t caught his words. He repeated his question and opened her door. “I want to get some wine.”
“No problem,” she murmured, looking none too pleased. “I forgot we were going to stop.”
He waited until she was inside to shut her door, then ran around to the driver’s side, climbed in next to her, and started the engine. “We don’t have to, if you’d rather not.” He pulled onto the road.
“No.” She offered a tired sigh. “Shopping tonight would be more convenient.”
Paul slowed the car when the Safeway sign came into view. After parking, both emerged at the same time. He hit the keypad to lock the car and then turned toward the store’s entrance. As she rushed to catch up with him, he glanced around and noted snow swirling everywhere. In the few minutes it took to drive to the store, the temperature dropped and the ground cooled enough for the snow to begin accumulating. Once inside the automatic doors, they stamped their feet and shook the flakes off their heads and clothes.
“Look at it come down,” he said with a laugh. He caught Kate’s excited gaze with raised eyebrows and a grin. “Powder day tomorrow!”
She grinned back. “Definitely compensates for being stuck here with you.”
“Be nice,” he warned, grabbing a cart. “Otherwise I’ll have to rat you out to Judith.”
“I am being nice. Far be it from me to ruin our truce since dinner went so well.” She took control of the cart and headed for the far aisle. He hurried to keep up as she said, “We need basics. What do you need?”
