Confessions of a Chalet Girl: HarperImpulse Contemporary Romance Novella

by Lorraine Wilson

  You have got to be joking? We're going down there?

  She eyed the steep mountainside with pure terror, made worse by the sound of the helicopter rotary blades starting up. Once the helicopter left she’d have no choice but to ski down there.

  ‘Scott,’ she called out to where he was talking to a guest up ahead, giving him some pointers.

  Apparently he hadn’t heard. He didn’t turn his head and skied off ahead with the guys and Magda. She’d have to ski after them if she wanted to get his attention.

  Lean forward, not back, bend your knee to turn…Oh God help me!

  Not a regular prayer, she prayed now, not quite sure who she was praying to. I’ll pray to anyone who’ll listen!

  She had to catch Scott up before he went too far. She leant forward to increase her speed as she’d been taught. Her stomach lurched and seemed reluctant to keep pace with the rest of her body. She couldn't blame it, the speed terrified her. She seemed to be travelling at a terrific rate and yet she still lagged at the back.

  Too late. They’d approached the first ridge.

  Please God help me. Don’t let me die.

  She whispered a prayer as she went over the edge of the pristine powder snow, feeling a disconcerting lurch in her ribcage. Only when she found herself at the bottom of the steep incline and on a gentler slope did she remember to breathe again.

  Every muscle tensed, her entire body on high alert. If this run went much further she thought she might literally die of terror. She sped up to keep them in sight, thinking maybe she might just pull this off when her ski hit a ridge in the snow and she lost her balance. She flew into the air and then crashed down onto her back with a force that winded her.

  Her back must be broken at the very least. A molten hot pain radiated up through the elbow she'd shot out to try and break her fall.

  ‘Help, help!’ she shouted as loudly as she could and tried in vain to push herself up into a sitting position.

  The mountain air didn’t bring back an answering cry. Winded, exhausted and miserable, she gave up trying to sit up and lay back in the snow. At least her Ebay snow gear was keeping her dry and warm, but for how long? She would just rest a bit and then try again…but what about her phone?

  With relief, she remembered her iPhone and pulled it out of her pocket.

  No signal.

  Of course there wasn’t a bloomin' signal. There weren’t any mobile phone masts up here on the mountaintops.

  They’d find her. Someone would find her. Scott would retrace his steps. Maybe he'd recall the helicopter? She shuddered to think how much it might cost to get her back down. Would her cheapo Internet travel insurance pay out? Probably not, given this was entirely her own fault. Hadn't the winter sports section of the policy said something about off piste skiing? Something like idiots who attempted it deserved all they got, although not quite in those words.

  She forced herself to try and sit up again, this time she managed it. Okay, so her back wasn’t actually broken after all, but the knock to her elbow had been vicious and the pain was pretty bad. The silence unnerved her as she waited, wondering what she should do.

  Then Scott’s head and bright red ski jacket appeared over the brow of the slope and she sagged back into the snow with relief. His skis were over his shoulder as he made his way determinedly back to her, his face grim and the snow well up to his knees.

  I hope I haven’t blown it with him. He looks rather pissed off.

  She cradled her elbow as it got her attention with another angry stab of pain.

  ‘Holly, are you okay?’ he asked as soon as he was in earshot, his eyes full of concern. ‘What happened?’

  ‘I’m not sure, I hit something and came over.’ She winced as another wave of pain hit her.

  ‘Where are you hurt?’ He crouched in front of her.

  ‘My elbow, and my back a bit.’ She grimaced again as another wave of pain hit her and cradled her injured arm.

  ‘Let me see your elbow.’ His voice was taut with what could have been anxiety or anger, she couldn’t tell which.

  She shrugged off the ski jacket on the injured side and rolled up the long sleeve of her T-shirt. Even now, in pain and humiliated, his touch on her bare skin roused her libido. Desire fought with embarrassment at being shown up and anger he hadn’t listened to her when she'd tried to get out of this trip.

  The pain wasn’t helping her mood much either.

  ‘I think it might be a ligament injury. We’ll have to get you back to town to a doctor.’

  ‘I did try to tell you I wasn’t an experienced skier.’

  ‘What?’ he frowned, his forehead furrowed. ‘But what about all that stuff on your Facebook page? Are you seriously trying to tell me it was faked?’

  ‘It wasn't faked by me,’ she said quickly, alarmed by the hard expression that had crept into his eyes, driving the softer Scott deep under cover. ‘Someone must have hacked my account, faked the photo on Facebook and well…thought it was a joke.’

  He looked at her closely, still frowning. Anger surged through Holly, why couldn’t he just take her word for it? What was so hard to understand?

  ‘Hmm. But who on earth would do that?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ she answered tersely. He didn’t believe her, clearly thought she was some kind of nutcase.

  She wanted the caring Scott back again, but the connection between them had clouded over, shutters being pulled down as they spoke. The knowledge of it pierced her with a pain much sharper than the throbbing in her elbow.

  Sitting back and letting this happen was not an option. She had to fight her corner.

  ‘It’s the truth, I had nothing to do with that post.’ She glared at him.

  ‘But you said on your CV you could ski.’ The narrowed eyes continued to appraise her, not giving an inch.

  ‘What’s this? The Swiss inquisition? I, I listed it under hobbies,’ she stuttered indignantly. ‘I didn’t realise it was going to be part of the job. It wasn’t mentioned at interview. I meant I was interested in learning how to…I mean how to improve my skiing.’

  ‘So you have skied before?’

  ‘Yes.’ She sighed, realising she had to say more, had to tell him the whole truth. It mattered she was honest, with him of all people. ‘But I only had my first lesson yesterday.’

  ‘Yesterday? Bloody hell, when you said you weren't 'that good a skier' you actually meant you weren't any kind of skier! You could have been killed up here, how could you have been so stupid?’

  Holly gaped at him, the horror on his face seemed out of proportion to what had happened. She regretted telling him the truth now.

  Why exactly did I feel the need to be quite so honest with him?

  ‘We’d better get you standing up.’ He exhaled and shook his head at her, his tone polite but cool. ‘We need to check there are no other injuries.’

  She let him help her up, enjoying the sensation of the strong, muscular arms supporting her but seething inwardly that he'd called her stupid. She wanted him to apologise, to fold her into his arms and tell her it didn't matter.

  What if this is the last time he ever touches me?

  Pain pricked at her eyelids and she blinked it back. She’d invested far too much far too soon. It was her own fault. She shouldn’t have let him do…what he did on New Year’s Eve.

  He held Holly for longer than was necessary for her to get her balance and seemed to hesitate, the rigid set of his jaw softening. ‘Are you in pain? The skidoo will be here soon and it can take you straight to the doctor, I’m sure he’ll give you something for the pain.’

  ‘We can still do what you had planned this evening, can’t we?’ She wished she had it in her to play it a bit cooler. Really she was rubbish at this.

  She knew why she’d told him the truth. She needed him to know the real Holly, not the chameleon Holly who always tried her best to fit in and not be noticed.

  ‘We’d better see what the doctor says.’ His arms remained around
her yet there was tension, a combative element to their stance.

  She didn't know if she wanted to kiss him or slap him for being so hard on her for a minor offence. Irritation flared within her, what gave him the right to be so judgemental?

  ‘How long will the skidoo be?’ she asked.

  ‘Magda was going to fetch one of the guys. They'll be at the mountain café by now so it shouldn’t be long.’

  ‘Good old Magda.’ She wished she could bite the words back but it was too late.

  ‘Why do you say that?’ Scott frowned.

  ‘I think she hacked my accounts. After all she doesn't like me.’

  ‘Come on now, why would she do that? Isn’t that a little paranoid?’ He sighed. ‘To tell the truth I don’t know what to think and I could really do without this today of all days.’

  His eyes briefly flashed with pain.

  'Today of all days'.

  What did that mean? If she hadn't been so riled she might have stopped to ask.

  ‘Paranoid? Someone set me up!’ Holly’s jaw clenched and her fighting hackles rose.

  ‘So you've said but Holly, don't you get you could've been killed up here? It’s not a run for beginners.’ His exasperation was clear but something more than that, he was seriously rattled.

  I don’t understand what’s going on.

  ‘I did try to tell you but you weren’t listening,’ she said, some of the anger draining away with the realisation he'd been afraid for her. She sighed and rested her head against his chest. His heartbeat pulsed rhythmically in her ear, far more rapid than it should have been.

  She didn't know what to say to make this right. The engine of a skidoo broke the silence.

  He patted her on the back, almost absentmindedly and disengaged himself, walking in the direction of the noise and waving. ‘Over here.’

  Before the skidoo reached them he turned back to her. ‘You’ll be alright with Sven and the doctor will look after you. I’ll see you later, back at the chalet.’

  Then without another word he snapped his skis back on and was off.

  Frickin’ brilliant. Well done Holly, you handled that well.

  She tried to muster a smile for the tanned and smiling Sven and climbed on board behind him, refusing to lie on the stretcher tied to the skidoo. Things were embarrassing enough without arriving back at the resort on a stretcher with everyone staring at her, hoping to witness a drama.

  ***

  Scott knew he’d behaved badly. Anger at himself, at Holly, and even at Zoë coursed around his body. Confused thoughts whirled in his mind with the intensity of a snowstorm, obscuring any clear thinking as he skied down to catch up with the group.

  Perhaps he should've told her about Zoë ’s anniversary, explained why he’d wanted her with him today and why he was in such a foul mood. But he'd been so furious she'd lied and put herself in danger, just like Zoë had …

  He took little pleasure in the breathtakingly gorgeous surroundings. All he could think of was Holly, Holly, Holly…. Lying in his arms, underneath him, her soft curves yielding, her sweet mouth grinning at him and vibrant eyes locking on his. Part of him wanted to go to the doctor with her but he badly needed to get away to calm down, to think …

  Had she tried to tell him? He'd been a bit distracted, maybe she’d said something this morning but she certainly hadn't told him she'd never been on a pair of skis in her life! The whole Facebook thing was a weird but perhaps he’d been too quick to judge?

  When he stopped to think about it Holly was different from the others, less artificial and certainly not a game player. If he was going to choose between believing Magda or Holly he knew which girl he’d pick, despite Magda having worked for him for two seasons. Maybe he should take her word for it about her accounts being hacked.

  He recalled the expression on Holly’s face when left her. Guilt twisted inside him. But it wasn't like she was his girlfriend.

  No, but you want her to be …

  It was true. He wanted Holly more than he could remember wanting anyone. He wanted her to be his, the thought of any of those ski bum instructors getting their hands on her lovely curves wound him up, big time.

  He skied on towards the mountain cantine where the group were stopping for lunch.

  Give her a chance - you don't meet many Holly's in a lifetime.

  The thought popped into his mind, accompanied by a desire so strong it carried him along in its wake, helpless to resist. He'd tell her why complete honesty was so important to him, explain how afraid he’d been when he went back to find her, terrified something terrible had happened, fear gripping at his chest.

  He still liked her. Liked her very much indeed.

  He thought about what he’d planned for the evening as he parked his skis in the rack and walked round to the front of the café where his group sat sunbathing on the red and white striped café deck-chairs, beers in hands.

  ‘Is Holly okay?’ Fake sympathy oozed from Magda’s every pore. This was the real picture of insincerity, not Holly.

  He could trust Holly.

  ‘She’s hurt, but not too badly,’ he replied curtly, staring at Magda and wondering if she knew about what had happened between him and Holly on New Year’s Eve. He’d have thought Magda would be over what happened last year when he’d rejected her advances. After all she’d applied to come back again this season.

  Perhaps Magda wasn’t cool about what’d happened. He sighed, Holly's theory made sense. If he hadn’t been battling with demons today he might have realised earlier it wasn’t that Holly was paranoid but that he was naïve.

  He owed her an apology.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Holly let herself back into Chalet Repos, exhausted but relieved when she remembered Amelia and Sophie were out for the day. Finally she had a bit of space.

  At least the pain in her elbow wasn’t so bad now. She grabbed a glass of water and swallowed a couple of ibuprofen before making herself a sandwich in the chalet kitchen.

  The doctor had said something about her elbow popping out of the ligament or something like that. Her French hadn’t been up to the complex translation. He'd done something hideously painful, charged her the equivalent of her last week’s wages for the privilege and now she had the battle of trying to claim it back from her insurance.

  She couldn’t understand Scott’s belligerence. He seemed pretty cool and laid back about most things, which only made his behaviour all the more puzzling. His snap judgement of her still rankled. Yes she’d been stupid but it wasn’t like she’d done anything criminal or hurt anyone…well, not yet anyway.

  Give me time.

  She was certainly tempted - an image of Magda sprang to mind, smug and laughing with Scott over lunch up at the mountain cantine. No doubt she’d be making jokes about Holly, flirting with him and placing perfectly manicured nails on his thigh as she casually reached across the table for the bread…

  Holly ground her teeth. Why Magda hated her she didn’t know, but her intuition was ringing loud alarm bells. Magda had set her up and she’d walked straight into the trap. She wouldn’t find her such an innocent victim next time round, and if Holly found evidence to support her suspicions then she’d no reservations about ringing Steve to see what he could do with Magda’s Facebook page…

  And if Scott planned to sack her she’d damn well make the most of the chalet today. She hadn’t used the Jacuzzi yet, too worried about groping hands and accidental leg brushes under the water from the city boys who were staying this week and too frantically busy last week.

  Now was the perfect time to unpack her bikini.

  Lying back in the Jacuzzi tub with her eyes closed and the hot water bubbling, easing away tension, she could understand why it was so popular after skiing. The heated water caressed her aching muscles and all her tightly wound worries and stresses slowly dissolved away.

  She inhaled the deliciously fresh mountain air and relaxed, feeling more herself again. Sod Scott, she’d find a job somewh
ere else if necessary. The cafes in the resorts were always looking for English speakers and her French was passable, at least when it came to food and drink.

  Soon Holly wasn’t thinking of anything at all, just concentrating on the powerful jets as they massaged her thighs, her back and the space between her legs… She couldn’t help but think of Scott, of his mouth exploring her most sensitive flesh, caressing her with such surprising tenderness and generosity. Giving her a pleasure more intense than she’d imagined possible.

  ‘Hi.’ Scott’s real voice broke through her daydream.

  She sat up with a start, splashing through the surface of the water.

  ‘Oh, I thought you’d be out for the rest of the day.’ She blinked a few times, dazed by the transition from fantasy to reality. ‘You don’t mind me using the Jacuzzi do you? Only you said it was okay…’

  ‘What? No, of course it’s okay. I came back to see if you were all right. The group have turned out to be pretty experienced skiers so I’ve left Magda to look after them.’ He crouched down beside the Jacuzzi.

  She tried hard not to stare at his powerful thighs, at the strong hands that had stroked and caressed her so expertly. Tried to remember why she was angry with him…

  ‘I wanted to say sorry,’ he added more softly and laid a hand on her shoulder. ‘I didn’t give you a proper chance to explain. I shouldn’t have left you with Sven but taken you to the doctor myself. What’s the diagnosis?’

  ‘Some weird ligament thing I think, but the doctor popped it back in. I’m okay really. Look, I’m sorry too, I should have been more insistent when I tried to tell you I wasn’t a good skier. I was stupid to think I could fudge it and I'm sorry I gave you a scare,’ she replied.

  Scott exhaled, his tight jaw relaxing and some of the tension seeming to drain from his face.

  Did he want to take up where they’d left off as much as she did? Desire stirred inside her like a lazy snake uncoiling. Her nipples stiffened, visible through her bikini top. The cold air didn’t help.