by Karen Rock
Safer territory.
His brows furrowed. “You didn’t hear about the wedding?”
Her eyes widened. “No,” she said slowly as he wrapped the towel around his shoulders and bent to put on his boots.
“Julie called the whole thing off this morning.”
“She what?” Alexis said a little too loudly. Darn, she wished she’d arrived sooner. Julie had sounded off the last time she’d spoken to her, but as usual, Alexis had been forced to put work first. She bit her lip, thinking about the stack of paperwork on her desk and the no doubt countless urgent emails adding up in her inbox since she’d unplugged to get on the plane. She’d brought as much work along with her as she could, but a week off was really going to put her behind. Not one to celebrate the season, she’d planned on working through this vacation. With her job on the line, she really couldn’t afford to take a break.
She pushed the thoughts of work away. Julie’s wedding is canceled, stay focused, she told herself. She was already the world’s worst maid of honor, showing up late and handing off the usual obligations of the position to the other bridesmaids. “What happened?” She checked her missed calls—none from Julie. “She didn’t even call me.”
He looked uncomfortable as he shifted in the seat. “Well, she said that if her maid of honor couldn’t be bothered to show up sooner, then what was the point of getting married?”
Her mouth dropped. “I had to work. She knew—” She stopped at the look of amusement on his face. The jerk was messing with her. She released a deep breath and resisted the urge to punch him. He’d always made her want to hit him and kiss him at the same time. “What really happened?”
“Austin showed up.”
Her mouth dropped onto her lap. “Austin showed up?” Like Austin Austin? The guy Julie had been crazy about in college? Talk about bad timing. Or good timing?
“Yep.”
“To stop the wedding?” She couldn’t believe Austin would do that. Sure, he was impulsive and free-spirited—a lot like the man sitting next to her—but breaking up Julie’s wedding seemed a little over the top.
Though not entirely unromantic, her soft side appearing for the briefest of seconds before she stuffed it back into its corner. She couldn’t exactly show how secretly thrilled she was that her friend’s true love had arrived just in time to stop her from making a mistake.
She sighed. But this was exactly why she was getting into trouble at work. A divorce attorney who still somehow, despite her own inability to find happy-ever-after, believed in true love. Pathetic.
But Liam was shaking his head. “No. He wasn’t here because of the wedding. He was in Lake Placid training with the US Bobsled and Luge team. She saw him and started second-guessing her decision to marry Mason.” His eyes narrowed. “Did you know Julie was having doubts?”
“No!” She shook her head. “Believe me, had I known anything about any of this, I would have tried harder to get here yesterday.” She sighed. Taking a week off work to attend a Christmas wedding in Lake Placid wasn’t ideal, given her precarious work situation, but how often did one of your closest friends get married? “How’s Mason?” She’d only met the man once and he’d been really nice, but Alexis had always assumed Julie would end up with Austin.
“He and his family are leaving.”
Understandable. “Yeah, I guess that would have been an awkward way to spend the holidays. Have most of the other guests gone home, as well?”
“A few stayed—mostly the ones who traveled quite a way to be here. Julie and her mother decided to stick around until Christmas Eve. Others have left.”
“Why are you still here?” Julie had told her that Liam still lived in New York, so he could easily have gone home as soon as the wedding cancellation was announced. Then she wouldn’t have had to see him at all...or his perfect biceps and sculpted pecs.
He shrugged. “Why not?”
Wow, she could have predicted that answer.
“I mean, the room was booked for the week anyway, and what better way to spend Christmas than at a beautiful mountain resort decorated like a winter wonderland?”
She could name about a dozen ways, none of which included her former boyfriend, who she hadn’t seen in years. Sure, she’d glanced at pictures of him on Facebook whenever a mutual friend commented on one, but she certainly wasn’t searching them out. She knew he had dated one woman for a few years—according to Julie, they’d even talked about marriage—but things had ended the year before. She didn’t want to wonder what had happened, but she would be lying if she said she wasn’t curious. Her own reason for remaining single all this time was simple—she was focused on her career. It didn’t help that her job gave her a front-row seat to marriages falling apart and people falling out of love every day. Working long hours to get ahead in her law career gave her the perfect excuse not to put herself out there and look for Mr. Right. Though if he swooped into her office someday...
She shook her head. Hadn’t her own experiences taught her to forget that silly notion? The man sitting next to her was the perfect reminder of the pain that resulted from following her heart.
The shuttle bus stopped in front of the resort and they stood. “Here, let me help with your—” He reached for her luggage, but she stopped him.
“No, thank you. I got it.” She picked up her suitcase and the garment bag that held her maid of honor dress—the one she’d been terrified of forgetting and no longer needed.
“Still as fiercely independent as ever, huh?” he asked. Liam stepped back to let her go ahead of him as they exited the shuttle.
Why did he make that sound like a bad thing? She forced a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “I guess neither one of us has changed, huh?”
* * *
AS LIAM TURNED his shower to hot ten minutes later, Alex’s words echoed in his mind. Neither one of them had changed.
He knew that wasn’t true, at least for him. He’d changed a lot since the last time he’d seen Alexis.
Of course, he could understand where she might get the impression that he was still a reckless, carefree adrenaline junkie, he thought wryly. His frozen swim trunks and the tiny icicles in his dark hair from the stunt he’d just participated in didn’t do much to prove his case. But he’d only been trying to lighten the somber mood lingering over the resort after the canceled wedding by inviting some of the remaining guests to participate with him. It had worked—they’d all laughed and had a good time. Away from the awkwardness of the situation, the guests had started to look at this change of plans in a different light. Now they could be free to enjoy the beautiful resort and participate in all the scheduled holiday events.
He climbed into the shower, thankful for the heat warming his chilled bones. He really was getting too old for these stunts. At thirty-one, he wasn’t the young football star who could party all night and put his body through extremes anymore. He also wasn’t the guy Alex remembered him to be.
Eight years ago he had been working at Grayson’s, a local sporting-goods store, to help pay for college after he lost his football scholarship. Now he owned the entire chain of Grayson’s stores, with two new locations opening next year.
He’d been tempted to pack up and leave this morning, but he’d decided to stick around at least one more day to see Alex.
Maybe talking his cousin out of telling her maid of honor about the canceled wedding had been a little manipulative, but one look at Alex’s tired, stressed face told him he’d been right when he’d told Julie that her friend would probably benefit from time away from her stressful job as a lawyer in LA. Of course, his cousin had seen right through him, but she’d reluctantly agreed to hold off on placing the call.
He turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around his waist.
Why did he want to see his former girlfriend?
To prove to her that he’d changed? That he’d made a success of his life? That he was finally serious about his future and ready to settle down?
He had no idea what he was expecting to happen. All he knew was that they were finally in the same place at the same time and Alex just might get a new look at the man who hadn’t fit her perfect life before.
* * *
“SO, THERE’S NOTHING until the day after Christmas?” Alexis said, pacing her room at the resort, her cell phone cradled between her shoulder and ear as she hung the garment bag in the closet.
“Sorry, Ms. Chase. All of the buses are completely booked. The holiday season is our busiest time for travel...”
Yes, yes. She’d heard the same spiel from the airlines. The holidays made an escape impossible. She was stuck at Mirror Lake Lodge—the site of the called-off wedding and current residence of her former flame—until at least December 26. Wonderful. Guilt washed over her as she thought about Julie. Trying to leave was wrong—she would stay and be here in case her friend needed her. Even if that meant revisiting a part of her past she’d tried to leave behind years before. “Okay, thank you for checking,” she mumbled into the phone.
Disconnecting the call and tossing the phone onto the bed, she let out a deep breath, surveying the room. She’d booked a king suite with a bed that she could get lost in, a deep Jacuzzi tub that she planned on taking full advantage of and a view of the mountains that she’d almost forgotten existed after living in LA for so long.
The wraparound deck outside the glass doors that overlooked the lake was magnificent and the stonework fireplace in the center of the room would be the perfect place to curl up with the work files she’d brought along with her.
As far as forced vacations went, this one was pretty fantastic. The room was luxurious—the only problem was that it shared a wall with Liam’s. His annoying grin when he’d followed her down the hall had turned into a downright arrogant smile when they’d unlocked the doors to their side-by-side rooms. She used to live for that smile. Now she wanted to wipe it off his face.
Why didn’t he seem bothered by this? She was. In fact, she had begged Julie not to invite him to the wedding in the first place on one of their rare visits the year before. After a bottle of wine, of course.
“I have to invite him,” Julie had said. “He’s my cousin.”
Alexis had sighed. “Fine. Just promise me he won’t be in the wedding party.” She’d almost wished she hadn’t agreed to be a part of her old college roommate’s special day, especially since she knew that the distance and her crazy workload would make it harder for Alexis to help plan the wedding and the events around it. But Julie had assured her that she wouldn’t be expected to fill the customary roles and duties of the maid of honor, like throwing the bachelorette party or bridal shower, so she’d felt somewhat capable of pulling it off. All she had to do was show up, stand next to the bride at the front of the room and maybe hold layers of satin and lace when Julie went to the bathroom.
Trying to address wedding invitations between filing divorce documents would surely have resulted in less than ideal outcomes for both.
“He won’t be. We’re not that close anymore—I haven’t seen him more than a few times in recent years, so don’t worry. And who knows, maybe he won’t come. Destination weddings rarely have a full turnout,” Julie had reasoned.
Well, so much for that hope. And despite the wedding not going ahead, it appeared Liam planned to stay and turn the first vacation she’d had in four years into an avoidance mission. She lay on her bed, listening to the sound of water running in his room next door. An image of him walking out of the lake and back into her life appeared when she closed her eyes. If only this Ghost of Christmas Past didn’t look so darn good.
Just as he always had...
“Whoops, sorry, didn’t know anyone was out here,” Alexis had said as she’d stepped onto the deck of her friend’s house eight years before. The September long-weekend party before they all went back to school for their final year of college had gone from a modest guest list to half the graduating class, and she was feeling claustrophobic in the small space with so many people. But now she understood why the deck had been empty...or at least mostly empty.
A tall, muscular guy with dark hair was leaning against the side of the house kissing a shorter blonde girl just visible beneath his arm. They stopped and he turned at the sound of her interruption.
It was Julie’s cousin Liam, a guy Alexis had met a few times over the years but had never really spoken to. Her brain seemed to turn to mush around him and his hotness made her uncomfortable. “Sorry...” she mumbled, heading back inside.
She checked her watch: 8:06. Whatever. They could call her a party pooper if they wanted, she was leaving. Classes started the next day and she had things to prepare. She’d already read the required textbooks for her law classes over the summer, but she really could benefit from another read-through of the notes, she thought as she grabbed her purse and headed toward the front door.
Julie grabbed her hand as she passed. “Hey! You’re leaving already?”
Her boyfriend, Austin, had his arms around her waist and the two had clearly been into the overflowing alcohol already.
“Yes... I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” She turned and added, “Have fun.”
Parties weren’t her idea of fun. And luckily she knew they weren’t really Julie’s, either—she was just enjoying her last real night of freedom before school started. But Alexis didn’t need to stay. Her friend was in perfectly good hands with Austin.
As she headed across the lawn to her car, a voice behind her said, “Not really a party girl, huh?”
She turned to see Liam, trying not to notice how great looking he was. He’d always been cute, but now he was dark, tall, handsome and shaped like a bodybuilder. Of course, he had a girlfriend.
Not that it mattered. A guy like Liam would never go for a girl like her—someone with an IQ higher than her bra size. Besides, Alexis was focused on keeping her GPA high enough to get into law school. Dating was not on her list of college experiences.
“What was your first clue?”
He laughed. “It’s ten after eight on the Sunday night of a long weekend and you’re heading home already.”
“Who said I was going home? Maybe there’s a bigger, better, crazier party happening across town...”
“Is there?” he asked, falling into step next to her as she made her way toward the car parked across the street.
She stopped at the driver’s-side door. “Probably.”
“That’s where you’re headed?”
“No.”
He laughed. “So where are you going?”
What did he care? “Home to get ready for classes tomorrow.”
He frowned. “Classes don’t start until Tuesday.”
“They start tomorrow for new teachers’ assistants,” she said, and immediately wished she could pull the words back. What was the point of losing her glasses and having her braces removed if she was just going to go around announcing she was a dork? “Bye,” she said quickly, opening the door.
“Hey!” he called, knocking on the window as she closed the door and started the car. “What classes are you assisting with?” he asked as she rolled the window down.
“Mostly law studies...why?”
“So I know which classes to take,” he said with a smile that would have buckled her knees had she been standing.
“Shouldn’t you take classes that have something to do with your major?” She seriously wanted to hit her head against the steering wheel. He was flirting with her and all she could come back with was concern about his future?
“I’m only there to play football.”
Figures. That explained the demigod-like body. “Okay, well...”
“Hey, if
I promise to have you home by ten do you want to go grab a drink or something?”
The faint smell of alcohol in the air between them suggested he’d already consumed too many...probably why he was flirting with her. “I think you should go back to your girlfriend.”
He looked confused.
“That many to remember, huh?” Fantastic. Any ego boost she may have experienced from his attention vanished.
“Oh, you mean the blonde. The kiss...”
She nodded.
“She’s not my girlfriend. I just met her an hour ago.”
Wow. “So, you just go around kissing every hot girl at the party?”
He grinned, the dimples in his cheek reaching impossible depths. “I don’t know. Let’s see...” he said, leaning toward her.
Her eyes widened. What an arrogant jerk. Holding up a hand, she pushed his face back out of the window and rolled it up quickly.
The sound of his laughter as he moved away from the car made her sigh. “I’ll see you in class,” he called.
She certainly hoped not.
She sighed as she lay staring at the hotel room ceiling. Even then, her attempts to resist him had been futile. But she was older and wiser now. She’d already gone down that path with Liam—she knew better than to do again, didn’t she?
CHAPTER TWO
MIRROR LAKE LODGE would be a perfect place to get married, not that she believed she ever would.
One disastrous proposal in a lifetime was more than enough.
Besides, the closest she’d come to an actual date in years was the late night working/flirting sessions she engaged in with one of the senior partners at the firm. So far nothing more had come from their casual interest in one another and she doubted anything would. Dating a coworker seemed like a bad idea. She’d seen too many of those types of relationships end badly and she wasn’t lonely enough to jeopardize a career that was already on thin ice.
