Smitten at First Sight: A Contemporary Romance Novel

by Astor, Marie

  “Perhaps you’re right,” Taylor conceded – he did not feel like getting into an argument. That was the thing about Hannah – she was one of his closest friends, but although she claimed to be ‘one of the guys,’ she was still a girl, and whenever Taylor expressed even the slightest interest in another girl, Hannah always got touchy.

  Chapter 15

  Maggie had set the alarm clock to seven thirty in the morning the night before, but if she had known that she would be woken up by a telephone ring, she would not have bothered.

  “Hello?” Maggie answered sleepily, wondering who it could be.

  “Do I have to find out from Jeffrey that my daughter is no longer engaged?” her mother’s voice throbbed in the receiver.

  “Jeffrey called you?” Maggie stammered, now wide awake – given the circumstances this was ballsy even for Jeffrey, but then the saying that attack is the best method of defense did not come out of nowhere.

  “Of course he called me. He was worried about you and he wanted to make sure that we knew where you were. God knows, if it had not been for him, your father and I would probably have never found out.”

  “I was going to call you, Mom.” Maggie sighed. “I’ll tell you both everything when I get home.”

  “Why don’t you tell me now? I’ve got all day.”

  Not that she was burning with desire to rehash all the sordid details, but Maggie knew that once her mother was determined to talk there was no way of avoiding her. So she retold, word for word, her conversation with Jeffrey from the day before.

  “Maggie, I’m so sorry. And to think that Jeffrey was such a charmer – what a snake! I can only imagine how upset you must be.” Her mother paused, “Are you all right?”

  “I am. I’m going to be fine – I just need some time to myself.” And as she said it, Maggie actually began to believe it.

  “When are you coming home?” her mother pressed. “As they say, every cloud has a silver lining – you need to get your mind off Jeffrey and getting an early start on law school is just the ticket. You could look over the curriculum, order the books in advance, that sort of thing. I’m sure there’ll be plenty of eligible young men at Yale law and Jeffrey will be history in no time.”

  Maggie stifled a sigh – the prospect of meeting ‘eligible young men’ at Yale law was the last thing she wanted at the moment. “I’ve decided to stay here for now, Mom. I need to figure some things out.”

  There was a momentary silence on the other end. “But what are you going to do there all by yourself?”

  “Actually there are plenty of things to do around here,” retorted Maggie, irked by her mother’s assumption that she was incapable of finding things to do without Jeffrey. “The skiing is great and the landscape is fantastic – you should see this place, it’s truly magical. I’ve taken some really good photos, and I want to keep working on my portfolio.”

  “Well, as long you realize that this is nothing more than a hobby,” Mrs. Robin said dryly. “The response deadline for law school is approaching. Do you remember why I called you Margaret?”

  “I remember,” said Maggie, wishing she had held her tongue. Margaret Thatcher was Mrs. Robin’s icon. While most mothers dreamt of their daughters becoming beauty queens or famous actresses, Janet Robin hoped for her daughter’s prominence in the political arena. Convinced that having the same first name would impart some of its famous bearer’s traits, Mrs. Robin had named her daughter after the famous British prime minister. “But now I really have to go. I love you, Mom.”

  Maggie hung up the phone, wishing she had held her tongue.

  At times Maggie wondered if her mother’s choice of occupation for her were influenced by her mother’s unrealized wishes. Maggie’s mother had married Maggie’s dad when he was a penniless medical student with nothing but huge school loans to his name. Her mother’s part of the family had more suitable matches for her in mind and objected to the union, callously informing her that she would be cut off if she were to go against their wishes. In an uncharacteristic act of defiance, Maggie’s mother got a job as a legal secretary, foregoing her acceptance to law school, so that she could be with the man she loved while he finished his studies. Afterwards, Mrs. Robin had meant to go back for her degree, but somehow she never followed up on her plan, deciding to focus all her energy on Maggie instead. Still, she found an outlet for her unrealized aspirations by joining the school board and becoming an active member of the community.

  But as much as Maggie wanted to please her mother, she could not do so at the expense of her own dreams.

  Maggie kicked off the covers and headed into the shower. Yesterday had been a washout – she had wandered around the resort grounds searching for good shots, but was too agitated by her break-up with Jeffrey to get any work done. Today, Jeffrey’s betrayal had not become any less painful, but she refused to waste another day on self-pity.

  Maggie planned to take the air tram up and then ski her way down in search of opportune shots. She knew that the off-piste terrain was challenging, but she was going to ski right beneath the line of air tram – that part of the mountain was not overly steep and if she used the air tram as a landmark, she would not get lost. Of course she could always hire a guide, but Maggie craved solitude - having a guide telling her where to go and what to do would ruin the purity of the experience, and she doubted she would be able to make any good shots with a stranger hovering over her.

  When the air tram docked into the offloading station, Maggie stepped out onto the snow along with a few other skiers who had been on the tram with her.

  It had snowed overnight and a fresh carpet of powder covered the mountain. Maggie adjusted the zoom on her camera and took several panoramic shots of the white cliffs against the endless blue sky. Then, she put away her camera, snapped her boots into her skis, and grabbed her poles.

  As she began to make her way down the long, wide incline that flowed underneath the tram cable, she centered her attention on the terrain in front of her and thought of nothing else. Her body moved in a familiar motion, reminding her of all those winter vacations spent at Lake Placid as a kid. She did not ski off-piste then, but she used to race down the slopes like a fireball of energy – back then, she had thought that anything was possible.

  The limitless whiteness of the snow glistening beneath the sun filled her heart with infinite joy. She felt as though there were no limits to what she could do and wondered if that was the emotion that all off-piste skiers experienced - was that the feeling that brought the happy grin to Taylor’s face? Immediately, Maggie checked her thoughts – now was not the time to muse about Taylor Denton - not now, not ever for that matter.

  Chapter 16

  It was two o’clock, and Taylor Denton was about to embark on his last descent of the day. He had been shredding the slopes since the early morning, and he was beginning to feel the burn in his legs. But the grueling training regime was well worth it – provided that nature cooperated and the snow conditions would be right, he was going to face the Needle Eye in a little over two weeks, and he needed to be in top shape.

  Taylor was about to drop into the forgiving incline underneath the tram line - it was all he could manage with his fatigued quads - when he noticed Maggie Robin. She was standing with her back to him, a little to the side of the mountain. She was holding her camera in her hands, completely oblivious to everything around her.

  That girl thinks she can do whatever she wants, thought Taylor, noticing the absence of a guide with her. What Maggie chose to do on plain ground was none of his business, but when it came to the off-piste terrain, he felt responsible.

  “Hello there, Maggie.”

  Looking stunned, she turned around. “Taylor, what are you doing here?”

  “Keeping an eye out for any skiers who wandered off without a guide.”

  “Well, I hope you’re enjoying yourself,” Maggie answered curtly, clearly not liking his attempt at a joke. “Good luck with your search.”

 
; “Maggie, I think you know what I mean.” Taylor did not want to get all preachy, but it was obvious that his message was not going to get across otherwise. “You can’t just venture out like this on your own – you should have a guide with you.”

  “Why? Do you think that no one is good enough to ski out here but you?” She glared at him.

  This is getting crazier by the minute, Taylor thought, whatever got her so worked up? “People have been known to lose their way or get seriously injured. There’s no ski patrol out here – if something goes wrong, there’s no one to call for help.”

  “And what makes you think that something would go wrong? I know what I’m doing and I don’t need anyone to tell me what to do.”

  If it were not for the circumstances, Taylor would have turned around and walked away. As it were, they were stuck mid-way down the mountain together, and he was determined to see Maggie get back safely – after that, she could do whatever she pleased. “Look, I don’t know what your problem is and frankly I don’t care, but because I ran into you, it’s now my responsibility to make sure that you get back safe. Then, you can do as you please.”

  “Well, I don’t need anyone to tell me what to do. I’m not going to have a man tell me what to do ever again.” She stared back at him.

  Taylor thought he heard her sob – this conversation was spinning out of control and clearly had nothing to do with skiing anymore. “Maggie, what’s wrong? Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine.”

  But by the way her shoulders were shaking, he could tell that she was anything but fine. “Look, I know we don’t really know each other, but if there’s anything I can to do help…”

  “Yes, you could leave me alone…”

  That hurt – he had never been told off that blatantly before - girls always loved him. Not that he was interested in Maggie in that way – he had promised himself to put all that nonsense out of his head. But still, there was no need for such hostility. “Look, calm down. I didn’t mean to upset you like that. I’m sorry.” By now Taylor wished he had ignored his moral obligations and gone on his way – he had meant to help, but unwittingly had made things worse.

  “No, it’s not your fault.” She sobbed. “I’m sorry to go off like this – you must think I’m nuts.”

  Maggie looked at him with those doe-like eyes. God, she is pretty, he thought as he looked at her – she was the only girl he knew who looked good while crying – her cheeks were all flushed and her eyes were vulnerable and soft.

  “Jeffrey and I broke up, and I had all this pent up emotion inside me… And somehow I thought I had the right to unleash on you when all you wanted was to help. I’m sorry – I don’t usually do things like that and if you think that I’m a total nut, I understand completely.”

  No, he did not think she was a nut. Hell, any girl dating that tool Jeffrey had a right to break into tears in his opinion. And, not that it was any of his business, he was glad to hear that they broke up. “Anyone can have an off day. And again, I’m sorry if I sounded patronizing – it’s just that lots of things can go wrong when you’re skiing off-piste, and I’m kind of a nut when it comes to safety.”

  “You have a point.” A faint smile appeared on her lips. “But I’m not exactly a novice, you know. I used to be on the junior racing league of Lake Placid.”

  “Wow, that’s pretty impressive.” Taylor did his best to sound convincing as he remembered the molehills of Lake Placid – he had skied out there years ago with his dad. Sure, they held the Olympics over there once, but the range of the terrain did not even come close to that of Eagleville Mountains.

  As if reading his thoughts, Maggie added, “Of course, Lake Placid is not as big as this place, but I learned everything I know about skiing out there.”

  Which, Taylor had to admit, was quite a lot – Maggie’s skiing technique was solid. “So, did you take any good photos today?” he asked in an attempt to switch the topic of conversation.

  “Yes.” She nodded enthusiastically, and Taylor could not help noticing the way Maggie’s eyes lit up when she talked about photography – the same way he got when he talked about skiing.

  “May I take a look?”

  “Sure.” Maggie opened her backpack and handed him the camera. “Just press the view arrow to see what I shot today.”

  “Wow, your photos make this place look even more beautiful than it is – I didn’t know that was even possible.” And he really did mean what he said – the play of light in Maggie’s landscape shots was out of this world.

  “Thank you.” She blushed at the sound of his praise. “I want to try submitting my work to magazines…”

  “I think you should – I know I would buy a magazine with photos like these on the cover.” Taylor pressed the forward button.

  “Oh, that’s it for the photos I took today,” Maggie added hurriedly, but he had already pressed the button again.

  “Wow – this is a great shot,” Taylor said at length as he stared at the still shot of himself flying down an almost vertical incline – by the looks of it, it was taken on the Heaven Ridge.

  Maggie blushed and Taylor could guess that she had not intended for him to see this shot. “I took it on my second day here – I was up on the lift and then I saw you fly down the mountain and I just had to take that photo. I didn’t know it was you at the time – please don’t think that I’m a stalker or anything like that.”

  “Why would I think that?” He shrugged, amused by her embarrassment. “Do you think I could get a copy of this shot?”

  “Sure.” She nodded. “I was going to go into town to get some prints developed, and I’ll make a copy for you.”

  “Thanks, Maggie. I’ll be looking forward to it.” Taylor smiled - he had to admit that he was glad to have an excuse to see Maggie again.

  “Well, thanks for making sure I got back safe,” Maggie beamed Taylor a smile once they reached the bottom of the incline.

  “You’re welcome – it was a pleasure being your guide, Maggie.” Taylor could not help admiring her skiing technique: during the entire descent Maggie did not stop once, and he could see that she was fully in control of her skis. Still, she should not have ventured out without a guide – unless one knew the area really well, it was easy to get lost when skiing off-piste.

  “And I’m sorry about earlier.” She blushed. “I don’t really break into tears like that, you know.”

  “Don’t mention it – it’s already forgotten.”

  “How about I buy you a drink?” she offered. “And maybe we could get a bite to eat after that? I’m starving.”

  The offer caught him off guard – was it just a friendly outing or could there be more to it? Under a different set of circumstance, he would jump at the opportunity, but he could not forget the fact that Maggie was his producer’s ex-fiancée and it had only been a few days since their break-up. The last thing Taylor needed was to be anyone’s rebound.

  As though sensing his hesitation, Maggie added, “But if you’re busy, I understand. I just figured we both have to eat so…”

  “No, no. I don’t have any plans. A drink sounds like a great idea – I could sure use a beer. The Dusty Boot it is then – they brew the best beer and serve the best burgers in town. It’s just around the corner from here.”

  What’s the worst thing that could happen? thought Taylor as he walked beside Maggie. They might end up having a terrible time together, which would be a blessing in itself, since then he would finally stop thinking about Maggie Robin once and for all. Of course, there was also a chance that they would enjoy each other’s company and get to know each other better, and Taylor had to admit that he secretly hoped for the latter.

  The Dusty Boot bar stood a few blocks away from the Owl Lodge. The bar’s exterior was unassuming: the wooden steps leading inside felt wobbly under one’s feet and the slanted roof indicated a need for repair - the atmosphere inside, nevertheless, more than made up for the battered facade. It was still too early for
big crowds, but already a good-sized group of locals had gathered by the bar, swapping stories of their daily victories and occasional setbacks on the slopes. Taylor’s and Maggie’s entrance elicited a round of boisterous greetings from the bar patrons.

  Taylor nodded at the loud reception, his face coloring slightly. He knew most of the people at the bar stand and could tell that they were curious about Maggie – this was a small town, and every time he was seen in the company of a new girl, there was bound to be talk about it. The townsfolk never tired of jeering Taylor about his dates, maintaining that he should get hitched with Hannah. The fact that Taylor did not have a steady girlfriend, allowed the town people to keep thinking that only Hannah was good enough for Taylor. Personally, Taylor found this notion ridiculous and dismissed it as nothing more but a silly joke – he and Hannah had practically grown up together, and she was like a sister to him, and it had never crossed Taylor’s mind to think of Hannah as anything more than a friend.

  Taylor could tell that Maggie felt uncomfortable under all the curious stares and quickly steered her toward the bar.

  “Hey, Shawn.” Taylor was surprised to see Shawn behind the bar stand on his day off. “I thought today wasn’t your shift.”

  “Oh, the manager asked me to fill in at the last minute – what the heck; I could use a couple of extra bucks.” At the sight of Maggie, Shawn’s expression tightened. “Hello Maggie. I’ve got to say that I’m a bit surprised to see you here,” added Shawn.

  Taylor had to restrain himself from shaking his head – Shawn usually disliked out-of-towners and was never subtle about his emotions. “Maggie and I ran into one another on the mountain.”

  Shawn nodded, eyeing both Maggie and Taylor, as though looking for clues. “Did you enjoy yourself?” he asked, busying himself with clearing away empty beer bottles from the bar stand.