Business Affairs (4 page)

What would he do without her?

“What about you?” Jennifer couldn't pass up the opportunity to learn more about his opinion of marriage. Although from his dating habits and his comments about his parents, she suspected it wasn't something he valued.

“I guess it works for some people.”

She gave him a long, searching look. “But not you?”

Alex gave a bitter laugh. “Not in this lifetime, anyway.”

Sadly, his answer confirmed what she'd suspected. And who could blame him after the way he was raised? “Look, we'd better get going if we don't want to miss our flight.” She grabbed her coat and shrugged into it, trying very hard to act as if she hadn't been bothered by his beliefs on marriage.

He nodded, then walked with her into the living room where her luggage was placed beside the door. There were two bags, neither one very big. “Is this all you're taking?” he asked, surprised. Most of the women he'd taken away for the weekend had traveled with three times as much luggage.

“We're only going to be gone a couple of days.” Picking up her purse, she opened the door.

Alex carried her luggage down and tossed it into the trunk of his car. Within minutes, they were on the way to the airport. Less than two hours later, they were seated next to each other on the plane, half through their flight to the ski resort.

“Sorry,” she said, when she bumped his arm as she thumbed through the airline's magazine. “These seats are too small.” Her leg brushed his and her eyes darted to his face. Heat rushed to her cheeks.

Casey had told her to let things between her and Alex progress naturally. Could she do as her friend suggested? Perhaps nothing at all would happen between them. Maybe she wouldn't even have a choice about sleeping with him. Alex was certainly seeing this weekend for what it was; a chance to take some time off work and enjoy skiing.

But what if something did happen between them? What if she had the chance to make love with him?

She wanted him. Could she say no to a chance to be with him? Jennifer bit her lip, knowing the idea of making love with Alex would be too tempting to refuse.

She didn't
want
to say no to what would be her only chance to be with him.

You also want a baby,
her mind whispered.

Maybe she did, but wanting a baby didn't mean she would deceive Alex. She wouldn't.

Even so, what if they made love and by chance she got pregnant? She'd have a child from someone she cared for. Would Alex really be hurt if he never found out? And what if he did? With his views on having a family, he most likely wouldn't want anything to do with her or his child. Why was she making this so difficult? Everything would work out all right if she didn't let her heart get involved.

She cast a glance in his direction and found him watching her. “What, did I bump you again?”

“No, but you're awfully quiet. What are you thinking about?”

“Um, I was thinking about work.” It was a good cover. Work was never far from her mind.

“I don't want you to think about anything except enjoying yourself. I intend to make sure you get your money's worth.”

“My money's worth?”

“For your date,” he reminded her.

“Alex, that really isn't necessary.” She was trying to forget this had all started as a date between the two of them. “I'll probably just lounge around in my room.”

His smile disappeared. “You're not going to ski with me?”

“I don't ski,” she reminded him.

“Ah, but I'm going to teach you. You paid for a date with me. It doesn't count if you're hibernating. Besides, it's not much fun to ski alone.”

“Believe me, you won't want me out there with you. I'll only make you miserable.”

“You won't make me miserable unless you refuse to try.” He gave her a beseeching look. “Besides, what about all those ski outfits we bought?”

“I figured that even if I didn't ski, they'd help me look good.”

Alex almost told her she didn't need a ski outfit to look good. She was gorgeous in anything she wore, he imagined she'd look especially good if she wore nothing. “Please?”

Put so sweetly, how could she say no? “All right. But it'll be your fault if I end up with a broken leg.”

He laughed at her remark and sat back in his seat. “If you end up with a broken leg, I promise to be your servant.”

She considered Alex as her servant. The vision of him catering to her every need sounded like a great idea. “I'll hold you to it,” she promised, then turned in her seat as the pilot came over the speaker to announce their descent.

 

The resort in Vermont was nothing like Jennifer had envisioned. She zipped up her jacket as she climbed out of the SUV they'd picked up at the airport, her face aglow with excitement. The breathtaking view of the distant mountains belonged on a postcard. The crisp air filled her lungs with each breath. It was exhilarating. If she could only get used to the cold. A gust of wind blew icy air inside the hood of her parka, and she shivered.

“Oh, my. I've never seen anything this beautiful.”

“It's even more exciting when you're on skis and racing down a mountain, your adrenaline pumping, your heart pounding.” Enthusiasm filled his voice as he joined her. “It beats anything else.” Except sex, he thought, but he stopped himself from saying the words out loud. He hadn't been very successful at keeping his thoughts about Jennifer platonic. In the confines of the airplane, she'd been sitting so close her perfume had invaded his senses, making him want to kiss all the places she'd touched it to her skin.

“I'll take your word for it,” she told him as they walked toward the resort, the snow crunching beneath their feet.

Nestled in the trees, the warmth of the rustic wooden building was a welcome respite from the cold temper
ature. Jennifer stood aside and waited for Alex as he checked them in, her mind whirling. Everything about the resort screamed romance, from the soft fire glowing in the fireplace in the lounge to the huge, over-stuffed rugged furniture.

“Ready?”

She turned toward him. “Sure.” She grabbed the smaller of her two cases and followed him to the stairs, which they took to the second floor. “Did you have any problems checking us in?” she asked when they stepped off.

“Not one. Everything had been arranged.” He led the way down the hall, stopped in front of a door, then handed her a plastic key card.

Jennifer took it from him and opened her door, wondering where his room was in conjunction to hers. It would be easier on her nerves knowing he wasn't too close. Once inside, her gaze swept the exquisite room as Alex stepped in behind her.

“Nice.”

“That's putting it mildly.” The room was set up for romance. Soft colors of blue and sienna decorated the room. The king-size bed, neatly made with a thick comforter and abundant pillows invited intimacy, as did the sitting area along the outside wall. Whoever had been responsible for putting the package together had definitely hoped their participants would be romantically compatible. “Where's your room?”

“Across the hall and down a few doors.” He gave her the number. “Are you going to be okay here?” he asked.

“Who wouldn't be?” The only thing that would make it more inviting was if Alex was staying in the room with her.

“Great. How long will it take you to change?” he asked, already thinking about hitting the slopes.

“Alex—”

“You're not getting out of skiing. I promise you'll be racing down the slopes on your own by the end of the day.”

“All right. I'll give it my best effort,” she promised. Perhaps he was right. There was safety in numbers. If she were out on the snow with him, with people all around them, she wouldn't be thinking about sharing that big bed with him. “But if I don't do well, or if I don't like it—”

“Then we'll find other ways to enjoy ourselves.” He didn't elaborate. The “other ways” he was thinking of had nothing to do with skiing.

“‘Other ways'?” she repeated, wondering if his thoughts paralleled her own.

“Eating, hiking or going to the bar for a drink,” he suggested.

“Oh.” Deflated, but reminding herself it was for the best if she kept busy, she said, “I'll be ready in fifteen minutes.” She shut the door behind her and secretly wished for the unattainable—that Alex wanted only to be with her.

D
eciding to unpack later, Jennifer changed from her jeans to white ski pants with purple stripes down the sides, then she slipped on the matching jacket and scarf. Instead of wearing a hat, she opted for a purple knit band to wear around her head and wore her hair down. By the time she left her room, no one would have guessed she was a novice.

She met Alex as he was stepping into the hall. They'd decided to forego lunch and to head for the equipment hut to be fitted for skis. Although Alex had brought his own skis along, he'd been right beside the person fitting her, asking questions and giving his opinion of the best size skis for her frame and height. A half hour later, equipment in tow, she trudged toward the slopes with nervous enthusiasm.

She slipped on the sunglasses Alex had insisted she
bring. At the time she'd questioned why she'd need them. Now she understood. The glare of the sun on the blanket of icy-white snow blinded her. Like magic, she fell in love with winter all over again.

“Let's go over there where we'll be out of the way. Then we can talk,” Alex suggested.

She nodded, inhaling the fresh scent of mountain air and pine as she followed him a short distance away toward a small hill. After standing his skis in the snow, he dropped hers in front of her. “The Bunny slope is over there. We'll practice here a little, then I'll take you there for a trial run.”

He spent the next few minutes instructing her on how to put on her skis, snowplowing and controlling her balance. By the time he'd finished, Jennifer had a basic understanding of the process and was ready to give it a try. She took off her skis and they walked to a small hill near the Bunny slope and stopped.

“What are you doing?” she asked when he moved behind her and grasped her waist with his hands.

“I'm going to steady you while you put on your skis.”

It sounded reasonable. If he'd been anyone else, it probably would have worked like a charm. But all she could think of was how close he was. She breathed in the woodsy scent of his aftershave, then turned to look at him over her shoulder. His face was a breath away. It was all she could do not to press her mouth to his cheek.

Not thinking about keeping her balance proved costly. She wobbled and Alex tightened his hold on her waist, bringing her up against his big body. Oh, dear Lord. This wasn't going anything like it was supposed
to. Taking a breath to steady herself, she bit her lip, tried to forget he was holding her and struggled into her skis.

“You're doing good,” he said, praising her as if she'd performed some spectacular feat.

“I haven't done anything yet,” she reminded him. Silently, she lauded her supreme effort of remaining sane when all she wanted to do was to toss Alex down on the snow and have her way with him.

Alex chuckled at the mixture of excitement and panic in her eyes. “I'm going to step away.”

“Not yet.”

“You'll be fine.” Ignoring her plea, he handed her poles to her. “Use them to balance yourself. Once you feel steady, give yourself a little push.”

“I don't think this is a good idea,” she told him, alarmed he was turning her loose. Her ski moved all by itself and she squealed. Fear of falling had her throwing her arms out and she lost her balance. Her feet slid even more, spreading her legs farther apart.

Jennifer screamed and grabbed for Alex. Caught off balance, he went down, taking her with him. He managed to land on his back, then Jennifer came crashing down on top of him, landing with an “Oomph” on his chest as her skis popped off.

His arms went around her to steady her. Laughing, Jennifer lifted her face and her eyes met his. “I'm so sorry.” Aware of people around them staring, she looked away with embarrassment.

Alex grinned at her. “I'm not complaining.” She was sprawled on top of him from head to toe, her body aligned with his. Despite their bulky clothing, he welcomed her weight against him. If she were naked, life would be perfect.

His words jammed her breath in her lungs. “Oh. Um, well…” With as much composure as she could muster, she pushed against him in an effort to get to her feet. Her hips pressed into his briefly, making their contact even more intimate. Finally, thankfully, she was on her feet. With their every touch, he was driving her crazy. She dusted the snow off of herself as Alex got to his feet.

“Okay, let's try again.” Alex meant the skiing part. But he could have just as easily meant another, more basic way. Having her body on top of his had him semi-aroused. Thankfully his bulky clothing hid his reaction to her.

“I'm game if you are.” She flicked a glance at him. “I don't know why this seems so hard for me. I'm usually more coordinated with physical stuff.”

“Physical stuff, huh?” Alex was thinking of something physical that had nothing to do with sports. “Like what?” he asked as he picked up their poles.

Jennifer was focused on the task of getting her boots back into her skis. “When I was little, I used to climb trees with my brother.” She looked up long enough to flash him a grin.

“You're kidding, right?” He couldn't imagine his poised, graceful co-worker as a child sitting in a tree.

“I was wiry. I could climb our magnolia tree faster than any of my brothers or my sister.”

Alex laughed. “How big was this tree?”

“Huge. My mom and dad still live in the same house. I'll show it to you sometime. What about you?”

He positioned himself behind her again, his hands on her hips. “What
about
me?”

“I've divulged something about myself. Now it's
your turn,” she said casually. “Tell me something about yourself.”

Alex didn't say anything for a moment. He didn't like talking about his childhood. It wasn't a pleasant time in his life. “Like what?”

She turned her head and scowled at him. “I don't know. What were you like in school?” she asked, fiddling with the band covering her ears. “If I had to guess, I suspect you were sought after by every teenage girl within fifty miles.”

“I was the class nerd,” Alex admitted, his mouth close to her ear. Her earlobe was peeking out beneath her knit headband, a small gold earring in the shape of a heart pierced through it. Alex battled a sudden urge to taste it with his tongue.

She gaped at him in disbelief. “You were not!”

His gaze connected with hers. “I'm serious. I was a bookworm and a computer geek. A lot of the kids made fun of me.”

Oh, Alex. Despite his cavalier attitude, being taunted must have hurt him. “Well, if they knew you now, they wouldn't be making fun of you. They'd be begging you for a job or money…or something!” she said with contempt. Irritated by his admission, she wanted to make it up to him in some way. “I'm sorry.”

“I lived through it.”

Not without scars, she thought, sadly. “Still—”

“All right, do you feel like you have some balance on those skis?”

“I had my balance before.” She'd only lost it because he was so darn close to her. This time, she tried harder to concentrate on skiing. She actually managed to balance herself until Alex came around to her side.

“I've got you,” he told her, holding on to her arm. “Give yourself a little push.”

To her delight, Jennifer slid a few feet on her own, without falling. “Oh, my gosh! Alex, I did it,” she shrieked, her facial expression triumphant.

Without thinking, she turned to look at him. In her eagerness to share her success, she lost her balance again. Alex made a leap toward her. Seconds later they were lying in the snow again, his body beneath hers, their legs intertwined.

“Oh, God, Alex,” she said, breathless. “I'm sorry.”

Alex tightened his arms around her, pinning her to him. “If we're going to spend the day like this, I can think of something else much more interesting that we could be doing.”

“Behave.” Jennifer shot Alex a warning glare. Wondering again about her sanity for participating in this weekend with him, she rolled away. This wasn't smart. She'd known Alex was charming, but his sense of humor was just as hard to resist. All she'd done so far was find out she liked him even more.

“So far I have been.” But it was becoming next to impossible. Alex stood and held out his hand to her. She took it and he pulled her to her feet. Wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, he took off his gloves and brushed the snow from her hair.

Butterflies swirled inside her stomach. Until now, she'd done a decent job of keeping her distance from him emotionally. She wasn't going to be able to resist her attraction to him if he kept flirting with her.

“Are we going to ski or not?” she asked.

He put his gloves back on. “That's up to you.”

“It's harder than I thought.”

“You'll get the hang of it.”

His encouragement warmed her heart. She took a deep breath. “Okay, I'm ready to give it another shot.”

It took a few more tries and a couple of mishaps, but Jennifer eventually found success. She grinned from ear to ear when she managed to stay on her feet after skiing about twenty feet.

Thirty minutes later Alex suggested she try the Bunny slope. Jennifer wasn't so sure, but she'd mastered skiing on the nearly flat surface where she'd been practicing. To her delight, she made it down the Bunny slope the first time without falling once. When she was about halfway down, Alex skied ahead of her to the bottom and waited patiently until she reached him. She turned her skis slightly, stopping by snowplowing just the way he'd taught her. Exhilarated, she looked up at him. “That was fun!”

He caught her in a hug. “You did great!”

When he let her go, Jennifer had to struggle to get her breath. He smelled so good. Oh, God, so good.

“Time to get back to the top.” Alex pointed to the ski lift. “Come on.”

Looking at the chairlift, she hesitated. “I might just stay here.”

He shook his head. “Staying at the bottom of the slope is not an option.”

“Then don't blame me if we end up falling off.”

“I won't let you. I promise.”

To her elation, she got in position just as she was supposed to and the metal chair hit the backs of her legs. She sat without disaster. “Okay, I'll admit getting on wasn't so bad.”

Alex rested his back against the chairlift. He draped his arm around her. “I knew you could do it.”

Smiling, she beamed with pleasure. “You're a patient teacher.”

“You say that as though you didn't think I would be.” He tugged her hair playfully, glad that she'd worn it down. She rarely wore it like that at work.

“It's not that.” Her eyes danced with amusement. “You're so uncompromising when you're negotiating. I've never known anyone so focused.”

“Thanks. I think.” He made a face at her.

“You know what I mean. You're more relaxed out here.” The change in him was remarkable. She'd never seen him so carefree. It made her all the more attracted to him, which wasn't such a good thing because her heart was already invested heavily.

“I know how to have fun.”

“Really?”

“I'll prove it.” He leaned toward her and touched his mouth briefly to hers. Though her lips were cool from the air, she tasted as sweet as he remembered. It was all he could do not to deepen the kiss right then and there. The chair jolted and he broke off their kiss as they approached the lift exit.

Jennifer got off the lift in a trance. Alex's kiss had thrown her off balance. The second her skis hit the snow, she toppled. The operator stopped the lift when she, Alex and the two teenage girls getting off behind them all landed in a pile.

“I'm sorry. I'm so sorry,” she babbled to all of them at once. The two teens giggled as they stood and stepped into their skis. Mortified, Jennifer avoided their gazes as they raced away. When Alex tried to help her stand, she ignored his attempt and managed to get to her feet without his assistance. By the time she had her skis on
again, it was easier to pretend Alex's kiss hadn't knocked her off her feet.

“I keep making a fool of myself,” she complained.

“You're cute when you're blushing.”

“Stop teasing me,” she said with playful warning. “Why don't you go ski one of the other slopes for a while and let me practice?” Her legs felt as though they were going to give out on her. She needed some time alone to emotionally recover from his kiss.

Alex gave her a steady look. “Are you sure?” He didn't like the idea of leaving her alone. “What if you fall?”

She sucked in a breath of air, struggling to get her equilibrium back. “I managed to get up by myself just now. I think I'll be all right.” Not wanting Alex to read her expression and to see just how much his kiss had disturbed her, she dug into a pocket of her jacket where she'd stored her sunglasses while she was on the lift. She slipped them over her eyes.

Alex didn't want to leave her, but he told himself a half hour apart would help him get his mind off of making love to her. “It won't take me long to ski a few of the trails.”

“I'll be fine.” When he hesitated, she gestured for him to go.

“You're not going to quit on me, are you?”

Quitting was exactly what she had in mind, but she shook her head. “I'll be right here snowplowing until you return.”

Finally, Alex agreed and took off. Jennifer watched him ski away, admiring his proficiency on the snow as he swayed back and forth on his skis. More than ever, she wanted to know how his hard lean body would feel pressed against hers.

Trying not to think he meant anything by kissing her, she practiced skiing for a while, making it down the Bunny slope on her own. As she slid off the lift, she eyed an unoccupied wooden bench near the entrance to the building. Needing a break, she made her way toward it. Halfway there, she gave up, took off her skis and walked the rest of the distance. She needed to be off of her feet for a few minutes. Alex's kiss had wiped out her concentration.