Winter Interlude (40 page)

The entire time her heart ached
.
She didn’t want to love him, but she did
.
Somehow
,
she hadn’t been able to
stop it from happening
and she knew she was in big trouble
.
What really concerned her was that her feelings for James were minor compared to what Paul made her feel.

~

P
aul watched
Kate
walk off in the direction of the guesthouse
, a whirlwind of chaotic thoughts swirling through his mind
.
To be fair, he had to admit that
Kate
was right
.
They did need to close the past
.
Still
,
why couldn’t she acknowledge that what flared between them was more than
physical
attraction
?
For him, it only heightened their potential relationship because they shared so much in common.

He wiped his face in frustration
.

How had
things
gotten so
crazy
?
The whole weekend had seemed surreal
.
Maybe it would be better if she did find another ride back to the city.
O
nce out
,
he dismissed the thought. He found the idea of not spending the day with her too disturbing.

He snorted. Damn
!
He had it bad.

He grabbed his coffee and headed for the bedroom
.
He stripped the bed of its sheets and worked his way to the laundry room off the kitchen, picking up as he went
.
He filled the washer, but didn’t start it, waiting for
Kate
’s sheets
.
Chores finished
, he retraced his steps to the kitchen for a bowl of cereal
.

Minutes later,
Kate
emerged with her sheets and a packed bag
.
She dropped the bag near the front door then turned toward the laundry room.

“I already added soap,” he called
.
“Just add your sheets and start the machine.”

He heard her follow his directions
.
After returning to the kitchen, she reached for the cereal on the counter where he left it and poured herself a bowl
.

Warily keeping each other in view, they stood in silence while eating.

Paul was amazed at how composed she appeared, as if nothing had taken place between them
.
Unwilling to give her the satisfaction of seeing how she affected him and having had years of practice at covering up his feelings with Judith, he tamped down the surge of emotion bursting to break free
.
He’d let her take the reins for now
.

Finally
,
he set his bowl in the sink
.
“I guess we can get in a couple of hours
’
skiing before heading home
.”
Then, looking at his watch, he added, “It shouldn’t take too long to clean up here and pack
.
We can be on the slopes a little after they open.”

Kate
shrugged
.
“Great
.
I’ll help
.
Just tell me what you need done.”

“If you vacuum and do the baths, I’ll clean the kitchen and straighten up the living room.”

“Okay
.”
She rinsed her bowl and left him.

K
ate
vigorously scrubbed invisible fingerprints off the mirror, thankful for an outlet to vent her frustration
.
She quickly polished the faucet, then wiped her hands on a towel and went to retrieve the vacuum
.
While working on autopilot, she considered her options.

Paul belonged to Judith
.
She had to remember that
.
She had no intention of becoming the other woman, so skiing with him was out
.
Otherwise, she’d do or say something she’d regret
.

Even if the two weren’t involved and
Kate
could reveal her feelings, she wouldn’t
.
Their past prevented her from confiding in him
.
How could she when he’d mocked her for years
?
She doubted she could withstand his verbal blows now
.

How ironic he was same man whose derisive comments made her feel so low for caring so much for James
.
Especially when her current feelings dwarfed those in comparison
.
No
!
Even if Judith wasn’t in the picture, there was no way she’d trust Paul with her heart.

She had to get away
.
Go home and lick her wounds
.
Break things off with James
.

With luck
, she could then forget this weekend—pretend it never happened
.

Kate
finished her chores
,
praying for the strength to follow through on her plans to find another ride home
.
Before grabbing her bag, she quickly wrote out a note explaining her decision
.
It seemed the best way to avoid more confrontation.

She rounded the patio door and saw Paul coming out of the bedroom hallway.

“You about ready?” he asked.

She nodded and helped him pack the car
.

Moments later they drove through freshly plowed roads on their way to the resort
.
Kate
kept her focus on the beauty outside the passenger window
.
A pristine blanket of snow covered the grays and browns of winter
.
The cloudless blue sky contrasted with the stark white
that
reflected the sun so dramatically
,
she was glad she’d worn her sunglasses.

Paul glanced her way
.
“How long do you want to ski
?”

Keeping her gaze out the window, she murmured, “I don’t care
.”
Her shoulders lifted in a careless shrug
.
“You decide
.”
It didn’t matter to her when her day depended on whether she could find a ride back to the city.

“Since we’re making the attempt, I guess we should get in a couple of hours
.”
He hesitated, clearly waiting for a response
.
When she remained silent, he said, “How does that sound?”

“Fine
.”
She felt his gaze and wished she could meet it
.
But doing so would only get her into trouble.

He sighed
.
“Look,
Kate
, it’s not the end of the world
.
Things’ll
work out.”

His words, so softly spoken, were almost her undoing
.
Tears suddenly threatened to spill
.
Blinking them back, she had the strongest desire to blurt out how much it hurt to love him while he still cared about someone else
.

“There’s nothing to work out,” she said instead, firming her resolve
.
She closed her eyes and fought
her jealousy
.
No guy was worth destroying a friendship
.

Thankfully, he didn’t say more, just continued driving.

This whole trip had been the weekend from hell, except for the ti
mes she had been in Paul’s arms
—
that had been heaven
.
How could she maintain her distance when all she wanted was to be back in his arms
?
And that could never happen again
.

How had she gotten into this position
?
Wasn’t it bad enough that she had to deal with James
?
Now she had to look her best friend in the eye and basically lie.

When the ski resort parking lot came into view, she heaved a relieved sigh
.

I
n the lodge, they headed toward the Morrison locker
.
Giving him a sideways glance now as he walked beside her, she had to admit he was gorgeous
.
The more she was with
him,
the more she wanted to be with him
.
The urge to dump her plans was tempting
.
She shook it off
.
No
!
Keep to your plan. You can’t get more involved with him
.
He wasn’t hers
,
despite their attraction for each other.

“Be right back
.”
Paul pulled out his ski suit and turned in the direction of the men’s room.

The minute he was out of sight,
Kate
sprang into action
.
She pulled out the prewritten note and set it inside the locker
.
Paul wouldn’t leave the resort if he thought she was still around somewhere waiting, and she didn’t want him to be inconvenienced
.

Grabbing her skis and boots, along with her clothes, she bolted out the door toward the other building
.