Just Perfect (7 page)

A few paces later, he nudged her with his shoulder. “This is where you’re supposed to say, ‘So, Alec, tell me about yourself. How did a guy from Elgin wind up living in Silver Mountain?’ ”

“Actually, a lot of Texans have transplanted to Colorado.”

“True. And with good reason.” He gestured toward the festive, crowded mall.

Enormous flowerpots filled with poinsettias separated the benches that ran down the middle. Strings of white lights zigzagged overhead at the first-story roof line, while snow decorated the floors above like icing on gingerbread. At night the lights gave the village a fairy-tale feel, but even during the day, Silver Mountain enchanted her.

“Can you think of a better place to live?” Alec asked.

No, she couldn’t. With a frown, she quashed that thought. “I like living in Austin,” she insisted. “Live music, lots of parks and hiking trails. It’s a great place to live.”

“Yeah, but no mountains.”

“There’s more to life than skiing.”

“You’re right.” He nodded gravely. “You’re absolutely right. There’s also snowboarding.”

She laughed. “You’re hopeless.”

“I know.” His pretense at seriousness vanished.

She cocked her head, studying him. What was it about Alec Hunter that drew her so strongly even when she fought it? It had to be more than just the golden good looks and all that wonderful height. Maybe it was the eyes. They were always filled with so much…
life
. “So how did you wind up living in Colorado?”

“I came to Breckenridge on a student ski trip when I was in high school. The mountains hooked me the instant I saw them, even before I clicked into my first pair of rentals and hit the slopes. Elgin had nothing to hold me, so the day after I graduated, I stuffed my clothes in a backpack, hitched my way up here, and never went back.”

“Don’t you have family in Elgin?”

He chuckled. “Actually, I’m not sure about that.”

“What do you mean?” She sent him a puzzled look.

“My theory is the stork dropped me accidentally while flying over a trailer house full of lunatics. Of course, this theory would hold up better if we didn’t all look so much alike. Other than that, I have nothing in common with anyone in my family. Every time I call home to touch base, I’m reminded how much I flat don’t fit in with them.”

“I know how you feel,” she said without thinking, then frowned at her own words. What had made her say that? She had a lot in common with her father and brother. They were all three doctors, weren’t they?

“Hey,” he said brightly, “maybe we had the same stork and he dropped you at the wrong house too.”

“Maybe.” She chuckled.

“See? And here I bet you’ve been thinking we have nothing in common, since you obviously come from money and I so obviously don’t.”

“Well, that’s offensive.” She stopped to stare at him. “Do you really think I’d refuse to go out with you because of that?”

“I don’t know.” For once, he looked completely serious. “You tell me.”

“For the record, money is irrelevant to me and hardly the measure of someone’s worth. What’s inside a person, their ethics and convictions, is what matters.”

The smile came back, a slow, flirtatious curling of his lips as his gaze held hers. “Then I’d say we have something else in common, since I feel the same way.”

Her heart started the meltdown it did every time he looked at her that way. And darn it, she’d forgotten to list responsibility as one of the things that mattered. Her longest relationship had been with an English lit major who’d turned going for his PhD into a lifelong pursuit. For all she knew, he still hadn’t graduated or written the novel he’d talked about. That debacle had taught her that people could have all kinds of lofty ideas yet be too lazy to follow through on any of them.

Her temper simmered at the memory as they left the mall and entered the central plaza. The sound of Christmas carols over a loudspeaker drew her atten-tion to the skating rink. The kaleidoscope of children skating to “Jingle Bell Rock” presented such a picturesque scene, her anger evaporated.

As she watched, two young boys raced in and out from between slower skaters, taunting each other as only young boys can. An older girl in tights and a skirted leotard made a turning leap and landed in a one-footed pose as she glided over the ice.

“Hey, Alec.” A young woman with a little girl on her hip waved at him from the rink’s sideline.

“Hi, Linda.” He waved back. “Are you going to teach Colleen to skate this year?”

The woman laughed while her daughter studied the skaters with a dimpled frown. “We’re still trying to decide.”

“Friend of yours?” Christine asked as they crossed toward another pedestrian lane.

“Linda’s married to one of the guys,” he answered, referring to the group of friends who apparently hung out at the pub every day for happy hour.

Christine glanced over her shoulder at the pretty young woman with the little girl. Linda didn’t look like the type of woman to put up with a shiftless husband. Another smart woman who made dumb choices?

“Speaking of things you can do here that you can’t do in Texas,” Alec said when he saw her looking back at the rink. “When’s the last time you went skating?”

“We have skating rinks in Texas.”

“Not like that you don’t. Do you skate?”

“Sort of.” She chuckled. “At least I used to. I’d probably fall on my face if I tried now.”

“Want to find out? We can drop off your stuff, then go back and give it a go. That is, if you don’t mind skating with munchkins, which actually makes it more fun if you ask me.”

Her heart gave a little sigh of longing as she looked back over her shoulder. Ice skating with children sounded like a blast. Especially since kids were her secret weakness. They didn’t make her turn all maternal like they did Amy; they made her want to
be
a kid again. Only this time, be a real kid who could get dirty without getting lectured, who could play loud music and have slumber parties and eat junk food.

Dang it, how did Alec always know how to tempt her?

“I”—she jerked herself back from saying yes—“can’t.”

“Come on, if you’ve forgotten, I’ll teach you.” She imagined Alec holding her hands as he pulled her around the rink, catching her against him when she started to fall, both of them laughing themselves silly, and her heart whimpered a little louder. “Really, I can’t.”

“Okay, let’s skip the skating and grab something to eat. You’re bound to need refueling after all that skiing.”

“I thought you were heading somewhere.” He gave her a get-real look. “Yeah, to walk you home. So how ‘bout some nachos?”

“I’d love to, but I have some things I need to do.”

“Let me guess.” He smirked. “You have to wash your hair?” She frowned at the irritation that had edged into his voice. “Actually, I always e-mail my friends this time of day.”

“Now
that’s
original!” His laughter lacked its usual level of humor.

“Do you have a problem with that?” They reached the building that held her parents’ condo. The street-level entryway, wedged between a gift shop and a restaurant, led them into a small lobby. They both stomped snow from their boots.

“You know, I probably shouldn’t say this, but haven’t women ever heard of the word no?” he asked while she pushed the button for the elevator. “It works really well. See, I say, ‘Go out with me.’ And you say, ‘No.’ End of discussion, because it doesn’t give me an opening to ask again.”

The doors slid open and they stepped onto the elevator. She punched the button for the second floor as Alec continued his rant.

“When a woman says ‘I can’t because I have to fill-in-the-blank,’ then the man will just keep asking, sometimes as no more than a game to see how many grandmothers you’re going to kill off before you finally admit you’re flat out not interested—which, in this case, you are.” With them standing so close, he easily reached out and cupped her chin in his gloved hand.

Twin bolts of panic and excitement shot through her at the unexpected contact. Would he try to kiss her right here? Would she stop him if he did? Her breath caught as she stared up into his eyes.

Those eyes warmed as he stared back. “What you should say is, ‘Yes, Alec, I’d love to spend the rest of the day with you.’ ”

Her heart leapt into her throat as he moved closer. She dropped her gaze to his lips.
Just one small taste
, her naughty side argued.
What would one little taste hurt
?

Lifting her gaze back to his eyes, she started to lean forward in acceptance.

The doors slid open, jarring her back to her senses. What was she doing? She all but jumped into the hall. That had been a narrow escape, she thought as she fumbled for her keys. “Has it occurred to you that maybe women are trying to be nice and spare men’s feelings when we make excuses? And that men should take the hint and stop asking?”

“Nope.” He followed her down the short hall.

“Alec…” she sighed, hoping he couldn’t tell her insides were shaking. At her parents’ door, she turned to face him, outwardly calm—she hoped. “How about this? I think you’re very attractive and appealing in a number of ways, but you’re simply not my type.”

“That’s still not no.” He set the ends of her skis on the carpeted floor and regarded her levelly. “Besides, you’re not my type either.”

“What?” She blinked in surprise.

“Yeah, see, I like simple women. Boring, dull, easy to understand. Gorgeous, complicated women?” He shook his head. “They don’t do it for me. However, I’m willing to give you a shot for one date, see how things go.”

A frown pulled at her brows. “Are you trying to charm me again?”

“That depends.” He planted a hand to the wall beside her head. She flattened her back against the doorjamb when he leaned in. He looked down into her eyes with their lips mere inches apart. “Is it working?”

“Absolutely not.” Her cool voice belied the heat coursing through her.

His gaze moved over her face before a knowing smile turned up his lips. “That’s only because the charm vaccine hasn’t warn off yet.” He backed off, making her sag in relief—and disappointment. “Just you wait. When it does, you won’t be able to resist me.”

That’s what I’m afraid of
! She turned and managed to fit the key in the lock and slip inside the open door. Turning back, she gave him her haughtiest look. “We’ll see.” She started to close the door in his face.

“Uh, Chris?” he said.

“What?” She scowled at his broad grin.

“You forgot these.” He tilted the skis toward her.

“Oh.” Her face flaming, she took the skis and pulled them inside. “Thank you.”

“Anytime.” His grin turned seductive.

She closed the door and sagged against it. Now
that
had been a close call. Three lessons down. Two more to go. Surely she was tough enough to resist him for two days.

Once you know what you want, never give up.

—
How
to
Have a Perfect Life

“

Where’d I lose control?“ Alec asked Trent. ”That’s what I want to know.“

“Excuse me?” Trent said over the live music coming from the small bandstand.

For the bachelor party, they’d reserved a big table in the corner of St. Bernard’s Pub—the favorite hangout for search-and-rescue volunteers, ski patrol, and emergency workers. Which was why Alec dropped by every afternoon for his happy-hour pot of coffee. If a man wanted to know what was happening on the mountain, the fireplace pit in the center of the pub was the place to find out. He could kick back in one of the armchairs around the open-sided hearth, warm the bottoms of his boots, and catch up on everyone’s latest adventure.