Chapter 23
CHAPTER 23
MARIAM
S omething seemed to have changed between Arland and me in his ski rental place this morning. As we’d stood there in his office and after, when he’d helped me try on the gear, it was almost like I’d been able to feel the bond between us growing stronger.
It had also deepened in those quiet moments, making me feel like I was giving a part of myself to him as he’d slid those awfully wobbly boots onto my feet. I smiled when I saw them in the trunk of my car as I took my things out of there.
While I really wasn’t looking forward to making a fool of myself in front of him, I was glad he was taking me out on the slopes this afternoon. I had driven myself back to the condo and he was picking me up from here, taking me to a bunny slope on the outskirts of town that he’d promised was both quiet and gentle.
As his car rolled to a stop beside mine, excitement made my very bloodstream feel like it had balloons filled with helium floating through it. No one else had ever made me feel as light and happy as he did, like I was safe but also being pushed just ever so tenderly into a realm of things unknown.
I grabbed the boots, gloves, goggles, and helmet he’d given me, transferring them to his car before I rushed upstairs to change. By agreement, Arland was waiting for me downstairs. Whenever we were alone together, it was really hard to keep our hands to ourselves and we frequently lost track of time.
When I rejoined him, climbing into the passenger seat and shutting the door behind me, I grinned. “Alright. I’m ready. Let’s go break my arms.”
Arland had already changed back at Everwood. Apparently, he kept everything he needed for a quick ski in his office.
Snow people.
In a pair of black pants and a bright blue jacket, with his hair slightly tousled, he looked so gorgeous that I could barely keep my eyes off him. Let alone my hands. I settled for dropping my palm onto his thigh and he half-jumped, groaning as he glanced at me.
“Careful,” he instructed playfully. “There are bound to be some local kids at the slope I’m taking you to. My sister’s kids might even be there. I absolutely cannot walk around with a tent in my pants.”
“Your jacket is long enough,” I joked, but a thrill shot through me at the knowledge that he was in danger of developing that particular problem just by having my hand on his thigh. “We’re really going someplace your sister’s kids might be? Aren’t you worried about them seeing us together?”
He shot me a questioning look. “Why would I be worried about that? The only person we’re actively keeping this from for now is Brian, isn’t it?”
“Sure, but your family? Do you really want them finding out about me?” That seemed like a big step. A huge one.
He lifted my hand from his thigh to press the back of it to his lips, murmuring against my skin before bringing our joined hands back to his leg. “I’ve already told them about you, Mimi. I would shout about you from the rooftops if your brother wouldn’t be one of the people who heard. Until you’re ready for him to know, we’ll keep this quiet, but it’s about him. I’m not hiding it for any other reason.”
“Neither am I,” I promised.
Honestly, I was still a little worried about people thinking I was a gold-digger and that he was only with me for sex, but after my talk with Gabby and Elizabeth, I wasn’t completely convinced people would care anymore. Even if they did, I supposed that was their problem. I couldn’t change the way people thought of us. All I knew for certain was how I felt about him, and at this point, I knew it was way more than just a crush.
I smiled at him. “Do you have any other nieces and nephews, or is it only your sister’s kids?”
He chuckled. “It’s not just them. All three of my brothers have procreated as well. The holidays are a loud and crazy affair at my mother’s house these days, but I love it. Those kids are at least half my life.”
As he spoke about them, I heard the passion and the adoration in his voice and it made my heart skip a beat. For the rest of our way to the bunny slope, he told me all about his family. His brothers and sister, their spouses, and children.
I’d always longed to be part of a big family and I loved hearing about his. Regardless of the fact that one of his brothers was obviously a jerk for what he’d done.
When the car slowed to a stop in a snowy, outdoor lot just outside of town, Arland took a quick look around. “I don’t think they’re here, but they might come around later. I don’t see my sister’s car right now, though.”
A tiny stab of disappointment shot through me, but it passed as soon as Arland started getting our things out of the car. My skis had been stored next to his on the roof in some kind of special rack and I changed out of my regular boots, already almost falling just trying to stand in the ski boots.
I laughed as my arm shot out and I caught myself on the side of the car. “This is going to be an unmitigated disaster. You have been warned.”
He shot me a sexy, confident smirk that certainly didn’t help me maintain my balance. Under the best of circumstances, my knees threatened to go weak when he gave me that look, and in these boots, I was unstable enough as it was.
“It’s not going to be a disaster. You have me right next to you. I’m pretty good at this.” It turned out that he hadn’t been lying.
Arland handled himself like a pro on the snow, moving around with an elegant, practiced grace that made me look like a clumsy baby deer. I slipped and slid my way to the conveyor belt that would take us to the top of the beginner slope. Clinging to his arm and unable to stop laughing, I nearly pulled him over with me.
“You’re horrible at this.” He laughed when it took me three tries just to make it on without landing flat on my behind. “Use your sticks when you get up there, okay?”
We reached the top of the hill and a kindergarten-aged girl zipped around me, her father grinning close behind. I didn’t know much about proper ski form, but the little girl seemed to know exactly what she was doing. If she can do it, then so can I.
Determination surged through me and I tried again, refusing to be intimidated by all the tiny children who were taking to this like ducks to water while I could barely move an inch. I glanced at Arland and saw the faith he had in me in his eyes.
He was patient too, which was admirable under the circumstances. I lifted my chin and used the darn sticks, snowplowing ever so slowly while Arland remained steadfast and confident by my side.
Exhilarated when I made it all the way down without falling over even once, I grinned at him. “Again!”
“Has it clicked yet?” he asked, smiling. He glided effortlessly beside me while I hobbled my way to the conveyor belt.
I thought it over as we joined the short line of kids waiting their turns. “It clicked a little more than it did before. That’s for sure, but we’ll have to see if I actually get it.”
“You will.”
Once the sun started setting, we packed it in for the day. Miraculously, I felt like it was actually possible that I might just get it for real one day. Arland and I headed back to Everwood to finish up a few things, and for the rest of the week, that was our routine.
Early every morning, we joined the eager beavers on the slopes, visiting different little hills every day. In the quiet with only the swish - swish of other, much better skiers to keep me company, something clicked into place, and by day three, I graduated to the chairlift.
I nearly face-planted as I got off. Arland laughed but his strong hands were immediately there to steady me, his grace on these slippery planks unprecedented. “Don’t worry. That’ll get easier as well. You’re really improving fast.”
“Thanks to you,” I said easily, because it was absolutely true. “You’re a fantastic teacher.”
“Only when I’m having fun while I’m doing it, and I have been.” He grinned and took my hand, giving it a quick squeeze before he inclined his chin toward the slope. “Are you ready for this one? We’ll take it nice and slow.”
“I’m ready.” Carefully following after him, I pushed off and laughed with the joy that swept through my veins as I realized how steady I felt all of a sudden. I even risked straightening out my skis but quickly learned that I wasn’t quite ready to keep them that way.
“That was amazing!” I exclaimed when we made it to the bottom of the hill.
Stepping out of my skis, I raced over to him and looped my arms around his neck, too filled with exhilarated joy to care about anyone seeing us. I smiled up at him when he grabbed my hips, pulling me to him like he didn’t mind who saw us either.
“Tonight, I’m buying you dinner to say thank you.” I pressed a kiss to his chest and ran my fingers through his silvery hair. “After that, we can have a private celebration if you’re up for it?”
“You never have to ask me that question.” He lowered his lips to mine, claiming them in a kiss that promised so much more.
My heartbeat sped up in my chest, my entire being happier and more at peace than I ever remembered being before. This man was everything I hadn’t even thought to ask for and more, and spending every free moment with him this week had brought us so much closer together.
We’d talked late into the nights and I’d learned more about his past, his family, and his business empire. I’d told him all about my life in Austin, my friends, and the company I’d had with Gemma, and we’d even ventured into talking about the future.
I still had no idea if or how we would make this last, but I knew better than ever that I desperately wanted it to.