Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
When she finally did manage to get a weak cell signal, Rachel was gutted to discover that The Manhattan Escapee didn’t deliver this far out of town. And trying to book an Uber was problematic. No sooner had she booked a driver, then they cancelled. Apparently, no one in Aspen wanted to get involved in the drama which was unfolding at the Green Tree Resort.
I bet they’d watch it if it was streamed on Netflix.
Rachel got the distinct impression that she and Matthew had been put in some sort of virtual time out by the rest of the local population. Sent to their rooms. And the only way they were going to be allowed out of them was after they’d come up with a workable solution for the future of the ski lodge.
Which left her either going without coffee or eating a large helping of humble pie. Before Google maps fizzed out, it had happily informed her that in the current icy conditions, it was a dangerous three hour round trip on foot to the nearest coffee shop. She was left with little choice. “Damn.”
When she knocked on Matthew’s door he didn’t answer. Her treasonous lust-filled body was doing its best to convince her that if she happened to find him in a state of delicious nakedness it wasn’t anything she hadn’t already seen and touched. Had enjoyed. And would most certainly like to enjoy touching again.
Stop it.
Her wants and needs were still battling it out as she stepped back from the door. There was only room for one hypocrite in this ski lodge.
Memories of Matthew and the nights she’d spent in his arms had Rachel forgetting all about coffee and going in search of a blast of cold, icy air.
She found him outside, sitting on an old log which had been cut and fashioned into a bench. Matthew was on the phone. He quickly ended his call the moment he saw her.
“You don’t have to hide your evil plans from me, Matthew Royal. Or have you forgotten we are meant to be working together on this project.”
He tucked his phone into his thick winter jacket. “That was my mother. We have a wedding in the family soon and she was just making certain that my passport was in order.”
Way to go, Rachel.
“Is there something I can help you with?”
She knew this game all too well. Play as polite and respectful as you can, and the second the other person says anything out of line, they will be the one who looks like a rude ass. With Matthew having been unveiled as being part of a New York City family of billionaires, she was going to have to learn to play smarter. Rein in her temper.
“I wanted … I was … Oh.” Rachel huffed. She was still searching for the right words when he climbed off the bench and ambled over to her. Why did the sight of his sexy walk have to send her blood rocketing to boiling point ?
He was so close now, she could smell the scent of his cologne. “Tell me, Rach, what do you need?”
His heated words left her powerless. She was angry with him, but the way he said her name. How it rolled so easily, so deliciously off his tongue.
Tongue. All she wanted to do was to let his skillful tongue dance over her clit.
How am I supposed to play cool with this man?
“What can I do for you?” His words stripped her armor away, leaving her exposed.
She swallowed deep. “I … coffee.”
His wicked chuckle went straight to her core. Staying mad with him was becoming impossible.
“You can have anything you want, all I need is an apology. And the top of my model.”
“I’m sorry I hit you. It was an accident, a reflex from years of self-defense classes. But as for the spiked dome from the Death Star, I haven’t a clue where it is. The last time I saw it, it was heading out the door of the committee room.”
“Apology accepted, Rach. Though I’m not sure how genuine it is since I’m thinking it’s less about making peace with me, and far more about you having discovered that no one in town is prepared to come out here and bring us coffee.”
Her brows furrowed as she met his gaze. “That’s just cruel.”
“You must have figured it out by now. No one in town wants to take sides. The Brocks have influence and money here. And now that people know Royal Resorts is involved … well. The townsfolk aren’t stupid, and they don’t want to upset a future major employer of Aspen locals.”
Weak from lack of coffee, she couldn’t muster the energy to resist when Matthew took her by the hand and towed her back into the lodge. “Come on, let’s get some coffee into you before we have to put you on a caffeine drip. And if you behave, I’ll make you a grilled cheese sandwich.”
He was her arch enemy, but he had coffee pods.