Chapter 4
VAL
Iflew down the mountain, the wind whipping my hair behind me in a tornado of curls. Leaning hard into the last turn, my board kissed the snow as I sailed past Austin, the white world awash in blue from my tinted goggles.
When I surged down the last stretch, I thrust my fists into the air in triumph, turning in a sharp arc and spraying powder. One second later, Austin sent up his own cloud of snow—directly into me.
Laughing, I brushed myself off. “If you want a rematch, just ask.” I perched my goggles on my head so he didn’t look like a member of the Blue Man Group anymore.
“You’re on,” he said with a mischievous smile.
I’d had a great afternoon riding with Austin. We’d both finished our lessons early, then shredded to our hearts’ content. After the first few runs, we fell into easy companionship and I stopped thinking of it as a date—it was the only way I could talk to him without stumbling over my words.
But reality came surging back as I saw the Escalade parked at the resort’s roundabout by the check-in lobby. That could only mean one thing. My heart shot into my throat and I patted my pockets, looking for my phone. “Crap, what time is it?”
Austin pushed up his sleeve to glance at his watch. “Two.”
Double crap. I popped my bindings and grabbed my board, then jogged toward the lodge. “Thanks for the ride—and the race! Rematch tomorrow?”
“Sure thing,” he called after me. “Good luck.”
I’m seriously going to need it.
I smoothed my curls into some semblance of order as I approached the mahogany bar that dominated the lodge’s great room.
Frowning, I took one of the many vacant seats.
The place wasn’t as crowded as it should have been, especially for opening week.
But fretting over our declining clientele and my dwindling bank account wasn’t on my worry list today, so I took a deep breath to calm my frazzled nerves.
I wasn’t late necessarily, just very nearly on time.
Scanning the handful of guests behind me, I searched for someone who looked like a rich dude with a stick up his butt. Kind of describes more than a few of these guys, honestly.
“Hey, Val. Want the usual?” Hugh asked as he wiped the bar in front of me.
“Definitely. But only if you tell me the secret of how you make your hot chocolate so damn good.”
He chuckled and winked. “Family secret.”
I sighed. “Girl’s gotta try.” He hustled off to make my drink, and I settled in to people watch while I waited for Nolan Keller to show up.
To my left, a young couple a few years younger than me nestled close over their shared bottle of wine. Newlyweds. In its heyday, Hale’s Peak had been a popular honeymoon destination but had fallen off in recent years.
A few seats to my right, a man nursed a glass of whiskey, and I observed him out of the corner of my eye.
Because holy lord, I could not look directly at him without breaking into a cold sweat.
Sometimes businesses from Bozeman hosted retreats at the resort, so seeing a pack of attractive men in business attire wasn’t uncommon—a group was over by the fireplace right now.
But this man in particular had me wanting to blush and throw up all at the same time.
His button-down and slacks fit him flawlessly, painted onto his lean muscles.
Light brown hair, strong jawline with just a hint of stubble, chiseled cheekbones, blue eyes ringed in gree—Jeez, he’s looking right at me.
I faced front with an involuntary jerk, and Hugh saved me by plopping my hot chocolate on the bar. “Here ya go, Val. This one’s on the house. Twenty-seven looks good on you.”
“Thanks, Hugh,” I said, grateful for the interruption. But I wasn’t about to let Hugh get away with that. He and Frankie had already treated me to my birthday dinner last week at the local barbecue joint, so he’d find a fiver under the mug before I left.
Ignoring the man beside me even though I could feel him staring a hole in the side of my head, I sipped at my drink, sighing as the rich taste of dark chocolate coated my tongue. I checked my phone—already fifteen minutes past the scheduled meetup time Tess had set up.
I tapped my toes against the barstool and squirmed in my seat.
I couldn’t afford to blow this assignment.
My older brother, Diego, needed the money for Juanito’s meds.
Every spare penny after that went to funding the local community garden I was starting in town and buying supplies for the greenhouse on property.
A small part of me whispered about my other dream—running my own organic farm and establishing a community co-op with local farmers—but I squashed it.
That was only a pipe dream. I didn’t have the grit or the guts to branch out on my own.
Dealing with my anxiety was hard enough, let alone the mountain of stress that came with starting a business.
My skin prickled as I felt the stranger’s continued gaze on me. Taking another drink, I stole a glance at him. He was scowling at Hugh. Maybe Hugh messed up his drink. Then his attention shifted to me and his eyes flared, the pupils devouring the ocean blue.
“You must be Valeria López,” the man said.
With a spectacular eruption, I choked on my drink and sputtered inelegantly into a napkin.
“Sorry, do I know you?” I asked in a gruff tone as I mopped myself up.
Second time this week I’ve spilled on my favorite sweater.
Mierda. And I probably don’t have time to change before Nolan shows up, if he ever decides—
“Nolan Keller.”
I froze. If I’d been drinking, I would have choked again. Oh, craptastic.
Barely breaking stride, I plastered a brilliant, if hysterical, smile on my face and blurted the first thing that came to mind. “Mr. Keller! I, uh—sorry, I was expecting a suit.” Great, now you’re insulting his outfit. “It’s great to finally meet you.”
To my surprise, Nolan wasn’t looking at me like I was a babbling idiot.
No, Nolan’s eyes raked over me in silent assessment as he swirled his drink, setting every inch of my skin ablaze.
Heat blossomed on my cheeks, and I was sure he noticed.
Not even my bronze-tan complexion could hide that much flaming embarrassment.
“The pleasure is mine,” he said, his mouth twitching as if he wanted to smile, but then he mashed his lips together and knocked back the rest of his drink with a slow swallow. God, was it possible for someone’s throat to be attractive? This can’t be happening. Get a grip, Val. The man’s engaged.
In an attempt to salvage the situation, I shifted into Customer Service Val mode. “I have a lot of fun ideas for this winter. Snowshoeing, backcountry hiking, snowmobiling. We can even—”
“That won’t be necessary.” He signaled to Hugh for a refill.
I blinked. “But Tess said Mr. Keller—er, Arthur, um, I mean, your grandfather—wanted you to—”
Nolan turned to face me, the full weight of his glacial expression spearing into me with an intensity that stole my breath. “Arthur Keller is not the CEO. I am. I’m here to appease him and my father. That is all. I do not need a tour guide.”
Normally, I’d concede. I hated making a scene.
But my responsible nature refused to let me abandon such an important assignment.
And as much as I’d grumbled about it, I had actually been looking forward to showing him all my favorite hidden parts of Hale’s Peak and making a case for renovations.
This place was like a second home to me, and it deserved some sprucing up.
Nolan’s blatant dismissal fanned the flames of my long-dormant temper in a way that only Antonella had ever been able to stoke before.
“Mr. Keller—Nolan.” There were way too many Mr. Kellers to keep track of.
“I don’t know why your grandfather wants you to be here, but like it or not, you’re stuck at Hale’s Peak this winter.
You can spend that time holed up in your office doing whatever undoubtedly very important CEO things need doing, or you can go outside and actually have some fun. If you even know how to do that.”
Oh my god. Did I just verbally reprimand my boss?
Nolan pursed his lips and his prominent cheekbones stood out in a way that made him look even more like he belonged on the cover of Vogue.
Jesus Christmas, think about literally anything else.
As he sipped his drink, his eyes never left mine. I wanted to bolt from the spot, but I held my ground even as my hands shook. I’d spent too many years being a doormat to Antonella and I was working past it, but old habits died hard.
With heat in his gaze, he said, “Is that all?” His voice was black silk against bare skin, and a shiver rippled down my spine.
Lifting my chin, I held his gaze even as it lit me on fire, inch by inch. “Yes.”
As he stood, his woodsy scent washed over me, and he adjusted his rolled-up sleeves in a move that had my lips parting…
Focus, Valeria.
His eyebrow quirked and I snapped my jaw shut. “I know where to find you, Val, should I change my mind.”
And with that, Nolan swept out of the bar and I stared after him, mouth agape.
“What happened to you?” Hugh asked as he replaced my empty mug with a glass of water. “You look, ah, a little slack-jawed, for lack of a more demure description.”
I blinked after Nolan’s retreating form. “I think I just broke the record for fastest firing ever.”