Chapter 6
NOLAN
Back in my cabin, I dressed in my winter gear while thoughts of Val ping-ponged around in my head. The woman vexed me as much as she tempted me. After catching that first glimpse of her on the slopes, carefree and radiant, she’d somehow burrowed her way into my mind.
It was annoying. I had things to do.
When I saw her at the bar being sunshiny and sweet with the big, burly bartender, something within me wanted to be the object of her attention. And that was fucking weird. I barely knew the woman, and yet I was already so distracted by her.
A foreign feeling of eagerness crept over me. I wasn’t accustomed to anyone or anything challenging me, and it had been well over a decade since I’d allowed anything other than my career to hold my interest.
Val had pulled me into her orbit, and I liked it.
But as quickly as the feeling surfaced, reality snuffed it out. My father’s ultimatum from his earlier phone call echoed in my head, tolling the death knell of any potential solace I might have found in touring around with Val.
“If you fail to convince the media that you and Cressida are blissfully in love, I will assure that you fail. Completely and utterly. In everything. But it already sounds like you’re taking care of that for me by ditching your tour guide. Would hate for Arthur to find out.”
I’d burned my bridges with Hale’s Peak, but now I was forced to rebuild them.
I resented Cyrus, resented this fucking place, resented my grandfather for making me come here and relive things I’d long since buried.
Part of me resented Val, even though she didn’t know about any of these backdoor deals.
She couldn’t know—my plans for Hale’s Peak were kept under airtight NDAs.
It had been my mother’s dying wish for me to take over Keller Resorts when I turned thirty-three, the same age she’d been when Arthur named her chief revenue officer.
And Arthur being Arthur, he’d done his damnedest to make his daughter-in-law’s dreams come true, using his position to push the board to appoint me as CEO.
But Cyrus still had his claws in some board members, which is why it was paramount for me to be back in San Francisco schmoozing to get their votes instead of catering to Cyrus and Arthur’s deranged whims in this frozen Siberia.
However, I needed my grandfather’s support, so I had no choice but to stick it out.
Gritting my teeth, I zipped up my jacket as Cressida walked into the kitchen wearing a slim-fitted ski suit, her blonde waves tumbling out of a white knit hat. When she saw me, her cherry-red lips spread into a grin. “So Daddy told you to play nice, did he?”
“Enough, Cress. I’m not in the mood.”
Parking a hip against the counter, she arched a brow. “I could help you get in the mood, if that’s what you’re after.”
Despite my better judgement, my cock twitched and I clenched my jaw.
Fucking hell. I cannot show up to a meeting with Val with a raging hard-on.
“I’ll see you at six for dinner in the lodge.
” I headed for the door but paused, turning to look her up and down.
She really is beautiful. And too good for me. “Wear the dress I like.”
Her eyebrow hoisted even higher as I shut the door behind me.
Knowing her, she’d think about showing up in the ski suit because it would make me laugh.
But she’d honor my request—she knew what was at stake and she could play the paparazzi like a fiddle.
There weren’t too many around yet. Give them time.
As word spread about our whereabouts, more ravenous “journalists” would show up.
I made a mental note to ask Cressida to devise a story about our reason for being here.
An excellent PR consultant in her own right, she’d know how to handle anything that came up.
The last thing I needed was an opportunistic photographer to catch a photo of Val and I and concoct their own ridiculous narrative.
Because if my engagement failed, the effects would be devastating for Cressida. And that wasn’t something I was willing to accept.
Ever.
I would take care of her—no matter what it cost me.
VAL
As I waited for Nolan in the lobby, I wrung my hands until they turned white.
The bout of confidence that had barreled through me earlier had long since dissipated.
In that room with just the two of us—dear lord—it had been easier to speak my mind and pretend to be brave.
Out here in the cold, arctic light of day, I was just the same old anxious me.
I was good at hiding it though. I had to be.
Friendliness went a long way with earning tips and special requests for me as a snowboard instructor from the vacationing families with hordes of kids.
Customer Service Val was a necessary mask that helped me survive the season.
It wasn’t that I hated my job. No, I loved being outside and playing in the snow.
But I was better in one-on-one lessons than in big groups.
So maybe that’s how I had to think of my upcoming winter with Nolan, if I had any hope of surviving with my sanity intact—just a series of one-on-one lessons.
My stomach did a backflip.
Okay, maybe that’s worse. Because spending time alone with Nolan Keller, his gaze burning into me like the flames of a thousand freaking bonfires…yeah, I was going to barf. I can’t do this.
But instead of hiding in my room like I wanted to, I checked the gear bag for the millionth time.
Leave it to me to invite Nolan on a snowshoeing adventure and forget the snowshoes.
Right on time, Nolan strode into the lobby looking devilishly handsome decked out in designer snow gear.
His blue eyes and light brown hair stood out in stark contrast to the harsh black of his clothing, and I found myself staring. A lot.
“Very punctual, Mr. Keller.” I hope I don’t sound squeaky. Or interested. Or anything but friendly and neutral.
His eyes swept over me, taking in my turquoise coat and white pants in a way that made me feel utterly exposed. Finally, he said, “Nolan is fine.”
I swallowed with a nod, my brain cells taking their immediate leave. “Will your fiancée be joining us?”
Nolan shook his head. “Cressida plans to park herself in the restaurant to ‘see where we have room for improvements on our wine list,’ but I hope she takes this winter to enjoy herself. She deserves a rest.” Something I couldn’t interpret lit his gaze for a moment, then passed.
“Oh,” I said. My throat tightened and I swallowed. I’d expected his fiancée to be a buffer on some of our excursions. Looks like I’m on my own. Great.
I hitched the gear bag that was almost as big as me over my shoulder—but its weight disappeared as Nolan took it from my grasp.
“Lead the way,” he said.
“Ah, thanks.” A gentleman. Who knew?
Heading outside, I made a beeline to the resort’s van and hopped in the driver’s seat, moving the seat controls as high as they would go and balling up my jacket to use as a cushion.
With how low the seat was, whoever had last driven the land yacht must have been as big as the van.
Finally situated, I put the keys in the ignition.
Glancing to the passenger seat, I saw Nolan lifting a brow at me.
“What?” I asked as I shifted the van into gear.
“We can get you a booster seat. I think I saw one in the restaurant.”
I wanted to be offended, but a booster seat would actually be great.
“What I really need is a good old-fashioned stack of phone books to sit on, but Barney nearly had a heart attack the last time he saw me driving around like that. The phone books tend to slide around, and it’s a bit precarious,” I admitted.
Nolan made a show of fastening his seatbelt, and I bit back the urge to stick out my tongue.
What is it about this man that has me leaping entirely out of my mind?
I didn’t hate it though. Not in the least. For so long, I’d clung to doing the level-headed thing because I knew the consequences of letting my guard down or slipping up for even one second.
One second, one wrong decision could change everything.
But after just one second in Nolan’s presence and…
well, he had me dipping into that playful side of myself that had been absent long before the accident that had erased any fun-seeking bone in my body.
I’d forgotten how much I missed that part of me.
But those thoughts were way too intimate to be having around my engaged boss, so ever the responsible one, I focused on my task. If I was going to be Nolan’s tour guide, I was going to be an A-plus tour guide, dammit. Doing things halfway wasn’t my style.
As we trundled past snow-covered pines and frozen ponds, light flurries sprinkled from the polar sky. The roads hadn’t been plowed yet, but luckily the van had four-wheel drive so we wouldn’t get stuck.
“We’re going snowshoeing,” I said to break the silence.
“There’s a trail I like to take people on for their first time while they’re getting used to walking around with essentially tennis rackets strapped to their feet.
My dad would take me and my brothers on it often, so it’s one of my favorites.
It’s about ten minutes up the road toward the western side of the property. ”
At my words, Nolan’s mouth thinned into a grimace and his hands tightened on his knees.
I pretended not to notice, keeping my eyes glued to the road. “Does that sound okay?”
His answer came out between gritted teeth. “Sure. You’re the expert.”
Maybe he’s still mad about the phone call with his father. An icy silence fell over the remainder of the drive. What felt like an eternity later, I parked in a small lot by the trail, then hopped out to get the gear. Nolan loomed beside me, a silent, brooding presence.