Chapter 16
After my successful mastery of the mountain, I was desperate to put my feet up and relax. Charles said he had the perfect place in mind. The cryptic declaration gave me pause as we got in his Land Rover and took to the winding roads away from the crowded ski village.
“Do I get to know where you’re taking me?” I asked, warming my hands in the heat blasting from the air vents as he drove.
“I want to show you my favorite spot in Maplewood Creek.”
“The less you tell me, the more worried I get.”
He flashed me a devastating grin. “Trust me. This surprise, you’ll like.”
Ten minutes later, we pulled up to a nondescript patch of dirt along the road’s shoulder.
“Up for a quick hike?” he said, parking the Land Rover beside a wooden stake with a simple arrow pointing toward a trail into the forest.
“Not sure I’m wearing the right shoes for this.”
I’d thrown on a pair of duck boots that were perfect for navigating slippery sidewalks, but maybe not trudging through snow and foliage.
Charles shot me a wink. “I’ve got you.”
My heart sort of leaped into my throat at the way his eyes shimmered when he said it. He got out of the SUV and came around to open my door, offering me his hand to climb out.
“It isn’t far,” he said, taking my hand. “Just hang on to me. I won’t let you fall.”
As we started up the trail, he kept my arm tucked under his, supporting my weight over protruding tree roots and slippery rocks. He led us with sure-footed purpose, never hesitating as the path periodically diverged or became less distinct. He knew it by heart.
“You’ve been here a lot?” I asked, marveling at the occasional evidence of a critter’s footprints in the snow.
“Since I was a kid. It’s sort of a local secret. A spot you don’t tell tourists about.”
“Aren’t you breaking the code of silence by taking me here?”
He smirked, squeezing my hand as he held back a branch. “I think you can keep a secret.”
It did feel a little like being in a very exclusive club. This secret we shared. The only two people in the world who knew. Hiding from his family. I guess it made me feel like this Charles belonged only to me.
About ten minutes into our trek, the trees opened to reveal a small, rocky pool, with rising steam that’d melted the snow around it. And at just the right angle, you could peer through the tall pines to see the vista of the Rockies climbing into the clear blue sky in the distance.
“Oh, wow,” I hummed.
“Worth the hike?” he asked proudly.
“Definitely. But, uh, I didn’t bring a bathing suit.”
I watched a slow, mischievous smile widen across his face.
“I don’t mind if you don’t,” he said.
Charles unzipped his coat and began peeling off layers of clothing to hang on a low branch. Then he dropped his boxers, facing away from me, and carefully stepped into the warm pool of crystal water.
“Feels great,” he said, submerged to his chest and encouraging me to follow. “Come on.”
Without several mulled ciders to give my confidence a boost, I felt a bit self-conscious undressing in front of him.
Maybe Charles sensed that, because he casually turned around to sink deeper into the water, then gaze at the view, while I kicked off my shoes and stripped down.
A few freezing, shivering steps later, I clambered into the water and hugged my arms to my chest.
“Oh, that was cold,” I said with a slight shiver, submerging my shoulders.
“Yeah, that first step’s a doozy, huh?” Charles approached me, tentative. Then when I didn’t scurry away, he wrapped his arms around me to rub the goosebumps away, bringing me against his firm, slick chest. “Getting warmer, right?”
“Uh-huh,” I muttered, nuzzling into him just a little. Because he was warm. Not because I really liked the way he smelled. “Yeah.”
Charles chuckled softly against my face. “Beats hanging around your cottage all afternoon.”
“Honestly, yeah,” I said, pulling away when I started to feel silly letting him keep holding me like an injured bird. “I wasn’t in a great headspace this morning, so thanks for coming to cheer me up.”
His face knitted with concern as we both came to sit along a natural rock ledge in the water. “Any time. I know my family can be a lot. Promise you’ll give me a chance to fix it before you think about running for the hills?”
“Yeah, okay.”
“I mean it,” he insisted at my noncommittal answer. “You can talk to me about anything.”
I dragged my arms through the water, making little swirls between us with the motion while I told myself not to gawk at the distorted view of his naked body beneath the water. “It probably wouldn’t even get to me so much, except that my whole future is riding on not getting fired from this job.”
“Because of London?” he said.
“I already have a diploma in pastry, but this program at ACE will give me the broader education I need to work anywhere I want. I need this job to pay for it.”
“And what’s your dream job?” Water dripped down his shoulders, traveling the smooth ridges of his muscles. It was more than a little distracting. “If you could do anything at all?”
“I’ve got a whole plan that starts with ACE .
That will open doors to working in the best restaurants in the world.
Training under Michelin star chefs. Really learning how to run a top-notch kitchen.
But the ultimate dream is to have my own restaurant.
Once I’ve established a brand. Sort of a chef’s table, prix fixe situation.
Or like a traveling supper club doing pop-ups.
I’m just not sure I could be content with cooking the same menu every night for the rest of my life.
I need variety. A little adventure. I hate standing still, you know? ”
“I know exactly what you mean.”
I suppose that was partly why I spent the night with Charles in the first place.
My whole life to date had been schedules and responsibility.
Predictable. Stable. And every now and then, I got the irresistible urge to break out of that mold.
Shatter the status quo and damn the consequences. If just for a night. Or a season.
Charles slid closer. “For me, it’s like I appreciate having a role in the family business, sort of bouncing around behind the scenes wherever I can be useful, but I think about the next thirty years of my life and I’m not sure if I want to be sitting in the big chair.”
“Right, your mom hinted at a big announcement soon.”
He sighed, rubbing his hands over his face.
He suddenly looked tired, overwhelmed. “I’ve been raised my whole life to take over for my dad one day.
And for a long time there, I was excited about it.
I’m sure it makes me a miserable bore, but I did enjoy business school.
That stuff just makes sense to me. It’s in the genes, I suppose.
Only now that I’m in touching distance, I worry that I’ve never really considered doing anything else.
What if I wake up and realize my heart’s not in it?
I let my family down. I let the company down.
That’s people’s livelihoods, you know? It just feels like maybe I’ve wasted the chance to figure out if I would’ve been happier doing something else. ”
“What about your sister?” I said. “Has Amelia ever wanted the big chair?”
He paused, thinking about that a moment. “Amelia’s chief ambition has always been pleasing our mom. She wants her approval more than anything.”
I laughed gently. “I can relate.”
“But I’m not sure business is her first love, you know? She’s more into the public side of things. Marketing, PR . She’s got a great head for that stuff. She’s good at making people like her.”
“Well, take it from me,” I said, absently touching his arm. “You’re not so bad at that either.”
A bright toothy grin overtook his face, those dimples forming on both cheeks. “Yeah?”
I rolled my eyes, smothering a smile. “Try not to let it go to your head.”
“Nope. Too late. You like me.”
“Barely.”
“No, you really like me. I’m basically your favorite person.”
“Oh, please.”
He reached out to grab me off the ledge and instead I splashed an armful of water in his face. Charles sputtered, wiping his eyes.
“Seriously?” he grimaced playfully. “That’s how it’s going to be?”
I splashed him again.
“I have a little sister, remember. You’re not going to win this game.”
And just for that, I splashed him a third time.
Which turned into an all-out splash war, the two of us chasing each other around inside the tiny pool until he wrapped me up in his arms to tickle me.
And when he pulled me tight against his chest to stop my assault, our faces came just inches apart.
My pulse raced. He stared at my lips. This time, I went to him, rising up to press my mouth to his.
This was a terrible idea. Every time I let this man wiggle a little further under my skin, I was setting myself up for even more of a disaster.
Because there was no way this could end well.
It was tempting fate. But then, the heart was irrational.
And our attraction was undeniable. That damn boy-crazy girl in all of us that swooned at a square jaw and dimples.
Charles grabbed the backs of my thighs to hoist my legs around his hips.
I tangled my arms behind his neck and held on, breathing him in with the fresh scent of pine and cold mountain air, the subtle fragrance of his skin and the taste of his tongue on mine.
His fingers squeezed, pressing against my flesh while flashes of our night at The Snowdrift danced behind my eyes.
I wanted more. As I deepened our kiss and lightly dragged my nails through his hair, I wanted to forget all the reasons I’d regret him and just give in.
Give myself over to our instincts. And when Charles pressed my back against the hot, smooth rocks that surrounded the pool, I was sure he felt the same.
Both of us were desperate to relive that release.
Like he could hear my thoughts, Charles exhaled and pressed his forehead against mine.
“You’re seriously trouble, you know that?” he said.
“Me? You’re the one who lured me into the woods to go skinny-dipping.”
“I don’t know.” He teased his fingers up and down my ribcage while I held myself to him with my legs locked around his hips. “Lure is a strong word. Tempted, maybe.”
“Right. Because you’re just that irresistible, girls will follow you anywhere.”
He shrugged, playfully impressed with himself. “Your words, not mine.”
The arrogance won him another face full of water as I ripped myself away to splash him again.
“Now you’re in for it,” he growled, before launching a wave of water at me.
I quickly scrambled out of the spring.
“Come on,” he chided. “Don’t run away just because you’re losing.”
“And just for that,” I said, quickly tugging on my clothes and shoving my feet into my boots, “I’m taking your pants.”