Slope of Love (Love in Bloom: The Remingtons) (8 page)

Kia texted back.
We’ll come get you. Rented SUV.

There was a knock at her door five minutes later. She pulled it open with a laugh. “That was fas—”

Rush stood before her wearing a charcoal-gray cable-knit sweater and a pair of faded jeans. He wore a baseball cap, and as he adjusted it, his aftershave wafted toward her in the night breeze and she drank it in.

“Hey.”

“H-hey.”

His eyes dropped and lingered below her neck. He nodded at her chest with that sexy crooked grin of his and slid his eyes away. “Um…”

She looked down, having completely forgotten that she hadn’t finished dressing and had on a sheer camisole and no bra—and very aroused nipples.

“Oh God.” She crossed her arms over her chest and spun around, searching for a shirt. In the kitchen or living room.
Great
. She grabbed her parka. “Sorry.” She turned back to him, zipped up to her chin.

The right side of his lips lifted, and a little laugh escaped. “Hey, I’m not complaining.” He drew his brows together at her ensemble.

She looked down at her parka and felt herself blush again.

“I’m going to head over to the bonfire in a little while. I was just wondering if you wanted to go.”

Yes. Definitely.
It took her a minute to remember she’d not only sworn off men, but she’d just had a great orgasm thinking of this particular hunky man.
Very bad idea.
“I…um. I just told Kia I’d go into town with them. Do you want to go?” The words left her lips before she had time to consider them.

“They asked me earlier, too. Actually, I think I’ll hang out here for a while. Have fun, though.” He descended the stairs, then turned back. “You might want to actually wear a shirt.”

She closed the door and leaned against it, breathing like she’d just run up a flight of stairs and wishing she could run back outside and go with him to the bonfire. Something between them had definitely shifted. She reminded herself that the warm, friendly Rush whom she trusted with her secrets was also a womanizer—and because of that, he was not boyfriend material.
No. No, no, no
.

THERE MUST HAVE been fifty people at the bonfire. Families with small children roasted marshmallows, groups of teenagers huddled together—like Rush and Jayla used to at ski camp—and couples snuggled on nearby benches. The threat of snow had passed with only an hour of flurries, leaving a light gray sky and the crisp smell of winter. The pine trees were dusted with snow and decorated with colorful lights, giving the evening a magical feel.

Rush tugged his baseball cap down low. A poor excuse for a disguise, but hey, it had worked so far. He gave a wide berth to the others. After being blown off by Jayla, he just wanted an evening to wallow in his messed-up thoughts. He had always felt most comfortable on the slopes. There was no replacement for the combination of speed and icy air against his face, or the adrenaline rush that came with it. As a boy, the slopes provided an escape from his four-star-general father’s scrutiny and the stress of school. For a few blessed minutes, there was only him and the mountain. And over the years, that comfort included having Jayla by his side. Now, as he walked around the bonfire, he longed for her company.

A young couple strolled by hand in hand and paused to kiss a few feet away. His mind moved to Jayla. Her comment about his conquests nagged at him—and pissed him off. He needed to tell her how he’d changed, and damn it, he needed to tell her why he’d changed. Rush remembered with pinpoint accuracy the moment the painful truth had come from his eldest brother Jack’s mouth. It was shortly after Jack’s wife, Linda, had died in a car accident. Their whole family had been devastated, but of course for Jack, who’d lost his best friend, lover, and wife, it was crippling. Neither Rush nor Jack knew how to handle the overwhelming grief, and one night they’d gotten lost in that grief and they’d said horrible things to each other. Jack’s vehemence had seared itself into Rush’s head.
You’re a spoiled womanizer who wouldn’t know how it felt to love if it kicked you in the ass, let alone how it feels to lose the one you love
. Rush had spent two solid years rebelling against the truth of Jack’s words, going from one woman’s bed to the next as if he were on an endless cycle. Everything changed about a year ago, when he’d woken up next to a woman and had no recollection of her name. For some reason, his mind had traveled straight to Jayla. He’d taken a good, long look in the mirror, and he hadn’t liked what he’d seen. Moreover, once he stopped sleeping around, he realized why he’d been doing it. Sure, he liked sex, but he’d been on a hunt, trying to fill the emptiness inside of him that he hadn’t realized existed. An emptiness that no amount of sex could ever fill. And over the last year he also realized that the dark hole he’d been trying to fill didn’t exist when he was with Jayla.

But Jayla was off-limits, and on some level, he’d always known that. He was certain that knowing he could never be with Jayla was the reason he had been desperately jumping from bed to bed. He was seeking a replacement. Only he could never replace the woman who he now realized owned his heart.

That was the morning he vowed to leave the rebellious, lost child behind and find his grown-up self. He’d made a plan to tell Jayla how he felt, even at the risk of losing their friendship, because Jack had been right. Rush hadn’t had any notion of what love was. Rush hadn’t known that love could not only embrace a person, but consume him. Once he opened himself up to it and realized his true feelings for Jayla, he understood exactly what his brother meant because that love for her seeped into his every thought.

Rush confided in Jayla about most things in his life, but he’d never told her what Jack had said, or that he had been trying to change. Once he accepted the truth of his behavior and really saw it for what it was—which wasn’t a joke, or harmless, or even acceptable—he’d been too ashamed of who he was. For the first time in forever, he’d been touched by fear, and that drove him to keep his efforts toward self-improvement to himself. What if he’d told Jayla he was trying to change, and he couldn’t? Then not only would he have still been the person he was ashamed of being, but he’d have also been a failure. No way would he have wanted to see that disappointment in her eyes. He’d even let his family believe he was the same player he’d always been, and since he feigned the part so well during Skype calls or when they met for dinners, they’d never questioned it.

Jayla knew all about Rush’s philandering ways, and she accepted him, faults and all. They’d joked about it for years, but she’d never called him on it the way Jack had. In fact, now that he thought about it, she’d never made him feel bad about anything he did. But then again, that’s who Jayla was. She’d always stood by him. Now it was his turn to help her through whatever she wasn’t telling him.

He crouched by the fire to warm his hands.

“Hey there, handsome.”

Rush turned toward Danica’s voice. “What are you guys doing here?”

“We come to the bonfires a lot,” Danica explained. “My sister’s kids love them.” Rush had met Kaylie and her family once when he went skiing with Blake. He turned to look for them.

“Oh, they’re not here tonight. She’s singing in town this week,” Blake said. “Tonight’s all about romance.” He nuzzled against Danica’s neck.

Romance. That’s what this week was supposed to be about for me, too
. Rush rubbed the back of his neck, trying to push away thoughts of Jayla.

Blake and Danica making out wasn’t helping any.

“So, everything good with the baby?” He hoped changing the subject might get his mind off of Jayla.

Danica pulled free from Blake’s grasp. “Yeah.” She settled her hand on her lower abdomen. “It was exciting to hear the baby’s heartbeat, which doesn’t sound like a heartbeat at all, but more like a swishing sound.”

“I still can’t believe we’re going to have a baby. But I guess it’s time, before I get old and gray.” Blake ran his hand through his shock of black hair. “You here alone?”

Rush nodded. “Yup. Some of my teammates were supposed to be here, but I guess they turned in early, and the others went into town. Fingers, I think.”

Blake and Danica exchanged a look.

“What?” He hoped Jayla hadn’t gone someplace dangerous.

“Nothing. It’s a bit of a meat market,” Blake answered.

A meat market. Great.
And Jayla was there with that sexy camisole, tight jeans, and probably those fuck-me leather boots she had in the closet.

“There must be a dozen beautiful women here.” Blake nodded toward a group of young women. “Why are you alone?”

“Maybe he wants to be alone.” Danica leaned against him.

“It is by choice,” Rush said, even though it was the farthest thing from the truth. If he had his way, Jayla would be in his arms right now. “I need to focus for the competition.”

“But you’re teaching, not competing.” Danica pulled her coat tighter around her.

He shrugged. “I have one last race, the NFC this weekend. So…”

Blake had told Rush all about his premarried, player lifestyle and how meeting Danica had filled every empty spot he had and all the ones he’d never known existed. Rush hadn’t been so different from Blake, and seeing Blake with Danica gave him hope that not only could the changes he’d made be permanent, but that a woman could overlook a man’s checkered past.
Jayla
. That Jayla could overlook his past.

“Well, you can certainly wait a week.” Blake winked.

Rush wasn’t so sure he could wait another day, much less a week. His head was spinning. Jayla awakened a sea of emotions within him—and since he was getting hard just thinking about her in that see-through camisole—apparently she affected his body, too.

“COME ON!” KIA dragged Jayla and Teri back out on the dance floor for the fifth time in the last hour. Patrick had hooked up with a woman thirty minutes after they’d arrived and said he’d catch his own ride back to the resort, leaving Jayla alone with Kia and Teri, who were obviously on the hunt for men. They used the Olympic ski team card with men the way social wannabes name-dropped, whereas Jayla preferred to keep her identity as far under wraps as she was able, which wasn’t very easy in a ski town like Allure. It seemed like everyone knew who they were. On the cramped dance floor, a tall twenty-something guy who reeked of money and testosterone was breathing down her back. She moved over a few inches and he moved with her.

Kia raised her brows and mouthed,
He’s hot
. The forest-green minidress she wore set off her flames of red hair as she bobbed her head from side to side while she danced.

Jayla mouthed,
You dance with him
. Dancing kept her mind off of Rush, but every guy who approached her sent her mind racing back to him.

Kia was all too happy to move in between them, giving Jayla a clear path back to the table. Teri waved from the edge of the dance floor, where she was dirty dancing with a tall, blond guy who was staring at her boobs, and as Jayla turned to wave, someone knocked into her right side, jarring her shoulder. She scrambled back to the table, wishing she’d taken stronger pain meds and wishing she’d stayed home. She needed a plan for her stupid shoulder, and she knew that her original plan to secretly rehab her shoulder was a long shot at best.

At eleven thirty they finally piled into the SUV and headed back to the resort.

“That was so much fun. Maybe we should do it again tomorrow night,” Kia suggested as she parked in front of the resort.

“I think I’m gonna go to the bonfire tomorrow.” Jayla watched them exchange an eye roll.

Kia climbed from the SUV. “Now that we don’t have to drive, wanna grab a few drinks with us at the bar?”

“No, thanks. I think I’m going to turn in.” Jayla inhaled the scent of burning wood drifting up from the bonfire pit and thought of Rush.

“I was hoping to get you really smashed so you’d give up your place in the downhill and let me take it.” Kia smiled and twirled a fiery curl around her finger as if she were joking, but Jayla knew that Kia, like any competitive athlete, was only half kidding. While Kia and Teri hadn’t won Olympic medals, they were strong competitors and both had also gained popularity among their fans, not just through skiing, but also from their clothing sponsorships. They weren’t as well known as Jayla or Rush, but they were quickly gaining recognition.

“Yeah, right. If I can endure Marcus, I can ignore peer pressure. Thanks again. I had a great time.” Jayla followed the stone path down the hill and around a cluster of pine trees toward the bonfire. A residual of low flames split the darkness. She scanned the handful of people around the fire, hoping she might see Rush. When she didn’t see him, she sighed, disappointed and relieved at once. She warmed her hands by the dying fire and looked up at the sky, wishing she had a bag of marshmallows. Maybe she could eat her troubles away.

She wished on the first star she saw.
Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might, have this wish I wish tonight.

She felt his hands on her waist and smelled his Tommy Hilfiger cologne before she felt the scratch of his whiskers on her cheeks.

“Star light, star bright…”

She opened her eyes.
I asked for a sign about what to do with my injury and you bring me Rush? Boy, did I have the wrong star. Or else…you know my wishes better than I do.

Rush moved beside her. “I thought you were out painting the night fantastic.”

“I was. We did.”
I’m so glad you’re here
.

“Good. I know you love to dance.”

“Maybe a little.”
I love that you are thoughtful enough to think about what I love.

“I saved something for you in case you wanted to come to the bonfire tomorrow.” He pulled a plastic bag of marshmallows from his pocket.

She snagged the bag and drew in a breath. She felt guilty for not telling him about her shoulder and maybe a little for fantasizing about him. He was so good to her. She had no business thinking of him like that.
Do I?
She set the bag in his palm.