Winter Interlude (19 page)

He grabbed his briefcase, which he’d left on the floor by the nightstand earlier, riffled through it
,
and brought out an unread prospectus
.
Even though his love life was in shambles, he could always find a way to make more money
.
The realization held little comfort
.
He took a sip of wine and settled in for an hour or so of reading.

~

S
ecure in the guesthouse
for the night,
Kate
paced, wishing she had a glass of wine
.
She needed something to numb thoughts of Paul, of the afternoon and evening she’d spent with him
.
She didn’t like the fact that she was starting to see him as human
—
a very appealing, sexy human to boot
.
She didn’t dare let on about this unwanted attraction
.
Wouldn’t he have a field day then?

His polite gestures of paying for dinner and groceries bothered her
.
She didn’t want to be beholden to him…didn’t want to find him nice and considerate
.
These traits were so opposite to the guy she thought she knew
.
Nor did she want to compare him to James
.
James seldom opened her door for her
;
they’d been together too long for such little niceties
.
Though he
paid on most of their dates, he never balked those times when she offered to go
d
utch
.
Besides, it wasn’t as if she didn’t have the hands to open her own door or the money, though in short supply, for her own food
.
It was the courtesy of Paul’s acts that threw her.

Kate
stuck her head out the guesthouse door and listened
.
A nightlight visible through the patio window revealed no movement
.
A positive sign, she thought
,
as she slunk toward the kitchen for some liquid distraction
.

Once back in her room with a glass of wine, she fluffed the pillows behind her, hoping to immerse herself in a good book
.
But as she relaxed on the bed, images of Paul and their time together snuck back inside her brain and wouldn’t budge
.

He seemed so cocky and sure of himself
.
Confidence was definitely a Morrison trait
.
Paul had a way about him that made him much more attractive than James, which had become more evident in his demeanor during the evening
.
His
quick sense of
humor wasn’t always used to enrage
.
Most of the time, he used it to win over and charm
.
Kate
was one of the few who ever felt the harsh sting of his words
.
Heaven help her, if he ever turned that charm and humor to disarming her
.

The idea of James not being her one and only finally took hold, as
her
discussion
with Paul
during the ride to Tahoe filled her mind
.
She was tired of dreaming for something that may never happen
.
She didn’t want eight years to turn into ten
.
Dealing
with James and his evasions
for so long had nearly done her in
, she certainly didn’t want to become entangled with his brother
.
That would be too much, even for her
.

The morning couldn’t come too soon
.
Skiing would provide the means to keep
Paul
at arm’s length
.
Her gaze flew to the big picture window
.
She grinned,
excited to see the snow’s accumulation
.
Tomorrow would be an awesome day
.
She could handle skiing fresh powder and she could handle her silly infatuation
.
Jame
s’
presence
—
and hopefully Judith’s
—
would provide a buffer, so
after one day on the slopes,
she’d no longer have to deal with Paul one on one
.

P
aul woke the next morning and stretched
.
He glanced at the clock, noting it was just after six, sleeping in for him
.
His gaze moved to the window
.
Darkened shadows were highlighted in white
.
A grin took over his face at what that meant
.
A spectacular day of skiing
.
Fresh powder wasn’t much of a consolation without Judith here to share it with him, but it was better than rain
.

Once
out of bed, he headed for the bathroom, wondering if
Kate
would be ready to go by eight
.
He wanted to be on the mountain before the lifts opened.

After showering, he veered
toward
the kitchen for a dose of caffeine
.
Having lived in the Bay Area his entire life, he was one of those who’d been raised on exceptionally strong coffee, the likes
of
which would grow hair on a turtle shell. His morning ritual always included a cup or two…or three
.
He rounded the hallway leading from the bedroom
.
Light poured out of the kitchen
.

In seconds, the heavenly smell of freshly ground coffee filled his nostrils
.
Soon, other smells hit him
.
He stopped at the doorway and took in
Kate
standing over the stove cooking bacon
.
Beside the skillet was a bowl filled with eggs
.

He couldn’t help but notice how attractive she was, dressed in body-hugging jeans and a thick burgundy turtleneck
.
The sweater not only brought out the contrasts in her dark brown hair and fair complexion, it showcased a nice pair of breasts, drawing his gaze
.
She definitely got his pulse going better than the caffeine he was after
.
His gaze moved higher when she looked up and smiled.

“Good morning,” she said in a cheerful voice
.
E
yes full of mischief, she met his questioning gaze, reminding him of what Tinker Bell might look like without wings.
“I hope you’re hungry, because I’m making enough for two and I’d like the company.”

“My, aren’t we in a good mood this morning
.”
He reached past her to grab a mug from the counter and picked up the
coffee
pot
.
“I take it you slept well?”

“Yes
,
I did, and I find even your obnoxious company can’t dampen my spirits.”

He grunted, as he poured
.
“What’s on the menu
?
It looks an awful lot like bacon and eggs, and I find I have quite an appetite this morning.”

Her grin expanded
.
“Well, cool your jets,
b
ucko, because food is all you’re getting
.
Should be ready in a few minutes
.
Orange juice is in the fridge.”

He stifled a laugh, amused that she caught his little jibe
.
“Can’t hurt a guy for trying.”

“
Y
ou can always try, but I’ve got news for you.
K
eep it up and you may be hurting, because I’m not so easily led astray.”

“Oh
?
Is that a dare
?”
His eyebrows shot up, and he snared her attention, hoping to rattle her, since he was already off-
center
at the sight of her
.

“No
.
It’s a fact.”

For some reason he had a hard time ignoring her words
,
tossed out with such moxie
.
He didn’t want to be attracted to her, nor did he want to find the idea of leading her astray intriguing
.

Shaking
his head at
the very idea, he laughed
.
“Touché, you win
.
It’s too early to start the contest of wills this morning
.
At least wait until I’ve had some coffee
.”
He took a sip of the hot brew
.
Eyebrows raised, he held up the cup and
admitted
, “This is good.”

She grinned
.
“I told you you’d like it
.”

Her attention went back to cooking, while Paul tried not to notice her cute
derrière
.
But his eyes wouldn’t listen to his mental chiding and he kept stealing peeks
.
He sighed and took another sip of coffee
.
It was going to be a long day.

“It’ll be ready soon
.”
She nodded to
ward
the silverware drawer
.
“Why don’t you set the table?”

Thankful for the diversion, he jumped to do her bidding
.
He damn
ed
well didn’t need thoughts of
Kate
’s butt roaming through his brain.