‘Let’s talk tomorrow,’ he said before she could pick up where she had left off. ‘It’s late.’
Jess looked at him narrowly and he shot her just the ghost of a weary smile.
‘You have a very expressive face, Jess, and right now I’m seeing doubt written all over it. You think I’m going to try and avoid the subject come morning...’
‘Can you blame me?’ She hoped her face wasn’t quite as expressive as he seemed to think because the last thing she needed was for him to guess the effect he had on her. ‘You’re not exactly a guy who likes to have heart-to-heart conversations, and I guess you’re sensitive on the topic of your ex, and I don’t care. But I’m here now,at your behest, and it’s only fair that you tell me what’s going on.’
‘At mybehest...? Little wonder you and my godfather get along so well...’ But as the lift doors closed on them he turned to her and said, utterly serious now, ‘No need to fear. We’ll talk tomorrow.’ Then he smiled. ‘Even though you’re right when you say that I’m not the kind of guy who believes in tearfully pouring his emotions out.’
They were on their corridor and she reached into her clutch for the door key. She could feel his presence next to her as he leant against the wall and watched her.
‘Meet me for an early breakfast,’ he murmured just as she pushed open her door to stand framed by the light from behind.
‘Okay.’
‘We can talk and then we can ski.’
‘I think there’s some stuff planned...activities for bored other halves.’
‘You’re never bored when you’re with me so that automatically excludes you.’
Jess shivered and dragged in a silent, ragged breath. Did he have any idea how intimate he could make a simple observation seem? How easy it was for him to ignite her imagination until it became a conflagration?
‘What sort of activities have they lined up?’
‘Trips...tours... I believe there’s a wine-tasting experience...’
‘Scrap them. We’ll have breakfast and then we’ll spend the morning on the slopes.’ He glanced at his watch and straightened. ‘Okay. I’ll meet you in the restaurant at...eight tomorrow morning. Or I could order room service, which might be a better idea if we want some privacy.’
‘No!’ Jess cleared her throat and frowned thoughtfully. ‘No, the restaurant will be just fine.’ She thought about sitting opposite him at the little circular table in her room, with a bed announcing itself in the background, and could think of nothing worse. ‘And yes, okay, eight.’ She smiled with genuine anticipation at the thought of a morning skiing. ‘And then we can hit the slopes. I believe you have some catching-up to do.’ It was a stilted attempt to reclaim some of that shaky ground that had suddenly opened up between them, to regain their easygoing familiarity and to forget, just for a second, that if she stared into those green eyes for too long she would feel as if she were drowning.
‘Is that so?’ He smiled. ‘I believe I gave you quite a substantial head start but...’ He shrugged and raised his eyebrows. ‘If you really think you’re up to proving superior skiing skills then...who am I to argue? At your behest, I’m more than willing to drop the head start...’
In treacherous waters, the absolute bliss of normality between them kept the smile on her face as she shut the door and went straight to the bathroom to have a quick shower.
She let the water run off her and for the first time, after she had towel-dried, she stood in front of the standing mirror and looked at herself.
It was not something she ever did. Ingrained in her from her much bigger days was a certain amount of ambivalence when it came to looking at herself without any clothes on.
She did now. She was tall and she was bountifully built, and she wondered whether Curtis had had to grit his teeth when he’d touched her.
She swung around, pulled on her pyjamas—which consisted of a loose, brightly patterned T-shirt and a pair of stretchy shorts that barely skimmed her thighs.
Despite the cold and snow outside, it was warm in the bedroom. And, despite the buzzing questions in her head, she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
Her last thought was,I wish I’d never come... I think...And her first thought the following morning was,Who the heck is knocking on my door? Have I somehow forgotten to flip the Do Not Disturb sign over?
Before the cleaners could decide to service the room while she was only just out of bed, Jess flew to the door and pulled it open sufficiently to realise that it wasn’t any member of staff who had been knocking.
‘What are you doing here?’ She shuffled as far back behind the door as she could possibly manage and peered at a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed Curtis, dressed in black trousers for skiing and a tight black thermal, which she just about glimpsed underneath his black V-necked sweater. He hadn’t bothered to shave and the stubble on his chin struck her as ferociously sexy.
She gulped, conscious of her legs on display because there was only so much concealing she could do without rudely closing the door in his face.
‘Have you forgotten our breakfast date?’ He looked pointedly at his watch. ‘It’s eight-thirty. I thought I’d knock on your door to make sure you weren’t the worse for wear.’
He kept his eyes pinned to her face. She was pink and flushed and still in her nightwear. Some kind of patterned top and a pair of bottoms that left absolutely nothing to the imagination. Her legs were smooth and long and he could see the sway of her unconstrained breasts, soft and bouncy against her arms, which were across them.
She looked tousled in the sexiest way imaginable.
