“Rough day out there?”
Nicole lifted her head at the male voice, blinking at a man who stood a few feet away, ski jacket on, goggles around his neck, gorgeous blue eyes trained on her.
“I heard the conditions off the Snowflake lift are brutal,” he added with a tease in his voice.
The ski patrol guy! The one who’d helped her up last week when she was here with her dad. “Cameron?” she asked, suddenly remembering his name.
“Yep. So you can’t be that rattled by the mountain,” he said, taking a step forward and adding a smile that was somewhere between crooked and adorable. “Your memory still works.”
He was in uniform—navy ski pants, a red jacket with a white cross on the shoulder. It all only made him even better-looking. “Nicole, right?”
“Right,” she said, sitting up straighter. “You seem to show up at my low points in life.”
“I better do something about my timing.” He grinned at her and glanced at Brianna. “You’re an instructor, right? I’ve seen you giving lessons.”
She nodded. “Sometimes. I’m Brianna, and I’m here as best friend, not instructor.”
“Nice to meet you, Brianna.” He instantly returned his gaze to Nicole, looking concerned. “I thought you were calling it for good last time. I’m glad to see you’re not a quitter.”
Oh, but she wassucha quitter. A capital Q Quitter. The quittiest of all the quitters. She never wanted to put those planks on her feet again and she never wanted to lose control or fall in snow or…or…
Wait.Wasshe a quitter? Really?
“Yeah, I’m trying,” she said, sounding so weak but at least she didn’t disagree.
“That’s all you can do,” he said. “Otherwise, the mountain wins that battle.”
She shrugged. “I fell on Success, which pretty much means the mountain won the whole war.”
“That hill halfway down?” He shrugged. “It’s not really a green. I mean, it’s part of a green, but I’ve fallen there before.”
Probably when he was four, but she smiled at him, appreciating the kind words.
“Nicole’s working on getting back into it after a long hiatus,” Brianna said, putting a hand on her arm. “She’s killing it.”
Or it was killing her, but she rooted for a smile. “Thanks for the pep talk, you two. This might be my last attempt, though.”
“No!” Bri exclaimed. “We’re going back out there in ten minutes.”
Oh, no, they were not.
“Listen, I gotta go,” Cameron said, glancing outside. “I just popped in for a second and saw you. I like to check on my frequent…fallers.”
Nicole laughed. “Guess I’m in that club.”
He leaned on the back of the chair across from her, holding her gaze with those insanely blue eyes. “I’d be happy to give you a lesson, if you wanted. No charge. And I promise I know every mellow run at DV. Secret ones that no one else can find.”
She ignored the rush of butterflies that fluttered through her. “That’s nice, Cameron, but…I’m sure you have much more important things to do.”
He cocked his head, looking like he didn’t agree with that. “Well, the offer stands. Gotta run.” With a nod, he turned and managed to walk gracefully away in his boots, leaving both of them looking a little…dazed.
“Umm. What just happened?” Brianna stared at her. “Did you actuallyturn downthat gorgeous hunk of ski patrol?”
Nicole took a breath, a little unable to believe it herself. “He was just being nice.”
“Very nice. And very cute, friendly, kind, and obviously available. What is wrong with you, Nicole Kessler?”
Nicole rolled her eyes. “He wants a girl who can ski or—oh, I know.” The realization hit. “He wants access to my dad. He practically asked for an autograph when we ran into him here last week.”
