Oh god.
Emme looked up at the silhouetted figure, a halo from the low sun forming behind him. She nodded gently and stifled her sobs.
‘You don’t know how to ski?’ Tristan asked.
Emme shook her head, knowing how ridiculous and downright dangerous she had been. ‘I’m a little rusty,’ she said quietly.
It was embarrassment after embarrassment with this guy.
‘Hey, don’t worry!’ Tristan said, with a wave of his gloved hand. ‘I’ll get you down…’ He held one of his ski poles out for Emme to cling onto and pulled her to her feet. One booted, one with a long Salomon ski attached. ‘Wait a sec– stand into the mountain so you don’t slide down on your bottom or on one ski.’
Ski into the mountain.
Tristan put a solid hand on each of Emme’s shoulders to position her, showing her what Tom meant with just one electric touch, as she stood perpendicular to the slope.
‘Stay there,’ he said, then glided over to her wayward ski, picked it up and put it over his shoulder, before gliding back to Emme like the Milk Tray man.
Emme frowned. She really didn’t need to be rescued. Except she did.
‘Look, I seem to be everyone’s Plan B today, but I’ll get you down the mountain whether you want me to or not. But you need to listen to me, yah? It’s quite dangerous.’ He gave her a piercing, almost disapproving stare. Emme had no choice but to nod.
Tristan positioned her ski in place next to her boot and put her hand on his shoulder.
‘Lean on me,’ he said. ‘And press hard.’
She stamped onto the ski with vigour and it clicked into place.
‘First things first, do you know how to brake?’
Emme winced.
‘I think so… do I cross my skis at the front?’
‘Jesus, lady!’
‘Lady?’ she scowled. He’d forgotten her name already.
‘Jesus,Emmeline. If you cross your skis at the front you’ll get tangled and fall over. Which is dangerous. So cut the attitude and listen, we need to get back to town.’
Emme nodded.
‘Stand sideways, if you stand facing down, whoosh, you’ll slide down, out of control. So first things first, always stand perpendicular to the mountain. And cut your skis into the snow to make a little shelf.’
‘Got it,’ she said, rooted to the spot.
‘Now I’m going to show you how to brake without falling over, and hopefully how to move without falling over, right?’
Emme nodded.
‘Put your goggles back on,’ he said, placing them on for her, softening with a patience that made him seem even sexier.
She almost couldn’t look at him for fear of flushing red, grateful for the shield to her eyes.
‘Imagine your feet are French fries right now, two long thin chips I think you call them.’
Emme nodded.
‘That’s how you go. When you’re facing down the mountain, parallel legs will give you speed.’
