“Nick.” GJ shook her head. “I can’t do that to you. You need your rest for the big game. Where would you go?”
“I’m sure there’s another hotel in town, or an Airbnb I could check into…until I find a more permanent spot, that is.”
The last part of his sentence seemed like an afterthought, almost as though he wasn’t planning on staying in Chance Rapids. I shook the thought from my head. Yes, the last guylied and left, but Nick was moving here to play hockey, not fabricate a story and leave me brokenhearted. Perhaps I was more traumatized than I thought, layering that experience on top of an innocent hesitation in Nick’s story.
GJ gave him a weak smile. “I might have found a place for you to move into, but it’s not available for a couple of days. I’ve called all of the other hotels and vacation rentals to see if they can take in this poor family that’s probably on their way here as we speak—with no place to stay.” Her voice quivered. Grandma Janie was a stoic woman, seeing tears on her face broke my heart.
“Nick can stay with me.”
“What?” Both GJ and Nick turned to face me.
“There’s a sofa bed in my room. If you’ve got a rental lined up for him, it will only be for a couple of days. As long as you don’t snore.” I shook my finger at him, trying to lighten the situation. The words had toppled out of my mouth before my brain could process them. Had I really just invited the hot new player to sleep on my pull-out sofa?
“Only if I’ve been drinking.” Nick shrugged and shot me a sheepish look.
“Well, you won’t be doing that before the big game.” GJ hugged me. “Thanks, Evie. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
I hugged GJ. That’s why I’m here. To help you.
GJ tugged a tissue from the crochet-covered tissue box. “I’ll get Edward to help you move your things.” She squeezed Nick’s forearm.
“It’s all right. I haven’t even really unpacked.”
“Okay.” She released his arm. “I got Edward to uncover the hot tub. I’m sure that both of you could use a soak after a long day on the slopes.”
GJ didn’t look at me and pretended to be engrossed in her room chart. She was in the process of erasing Nick’s name from the suite and had scrawled the nameSmithin its place.She picked up the walkie-talkie and ordered Edward to come to clean Nick’s suite.
“What about the cleaners?” I asked. We had a cleaning crew that came in for the end-of-stay clean. I was the towel replenisher and random daily task maid.
GJ paused, her thumb on the talk button. “They can’t come until the morning.”
“I can clean the room.” Nick took the radio from her hand and placed it in the charger.
“Absolutely not.” GJ crossed her arms. “You’re our guest, a VIP one at that.”
I grabbed the keys to the housekeeper’s closet from the hook behind GJ. A full clean was far too much for Edward to handle. “We can do this.” I slipped the keys to Nick. “Don’t worry about a thing, we’ve got it.”
GJ softened and swiped at her face with the back of her hand. “Thank you, Evie. This place couldn’t run without you.”
The place just needed a full staff and some renovations. “You’ve made it without me for the past three decades.” I hugged her. “We will get the room all ready for the Smith family.”
The cleaning waslight and it only took us about an hour to get the suite in tip-top shape. Nick had barely unpacked and informed me that he hadn’t even used the shower.
“That’s what I smelled the other day.” I raised my eyebrows.
“I shower at the rink.” He shot me an amused look. “Although after a day of picking you up off the mountain I could probably use one.”
“That was only one time.” I dropped the bottle of bathroom cleaner into the top of the housekeeper’s trolley. I’dfallen with my ski tips crossed and for the life of me I couldn’t stand up. Nick had slipped his hands under my arms and hoisted me to my feet like I was a five-year-old kid.
After a quick scan of the room, we were able to check off all the items on GJ’s list. Even though we had hustled and worked hard, I still had a chill. Goose bumps prickled my arms. I needed to get out of the damp base layer I’d worn on the mountain. I grabbed the purple snowsuit that I’d stepped out of during the cleaning session. Nick had peeled out of his outer layer and hung it over the door. “Come on, roomie. Let’s get you settled.”
Nick’s lips drew into a line. He picked up his huge duffel bag and followed me down the floral-wallpapered hallway to the narrow stairwell that led to the second floor. My heart fluttered in my chest and I wondered if Nick was thinking the same thoughts as me.
How was I going to get through the next few days with Nick so close?
I sure hoped that he continued showering at the arena. It had been a long time since I’d seen a man with abs, let alone been close enough to touch them. There was electricity between us, I was sure of that. His eyes lingered a little too long on mine, his touches lasted a second or two longer than they should.
Had we just lit the fuse on a stick of dynamite? Was it only a matter of time before we gave in to the lust that hung heavily in the air between us? We couldn’t give in. That’s the thing about dynamite—it blows up.
