“Nah! Enjoy your time as newlyweds!”
I hang up with Ethan, discouraged, but also determined to come up with something else that might get me out of skiing today.
“Before you say anything,” I interrupt Jett as he opens his mouth. “I’d also like to point out that I don’t have any equipment.”
But it seems like he has an answer for all my protests as he gestures over to the living room.
There’s a pile of ski gear on the couch. From here, I can see skis and poles, boots, what looks like a parka, a helmet and goggles… It all has the Nuclear logo on it.
“Gotcha covered,” he answers with his smug grin. “I had Dan bring some equipment by this morning.”
Ugh. There’s no way out.
“Why are you making me do this?” I whine.
Jett rounds the kitchen island and comes to stand in front of me where I’m sitting on the barstool. He’s close enough now that he’s standing between my knees, and his legs brushing against the inside of my thighs sends a surge of warmth through my core.
“If you really don’t want to do this, Poppy, we don’t have to.” He leans one hand on the counter next to us, caging me in. “But I think we’ll have fun together.”
His voice is dripping with innuendo, and I squirm in my seat. The tension between us is still there from last night, sparking and crackling like a live wire.
“I just… I don’t know if I can,” I say, my gaze dropping to my lap.
Jett hooks his index finger and uses it to lift my chin, so I’m peering into the chocolate pools of his eyes.
“Youcan.I promise you, you can. I just need you to trust me.” His voice is gentle, but firm. “If anything happens, I’ll carry you all the way down the mountain if I have to. The second you start to struggle, I’ll be there. Just like at bowling, just like at the wedding. We’re a team now.”
I squint back at him skeptically, but the sincerity in his eyes makes me feel like I would follow him anywhere. He could take me a hundred miles outside of my comfort zone and somehow make me feel safe.
“I have no idea where to even start…”
“I know.” Jett’s mouth slides into his signature flirtatious smile. “There’s all kinds of things I can teach you.”
I can’t help the flush that heats my cheeks at the suggestive lilt in his voice, the sparkle in his eye as he emphasized the wordthings. I suddenly want him to define his meaning of the word in very specific terms.
But before I can ask him to clarify, he’s backed away from me and is going to get himself a plate of pancakes. When he comes back, he takes the stool next to mine.
“Promise you won’t send me hurtling down a mountain at breakneck speed.” I take a bite of my own pancakes.
“That’s kind of the point. I’m going to teach you how tonotfly down the mountain at breakneck speed,” he chuckles, like it’s going to be easy.
We chew in a companionable silence for a moment.
“No crazy hard runs,” I add.
“Sure, only black diamonds then,” Jett says, and although I’m not looking at him, I can tell by his voice that he has a cheeky smirk on his face.
“I obviously know those are the hard ones,” I chide, breaking off a piece of my pancake and throwing it at him. It hits his shoulder and lands on the floor.
Cordelia is there to quickly snap it up.
“See? You already know more than you think you do.” He winks, leaning over to nudge my arm, and electricity zips through me at the contact.
The crackle of the live wire.
CHAPTER 24
POPPY
