Page 73 of Chasing Kaylee Kringle

Rick pushed off the bed and reached behind her, plucking his coat from the pile. “See you out there.”

Kaylee sat on the bed, squeezing her legs together, but it only made the thrumming arousal worse. She got off the bed and, after digging with shaking hands for several moments, finally found her coat. She exited the room and saw that everyone was up and getting ready to leave.

Kaylee made a beeline for Marianne and said, “Marianne, I just wanted to apologize—”

Marianne cut her off. “I don’t know what is going on with you and that beautiful man, but if I were you, I would fix things because he is a keeper. He’s trying so hard for you, and you can’t even appreciate it. Take it from a woman who has been married for over twenty years. You want a man who tries because when things get rough, if it’s easy, he’ll just walk away.”

“Thank you,” Kaylee said between gritted teeth.

Josie grabbed her coat from the side room and met her outside.

“Are you okay? You look flushed.”

“I’m fine,” she mumbled as they started walking home.

After several moments of silence, Josie blurted, “It’s not a bad idea.”

“What’s not a bad idea?”

“Fixing things with Rick.”

Kaylee grimaced. “It’s not really a good idea, either. He humiliated me in front of most of the prominent women in town, but I’ll live.”

“I think Rick was just matching your energy. You called him a lousy lay in front of a roomful of women.”

“Why are you always taking his side?” Kaylee snapped.

“Sorry, counselor issue. I like to look at situations from every angle.”

“Well, can you stop it and just be my friend?”

“Yep, I’m back.” Josie’s gaze flicked ahead, and she whispered, “Uh-oh. He’s standing in front of your house.”

Kaylee spotted him, her heart drumming harder the closer she got to him, but she would not give in to her hormones.

“You have done enough damage today, and I’m done talking to you.”

“I’m not here to talk to you,” he said mildly. “I’m going to ask Josie something.”

Josie’s eyes widened. “What can I do for you?”

“I wanted to know if you would like to take the gondola at the ski resort up the side of the mountain and have lunch at the top?”

Kaylee’s eyes narrowed. Seeing the view from the top was on her bucket list.

“Actually, Josie and I have plans,” Kaylee said.

“We do,” Josie said, “but I’m going to say yes, because I’ve always wanted to eat at that restaurant. Are you buying?”

Rick grinned. “Yes, I am.”

Kaylee almost called her a traitor, but then she actually became one by turning to Kaylee and adding, “In fact, weren’t you just saying the other day that you wanted to go, too?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kaylee said.

“Sure you do. You said that we should go up to the top and mark it off your list.”

“Okay, Judas, thank you very much.”