Читать книгу Snow Crystal Trilogy: Sleigh Bells in the Snow / Suddenly Last Summer / Maybe This Christmas - Sarah Morgan - Страница 12

HE SAW HER before She saw him, striding purposefully through the airport, her shiny blond hair drawn into a ponytail that swung across her neck and drew glances from the men around her. She wore a long cashmere coat in a pale shade of caramel that brushed the tops of soft leather boots the color of dark chocolate. Over her shoulder was her laptop bag, and behind her she dragged a medium-sized suitcase.

Walking through the crush of tourists in their colorful ski jackets, she stood out like a gazelle in a shopping mall.

Eyeing the cashmere coat, Jackson hoped she’d packed something suitable in that suitcase.

Kayla Green might be an expert in integrated marketing, but she clearly knew sweet nothing about dressing for Vermont in December.

“Kayla!”

Seeing him, she lifted her hand in acknowledgment.

And then she smiled and the smile was sweet and genuine, as if she was really excited to be here.

It kicked at his ribs and lower. Heat shot through him. Every thought in his brain went up in smoke. Gripped by raw lust, he strode to meet her, reminding himself he had enough complications in his life without adding another one. “You were lucky. The flight after yours is grounded in Newark.” Surprised his voice sounded even vaguely normal, he reached for her case but she gripped it tightly.

“I can manage, thanks.”

“Right.” Jackson decided the case would give her something to hang on to once those soft leather boots hit the snow outside and sent her spinning to the ground. “Then let’s get going.”

“I appreciate you meeting me.” She was brisk and businesslike and he wondered how long she’d keep that up once she met his family. They had a way of sucking the professional from a person.

“You’re welcome. As a matter of interest, did you pack any winter gear in those bags?”

She glanced down at herself. “Exhibit A. Warm coat. Boots. Scarf. What am I missing?”

He thought about pointing out she might be missing fingers and toes if she didn’t find herself a few more layers, but decided she had brain enough to work it out for herself soon enough. She was dressed for Manhattan not Mount Mansfield.

“You look great.” Truthfully she looked better than great. “You might need to add some thicker layers. The snow is pretty deep at the moment. We had a big storm a few days ago and another is forecast.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. What a nuisance.”

Her comment confirmed everything he already suspected about her relationship with snow. “We’re a winter sports resort, Kayla. Snow is good. In fact it’s essential.”

“Of course it is.” Her gaze didn’t shift from his. “I knew that. I just meant, what a nuisance I didn’t bring my other boots.”

“You own a pair that doesn’t have a four-inch heel?” He tried not to look at her legs and then decided what the hell. He hadn’t seen anything that good in Vermont in a long time, and he was going to make the most of it.

“Actually, no. But it will be fine. I’m developing a public relations strategy for you, not skiing downhill.”

He refrained from pointing out she was going to be skiing downhill the moment those heels touched the ice. “We’ll find you something when we get to Snow Crystal.”

He unlocked the car and stowed her bags.

Kayla sprang into the passenger seat and her coat parted, giving Jackson another glimpse of those incredible legs.

Lust slammed into him, and he was just recovering his balance when she turned and hit him with her smile.

Christ.

Felled by that smile, Jackson wondered how the hell he was supposed to focus on the words that came out of that mouth when all he wanted to do was kiss it.

He slid into the driver’s seat and tried to erase those lips and legs from his brain. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this attracted to a woman. Lately he’d been working too hard to notice the sex of the person he was talking to.

But not this time.

Deciding that employing Kayla Green might just have made his situation more complicated, not less, he picked a neutral topic. “Have you seen much of the U.S. since you’ve been here?”

“I travel quite a bit meeting journalists and clients, but I mostly see the inside of an airplane and a hotel. You know how it is.” She settled in her seat and her perfume wafted over him, swamping his senses.

Jackson kept his hands firmly on the wheel. It was that or grab her and haul her onto his lap. He was shocked by how badly he wanted to mess up that hair and ravage that soft mouth. Eighteen months at Snow Crystal and he’d obviously lost his grip on professional. “So you’ve never been to Vermont?”

“Never. But I’ve read extensively since our last meeting. You were born here?”

So she had the facts about the place, but not the feel. “Yes, but my mother is British. She came over to work in the hotel for a winter season and met my father. Married him and stayed.”

“The last eighteen months must have been hard for all of you.”

“She’s struggling.” He decided an understanding of his family was essential to understanding the unique needs of the business. “My grandparents live at Snow Crystal. My mother has been focusing all her energies on caring for them and making sure they’re coping.”

“And how are you coping?”

No one had asked him that question before. He hadn’t even asked it of himself. Hadn’t dared.

“I’m coping fine.” He ignored the tension in his shoulders. “But it’s been hard on my family.”

“Is your mother involved in the business?”

“She helps out where she’s needed.” And that was part of the problem, of course. The lack of structure.

“What else do I need to know about your family? You mentioned a brother?”

“There are three of us. It’s a wonder my mother is even remotely sane, given what we put her through growing up.”

“Three brothers.” Something in the way she said it made him turn his head toward her, and he immediately wished he hadn’t because there was her mouth again.

“You don’t have siblings?”

“Only child. You’re the eldest?”

“Yes.” The responsibility landed like a heavy weight on his shoulders. “Then Sean, then Tyler, who lives with his twelve-year-old daughter.”

“He’s the downhill skier—retired from racing after an accident. He’s married?”

“Single parent. Jess’s mother decided Tyler wasn’t marriage material and married someone else instead.” He was surprised by how much trauma could be condensed into one short sentence.

Kayla murmured words of sympathy, and Jackson thought back to that time, thought about the boy his brother had been and the man he was now.

He wasn’t about to talk about the custody battle. Nor about the fact that Janet had never wanted Jess, just Tyler’s money and a slice of the fame. “Burned him badly. He hasn’t had a serious relationship since.”

“Not surprising. But Jess lives with him now?”

“She’s been back with us for a month.” It had been a surprising turn of events, and he felt a rush of concern for his niece. “It’s complicated.”

“Relationships are always complicated.”

“Are yours?”

“I keep mine simple.”

“What’s your secret?”

“Not to have any.” Her tone was light and then she moved off the subject, talking about work again, grilling him on tourist numbers, hotels in the local area and transport links.

She’d whipped a tablet computer out of her bag and made endless notes as they talked.

The landscape was dotted with red barns and white-steepled country churches and the late-afternoon sun sent a wash of light over breathtakingly beautiful forests turned white by snow. The view caught him in the gut. He’d traveled the world, but in his opinion there was nowhere more beautiful. Expecting some comment from her, he glanced sideways and saw that her head was bent, her attention focused on the screen on her lap.

“You’re missing the sunset.”

“Mmm?” She glanced up and her expression changed. “Oh! That’s stunning.”

And Jackson realized her lack of response had nothing to do with indifference. She simply hadn’t noticed. But she was noticing now, her eyes fixed on the snowcapped mountains that rose in the distance. “I can see why people choose to visit. It’s beautiful. And relaxing.”

For a person who knew how to relax, he thought, and that person was definitely not Kayla Green.

There was an almost-feverish energy about her, and already her head was back down, her fingers flying over the keyboard as she made more notes for herself.

She fascinated him.

“Where do you normally take your vacations?”

“I haven’t taken a vacation in three years. I’m not good at vacations. But I’m good at knowing what other people enjoy—” she gave him a quick smile “—so don’t start panicking about my ability to do the work.”

He wondered what she’d say if she knew he hadn’t thought about work since she’d climbed into his car.

They drove through villages, over covered bridges, past pretty clapboard homesteads and local stores. Doors were decorated with fresh evergreen wreaths and windows strung with sparkling lights and Christmas decorations.

Kayla alternated between looking at the screen and the gentle rise of the mountains, their snowy tops turning pink under the setting sun.

“That’s part of the ski area?”

“Yes. See the mountains to the far right?” He gestured. “You’re looking toward Stowe, home of the Front Four, some of the steepest and most difficult runs in the Northeast. And we have our share of steep in the mountains above Snow Crystal. The names are designed to make you think twice before getting off the lift—Devil’s Gully and Scream being two of them.”

“Scream? I think I could do that bit.” She turned her head as they passed a sign by the side of the road. “Moose Crossing? How do the moose know they’re supposed to cross there?”

Jackson laughed. “It’s a warning to drivers that this is an area where moose are often spotted. You have to be particularly careful when driving at night. Moose have long legs. If you hit one, the likely scenario is that the moose comes through your windshield, and if that happens you might not live to tell the tale.”

“That’s one fact I don’t recommend using in any marketing campaign.”

“You might be surprised. Tourists love spotting moose.”

“Really? I’ve only ever seen one in a picture. I think I might want to keep it that way.”

As they drew closer to Snow Crystal, Jackson lifted his hand in greeting to the people they passed, and she raised her eyebrows.

“You know everyone?”

“Small community. Everyone knows everyone. I’m talking about the locals, obviously. The population swells by a few thousand tourists all year round.” He turned the wheel and eased carefully into the long road that twisted and turned through the forest toward the lake. “Where did you grow up? I’m guessing not in the country.”

“London.” It was a typically brief answer and Jackson wondered whether it was because she didn’t want to talk about herself or because she was careful to always focus on the client.

They passed the sign for snow Crystal and she tilted her head. “Someone built a snowman.”

“Favorite activity for kids around here.”

She studied the carefully sculpted snow and the twig arms and mouth. “Was it yours?”

“Mine was stuffing snow down my brothers’ necks and then running like hell before they could retaliate. We were more into destroying than creating.”

“I suppose that’s what happens when you have three boys. Tell me about your other brother.”

“Sean? He’s an orthopedic surgeon. I take credit for that choice… .” He slowed as the surface became more uneven. “I broke my arm snowboarding when I was seven. Ran into a tree. Instead of running for help he stood there staring at the bone sticking out.”

“Oh, please—”

“I was yelling at him to get help, and all Sean could do was wonder how it was going to go back under the skin. He insisted on coming with me to the hospital so he could find out. He went to Harvard and then spent time at the Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore indulging his fascination for difficult fractures, before switching to sports medicine. At the moment he’s working in Boston and when he isn’t wearing scrubs he dresses in smart suits, drinks fine wine and dates beautiful women.”

He’d done the same, he remembered. There was a time not so long ago when he’d worn smart suits, enjoyed fine wines in good restaurants and dated beautiful women.

Now he rarely wore a suit, and apart from a couple of friendly evenings out with Brenna, who had grown up on the farm nearby and followed them around when they were kids, he hadn’t dated anyone. For the past eighteen months his life had been about saving the business.

“So he’s not back in the family fold?”

“No, but he’ll be home for Christmas.” Following an impulse, Jackson pulled over and parked. “This is one of my favorite views of Snow Crystal. From here you can see the lake, the mountain and the forest. If you come here early in the morning and late at night in the summer you can sometimes see black bear and moose.”

“Thanks for the warning.”

He smiled. “It wasn’t a warning. The wildlife is important to the tourists. Have you ever seen a bear?”

“Never. And truthfully, I hope not to. I don’t think it would be my thing, although I do meet quite a few sharks in my job.” Her eyes gleamed. “Any other wildlife I should know about apart from bear and moose? Er—anything small and friendly and less likely to kill you? A cute rabbit perhaps?”

“The animals leave you alone if you leave them alone.”

“I’ll be leaving them alone. No doubt about that. So what else interests the tourists here?”

“The view.” He considered himself good at reading people but he was finding it hard to read her.

“I’ve already written that down. The view. See?” She turned the screen toward him. “It’s on the list, above ‘moose.’”

“Instead of writing it down, why don’t you try looking at it?”

“At a moose?”

“At the view. Get out of the car.”

“Get out—you mean actually go outside and stand in the snow?” She said it slowly, as if he’d asked her to strip naked and run in circles. “You’re the client, so if you think it’s necessary then of course I’ll—” Taking a deep breath she opened the car door and then gasped and slammed it shut again. “Crap, it’s freezing out there.”

The brief loss of control convinced him he preferred Kayla with her guard down. “If you wear the right gear, you won’t feel the cold.”

“I’m definitely wearing the wrong gear. I felt it right down to my bones.” She shivered. “All right, I can do this. It’s the whole Snow Crystal experience, frostbite and all.” Opening the door gingerly she slid out of the car, one limb at a time, as if bracing herself to enter a cold swimming pool.

Jackson strolled around to her, his feet crunching on new snow. “Close your eyes.”

He could see her weighing up the risk of trusting him against the potential downside of arguing with a client.

She closed her eyes. “If the next thing I feel is a bear’s jaws closing on my arm, I resign the account. I really don’t want the whole Snow Crystal experience to include being a bear’s breakfast.”

He closed his hands over her arms. “No bears. Turn around.” Her hair brushed against his chin and the scent of it mingled with pine and freezing air. He decided that Kayla Green smelled as good as she looked. “Now open your eyes. Look through the trees.”

“What am I looking at?”

“The lake.”

She focused, her breath forming clouds in the air. “I—Oh. People are skating.”

“In Vermont the weather is the ultimate wild card, but the one thing we always have in winter is ice.

“You can skate on the lake?” Her tone was wistful. “That’s magical.”

“You want to try it?”

“It’s not that magical. I think I’m probably more of an indoor skater. But I can see others might find it charming,” she added hastily. “I’ll add it to the list underneath ‘view’ and ‘moose.’”

“Skating is fun.” He tried to imagine the businesslike, composed Kayla Green falling on her butt and then decided not to waste time imagining something that was going to be reality soon enough. There was no way she’d keep her footing in those elegant and totally impractical chocolate leather boots.

Back in the car, he turned the heating up and steered the vehicle back onto the road. “If you look through the trees to the right you can see one of our log cabins.”

She turned her head, the movement sending that blond ponytail swinging. “Is that mine?”

“No. You asked for secluded.” Had he misjudged? Why would a single girl on her own over Christmas want to be in a secluded cabin? “You can change your mind and be closer to the main lodge if you prefer.”

“A secluded cabin is my dream.”

It seemed like an odd dream for a bright, twenty-something woman.

Then he thought about the life she led, the busy nonstop adrenaline rush that was her working day. Maybe she needed a rest. There were plenty of days when a secluded cabin sounded good to him, too.

“Your cabin is right on the boundary of our land and it backs onto a deer wintering area so you’ll probably spot white-tailed deer. You might see snowshoe hare, fox, coyote, bobcats and the odd porcupine.” He slowed as he negotiated the narrowing track. “I’ll give you time to unpack and settle in before you meet the rest of the team.”

Team? He almost laughed. They weren’t a team, they were a circus.

“Do you live with your family?”

“No. I love them, but there are limits. I converted the barn.” So that he could have his own personal brick wall to bang his head against when they drove him crazy.

He drove straight along the forest road that followed the edge of the lake and pulled up outside the little rustic gate that marked the track leading to the cabin.

“We have to walk from here.”

IT WAS PERFECT.

Kayla stepped onto the path and stood for a moment, breathing in the smell of the forest and the crisp winter air. Trees soared upward, branches drooping under the heavy burden of snow. The light was fading and the last rays of the sun glinted off the frozen surface of the lake, giving it a mystical, ethereal quality. Everything was still, the silence broken only by the occasional soft thud as snow tumbled from overloaded branches.

It felt a million miles from Manhattan. A million miles from her life.

A million miles from the all-consuming madness of Christmas.

She smiled.

She could have been the only person on the planet.

And then she heard the car door slam and remembered she wasn’t the only person.

He was here.

The chemistry was a tight knot in her stomach and the frantic race of her heart.

She’d spent the journey with her head down, trying not to think about the man in the driver’s seat next to her, trying not to think about his hands, strong and sure on the wheel or his thighs, hard and muscular, dangerously close to hers. But Jackson O’Neil wasn’t easy to ignore. And he’d kept glancing at her, as if trying to work out who she really was behind the person she projected.

He made her edgy.

Striving for normality, she reached for her phone, but he shook his head as he put her bag down next to her.

“The signal is patchy here. It’s better in the cabin. I’ll leave you for a couple of hours to catch up on whatever you need to do, then I’ll pick you up and take you to the main house. I’ll do my best to keep the experience as painless as possible.”

It seemed an odd thing to say. Or maybe he thought she was nervous with no team to back her up. “It’s a meeting. I’ve taken plenty of meetings in my time.”

“This one might be a little different.”

“Different keeps things interesting. I’m looking forward to meeting your family and getting straight down to business.” She emphasized the word business as much for her benefit as his.

She didn’t want this to be about anything other than work.

As far as she was concerned, the chemistry was as unwelcome as Santa.

Telling herself that all she had to do was ignore it, Kayla turned to pick up her bag only to find he was already holding it.

“This path can be icy. You might want to hold my hand.”

What?

Certain that holding his hand would be a fast route to the dark side, she curled her fingers into her palm. “I’ll be fine.”

“We sweep the snow but there are always a few icy patches.”

She’d rather hit an icy patch than lay a hand on any of his muscles. That was a line she definitely didn’t want to cross. “I have natural balance.” Trying to look professional, Kayla adjusted her scarf. “I do yoga and Pilates.”

“Natural balance.” He watched her with a lazy, hooded gaze. “That’s good to hear.” Turning away, he unlatched the gate, carrying her bag as if it weighed nothing. “The place should be warm. There should be plenty of logs for the fire but if you need more, let me know.”

Kayla stared at those wide, powerful shoulders now encased in a warm, winter jacket.

It was obvious he’d chopped a lot of logs in his time.

Dressed in a suit, he’d unsettled her, but with a great deal of mental effort she’d managed to box him together with all the other men in suits she met on a daily basis.

Now he’d punched his way out of that box.

Given that he had his back to her she allowed herself one indulgent, entirely feminine glance of appreciation.

Stacy was right. He was insanely hot.

And because life had a way of doling out what you didn’t want at the most inconvenient moment, he turned and caught her looking. “Something wrong?”

“Just enjoying the view.” Hoping he didn’t guess exactly which view she’d been enjoying, she kept her head down and walked quickly past him. Too quickly. Her feet made brief contact with ice. There was a horrible stomach-swooping moment where she fought gravity, arms flailing like the rotor blades on a helicopter, but it was a useless battle and she landed flat on her back in the deep snow at the side of the path.

Cold oozed through the soft wool of her coat, which she hadn’t bothered fastening, and snow enveloped her. It tumbled on her face, on her chest and trickled down her boots. Snow crystals froze to the back of her neck and dampened her hair until she was chilled right through to her skull. Somehow, in the general indignity of the fall, her smart pencil skirt had managed to ride up high on her thighs, and she could feel ice numb her legs.

Kayla lay there, pinned to the ground by shock and snowflakes while Jackson strolled across to her, maddeningly secure on the slippery path.

She gritted her teeth. “If you so much as mutter ‘I told you so,’ I’m resigning the account.”

“You should have held my hand.”

“It would have felt weird holding hands with a client.”

“More weird than lying flat on your back in front of a client with one leg in Vermont and the other in New Hampshire?” He was laughing now, and the sensual curve of his mouth made her insides curl.

“I always like to conduct at least one client meeting on my back. I find it breaks the ice, although in this case it may have been my head that’s broken the ice.”

“I warned you.” His gaze moved from her face to her legs and the look in her eyes made her feel as if someone had touched her with the flame of a blowtorch.

“I preferred snow when it was my desktop image. Wearing it doesn’t feel so good.” She was trying desperately not to laugh. Her dignity was already buried under snow; she didn’t want to make it worse by having a fit of the giggles but she couldn’t help it. A gurgle of laughter escaped. So much for good impressions. “Am I fired?”

“If I hadn’t already given you the business, I’d give it to you now.” He towered over her, six foot two of solid male muscle and raw power.

“Because you’ve seen my legs?”

“Because you laughed.” His voice was dark velvet and any desire to laugh vanished.

“I’m allowed to laugh, but if you laugh I’m on the next flight back to New York and you will never find out what I would have done with this place.”

“Noted.” He held out his hand. “Do you want help getting up or are you planning on lying there for a while?”

She wasn’t sure she trusted herself to touch him. She was used to feeling sure of herself. In control. Right now, she was neither of those things. “You wanted me to enjoy the whole Snow Crystal experience so I don’t want to rush this. And then there’s the fact that I don’t think I can get up.”

Dark brows met in a frown. “You’re hurt?”

“My pride is mortally wounded and I have frostbite in unmentionable places, but really it’s nothing to worry about. I’m looking on the bright side—at least I didn’t fall into a bear’s nest.”

“Bears live in a den, Kayla, not a nest. And they’re mostly asleep right now, although I suspect if you fell into their den they’d wake up soon enough.”

Teeth chattering, she tried to reach his hand, but the snow was so deep she floundered.

Swearing under his breath, Jackson bent toward her. “Stop writhing or bears are going to be the least of your problems.” There was an edge to his voice and the look in his eyes should have melted the snow around them. For a moment they stared at each other, and then he slid his hands under her arms and lifted her to her feet in an easy movement that confirmed her suspicion that the guy probably lifted tree trunks above his head for entertainment. She felt the strength in his grip as he steadied her on the icy surface. She stood toe to toe with him, her eyes level with the dark stubble that shadowed his jaw and pushed him over onto the wrong side of dangerous. If she leaned forward her lips would be against that jaw, and from there it was only a short distance to his mouth.

And she was willing to bet Jackson O’Neil knew exactly what to do with that mouth.

Unsettled by how much she wanted to test that theory, she gripped his arm and her fingers encountered tough, unyielding muscle.

She glanced up, and her gaze clashed with the brilliant blue of his.

They were surrounded by forest and space and yet they were standing close to each other, so close, and she could feel the power of his thighs pressing through the softness of her coat. Her stomach swooped and fell. She felt as if she’d slipped on the ice again, only this time she was engulfed by heat, not cold.

“Er—” Shaken by the flash of chemistry, Kayla extracted herself from the safety of his grip and willed her boots not to slip. She felt unbalanced, not just on the outside but on the inside. “I’m fine.”

“You really want to do this again without help? As far as I can see there’s no part of you that isn’t soaked.”

“I can do this. I’m a determined person.”

“You’re also a wet, freezing person, and your boots aren’t designed for this.”

If only it were just her boots. “I can manage.”

“Right. That’s why your ponytail looks like an ice sculpture.” His tone was patient and he held out his hand. “Apart from my brother, you’re the only person standing in my corner on this project, so it’s in my interests to keep you alive. Hold on to me, or you’ll be lying on your back making another snow angel.”

“Snow angel?” Ignoring his hand, she scraped at her frozen ponytail, sending more snow sliding down her neck. She dreaded to think what she looked like but groomed wasn’t going to feature anywhere in the description. “What’s a snow angel?”

“It’s when you lie on your back and move your arms and legs until you leave the shape of an angel in the snow.” He looked curious. “Didn’t you ever make a snow angel when you were a child?”

In normal circumstances her smile might have slipped. Fortunately for her it was frozen into place by the cold. “We didn’t have much snow when I was a child. I grew up in England. Snow makes the national news.”

“What about snowmen? You ever build one of those?”

“I prefer my men warm-blooded.”

“Is that right?” The way he was looking at her made her suspect he could see straight into her head and read her mind.

Her teeth started to chatter, although whether it was from memories or her close encounter with a snowdrift she didn’t know. “I think I need to get out of my clothes.”

It was the wrong thing to say.

That disturbing blue gaze held hers for a moment and then dropped to her mouth and lingered there.

Chill turned to heat. “I meant my coat. I need to get out of my coat. There’s an avalanche happening somewhere between my neck and my boots. I might need the mountain rescue team. Do you have one of those round here?”

“We do. My brother’s a volunteer. Might get around to it myself if this place ever gives me some spare time.” Jackson lifted his hand to her hair and brushed away another lump of snow. “Your hair is curling.”

“Just one piece of good news after another.” Kayla shivered. “Can we go indoors so that I can take a shower and have another stab at being businesslike?”

“While you’re staying here stick to marked trails, and don’t step into thick snow unless you know what’s under it. This is a forest. There are ditches, streams, ponds, deep water—”

“I won’t be stepping into thick snow.”

But she already felt as if she were in deep water.

She wasn’t used to feeling this way.

Didn’t want to feel this way.

“I need to buy different footgear—you’re right about that.” She tried to ignore the dangerous simmer of heat low in her belly. She especially tried to ignore that part of her brain that told her coming here had been a very, very bad idea.

“Stand there while I fetch your bag.” He was back in a few strides, her bag in one hand, the other outstretched toward her.

This time she took it.

She rarely held hands with a man. When she dated, which wasn’t often, she followed a predictable routine. Dinner then home. Sometimes it was theater, dinner, then home. Occasionally it was sex. But she always woke in her own bed. Alone.

She knew she wasn’t good at intimacy, and holding hands was intimate.

Fortunately, the walk was short.

At the end of the path the forest opened into a clearing and there, nestled like something from a fairy tale, was the log cabin. A tasteful blend of wood and glass, it merged with the forest as if it had grown there.

“Oh.” Enchanted, Kayla stopped. She forgot about being wet and feeling cold. She forgot that she was holding his hand. “It’s like something from Hansel and Gretel.”

“We can provide gingerbread, but finding a cannibalistic witch might be harder.”

“It’s idyllic.”

“Glad you think so. Let’s get you inside before frostbite sets in.” He kept hold of her hand until they reached the front door. Then he released his grip on her and delved into his pocket for a set of keys. “Stand there and don’t move.”

Ignoring that instruction, Kayla stooped and unzipped her boots. “I don’t want to bring all that snow indoors.”

“There’s more on you than on your shoes.” He pushed open the door and handed her the keys.

Kayla stepped over the threshold and removed her coat, depositing half a ton of snow by the door. “I’m making a mess.”

“The place is designed for people who enjoy the outdoors.”

“What about people who are wearing the outdoors?” Kayla decided not to mention that she had snow in her bra. “Please tell me this place has a shower and unlimited hot water.”

“All that and more. I’ll show you around.”

“Thanks.” She would have preferred him to leave and give her nerves time to recover. “Where can I buy boots?”

“Brenna might have something that will fit you. If not, we have a small store in the resort that stocks a limited range.”

“Who is Brenna?”

“She runs our ski program. She’s lived around here all her life. She’ll be a good person for you to talk to if you want to get a feel for the place.”

“Right.” Unsettled by those blue eyes, Kayla took a few steps into the room and looked around her properly for the first time. “I love this.”

The main living area was double height with a cathedral ceiling and glass windows soaring up to the rafters. In the corner of the room a pretty iron staircase spiraled up to a sleeping “shelf” where a large bed was positioned to take maximum advantage of the views of the forest and lake.

“The master bedroom is downstairs, but you can lie up on the shelf and watch the lake and the wildlife. It can be used as a second bedroom, but we stipulate no kids under twelve because the only access is the spiral staircase. It’s a perfect place to sleep.”

Or a perfect place for insomniacs. At least here, when she was lying awake, she’d have a view.

Kayla wanted to climb up that staircase, lie down and not get up until January. All she’d see from that bed were glistening snowy treetops. No overdecorated shop windows, no festively fuelled Christmas shoppers and, most of all, no happy families.

“I don’t understand why this place is vacant over the holidays. You should have been able to book it ten times over.”

“I’m hoping once you’ve worked your magic we’ll be doing that.”

Kayla paced the length of the living room. “The way you’ve built it—the way it’s designed—” she tilted back her head and looked through glass into the twilight and the forest “—it’s as if the outside is inside. It’s like being part of the forest and the mountains. You can virtually feel the snow, without any of the cold.”

“That was the idea.”

“It’s magical.” Forgetting she was wet and shivering, Kayla walked across the wooden floor, taking in all the tiny details from the basket of roughly chopped logs next to the flickering fire, to the twist of delicate lights that hung from rafters to floor turning the space into the equivalent of a fairy grotto.

Soft, deep-cushioned sofas in a deep shade of green faced each other across a rug. Tall bookshelves made from reclaimed wood lined one wall of the cabin.

It was a mixture of sumptuous luxury and cozy homeliness.

“Couples,” Kayla muttered under her breath, pacing toward what she assumed was the master bedroom while Jackson stood in the center of the room, thumbs tucked into his jeans as he watched her. “It’s romantic. This place has to be all about couples.”

And that suspicion was confirmed when she opened the door to the bedroom and saw the large log bed dressed in colors of the forest. Deep greens blended with cream and hints of silver that shone like light reflecting off crystal. Glass doors opened onto the wide deck, and she smiled as she saw the hot tub.

“Definitely couples.”

“That’s how I planned it, but we don’t seem to be attracting that segment of the market.”

“Then it’s because they don’t know about it. But they will.”

He leaned against the door frame. “You’re confident.”

“I know my job.” Kayla strolled to the glass doors and looked out onto the deck. “If you were staying here you could lie in the hot tub, stare into the snowy forest and watch the wildlife on the lake.” She could imagine that all too easily, imagine it with him, and imagining it brought the color rushing into her cheeks. “How private is it? Do people walk past here?”

“No. Hence the gate at the end of the path. I wanted each property to be secluded.”

“So you could lie naked in the hot tub.” She murmured the words to herself, thinking aloud and then realized what she’d said and felt the sudden shift in the atmosphere.

“Yes.” He spoke slowly and there was a rough note to his voice that made her stomach flip and heat rush across her skin. “You could.”

“Give me some time to think about it. I’ll come back to you with some ideas as soon as I have something worth sharing.” She could feel him watching her and knew that if she turned her head, the look they’d share would be more than a casual glance.

She kept her gaze fixed on the forest, feeling as if her body were on fire.

“I’ll pick you up from here at six.” His voice was husky. “That should give you time to unpack and settle in before you meet the rest of the family.”

“I can walk. It will give me a feel for the place.” And time to refocus. And maybe roll naked in the snow to cool herself down. “I’ll put my boots to dry. They’ll be fine.”

“Those are the same boots you were wearing when you slipped and almost knocked yourself unconscious?” They strolled back into the living area and Jackson reached for his jacket. “About tonight’s meeting—” He shrugged on the jacket and zipped it. “It’s not going to be easy.”

“I do this for a living. It won’t be a problem.”

It was Jackson who worried her, not the prospect of meeting his family and talking business.

Why would it? She’d handled skeptical CEOs who thought PR was a waste of money. She could handle his grandfather with her eyes shut.

And once she’d done that, she’d be spending a whole week in a luxury log cabin with work, a stack of books and DVDs.

What more could a Santa-hating workaholic ask for?