A Wife For Christmas by Pamela Bauer

Author:Pamela Bauer [Pamela Bauer, Judy Kaye]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781459270381
Publisher: Harlequin

Charli’s courage deserted her as Max pulled her toward the ski rental building. “I think I left thé water running in the bathtub.”

“Let it run over.”

“And I didn’t turn off the teakettle. I’m sure it’s boiling by now….”

“I checked the stove. It was off.”

“I’m expecting a phone call….”

“Give it up, Charli. You’re going to ski, like it or not.” He gently nudged her toward the waiting line. “You’ve already made up every lame excuse and I don’t accept any of them. Relax. It’s going to be fun.”

“How can I relax? I feel like such an amateur!” She gazed forlornly around the large room filled with rental skis, poles and boots. The equipment was so foreign to her it might as well have been from an alien planet. Whatever had made her think she was going to enjoy this? Even being this close to Max—with his arm around her to keep her from running back to the condo— wasn’t worth the knot of nervousness in her stomach. She could break something doing this! Something she might need—like a leg.

“I’m sure the fellow in front of you hasn’t had any more experience than you, Charli,” Max assured her, amusement heavy in his voice.

Charli eyed the party in question. He was three years old, if that. The child had curly blond hair, a wide smile and a sparkle of excitement in his eyes as his father lifted him to the tabletop where the skis were fitted so he could see his very own miniature skis come off one of the racks.

“That child should be home with a babysitter,” Charli groused. “What kind of parents would try to teach a three-year-old to ski?”

“Lots of them, by the look of it.”

Charli glanced around. Max was right. There were several youngsters being fitted for equipment.

“In fact, one of my nephew’s Christmas gifts is ski boots, and he’s only two.”

“Some uncle you are. He could get hurt!”

A man thrust a pair of skis and poles into Charli’s hands and Max led her toward the door.

Max tipped his head toward the beginner’s slope. Several young parents were skiing down the hill with tiny children on skis braced between their legs. “Now’s the time to learn, when he’s not afraid of falling. Kids roll like little balls of butter. It’s adults that stiffen up and break their bones.” He knelt down to clip Charli’s boots into her skis. Having him kneeling like that at her feet gave Charli a funny, tingling feeling in her belly. She resisted the urge to reach out and touch his hair.

“I can’t do this, Max. I need all my parts intact. I can’t be a good wife to you if I’m on crutches.”

“Then I’ll wait on you. Isn’t that what good husbands do?”

The thought sent a skitter of electricity through Charli. She clenched her teeth and sucked in her tummy. All right, Max Taylor, if you’re going to force me to do this, then let’s get started!

Her resolve lasted all of sixty seconds. The minute she moved forward on the skis, it felt as though the earth was sliding from beneath her feet.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.