From the Top by Dani Collins

Author:Dani Collins
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance, Fiction
ISBN: 9781948342292
Publisher: The Tule Publishing Group, LLC
Published: 2018-01-31T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

“I can’t ask Rolf.” Ilke kept her voice low as they came down the stairs into the lobby. Did he think she hadn’t thought of that a million times already?

She felt self-conscious beside Nate, not so much because people might infer they were together, but because she was so aware of him. He smelled good in the freshly showered way, with a hint of men’s shampoo and shaving cream fragrance still clinging to his skin. His beard was neatly trimmed and he wore a snug dark-blue shirt that molded to his shoulders and arms over black jeans that looked seldom worn, almost as if he’d made extra effort. Had he dressed up for her? Why did she find that so flattering?

Physically, she was feeling better about herself after some cardio and a bath, then clean clothes and a touch of makeup just to prove to herself she could still do it. Her emotions remained a hot mess, though. Their kiss was confusing her.

Nate wasn’t the type to take advantage of a woman when she was down. She knew that in her gut. He wasn’t trying to grope her now or stake any claims. He wasn’t trying to further things at all, which told her their kiss had just been something that had happened. It wasn’t the beginning—or continuation—of anything.

Not that she wanted it to be.

Did she?

“But that’s what you want to do, isn’t it?” he asked. “Get back to training and…”

She glanced up and saw he was giving her one thousand percent of his attention, dark brown eyes so warm and confident, she wanted to fall into them. But she read conflict there, too. He was guarded. It wasn’t an idle question. He wouldn’t see a future with her if she planned to chase gold again.

Her heart bumped and skipped off its path.

They entered the dining room, punched their cards, and began serving themselves from the buffet. Tonight’s fare was roasted chicken with rice and vegetables with the usual selection of salads. She’d been genuinely hungry for the first time in ages a moment ago, stomach growling at the aroma, but now she was so conflicted she barely looked at what she put on her plate.

She led Nate to the first empty table she saw and they sat down across from one another.

“Skiing is all I’ve ever wanted to do,” she said, not quite apologizing for it, aware it bordered on an obsession, but pleading for understanding. “I mean, I’ve done other jobs, but they were always whatever I had to do to pay for what I wanted to do.”

“How did you get into it? How did you get as far as you did?”

She sawed a morsel of chicken off the bone.

“I told you my mom wasn’t really into mothering, right? Well, before he died, my father had started me in ski lessons. Mom realized that continuing them was a way to keep me busy and allowed her to hang around chalets. It’s not a cheap sport, so she found a lot of men with deep pockets there.

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