“I came away with indigestion and I don’t think it was because of the omelet.”
“She gave you a hard time?” He stood, legs spread, arms folded. She felt his impatience, the restless energy that was so much a part of him. He was the polar opposite of Josh’s quiet, steady calm.
He had none of Josh’s gentle subtlety, but his offer to listen touched her more because she knew he probably wouldn’t have made that offer to anyone but her. Tyler’s response to a stressful situation wasn’t to talk about it. He didn’t analyze or deconstruct, and his idea of therapy was to hurl himself down a vertical slope as fast as humanly possible.
“Nothing to talk about. It was a duty visit, and it’s done. But thank you.”
“Come on, Bren,” he sounded impatient, “tell me what upset you.”
“She thinks I’m wasting my life.” It was quicker to tell a half-truth than to argue or avoid the question. “She wants me to go and get a proper job.”
“Don’t do that. You belong here.” He brushed his fingers over her cheek. “You’re an honorary O’Neil.”
Her breath lodged in her throat.
Brenna O’Neil.
How many times had she scribbled those words in the back of her schoolbook?
“The truth is I spend more time with your family than I do with my own.”
“That tends to happen when your own gives you indigestion. Cheer up. You’re going to be too busy to go home for the next few weeks anyway. I’m coaching Jess again later, and then if there’s time we
’re going to get a Christmas tree. Want to join us?” He dismissed the problem, moved on and Brenna was relieved.
“Maybe, if Jess doesn’t mind. I need to get my gear and then I’m teaching all day. You?”
“Jackson has asked me to join him for lunch with some visiting businessmen. I’m not looking forward to the conversation. It will be stocks, shares, bonds—” He looked so horrified, she couldn’t help laughing.
“They live boring lives stuck behind a desk. They all envy and admire you. They want to rub shoulders with a gold-medal-winning downhill skier and try to absorb some of that adrenaline and thrill-seeking secondhand. Be yourself.”
She wondered if that was bad advice. Telling Tyler O’Neil to be himself was asking for trouble, and his next words confirmed she wasn’t alone in thinking that.
“That’s interesting, because Jackson told me to try hard not to be myself for an hour.” His eyes were ocean-blue so that even in the depths of an icy winter, it made her think of summer. Looking at him sent warmth rushing across her skin and seeping into her bones. It weakened her limbs and melted her tension.
“I disagree. I think they’re interested in the real you.”
“Apparently, the real me is a loose cannon.” His mouth tilted at the corners. “I’m wild and dangerous.”
And she wanted wild and dangerous so badly she could almost taste it.
“Jackson is still mad at you for telling that group last week that they should probably pick a different activity.”
“They were dangerous.”
“You made them feel inadequate. They wanted to give up and go home!”
“They were inadequate. In my opinion, they should have given up and gone home! I don’t understand how I’m to blame for that. They lied about their experience, which, I could point out, is dangerous not only for them but also for me. Apart from almost boring me to death, I nearly froze to death waiting for them to catch up.”
No matter how down she was, he always made her laugh. “We’ll make people do a test run before skiing with you. I’ll see you later.”
“Hey, Bren—” he caught her arm, his voice ultracasual “—I saw you talking to Josh. What did he want?”
How was she supposed to answer that? “He wanted to take me to dinner.”
“Why?” A muscle flickered in his jaw. “Why would he take you to dinner?”
The fact that he would even ask that question hurt her already hurting heart.