“Hi, bro.”
The two men hugged and Ayla thought Jace Jardine was incredible, first being so cute with the little girl and now with his brother.
The man looked at Ayla and said, “Hi, pretty lady.”
“Hi.” She lifted a hand to wave at him.
The man extended his gloved hand and she placed hers in it. “I Bentley. Are you Jace’s girlfriend?”
“I’m Ayla. Sadly I’m not.” Though she wouldn’t mind campaigning for the job. That was crazy to even think. She looked at Jace and his brown eyes captivated her. She was only here Friday through Monday. Definitely not enough time to become Jace’s girlfriend or really even get to know him as well as she’d like. Ayla always kept her chin up and a smile on her face. It was one of the reasons Bryan’s business was so successful as his clients loved working with her. But she’d never felt so genuinely excited and happy as she had the past few minutes in Jace Jardine’s presence. It was a tragedy that there was no chance they could develop anything. But probably safer for her heart. A man this handsome, protective, and fun to tease with was probably a heartbreaker with a string of girlfriends. She hadn’t gotten that vibe from him though.
“Sad for him,” Bentley crowed. “Snack time,” he told them. “Mama said they have snickerdoodles for me today. Bye.” He clicked off in his boots and through the door.
Jace turned to her. “My little brother.”
“I thought so. He’s great.”
“Thanks. He’s a lot of fun. He spends the winter skiing and the summer bellyaching that he can’t ski.”
“Lucky for him it snows nine months of the year here then.”
He laughed. “We wish. Usually only October to April and we have to wait until enough snow accumulates to ski. We had a much-too-warm September this year so we didn’t open until after Thanksgiving. Luckily I know a guy,” he winked, “so my brothers, our friends, and I got on the slopes a couple weeks before that. With old skis that we didn’t care about hitting rocks or protruding tree branches with.”
He lifted her suitcase down the stairs and directed her to the right.
“None of what you are saying computes,” she told him. “We rarely get snow in California and I wouldn’t know an old ski from a new one, and by too-warm do you mean it broke fifty?”
“Exactly.” He grinned. “Anything over forty is too hot. What part of California?”
“Barstow. The really ugly part. That hits over a hundred and ten in the summer.”
He gave a fake shudder.
It made her laugh.
“What do you think of our valley?” He clicked a button in his pocket and a black Escalade beeped back at him.
“I think it’s the most gorgeous place on earth,” she told him.
“You don’t mind the cold?” The back of the Cadillac lifted up and he easily hefted her suitcase and bag in and then pushed a button to close it.
“I actually don’t. I’ve spent enough time sweating.” Most of the people she knew complained when it got too hot, but nobody wanted to freeze and she liked that she could run year-round in Barstow. That was about the only thing, besides her family and friends, that she liked about her barren home.
She wouldn’t mind the cold to enjoy beauty she thought only existed in movies. Especially if Jace was around to keep her warm. She should be hearing warning sirens, but her head was full of Jace’s smile, soulful brown eyes, and the way it had felt to be in his arms. Aye-aye-aye he was irresistible.
He opened the passenger door and held it for her. Ayla climbed in. He didn’t close it immediately but leaned down and said, “Good. Maybe we can convince you to stay here then.” With a charming smile, he eased back and closed her door.
Her heart thumped out of control from his smile, the look in his eyes, and his words. But … stay here? There was no world where Ayla could stay with the handsome ski resort owner in this beautiful spot. Nothing had ever sounded so tempting.
He opened the driver’s door and slid in. Starting the car, he backed out and drove slowly through the parking lot. There were people carrying skis to their cars. She could see the glorious runs stretching above them to the south and east. She wanted to reference his getting her to stay here comment but thought better of it. It would never happen, so why talk about it.
“You really think I can ski down that slope?” she asked. The towering mountain was so steep she didn’t think she’d dare slide on her rear end down it.
“There are a lot more gentle runs than what you can see from here, but with me as your instructor you’ll be racing down black diamonds by the end of a few lessons. Bentley has more time on the slopes, because some of us have to work on occasion,” he winked at her, “But I’m definitely the best skier I know and an even better instructor.”
They’d driven out of the parking lot, around a bend, and three cabins were nestled in the trees. It was less than half a mile but they had privacy and an ideal spot here. The cabin in the middle was larger with a huge wraparound porch. On each side were smaller but obviously newer cabins with charming porches of their own.
“Humble, aren’t we?” she teased.