Pulse: Sport Romance (The Boys of Winter Book 6) (13 page)

“Or because what I needed was to feel the ocean on my skin after being away for so long.”

“That too.” Drew turns to gaze at me. “Maybe that need is Nick.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that I see you twist the ring he gave you and stare off into space dreaming of the love you had. You’re not getting over him.” Drew lifts my chin to gaze into my eyes. “Nick is the one. I think you need to jump in the frigid water to get what you want.”

Sadness washes over me, because it’s too late. “I’m sure he’s moved on.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure. What do your Breck friends say?”

My texts to them have been minimal, because I was so busy when I first started at Bellae, and now that I have the time, I’m embarrassed to say I’ve done nothing to fix it. “They haven’t said anything. I don’t think they would unless I asked.”

“Then your first step is to ask.” Drew nudges me again. “Right?”

I push back. “Right.”

But the reality is I probably won’t. I haven’t got the first clue as to how Nick and I could work. I sigh. “Let’s get drunk, tell old stories, and laugh tonight. I’m tired of trying to figure out my life.”

“We can do that. But only if you promise you’ll ask about Nick. Because I think you’re trying to dismiss me.”

“Okay, fine.” I reach in my pocket for my phone and pull up Casey while Drew stands.

He says, “I’ll go get our wine. I have another bottle in the fridge, so we can definitely get drunk.”

I text her.
Hey, pathetic friend here, begging for a Nick update.

I shake my head and text again.
A little drunk and hopelessly heartbroken. I thought you might be able to help me move on.

If there’s a friend in my life who understands my situation, it’s Casey. She moved to Breck to find what she was looking for, and it ended up being the guy she left behind.

When Drew comes back, my phone buzzes, and it’s Casey. He leans over and reads the text with me.

No can do. He’s heartbroken too.

“Well, there you go,” says Drew. “We’ll just have to figure out a way for this to work.”

“You do that, and I might make you CEO.”

Drew’s glass clinks with mine, and he says, “Into the water we go.”

I gaze down at the ocean, and a tiny shiver runs through me in memory of that icy plunge I took last spring. The sensation of swimming was definitely worth it. I’m not sure how I can make things work, but if I end up back with Nick, I’m willing to pay the price.

M
y overnight sailing
trip with Drew was more than a confirmation of my love for Nick. It was as if I had been lost and suddenly found a map. The tapping of my pen on my desk matches my heart as it beats quickly with excitement while I wait for Alex. I think I have the answer to how I’m going to make things work with Nick.

I almost pounce on Alex when she enters. “What took you so long?” As I stand, her eyes widen, and I say, “I have a plan, but I need you to poke the holes in it.”

“I’m your girl.”

“Good, and then you have to help me fill them, because this has to work.”

She draws out her answer. “O-kay.”

I begin to pace in my bare feet, and the carpet muffles my anxious steps. “I’m sorry. Let me bring you up to speed. I’m miserable without Nick and need to find a way to make the Colorado-New York thing work.”

Alex makes her signature move and plops down on the couch to kick off her ridiculous shoes. They thud near me, and she says, “You are miserable.”

I squint at her. “Thanks.”

She grins back. “Go on. What’s this great plan?”

“Telecommuting.”

“You and Nick plan on a virtual relationship?” She snorts at her joke.

“Alex.”

“Sorry. I know you want this to work, and I want it for you. I’ll be serious. So you would move to Colorado and work from there?”

“Yes. But only for the ski season. I can do most of what I do now at a home office and leave the traveling and public engagements to you and Drew for those five months. If necessary, I can always fly back for a couple days.”

“I’d be in charge of all things public?”

“Yes. You love the dressing up and social events so much more than I do anyway.”

Alex reaches out with her arms to rest them on the back of the couch and thrusts her chest out. “I do wear couture better than you, don’t I?” She sobers and asks, “That doesn’t sound like something I need to poke holes in. Well, except for the part where you get Nick to come here for the summers.”

“I don’t think he hates it here. Maybe he needs a boat.”

“Poke. Nick doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy who wants to be kept. Isn’t that part of why he left?”

“Yes. But the biggest part was that I was never around.” She has a point. There isn’t much for Nick to do here unless he wants to work at the bike shop. Somehow that sounds okay in Colorado when it’s how you survive until the next ski season, but I wonder how rewarding it would be here. I say, “Okay, so I haven’t sorted that part out yet.” I tap my lip as I think. “But I’ll come up with something.”

“Assuming you can, I’m not finding any more problems.”

“That’s because I’m not done.” I sit down across from her and perch on the edge of my sofa. “I want to bring Drew into the business as a one-third owner.”

Now Alex sits up. “Whoa, okay. That is big stuff.” She stands to take my place pacing. When she gets to the other side of the room, she turns to face me. “So you and I would sell equal parts of our portions, and each of us would have a third of the company, effectively making him an equal in the decisions we make.”

“Yes. We had a long talk this weekend, and he told me he might not stick around if he could go somewhere else as a CEO instead.”

“Oh, that makes sense.” She frowns in concentration for a moment and then says, “I like it. Making him an equal owner would keep Drew around. And”—a grin forms on her face—“I have something to tell you.”

I get up to be closer to her. “Spill it.”

“Evan and I are talking about getting married.”

I squeal. “Oh my God!” I rush over to take her hands. “Why didn’t I know you were so serious?”

Alex says softly, “Because I wasn’t sure how you’d feel, knowing you still ache for Nick.”

I sigh. “You’re sweet, but I’m capable of being thrilled for you. Which I am.”

“Oh, good. So let me finish. I’ve been thinking, and I’m not sure I want to live and breathe Bellae anymore. I want to be a mom and do what real moms do.” She walks over to the fridge, and light flashes when she opens the door to pull out two seltzers.

“You mean not what our mom did?” I follow her and reach out my hand for a bottle. It’s cold on my palm and spits when I twist off the top.

“Yeah. She tried really hard, and we had a pretty good childhood, but I want more for my kids.”

I nod, because I get it. We’re in a position that we don’t have to kill ourselves for Bellae. “Sounds like we might need to hire more assistants so we can back off a bit.”

She swallows soda and says, “Yes. Lighten our loads so we can enjoy family as well as work.”

Family.
I’d settle for my boyfriend back. “I’m not sure I’ll have children any time soon. But it would be nice to have free time to ski.”

The intercom buzzes, and Krissy says, “Drew’s here for you.” While he usually walks in after a brief knock when Alex is here, I asked Krissy to hold him so I could talk privately with my sister.

I say to Alex, “I think we should wait on saying anything to him.”

She nods, and I push the button. “Send him in.”

Drew saunters through the door as if he’s a rooster in a chicken coop. “Project love connection is here.”

Alex rolls her eyes at him as I ask, “What have you got?”

“It’s so simple, I can’t believe it didn’t come to me Friday night.” He pauses to smile at both of us for drama. Alex huffs at him. He says, “Two headquarters.”

I frown at him because that sounds like a big waste of money just so I can live out west. “Explain.”

“Split the company into two arms. Have the Natural Girl line in Colorado”—he holds his palm out toward me—“where the natural girl lives, and Bellae Originals stay in New York with Alex.”

While I don’t necessarily like his idea, it does give me one. “Wait a minute. I’ve got something I think is better.” But I need to consult with Frank, our lawyer, before I throw it out. “I need a little time to figure out if it can work.” I smile and take a sip of seltzer so I don’t squeal at the possibilities. “I promise, if it does, you two will be the first to know.”

When they leave, I call Frank and pose my idea. I’m not allowed to step down as CEO for five years, but if I divide the company into two arms, I can have two presidents, Alex and Drew. Alex can have as many vice presidents as she needs to maintain the hours she’d like to keep, and Drew can take on as much as he wants with his portion of the business. Since my job is supposed to be strategy and dealing with the board of directors, with video conferencing I should be able to live and work in Colorado.

Frank believes it’s doable and will handle the legal research for me. Once I get the go-ahead from him, Alex, Drew, and I can figure out the rest.

I lift my hand and twist it to make my ring sparkle in the daylight from my office window. This time when I think about Nick, my sadness is replaced with hope.

T
he holiday comes
and goes with little fanfare. Alex did her in-love thing with Evan, and my mother took off for an Alaskan cruise after a lobster dinner and presents with Alex and me on Christmas Eve. My relationship with my mother keeps getting better as time passes. While I’m not sure either of us minds the trips she takes, I do enjoy catching up when she’s around.

Instead of staying home alone, I decide on a quick trip to Breckenridge to reconnect with Nick. Flying commercial isn’t nearly as carefree as charter jets, and I struggle to find my happy place as I plug into my phone for music. Thank God for first-class window seats. I stare out at the tarmac and watch the luggage approach the plane. Wet snow is falling quickly to coat them in a thin veil of white. I long to taste the flakes on my tongue.

A man arrives and startles me when his briefcase lands in the seat next to me. His musk floats toward me as he launches his carry-on into the bin overhead, and the noise rises above the melody playing in my headset. I shrink back from the angry traveler who probably raced to catch his plane.

Unfortunately, he doesn’t take the hint, because once he’s settled, he motions for me to take out my ear buds. I paste on my patient smile and remove one. He asks, “Are you Megan Donovan?”

I sigh because he probably saw me in the tabloids, and I don’t want to chat. The It Girl did a follow-up on me, but this time it was in praise of what I’m doing for young women and their self-esteem by touting a natural look. “Yes.”

“I want to thank you. I have a teenaged daughter, and she loves your makeup. I love that she’s stopped painting her face like a clown.”

“Oh.” My shoulders relax. “You’re welcome. What’s your daughter’s name?”

“Emily.” He lifts up his hip to pull a wallet out of his back pocket. “Let me show you her picture.”

He shares a photo of a young brunette. “She’s lovely. If you give me her name and address, I can arrange for her to be on the new product package list. We send out a box a couple times a year.”

“She’d love that.”

I pull up my email and enter her information in as he speaks so I can send it to the employee in charge. The man is pleasant enough, but I want time with my thoughts. When I’m done, I say, “I’ve had a really long week and am going to try to sleep on this flight.”

“Oh of course, thank you. My daughter will be thrilled about this.”

I smile at him as I put my ear buds back in and lean back to close my eyes. It does feel good to think I have a positive impact on young women. Pride surges through me as I reflect on what I’ve managed to accomplish in the seven months I’ve had at Bellae. I’ve reinvented more than myself, and the company has surged ahead in its share of the marketplace. My mother’s words come back to me. She was right, I did find my calling.

But even though I’ve discovered my career passion, I’m not complete. The love of my life is in Breckenridge, and I want him back. This vacation is as important to me as any business trip I’ve taken. I plan to get what I’m after, but the stakes are high, and a loss will be more devastating than I care to imagine.

I didn’t let any of my friends know I was coming. It’s a busy holiday week at the resort, and I didn’t want them to sacrifice prime moneymaking time for me. I’ll fit myself into their schedules. My stomach flutters as I think about the private lesson I booked with Nick. I had Krissy do it and use her name. I’m not sure if it was because I want to surprise him or to make sure he wouldn’t turn it down. I decide to think positive thoughts and doze off with fantasies of our reunion in my head.

Sleeping most of the flight leaves me refreshed, and the moment I step out of the airport, I take a deep breath of cold Colorado air. It chills my throat and invigorates me as I follow my driver to where the limos and town cars wait. After he loads the SUV with my things, he gets in and asks, “Have you ever skied Breckenridge?”

I’m a vacationer.
“Yes. It’s my favorite mountain.”

“Me too.” We get into a conversation about our favorite trails, and he makes suggestions for where I should eat and shops I should visit. I listen as if I don’t know and thank him for his advice. Our chatter fades, and I begin to gaze out the window when the Rockies become close enough that they dwarf the car.

An awesome sight, the mountain range never ceases to amaze me. The white peaks jut into the sky as if they could puncture clouds. They’re set against a sky so blue it could only be Colorado, and I long to be skiing down their sloped sides. The memory of being on the snow and racing down a trail tugs at me, and my heart races in anticipation. It’s not just the skiing that has me anxious though. It’s the unknown of Nick’s reaction tomorrow when he discovers I’m his private lesson.

My nerves stay with me as I check into a posh hotel and settle into my room. I’d call a friend, but I’d rather not alert Nick that I’m here, so I order room service and get a few work items accomplished to enjoy the next few days of my vacation.

After a good night’s rest and a hearty breakfast, I’m getting dressed for my day. The tight, stretchy fabric of my long underwear hugs my legs as I pull them up. My phone buzzes with a text, and I walk over to it to find it’s from Krissy, alerting me that I need to call the private-lesson desk.

My stomach sinks, and I hope they didn’t double-book Nick by accident and ruin my plan as I tap out the number.

After a cheerful voice answers, I say, “Hi, I’m calling about my ten o’clock with Nick Merrill this morning. I hear there’s a problem.”

“Hang on.” Keys click in the background, and the woman says, “Krissy, right?”

“Yes.”

“Nick is no longer with us, but I have you scheduled with our top female instructor.”
Wait, what?
“Casey Cassidy.”

Hearing my friend’s name makes me smile, and I say, “That’s fine. I’m looking forward to it.” But the moment I end my call, I want to vomit.
Where is Nick?
This can’t be happening.

I rack my brain, trying to determine where he might go. He would have to stay with a mountain to be on dev team. Would he move to another resort because the memories here are too painful? What if he fell in love with another dev team member and left to be with her? Or a student? I shake off the horrible thoughts and continue getting ready. I have a lesson in less than an hour with Casey, and she’ll know what’s going on.

T
he familiar noises
of the ski area are music to my ears. The whine of the chairlift engine is constant as conversations hum, skis over people’s shoulders clatter, and snow is pushed around by skiers and boarders whizzing by me as I make my way to the Private sign. As I approach, Casey gazes at me, and I watch her face frown for a split second as it morphs into recognition. She screams, “Megan!”

We hug each other tight before she pulls away to ask, “What are you doing here?” Her expression appears to be concern, and I wonder why she isn’t thrilled to see me.

I say, “I’m your private lesson.”

Her mouth forms a perfect O, and she blinks. “You booked a private with Nick?”

I nod. “Where is he?”

“Oh my God. Oh. My. God.”

My throat tightens with the fear she’s about to squash my hope for reconciliation. “What?”

“Oh boy. Come with me. I’ve got so much to tell you.”

“Casey.” I grab her arm after she drops her skis to put them on. “Where is Nick?”

Her boot clicks into a binding. “Put your skis on. We might as well use your two hours to do more than talk.”