Snowy Encounters (5 page)

Cole jerked and frowned at her. “What?”

“What’s wrong with you? You can’t serve that
at the party.”

He gave her his condescending look she’d
always hated. “Then what am I going to serve? I thought you
couldn’t help me plan the grand opening party. And I already let
you get away with that hideous plastic Santa and his deformed
reindeers.”

Annoyance gripped her. She
didn’t want to help him, but his sense of party etiquette was
disastrous. Appalling. How could he think to serve such things at
an event?
He has no taste!
Pasting on a smile for the girl, she grabbed
Cole’s elbow. “Thank you very much but we won’t be needing
anything.”

She pulled him out of the deli before he
could say another word.

“I need to order food or I won’t have
anything for the grand opening.”

Maddy stopped and turned around to face him.
Dread formed a lump in her throat. She was going to regret this.
She hadn’t really planned on staying until New Year’s and now it
seems, she had no choice. “I’ll plan your stupid party and order
the food.”

Cole broke out into a grin. “Great. Let’s go
home.”

Her mouth dropped as he strolled to the
truck.

She’d been had.

Chapter Eight

Cole frowned as he watched Maddy laugh with
Ben, one of the ski instructors, who’d volunteered to help his
ex-wife around the lodge. After their little shopping expedition,
she’d turned to stone. He hadn’t expected her to fall for his plan,
but when they were at the store shopping, he knew she was appalled
at his decisions and he couldn’t help teasing her. Maddy hated his
lack of fashion sense and party planning. He didn’t mind having
pigs in a blanket and plastic cups at parties, but he’d picked
those up to irritate her more than anything. After she’d agreed to
help him plan the party, they’d barely spoken a word if it didn’t
concern decorating the lodge. She’d started work the moment they
arrived.

His heart beat a mile a minute when he’d
walked her to the front entrance of Tall Oaks. The moment he’d
opened the door for her, he’d waited for her to praise him.

Instead, he’d only received an indifferent
shrug of her shoulders, and she’d started to assess where the
ornaments and trees would go.

It irked him. All the hard work he’d put into
his businesses, he expected a compliment or some kind of
acknowledgement of his accomplishments. While everyone else in town
noticed, she’d acted like the lodge wasn’t anything special.

Why did he really care? No matter what he
did, she’d never approve. It wasn’t as if she’d change her mind and
want to be with him again once she’d saw how well he was doing. His
mother, on the other hand, would have run back to his father in a
heartbeat.

Now Maddy stood, flirting with Ben. He’d fire
the man’s ass if he wasn’t such a good instructor and one whom the
guests loved. But Cole couldn’t stop the possessive anger running
through him. Everyone had been surprised at her appearance, but
accepted her like she’d never left.

Whirling around from the window to the door,
he passed groups of guests, lounging around the fireplace, trying
to warm up after a day of skiing. He pulled his winter jacket off
the coat rack, and shrugged into it. Jerking the door open, he
trudged outside.

Snow fell like white glitter onto the already
white terrain. He was used to the stormy cold weather in Five Oaks.
As he rounded the corner of the lodge, he strode past a group of
kids, throwing snowballs at each other. Ben spotted him as he
approached, tipped his head and moved away.

Maddy saw him and frowned.

Why did she have to be so beautiful?

He took in her black winter jacket, Eskimo
hood around her head, covering her dark hair, and snow boots. Tiny,
petite and perfect. Once he stood in front of her, he glared. “Stop
distracting my employees.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. Her foot
tapped the snow. “Ben was helping me earlier. His shift ended two
hours ago.”

He knew that, but he wasn’t going to admit
it. A surge of jealously struck his chest. At Stumps, he’d reveled
in the fire flashing in her eyes, but after she’d returned from the
restroom, he found ice in her expression as if she’d blocked out
all emotions. She became all business, the professional event
planner that she was, reminding him of how much more her career
meant to her rather than the life he could have provided. “Well,
how are the decorations coming along?”

“What’s got you in a snit? I haven’t set any
fires,” Maddy muttered. “Follow me.”

Cole grunted and trailed behind her. She
moved with a light bounce in her steps, arms swinging side to side.
Whether she wanted to admit it or not, Maddy was home here. Since
she’d arrived, she’d taken to his staff right away, catching up
with people who’d been at their wedding, even helping a few of the
guests with directions when no one was around to direct them. He’d
been amazed at how much his ex-wife had grown into a business woman
from the young town bumpkin he’d known, when she’d pulled out her
cell phone and ordered up a storm. The New Year’s party was set
with food scheduled to be delivered and she’d even found a place
that rented out glassware since his shipments weren’t coming in
until after New Year’s. Before he had been ready to call it a day
the night before, he’d found her tubing down the bunny hill with a
bunch of little kids, and an ache had formed in his chest. He’d
quickly walked off, needing to get away from her.

They were supposed to have
kids he could teach to ski, while she would kiss every boo-boo away
when they fell. The more he thought about her, the more he couldn’t
help stripping her in his mind, remembering the many times they’d
made love in front of the fireplace in the home they were supposed
to fill up with their own children. His gaze zeroed in on the
perfect fit of her jeans. The denim hugged her like skin. His groin
tightened as he watched the shift of her ass with each move. He
wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms and have her
submit to him, bury himself deep within her. Then she would admit
to how wrong she’d been in giving up on their marriage, in wanting
more than him alone.
Maybe in a dream
world.
She was too stubborn to give
in.

Maddy stopped, and whirled around. “Are you
ready?”

He frowned. “Ready for what?”

She sighed then reached for his hand. “I have
a surprise for you.”

Cole gave her a wary look. The last time
she’d given him a surprise, he’d found himself rolling down a slope
with a broken leg. “Does it involve an ambulance?”

“I’m not going to push you down a cliff or
something.” She paused. “Even though the thought does have merit.
You’ve been cranky since I got here.”

I wonder why…
He squeezed her fingers through her glove. “I have
a business to run. I don’t have time for you to be flirting with
ski instructors.”

She threw his hand off. “I worked. And I was
doing you a favor.” She gestured toward the lodge. “All those
lights and decorations didn’t hang themselves.”

He stared up at the lodge. Strings of lights
lined every pillar, every edge and roof of the building. The
wretched plastic reindeers and Santa with his sleigh sat on the
rooftop. She’d somehow made it look magical. The guests watched
Maddy work and direct the staff, and some had even helped with the
interior decorations. A buzz had swept through the place. Everyone
seemed to have gotten their holiday cheer. Except him.

As much as he didn’t mind
the holidays, having her in close proximity and knowing she was
here because of her mother put a damper on his
hohoho
spirit. His own mother had
left around this time of the year, but he’d gotten used to that
fact. He had his brother and father, but it wasn’t the
same.

“If you’re going to be in a bad mood, then
you better tell me so I can hide.”

He stilled at her teasing. Instead of the
look of indifference he expected, a mischievous smile played her
face. “What’s gotten into you?”

Her eyes widened, blinking against a gust of
cold wind. She dropped her arm to her side, releasing him as if
she’d been caught doing something she wasn’t supposed to. “Oh.”

She walked off.

Cole growled, hit with
sudden guilt. He couldn’t help it. While she was happy, frolicking
around the lodge, he’d been feeling the opposite. He wanted her to
laugh with
him,
her to talk and tease
him
, but most of all, he wanted to
hold her and never let her leave again.

But who was he kidding? She wasn’t going to
stay. Her life was in the city.

He went after her. “Maddy!”

Chapter Nine

Kill joy, that’s what he is.

Maddy lengthened her strides, pushing against
the strong wind. Irritation bit her insides. Obviously, she’d been
having too much fun and that was a crime around here. Damn him. Why
did she care if he was miserable and cranky? Since she’d arrived,
they’d done nothing but annoy the hell out of each other. He’d left
her alone to do her job, but every time she’d run into him, he’d
either been glaring at her or giving her attitude about
something.

And his need to show off his success
exasperated her.

She hated it. It may work with other women,
but not her.

The lodge’s business had picked up ten-fold
since she’d moved out of town, and she was impressed with what he’d
done with the place, but that didn’t mean she had to like it. A
part of her blamed the lodge for their divorce, but the holiday
cheer and spirit made her forget everything, and she’d fallen into
a familiar routine, helping around the lodge. While she received
some disapproving looks from some of the town folk, probably for
her return and being seen with Cole at the diner, the older staff
had sought her out to talk and filled her in on what Cole had been
doing since she’d been gone.

Work. Work. Work.

She wasn’t surprised. They practically
thought of him as a god for breathing life back into the town with
the amount of tourists the lodge brought in, and now that he was
opening up another, they all expected Cole to bring Five Oaks out
of the slumps.

“Maddy!”

She ignored him, shoving her hands in her
pockets. All she wanted to do was show him something, and he’d just
had to go and ruin her mood. As much as she hated the place, she’d
been pleased with the outcome. The guests were excited about the
changes and geared for Christmas, and that excitement had been
contagious. And in comes irate Cole who was such a buzz kill. An
ingrate. She should have stuck with her plan to ignore him. But old
habits die hard. She’d almost forgotten her irritation with him
from Stumps and the waitress.

“Stop.” Cole latched onto her elbow.

Maddy stared. “What?” She couldn’t keep the
anger out of her voice.

“I’m sorry.”

“Yeah.” She started to walk, but he pulled
her back.

“Stand still. Where are you going?”

“Home.”

“You’re dad’s not here to pick you up.”

She frowned. She should have
called her father to come get her when she’d finished up
everything, but she’d chosen to hang around the lodge a little
longer.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
“I can find a ride.”

“I thought you were going to show me
something.”

Maddy jerked her elbow out of his grasp. “Too
late. You can find it yourself.”

Cole growled and ran his
hand through his hair. Snowflakes caught the thick strands, giving
him a white halo. She shivered as her eyes took in the shift of his
jacket. The thing was big and loose enough to cover him and keep
him warm, but watching him strut around the lodge in his white
T-shirt and tight jeans didn’t help the fact she was still
attracted to him. The years apart had done him good. He was more
lean, more built, and definitely hotter.
Damn him.

“All right. If you show me, I’ll let you push
me down a slope.”

She flinched and bit her lip to keep from
laughing at his outrageous suggestion. “Are you crazy?”

His eyes sparkled with mischief and humor.
“Awww, come on, Maddy, you know you want to. I annoy you just as
much as you still annoy me.”

Just like that, her anger dissipated and mood
lightened. She blinked against the snow swirling past them. “Fine.
I get to pick the slope and then if you’re hurt, it’s not my
fault.”

Cole grinned. “You wouldn’t, would you?”

“You’ll find out when I bring you to Death’s
Peak.” She swiveled around and started walking. She kept her smile
to herself. Death’s Peak was the steepest slope around, and he’d
fallen down one too many times when they’d gone skiing together.
Because she’d been clumsy with her skis, it wasn’t her fault that
he was always the injured party.

The ring of Cole’s laughter brought warmth to
her heart. He caught up with her and took her hand in his. She
didn’t pull away as she led him to the back of the courtyard of the
lodge where his surprise sat.

Her legs were getting tired from trudging
through the thickening snow, but she was glad she’d still had
winter clothes at her mother’s. Otherwise, she would have been in
big trouble with her stiletto boots and thin jacket. As they
reached the courtyard, Cole’s steps slowed.

She turned to study his reaction.

“Wow.”

Maddy grinned with pride.

The tall Christmas tree in the center loomed
over them. The angel on top reached for the never-ending sky. Shiny
bright lights, garland and ornaments of every kind lit the yard. It
was the best tree she’d ever worked on. Even though, it had taken
three guys on ladders to hang the decorations to her liking.