The One: The Complete One Series Collection (11 page)

To living with no regrets.

CHAPTER ONE

“Business or pleasure?”

The question caught me by surprise. “I’m sorry?”

The old woman standing next to me at baggage claim repeated her question. “Are you here on business, or for fun?”

“Oh. For fun, I hope.” My actual purpose for visiting Utah didn’t really fit either category.

“Visiting someone?” When she smiled at me, she reminded me of my grandmother and I was glad I hadn’t gone with the truth. She probably would have either been very confused or had a stroke if I had said,
Actually, I’m hoping for pleasure. Lots and lots of pleasure.

“I’m here to see my boyfriend.” That, too, was not the truth. But it was the safest descriptor I could think of for William.

I spotted my suitcase and prepared to snatch it from the conveyor belt. Due to my extreme dislike of snow and cold weather, I had packed almost my entire wardrobe. My suitcase was heavy and it took a fierce tug to pull it down.

“How nice. A romantic weekend in the mountains?” My new best friend winked an eye at me. She eyed my suitcase. “You sure packed a lot of clothes for a romantic weekend.”

My mouth dropped open. “I’m sorry?”

“No need to be shy. I was young once, too.” Apparently, I was talking to Blanche from the
Golden Girls
. “My Harold and I used to have some
fun
weekends ourselves.”

“That’s nice.” My voice came out in a squeak. “Is Harold you husband?”

“We were together fifty years before he died.” She nodded at me wisely. “Do you know what my biggest regret is?”

“No clue.” I hoped it wasn’t going to be a revelation that would make my ears bleed.

“That we didn’t enjoy each other enough. We did in the beginning, but then we had four kids and everything changed. Our lives became so serious.” I reached down to help her with her much lighter bag. “This boyfriend of yours that you are here to see?”

“Yeah?”

“Enjoy him. Have fun. Life is so short.” When she looked at me, her eyes glistened with unshed tears. “Trust me. I’ve lost my great love, but it’s not too late for you.”

Blanche had given me a lot to think about. I was glad that my trip up the mountain in the ski resort shuttle took almost an hour. I needed to get my thoughts together before I saw William. Was he my great love? I had no idea. But I did know I wasn’t ready to let him go yet.

“Where are you staying?” the shuttle driver, Roy, asked as we closed in on our destination.

“Um, Mountain Home 10?” I double checked the instructions Trevor had sent to my phone.

“Wow. You must be somebody important if you are staying in 10.” Roy let out a low whistle. “Do you know Mr. Connor?”

“You could say that.” I wondered if I really did know William. So much about him was still a mystery to me.

Our van climbed higher into the mountains. When we pulled off the main road, Roy stopped in front of an iron gate and reached through the window to punch in a code. The gate slid open and we continued forward. After about 100 yards, I could finally see William’s mountain home.

It was buried in the trees, but I could just make out all three stories. It had a winding deck on all three levels, and a slanted roof that was pure glass. Roy pulled the shuttle to a stop. “This is it.”

“Indeed.” I took a deep breath before opening the car door. Despite the hour-long car ride and three-hour plane trip, I still hadn’t figured out what I was going to say.

“Do you want some help with your bag?” Roy already had my bag out of the trunk. He gestured to the steep stairs leading up to the house.

“No thanks. I’ve got it from here.”

I took my time dragging my luggage up the stairs, partly because my bag was heavy and the climb was steep, but also because I was stalling. Even with my slow progress, I was still standing at the front door in less than two minutes.

Very slowly, I raised my hand to knock, but the door flew open before I could make contact.

“I thought that was you.”

William’s sister, Toni, stared at me with wide eyes. I returned her dubious stare, realizing for the very first time that I might actually be interrupting something important. When William had said he was going on a ski trip, I had just assumed he was going by himself, or with friends. It never occurred to me that it might be a family trip.

“Hey, Toni.” I smiled meekly.

She tilted her head to the left and looked me up and down. “William never mentioned that you were joining us.”

“It’s kind of a surprise,” I said.

She nodded, but still looked suspicious. “Okay. Come in.”

I carried my bag inside and dropped it to the floor with a loud
thunk. The entryway to William’s mountain home was larger than my entire apartment.

“William isn’t here,” Toni said. “He’s been out skiing all day.”

“Oh. That’s okay.” I glanced around, looking for some inspiration as to what my next move should be.

“His room is on the third floor. Did you want some help with your bag?” Toni was a tiny girl and probably weighed less than my suitcase, but I appreciated the offer.

“Thanks, but I can handle it.” It took some time to carry it up two flights of stairs, but it was worth the effort. William’s room was amazing. The room was sparsely decorated, dominated mostly by the king-sized bed in the middle of the room. A sleek fireplace along one wall promised cozy, romantic nights. But the real gem was the slanted glass skylight that revealed an amazing view down the mountain. It felt like I could see the entire state of Utah from his room.

One of William’s shirts was folded on the bed and I picked it up, holding it to my face so that I could breathe in William’s scent. The bed looked so soft and welcoming that I felt
like jumping into the middle of it for a long nap. But I knew that even if it was the most comfortable bed in the world, I wouldn’t be able to get any sleep with all the thoughts twirling in my brain.

“You can tell me in a minute, Toni. I’ll be right back. I just want to change out of these clothes.” William’s voice rang out from downstairs. I could hear his footsteps pounding on the stairs.

“But William-” Toni tried ineffectively to get William’s attention, most likely to warn him about my surprise appearance. He was a man on a mission though, and he ignored her plea.

His footsteps slowed as he neared the third floor landing. I stood frozen at the foot of the bed as I waited for him to round the corner. He did so in a hurry, his head down. As if he sensed my presence, his head whipped up and he stopped in mid-stride.

“Olivia.” My name passed smoothly over his lips.

“Hey.” All that time thinking about what I would say when I saw him and the best I could come up with was
hey
.

“Why are you here?” It wasn’t the response I had been hoping for, but I wasn’t entirely surprised.

William’s eyes were cold and distant. His dark hair was damp and curling at the ends. I was overcome by the desire to run my fingers through it. With the way William was glaring at me, I didn’t dare.

“We need to talk about what happened.” I understood why William was mad. He had seen me at a bar with my friend, Thomas, and had mistakenly thought it was my jerk ex-
boyfriend, Paul. He had been rightfully upset under that misunderstanding. But I was mad, too. William had misjudged my character, attacked my good friend and stormed off and left town without giving me a chance to explain.

William seemed okay with his decision. “I don’t really want to talk to you, Olivia.”

“I flew three hours and spent another hour trekking up a mountain, so I think you can give me five minutes.” I crossed my arms stubbornly over my chest and watched as William clenched and unclenched his perfect jaw.

“Fine.” William leaned against the wall, crossing his own arms. “Give it your best shot.”

“Didn’t Trevor call you?” Lana’s husband had felt so terrible about mistakenly telling William that I was with Paul that he had promised to call and straighten everything out.

“I don’t get very good reception here.” William glanced at his watch. “Is this really how you want to spend your five minutes? Talking about Trevor?”

This actually made me smile. He was acting like a child, not the hotshot CEO of a famous crisis management firm. “The guy you saw me with was my friend, Thomas.”

William’s cheek twitched but he didn’t say anything. I waited for him to make a move. After at least a minute had passed, his arms dropped to his sides and he pushed away from the wall. “Trevor said you were with Paul.”

“Trevor was wrong.” In my head I added,
so were you
. “Did you really think I would sit in a bar with Paul and buy him a drink? After what he did to me? Do you really think that little of me?”

William opened his mouth but didn’t say anything. He was at a loss for words but I was just getting started. “He put me in the hospital for two weeks. I slept with the light on for three months. But, sure, I called him up and suggested we get together. That makes sense.”

“Stop.” William held up a hand. “Please, just stop.”

“Stop what, William? You said I could have five minutes. I’m just getting started.” The more I talked, the angrier I got.

“I get it. I was an idiot.” William held his arms away from his sides and stepped forward. “I’m sorry, Livy.”

“You should be.” I forced myself not to move toward him.

William made it even harder for me to stay mad at him when he said, “I haven’t stopped thinking about you for a minute. I’m so glad you are here.”

“Stop.” It wasn’t much of a protest. I was already walking toward him.

“Do you think you can find a way to forgive me?” William’s playful smile appeared. Now I knew I was a goner.

“You’re not as charming as you think, William Connor,” I said. But he was exactly as charming as he thought. Maybe even more charming.

William reached out and hooked a finger through my belt loop, pulling me to him. “I was wrong. I admit it. Now you can punish me.”

“Oh trust me, I intend to make you pay.” I smiled as I thought about the different ways William could make it up to me.

He stared down at me with his cool gray eyes, his lips hovering an inch away from mine. “Do you have any idea what I’m going to do to you?”

I felt a delicious thrill run through my body. “I don’t even care, just do it now.”

William grabbed me around the waist and lifted me in his arms. Very quickly, he tossed me onto the bed and crawled on top of me. I could see the sky through the ceiling above him and marveled that I was literally in the clouds. William pressed down on me and his mouth covered mine.

I moaned, permitting him access, and his tongue slipped inside. The urgency of his kiss was matched by the writhing of our bodies, rising and falling together. There was far too much fabric between us for my liking and I grabbed at his shirt. I pulled away from his lips long enough to yank the shirt over his head and then we were back at it. William caught my lip between his teeth and tugged at it.

“I want to feel your lips on my body,” he said, and I was happy to oblige.

My lips followed a slow path down his neck and over his collarbone. I shoved him hard, until he rolled onto his back. William’s hands slipped inside my sweater, and then he was pulling it over my head. Sitting astride him, I continued to kiss, lick and suck my way down his chest. Somewhere in the vicinity of his navel, I sensed that we were no longer alone.

“My goodness!”

William shot up, holding me to him to prevent me from falling off the bed. “Mother,” he said, more annoyed than embarrassed.

“I didn’t know you had company,” she said.

I hugged my arms over my chest and died a little inside. William’s mother, Jean, was easily one of the most unpleasant women I had ever met. This encounter was not going to help.

“You remember Olivia?” William kept his arms around me and I burrowed closer to his chest, turning only my head to acknowledge Jean.

“Hello,” I said.

She looked down her pointy nose at me, both literally and figuratively. This time I didn’t really blame her. “Olivia. It’s nice to see you again.” She frowned harder. “I just came to let you know that Cessily is here.”

“Can you give us a minute, mother? We’ll join you shortly.”

“Do what you need to do. Preferably, put on some clothes.” She actually smirked. “We’ll be waiting for you.”

Once Jean was gone, I let out a horrified groan. William just laughed. “Jean is really going to hate you now.”

“Not. Helping.” I smacked him on the chest, then regretted it because he was still shirtless and my hormones were still running wild. “I’m mortified.”

“You shouldn’t be.” William kissed my bare shoulder, then traced kisses up my neck and over my jaw. When his lips reached my mouth, he planted a sweet kiss and said, “You are the best thing in my life. And now you’re about to see why.”

“Who’s Cessily?” I climbed off William and reached for my discarded sweater.