The Professional Bride: Billionaire Marriage Brokers Book Three (14 page)

Chapter 2
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Amber made a wedge with her skis and came to a slow stop.

“Nice job.” Pat, her personal ski instructor for the day, pulled up alongside her. They’d done the smaller hill several times and Pat wanted to take her up the big lift and do one of the easy green runs.

Amber wasn’t so sure that was a good idea; especially when a five-year-old zoomed past her, laughing. He probably wasn’t laughing at her; children that age didn’t do that sort of thing did they? But still, she wondered if she was the only person who worked at the ski resort who didn’t ski out of the wedge.

“Are you sure about this?” Amber watched the other skiers easily board the lift. She felt anything but steady on her feet. Although, she had to admit that her fear of falling was a lot less since Rym had shoved her into the snow bank.

“You’re ready. A couple times down this run and you’ll be skiing parallel.” Pat skated over to the line.

“You’re the expert,” Amber said under her breath. She shuffled past other skiers until she was up with Pat.

The line moved quickly, and Amber was grateful she’d been able to board without embarrassing herself. Pat held her arm as they got off, and even though she wobbled, she didn’t fall, which would have caused them to stop the lift while she got off the ground.

“That is a long way down.” Holding her poles in a death grip, Amber looked back at the lift line. No one was getting back on to go down the hill and she wondered if it was against the rules.

Inching forward, Amber slowly crossed the hill while Pat skied backwards in a wedge, giving her encouragement like Rym did. Amber missed him. The last couple of days were lonely, being so close to Rym and yet not close enough.

After their third turn Amber settled in a little and relaxed. This hill was a lot longer than the smaller practice run outside the lodge, but if she took it one turn at a time, it wasn’t overwhelming.

Pat must have picked up on her confidence, because she encouraged her to pull the backs of her skis closer together on the straightaways. “You can always go back into the wedge, but if you get your legs under you, you’ll use less muscle, and your legs will last longer.”

“Okay.” Amber noticed the slight increase in speed and immediately pushed back out.

“You’ll learn to trust yourself. Try again.”

They worked on it all the way down the run, and Amber felt like she’d made real progress. It was kind of fun when she felt steady. Those moments when she slipped and almost fell weren’t so much fun, but so far she’d managed to keep on her feet.

“We have time for one more if you’d like to try again.”

“Yeah. I feel like I’m getting it.”

Pat grinned. “That’s because you are.”

By the time they made it down the hill the second time, Amber’s legs were shaking. “I don’t think I could do that again. My muscles are shot.”

“No worries.” They took off their skis and made their way into the lodge, where Pat escorted Amber to the rental shop.

“Thanks. I can take it from here.”

Amber gave Pat a generous tip and sat down to pull off her boots. Her thoughts went from her day with Pat to her efforts to set up a scholarship fund for Robyn. Things weren’t going as smoothly as she’d hoped. There was a lot of red tape and tiny details that needed to be ironed out. She wasn’t sure what had happened to Robyn in the past few days. Assuming she’d been fired had helped fuel Amber’s desire to get things going before the next semester started. She’d need to look in on the progress before the end of day.

Once she’d returned her skis and boots, she called Rym.

“How was it?” he asked.

“Scary at first, then it was a lot of fun.”

“Who was your instructor?”

“Pat. She was fantastic. Really encouraging, but she didn’t get on my nerves.”

He laughed, and Amber’s stomach fluttered. “It’s a fine line.”

She placed her hand on her hip. “What? Encouraging me or not getting on my nerves?”

“Not just you, any adult client.”

“Uh-huh.” She glanced at the clock on the wall. “Do you need me up there?”

They’d driven separately just in case one of them got done before the other. It was the first time they’d spent the day completely apart, and it felt strange, like the world was tilted. However, Amber’s legs were so tired they were light. It reminded her of a game she used to play with her friends where one person would hold another person’s arms down at their side while they strained to lift them. Once they let go, the person struggling would relax and their arms would float up in the air on their own.

“It’s already three-thirty. Why don’t I just meet you at home?” offered Rym.

“That would be wonderful.” Amber couldn’t wait to shower.

They said goodbye, and she managed to climb into her car and set out for the house. At the first stoplight she stifled a yawn. At the second one she let it out, but covered her mouth. At the stop sign a mile from home, her eyes started to droop. By the time she walked through the door, she was so tired she barely made it to the couch, where she dropped her heavy coat on the floor and curled up under the furry throw for a quick nap.

Chapter 2
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Rym drove as fast as he dared on the slick streets. The February sun had melted a bit of snow, and once the sun went down temperatures dropped quickly, creating a layer of black ice. Amber hadn’t answered his text that he’d be late and her phone went right to voicemail. He kept telling himself that she was fine, but he worried. They had a state-of-the-art security system that would have alerted him if someone broke in, and he’d checked his phone several times during the drive to make sure he didn’t miss an alert.

He’d never worried about someone like this before. Having money was as much a burden as it was a blessing. There were awful people out there who would look for an opportunity—like getting Amber alone—to demand cash. Mr. McGraw had given them several scenarios to watch out for, and Amber was always on guard.

Running the stop sign wasn’t his best idea, but there weren’t any cars in the area and he needed to see that Amber was safe.

The front door was locked and there weren’t any lights on in the house. He fumbled with the keypad in the dark and slammed his shoulder against the door when he mistyped the code. He got it right the second time and shoved the door shut behind him. Running through the hallway, he wondered if he should have called the cops first, and then didn’t care if he was running into a trap as long as he got to Amber.

He burst into the front room and turned on the light. Amber yelled and threw her arm over her face to block it out.

Rym let out a giant sigh of relief to see her alone and looking like she’d just woken up from a deep sleep. “Sorry,” he whispered loudly as he dimmed the lights.

Amber sat up and asked, “What time is it?”

“Six-thirty.”

“Oh man.” She ran her hand over her hair, which hung in a braid over her shoulder; made a face; and took out the elastic so she could finger-comb it. “It feels like the middle of the night.”

Rym made his way over to the couch and sat next to her. His heart was still beating fast from the fear that she’d been hurt or kidnapped or any of the hundred other horrible scenarios he’d tried not to think about on the drive over. “I texted you.”

Amber looked around like she’d just realized she was in the living room. “I must have left my phone in the car. Sorry.”

“No worries.” He may have acted like a raving lunatic, practically driven out of his mind with worry over her, but she didn’t need to know that.

“Are you hungry? There’s some chicken marinating in the fridge.” Amber stood up and cried out in pain.

Rym caught her as she fell across his lap. “What? Are you okay?”

“No.” Amber leaned against his chest and took shallow breaths. “I can’t walk.”

Rym ran his hand over her arms and then down the front of her legs, gently squeezing each ankle to check for swelling.  “Did you fall skiing?”

“No. I stayed up.” She looked pretty proud of herself for that one, but the pain was still in her eyes. “My calf muscles are too tight. It’s like a charley horse that won’t quit. Ow!” She pulled her legs up to her chest.

Rym racked his brain. “Did you ski in a wedge or parallel?”

“A wedge.”

“How tight were your boots?”

“Not bad.”

He gritted his teeth. “Were they uncomfortable to put on?”

“No, they were fine. Why?”

He took her foot between his hands and gently pressed his thumb in the middle of her arch.

She howled and pulled her foot away, scooting to the end of the couch as fast as she could. “Why would you do that?”

“I’m guessing your boots were too big and you had to grip with your toes to turn.”

Amber lowered her eyebrows and thought for a minute. “I do remember gripping with my toes.”

Rym jumped to his feet. “Wait here.” He ran through his room and opened the doors that went to his private patio. In a few short minutes he had everything ready and went back to the front room. Amber had lain back down, and her eyes glistened. He couldn’t stand the thought of her crying, so he scooped her up in his arms and carried her into his room and out the door, where he dropped her in the hot tub.

“My clothes!” She was in her black base layer, which was like insulated, fitted long underwear and a long-sleeved shirt.

“They’ll wash, and if not I’ll buy you more.” He yanked off his shirt and jeans, feeling just as covered in his shorter version of black base layers as he would in a swimsuit.

As he climbed in, she stripped off her long sleeved shirt to reveal a black tank top.

“Dare I ask how many layers you had on today?” He smirked, grateful his voice didn’t betray any of the thoughts pulsing through his brain.

She smirked right back. “I told you, I hate to be cold.”

He reached under the water and picked up her foot. She tried to pull it away, but he held just tight enough that she quickly gave up the fight. “Let me help you.”

She bit her bottom lip. “What are you going to do?”

“Hopefully, we’ll get some of the acid out of your muscles so you can walk.”

She closed her eyes, cringing away from him, and nodded.

He began kneading her foot, using a light touch. The wet heat would do most of the work, but for some reason, he wanted to be the one to ease her pain. Once he was able to run the heel of his hand down the bottom of her foot without her cringing, he moved up to her calf, where he had to start back at a feather touch. Finding a giant knot in the middle of her calf muscle, he increased the pressure as he said, “Take a deep breath and hold it.” He counted to twenty-five before saying, “Now let it out.”

Amber moaned as her breath escaped, causing Rym’s breath to catch in his chest. His hands slowed down and he quickly moved to start on her other leg.

Amber no longer cringed away from him. Her head lay back against the padded seat and her hair floated out around her bare shoulders. Instead of a pained expression, she looked completely content. As she moistened her lips, Rym allowed himself to wonder for the thousandth time what it would be like to kiss lips that full, and then he wondered what it would be like if she kissed him back.

A new type of tension built inside him as he ran his hand over her sore muscles. His heart rate increased as he dared himself to pull her closer. He wasn’t prepared for the lazy admiration in her eyes when she lifted her head.

Rym climbed out of the hot tub and reached down to lift Amber. “We’d better get you inside before you melt.”

“Too late,” she whispered.

Amber was all softness, as if the hot tub had liquefied her, and she slid into his arms with her palm on his bare chest. Next to her, he felt like a brick wall, mortared together by the intense control he wielded against his desire to kiss her. She nestled under his chin, her breath warm against his skin, and for a moment he lost all ability to think. Wrapping his arms tighter around her, he pulled back so she would look at him. When she did, her eyes were soft and welcoming. Before he could think himself out of it, he leaned in and kissed her quickly, pulling back to gauge her reaction. 

Her eyes were still closed and she moaned softly, as if she’d tasted the sweetest chocolate truffle at the buffet. Rym gently set her on her feet, still holding his arm around her back to steady her. When he was sure she didn’t hurt, he gently cupped the back of her head and lowered his lips to hers.

This time, when their lips met, Amber leaned into him, allowing him to savor her pouty bottom lip. She sighed. “Rym,” she whispered, and he could no longer hold in his feelings for her. He was raw, exposing his heart and sending his love out to her, becoming vulnerable in a way that scared him and thrilled him at the same time. Amber ran her hands up his shoulders and linked them behind his head, matching him kiss for kiss.

When they pulled apart to catch their breath, she looked down shyly and traced her finger over his shoulder. He tucked a wet piece of hair behind her ear, and she shivered in his arms.

“Are you cold?”

She shook her head and swallowed. “This is the warmest I’ve been since I got here.”

His arm swooped under her legs and cradled her against his chest, careful to make sure he didn’t jostle her calves too much. She finally looked at him, moving her hand to his cheek and feeling his beard under her fingertips. Now it was his turn to shiver.

She grinned and bit her lip, as if she was pleased at his reaction. If she only knew what holding her close was doing to his insides. He grinned back and kissed her again, not as deep and a bit more playful. They kissed and smiled and laughed and kissed again. Rym shut off all the warning bells and enjoyed the moment, something he hadn’t done in as long as he could remember.

It was a frightening kind of freedom, like skiing out of a ravine and getting major air. The lift was amazing, but if you didn’t land right, you could be in a world of hurt. He needed to find a way to land in this marriage so that neither he nor Amber got hurt. Hopefully it would also mean many more evenings spent kissing her.