Winter Interlude (23 page)

He swore under his breath
.
No one had
ever
affected him this way
.
“It was only fair, since you made breakfast,” he murmured, before swiftly retreating
.
All she had to do was smile at him and need turned his brain into mush
, a feeling as
unnerving
as it was
unwanted
.

B
ack in the main house, he grabbed his lunch, along with the wine he’d poured earlier, went over to the table
,
and sat
.

Damn
!
It felt as if he was caught in some kind of
Twilight Zone
episode
.
Though not funny, the irony of the situation did amuse him
.
He’d always had a twisted sense of humor
.
Maybe later
—
years from now
—
he’d be able to laugh
.

As h
e ate
and
sipped his wine while looking out the window and seeing nothing but white,
Paul
contemplated his options for the evening
.
He could go to a movie, maybe even check out one of the many bars
.
Friday night meant Tahoe City would swell with weekend visitors
.
For some reason,
the thought of spending time with someone other than the woman in the guesthouse just didn’t seem as thrilling or as exciting
.

He sighed
.
There was always work
.
No
!
His thoughts were too jumbled
.
No way
would
he be able to concentrate
.
He raked a hand through his hair and rubbed his neck.
How had his life become even more messed up
?
How had he gone, in a matter of twenty-four hours, from pining after
a
wo
man
who didn’t love him like he
wanted
, to pining after another who belonged to his brother
?

Well, just make the best of it and stay in your room as much as possible
.
Don’t let her know she bothers you
.

His breath came out in one loud groan
.
If his secret ever came out, she’d have the means to get even with his badgering over the years
.
W
ouldn’t that be some kind of
poetic
justice?

He walked over to the sink with his plate
.
After rinsing it, he stuck it in the dishwasher, then topped
off his wineglass and retraced the steps to his room
.

Warmth from the fire hit him. The room glowed
.
He loved fires and he loved the snow
.
He’d relax and enjoy the rest of the afternoon until dinner, absorbed with TV or a magazine
.
Paul g
rabb
ed
the remote, hit the
On
button
,
and scrolled
through
channels until
he
spott
ed
an animal show that caught his interest. But after staring at the screen for too long without paying attention to it, he shut off the TV and walked over to the huge window
.

Snow continued falling, silently providing a sense of isolation in the view outside
.
His focus landed on the blue lake, barely visible with all the white in the foreground
.
Nothing disturbed the quiet, which added to his loneliness
.

No longer willing to wait for something that would never happen, he sighed and finally accepted the truth
.
After spending such a wonderful day with
Kate
, he realized he wanted more than chasing a pipe dream with Judith
.
A heck of a lot more.

L
ong after finishing her sandwich,
Kate
rested her shoulders against the bed’s propped
-
up pillows and, for the umpteenth time, tried to focus on the same page in the latest suspense
novel
she’d brought
.
D
isturbing thoughts
insisted on annoying her,
interfer
ing
with her concentration
.
Unable to continue pretending interest, she put the book down and stared at the ceiling
.

In seconds, memories of the day consumed her
—
a day where Paul had always stayed a step ahead of her
.
It was e
xhilarating and frustrating at the same time, considering his competitive drive, as strong as hers, hadn’t allowed her to gain any advantage
.
It was as if some
instinctive
male trait of his burst forth, shouting his supremacy over her
and
dominating her in some age-old battle between the sexes
.
Because he was stronger and more stubborn, he was winning
.

She’d never felt this on edge because of a man
—
any man
—
not even James
.
E
ven worse, the day only increased her disillusionment with her current relationship
.
Too much time had slipped by since she and James had shared such a carefree day
.
In fact
,
she couldn’t remember the last
time
, which only highlighted bigger problems
—
including
having to endure
a trip back to Chicago for her sister Chrissie’s wedding to face her family without James
,
or the engagement ring she expected to be wearing
.

Too agitated to keep gawking at the ceiling, she jumped up and started pacing
.
Why had she pushed for this weekend
?
Why did she find Paul attractive
?
Why, why, why?

She’d never been fickle, just the opposite in her pursuit of James
.
So how could her thoughts shift from the love of her life to Paul so readily
?
In less than a day
?

Her relationship with
James had been an experience
—
one she was beginning to determine had no happy ending
.
Actions spoke louder than words
.
She’d given him
several
months to make a decision that he shouldn’t even have had to think twice about
.
A
s much as it hurt to realize the truth, giving him more time to commit would only be wasted, which in the end would be a mistake
.
She understood that now and certainly had no desire to make a bigger mistake by becoming involved with Paul when he still loved Judith
.
That could only bring on more heartache for everyone involved
.
Judith was her best friend
.
She had only to remember that
!

Heavens, she needed a drink
.
Something
.
Anything
.
She needed to stop thinking of him
.
M
ost of all, she needed to keep him from discovering her unsettling attraction to him
.

Like the night before, she stuck her head out the door to listen
.
The c
oast looked clear
.
She stole across the patio, stepping around the snowdrifts
,
and stopped at the patio door to peer inside
.
Still clear
.
She crept into the kitchen
.
A bottle of the
Puligny-Montrachet
c
hardonnay he’d bought the night before, per her request for their French dinner, sat
on the counter, uncorked
.
She quickly poured a glass,
then
tiptoed out the way she’d come.

B
ack in her room, she sipped and paced, wishing her foolish thoughts would cease
.

Maybe when James arrived, seeing him again and being
able to compare him
side by side
with Paul would jar some sense into her
.
Maybe her attraction stemmed from the fact that the two brothers looked so much alike
.
The minute the thought came out, she rejected it
.
They were like night and day
.
No two people who looked so much alike could be any more different from each other
.

Kate
sat back on the bed and picked up the book again
.
After a long pretense of absorption, she glanced at the clock on the nightstand
.
Almost 6:00 p
.
m
.
!
Breathing a sigh of relief, she rose, grabbed her half-full glass and headed for the kitchen
.
The door to Paul’s room was closed
.