“I’m too old to start that.” His grin always teased out a warm feeling in Emma’s gut.
“Watch who you call old. We are the same age. Thirty-one’s not so old.”
“In the world of competitive skiing it is. Especially for someone like me, who never even took a shot.” He shrugged, unbothered by that choice. “I still can’t believe Wyatt Lawson is here for the month. He landed some sick-ass jumps in his heyday.”
A stray memory of seeing Wyatt nail a gold-medal-winning run in the Rockies Winter eXtreme Games temporarily robbed Emma of speech, so she nodded dumbly.
Then Andy’s expression turned grim as he refolded her grocery bags for later use. “Too bad about his brother, though.”
She remembered watching the replay footage of Ryder’s fall on ESPN the year after she’d met Wyatt and him. Naturally it became the topic of conversation in a ski town like Sterling Canyon. Wyatt had been filmed in a panic as he ran to his brother’s side on the course.
Emma looked up to catch Andy watching her, waiting for some response.
“Ryder’s recovery is miraculous considering the initial reports predicted a much worse prognosis.” The accident occurred around the same time she’d completed the first draft of the manuscript that had since been revised at least a half-dozen times and would soon hit the shelves. The ill-fated crash had soured her sense of accomplishment at the time, but after rationalizing that no one would ever know her book’s hero had any tie to Wyatt, she’d chosen to press on with her own goals.
“Wyatt sure sacrificed everything to stand by his brother each step of the way.” Andy’s solemn tone struck her.
“He did.” That fact seemed inconsistent with the party-boy she’d met in Aspen, but having seen him and Ryder together before, she also had no doubt of his love for his brother. Perhaps he’d matured a bit as a result of the tragedy . . . although once a player, always a player. But his sacrifice, coupled with his sudden, unexpected arrival in Sterling Canyon—right when she’d been experiencing a case of second-book paralysis—could not be less auspicious. Made it seem somehow cheap and wrong to have used his image without his knowledge. “So we should do everything we can to make sure his work here goes smoothly.”
“Man, I’d love to tail Wyatt for some of his training. How cool would that be, to ski alongside Wyatt Lawson?” Andy shook his head again, grinning like a young boy who’d just been offered the keys to Disney World.
“I doubt he has time to entertain you. Training must be daunting, having been out of the game for so long. Even I know how quickly the sport changes, and how aggressive the younger boarders are now with their tricks and jumps.”
“True that!” Andy nodded, and then, apparently resigned to his fate of living an ordinary life, said, “So if you don’t need me here, I’ll go deal with that leaky pipe in your mom’s room, and then I’ll vacuum.”
Emma shooed him away with one hand. “Yes, go do that, please. I’d better get lunch together before Mari bites off my head.”
“You can hold your own with her, Emma.”
“We’ll see.” Emma had doubts thanks to Mari’s intimidating combination of elegance and power. In a way, Emma envied that presence. Men usually found it appealing. “Tell the truth. Do you find Mari attractive?”
Andy shrugged. “Objectively, sure. But she’s not my type.”
“Oh?” Emma chuckled. “I didn’t know you were so discerning. I’m curious, now. What is your type?”
Andy’s gaze wandered from hers. “Someone more like you.”
The quiet admission stunned her into an awkward silence. Surely he didn’t mean it literally, did he? He must be trying to boost her confidence. Before she could respond, he retreated to teasing her. “Then again, Mari is kinda hot. Do you think she’s under forty, or over?”
Grateful that he’d dispelled the tension, she replied, “No idea, although she’s definitely around that age.”
“Getting a little lonely these days, especially with Grey and Avery always at the house reminding me of what I’m missing. Wonder if Mari’s in the market for a little vacation fling.”
Emma scrunched her nose. “Mari’s not on vacation, and neither are you!”
“I know.” Andy sighed. “But it’s not healthy to be our ages and celibate.”
“You got that right,” interrupted a smoky voice that made Emma’s skin tingle.
Her neck practically snapped in two as she whipped her head around toward the kitchen door, where Wyatt stood with a grin on his face. Heat unrelated to the ovens scorched her cheeks. First the dancing, and now this?