Unexpectedly Hers(28)
In her book, “Dallas” saw through the glam to the soul of his heroine, Ella.
Wouldn’t Wyatt be shocked if she told him the truth? She smiled, imagining herself decked out in Alexa’s sex-kitten boots and dress, with her hair wild and free. Picturing Wyatt’s surprise—his eyes widening, perhaps a dawning recognition. Envisioning his heated gaze, the one that had haunted many of her dreams since that night.
Another flare of heat fired in her veins and made her breasts tingle and tighten. Something was seriously wrong with her that she wanted to arouse a man to whom she meant nothing. To whom she’d never be more than a temporary sex partner. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
“Em, you okay?” Andy called from the top step. “You look like you might faint.”
Get it together. “I’m fine. Need to make a call, actually.”
She scampered past him, down the steps to her mother’s office, and closed the door.
Sitting at the desk, she pressed her forehead to the desktop and then gently banged it three times. Cripes. Alexa daydreams like that would be her undoing.
Chapter Five
Wyatt watched Emma light the candles on the dining table where he’d been meeting with Trip for the past fifteen minutes. The soft light flickered, reflecting in her pretty green eyes—eyes that refused to acknowledge his presence.
Her understated prettiness had snuck up on him today. Not a shock, considering she did nothing to draw attention to herself. But the more he saw her, the more he noticed how she glowed from within. He’d heard that sentimental gibberish before but had never seen it for himself. It had always sounded odd, but witnessing it affected him. Moved him somehow, even when Emma irritated him—like now, when she was ignoring him.
He watched her until she disappeared into the kitchen, then resumed his conversation with Trip.
“I’d like to get out there tomorrow, but Avery ordered me to take at least a day to rest the knee.” Wyatt settled his elbows on the dining table. The avalanche had rocked him, but Trip’s expertise was helping to restore his confidence. “I should probably listen.”
Trip leaned all six feet three inches of his powerful body back in his chair and crossed his ankles. “Avery’s conservative. She’s got her fiancé—my partner—chompin’ at the bit, too. Of course, I did bully him into going out-of-bounds for a quick run a couple of weeks ago.” Trip winked above a broad smile, then held a finger up to his lips. “But you need to be tip-top for competition, so listen to Avery. She and I butt heads, but she knows what she’s doing.”
Wyatt imagined Trip butted heads with lots of folks. His big personality even eclipsed the size of his body, which meant he’d be the kind of guy people loved or hated. Wyatt liked his irreverence.
“Once I’m set, where do you recommend going?” Wyatt’s gaze roamed the map that Trip had laid across the dining table.
Trip tipped back his Stetson and leaned forward again. “Day after tomorrow, we’ll head up over here. Nice chutes and obstacles, but not as steep of a pitch. I’ll teach you some quick tips for reading the terrain and testing the snow conditions to get a better sense for avalanche danger. We can focus around there as sort of a warm-up for the next week or so, and then shift over here,” Trip’s finger traversed the map, “to the backside of The Cirque. This here’s about as good as you’re gonna get around these parts. Steep, big cliffs, treed areas. Good practice for the qualifiers in January. If you can handle these, you can handle any gnarly conditions in competition.”
The sound of Emma’s muffled laughter from the other room made Wyatt look toward the kitchen door. He hadn’t seen or heard her hearty laugh since he’d arrived, and now wondered how her face might light up even more when amused. When he considered that Andy was probably in there seeing that side of her, envy ripped through him. He scowled then, remembering why he was here at this inn, which had nothing to do with Emma.
Feeling the weight of Trip’s curiosity, he glanced back at the man. “You’re cool with being filmed, right?”
Trip’s speculative gaze shifted to something mischievous.
“Just so long as you don’t get jealous when I steal the show,” Trip chuckled. “Is the director here?”
“Mari’s always nearby, like a shadow. She’s got these spy cameras all around, too. The only camera-free zones are Emma’s kitchen, the office, and the guest rooms.” Wyatt gestured to the small camera in the corner of the dining room. “She’s paranoid she’s going to ‘miss’ something, though it looks like that one’s not running now.”