Page 46 of On the Slopes of Tahoe
Breck stands with his hands braced on the counter, T-shirt pulled taut across his muscled shoulders and chest. I blush, thinking about how I traced those muscles in the dark last night, how I finally got to see them under the light of the lamp early this morning.
Breck clears his throat and our gazes collide, a cheeky grin pulling up his lips. Smug and clearly satisfied to have caught me gawking.
“What?” I say, a little defensive.
“Nothing. I’m not going to complain about you undressing me with your eyes.” The grin transforms into a full-blown smile. He shoots a quick glance behind me. “I’m guessing that means we’re good. After last night?”
He’s confident and assured in his question, but itisa question.
“Yeah.” I smile. “We’re good.Verygood actually.” I don’t mean for it to sound sultry, but he lifts an eyebrow as if to askVery good, huh?
I give him a one-shoulder shrug and he chuckles, turning to gather his own breakfast. Yeah, last night was very good. One of the best nights I’ve had in a long time, and it wasdefinitelythe best sex I’ve ever had. The intimacy was like a living, breathing thing between us as we moved together in the dark.
He carries his plate around to sit next to me at the counter. “Should we talk about how this will work? I’ve got Willow to think about, and I don’t want for us to end up somewhere neither of us is looking to be when it’s time for me to leave.” Hiswords pour out fast and, with his accent, I almost don’t catch half of them.
“We both know this isn’t serious. We’re friends,” I say, using my thigh to press against his, wanting to catch his eye. “We hang out, and when we want to do more and it works, we do. I don’t want Willow to get confused either. It doesn’t have to be complicated. When you go back to Australia, we’re still friends and that’s the end of it.”
“I’m not supposed to overthink this, right?”
“Right. This is for fun. Just for us. Now, I need to eat so I can get to work. So, could you be quiet? Your overthinking is killing my appetite.” I knock his shoulder with my own, drawing a rumble of laughter from his chest.
By the time lunch rolls around, I’m mostly caught up on emails and have touched base with Hannah. I had the majority of our social media set to run on auto-pilot, but it’s nice to know she was there to back me up. Maybe with her around I could finally make that trip to see Wes and Joss this year?
And Breck… Nope, not thinking about that.
I shuffle into the condo from his back deck where I was taking pictures of the mountains and kick my boots off by the door. With the holidays behind us and winter in full swing, I’ll need new content to pull skiers and boarders to the slopes each week.
A shiver rolls across my shoulders, the warmth of the space a stark contrast to the chill outside. Willow is at the table with a book in front of her. Breck’s clicking away on his laptop onthe couch, ankles crossed on the coffee table, wearing dark grey joggers and that damn T-shirt. Combined with his tousled hair, he’s mouthwatering.
I join Willow and peek over her shoulder. “What’re you reading?”
She looks up from under her dark lashes. “A book about a mermaid. Dad says I have to keep up with my reading while I’m on summer vacation.” She glances outside and giggles. “Doesn’t feel like a normal summer.” Then her face falls and she goes back to her book, saying under her breath, “Nothing feels normal these days.”
My eyes shoot to Breck and I see the blow land. The happy-go-lucky smile that was on his face dims to a scowl and his eyes freeze over. She didn’t mean for him to hear her—she probably didn’t intend for me to either—but now I’m at a complete loss for what to say. She’s so confident and silly all the time that it’s easy for me to forget she lost her mom less than two months ago. What must that be like for her? Having never lost a parent, I can’t relate. Especially considering Talia could still be here, could still be in her life, but has chosen not to be.
Everything about Breck has tensed, and the way he stands from the couch is stiff. He looks more unsure than I’ve ever seen him. I can almost see the place he’s kept all his grief locked up tight starting to crack open. “I’ll be back in a minute,” he says quietly before heading upstairs.
“Can I get you anything to eat, Bug?” I ask, trying to soften the crackling energy in the room.
“Daddy said he’d make me a sandwich when I finish this chapter. I’m almost done, wanna see?”
“Sure.” I smile and sit next to her, hoping that if nothing else, she’ll know she has people who are here for her.
Breck rejoins us fifteen minutes later with wet hair from a shower and a smile firmly in place. I wonder how he got so good at hiding it all.
“Lunch, Willow Bear? Rory?”
“Sure,” we say together and then fall into a fit of matching giggles.
We eat our sandwiches with chips and Tim Tams—Australian cookies Wes and Joss brought over from Sydney.
I swallow a bite of crispy chocolate and grab for my phone that’s vibrating on the table.
Jamie
Ok, so we have a problem.
Me
