Kylie flopped on her bed with an aggravated sigh. He’d rejected her. Rejected! Her! She gritted her teeth and dove under the covers, pulling them over her head. She could still feel her heart beating rapidly, feel her blush only barely receding as she recalled his words.

Gold medals, huh? Well he sure deserved one for giving her one of the best days of her life. Each kiss had truly been precious. And then she’d had to go and come on to him, and he’d rejected her. She knew his reasons, but it still felt too much like it had before, when he’d been the one in control, the one always saying no, and she’d been the pathetic loser. No matter how much she told herself it was for the good of the relationship, it felt icky to be back in that mindset.

She sighed and tried to tell herself it wasn’t like that. Maybe if she just kept saying it over and over, her heart would believe it. Still, she couldn’t believe the day she’d just had. If someone had told her that she’d be playing in the snow with Ryan, the man she’d playfully and then more seriously pursued for almost a year, she’d have told them to think again.

But it had been a wonderful day, one she wouldn’t trade for anything, no matter what happened from here on out.

---

The next week passed by much like the days before it. Each day she woke up, went on the slopes with Ryan, flirted shamelessly with him as she got to be more at home on her board, and then went home to bed. Alone.

She was growing more and more frustrated with the situation. After all, she was letting him court her. Her cabin could barely contain all of the flowers he had sent. But at the same time, she wanted his hands on her again. Resented that it was all in his control whether they did something together or not. Resented that he was making her wait because of some mislaid idea of courting her that she didn’t need.

She’d either learn to trust and believe in him or not, but it wouldn’t be changed by the fact that they were having sex. And oh, what sex they could have. She bit her lip as she walked into Leslie’s bar and slid into a booth to wait for her friends. They were going to get babysitters tonight and come out for a girls’ night with her. She was a little too tired of the lodge, needed some time away to sort out her feelings about Ryan.

As far as she’d seen, there was no evidence that he had been injured at all. He seemed completely healed. She never saw him get dizzy or lose his memory or forget where they were. And she never saw him be particularly careful while riding either.

Tania was working the bar tonight and Kylie smiled and waived at her as she sat. A waitress came over to take her drink order while she waited for her friends.

Ah, a night without Ryan. The thought was satisfying, if only because she didn’t need him following her around only to reject her.

And she’d been particularly irritated tonight when he’d shown no interest whatsoever in making a move. His cheerful wave and promise to see her the next morning was seriously starting to chafe. If he really wanted her, wouldn’t he be doing something about it? The more he rejected her, the more she just wanted to scream at him that she didn’t care about being wooed. She just wanted him right there and then.

She sipped the apple martini the waitress brought. The waitress was a shy girl, with dirty-blond hair tied into a low ponytail.

Kylie looked back toward the door she’d come in through to see if Janna or Leslie was anywhere in sight. She sighed and checked her phone. Late. Of course. She understood that kids complicated things, but sometimes she just wanted to be able to talk to her friends. Or have a kid of her own so that she understood them and was more a part of things.

An image came into her mind, of a scampy little boy with bright blue eyes, and her breath caught in her chest. She picked up her drink and took a hefty swig before setting it back down. A few minutes and a few swigs later, the girls still weren’t there and Kylie’s glass was empty.

She raised her hand, looking around for the waitress, but didn’t see her. Tania was on the phone, presumably arguing with a vendor, so Kylie peeked out of her booth to take a look around and see if she could find the waitress.

Her jaw dropped when she found her. She was next to a booth full of drunken tourists and one of them had his hand on her butt, pulling her close. The waitress, whose name was Rory, squeaked and tried to get away, but another of the guys grabbed her hand.

Kylie stood and moved nonchalantly toward the bar, hoping to get Talia’s attention. As she did it, she counted the guys. Only three. But all full-grown men. Could she take them on?

For a second, she considered the fact that Ryan would be angry. But with no one else here, she was the only one who could stand up for the young waitress. Even though she was only a few years older than the other woman, she rolled up her sleeves and headed over.

The man holding the waitress let her go and she stumbled back with a gasp. Kylie caught her. Rory was taller and much thinner than her, and she pushed the girl behind her.

“Shame on you,” she said, putting her hands on her hips and trying to puff up and look bigger than she felt. “You have no right to do that. Not in this establishment.”

The bar might be Leslie’s, but Kylie felt protective of anything that involved her friends. The door to the bar jingled as it opened, but Kylie couldn’t afford to look away from the men eyeing her belligerently. She hoped it was someone who could help, but no way was she turning her back on this situation.

One of the men, a man of average height with a beer paunch, reached for her hand.

“How dare you?” She jerked back.

“Ah come on, don’t pretend you local chicks aren’t looking for a good time.” He caught her hand and pulled her toward him, and she tried to jerk away but couldn’t get her hand back. “Can’t be often a real man comes around these parts.”

“Actually,” a deep, angry voice cut in. “A real man comes around these particular parts every damn day.”

Kylie gasped as she felt herself jerked back from the man’s grasp and found herself pushed behind a wide, tall back. She stared up at the light blond head in front of her.

What was Ryan doing here? Stalker. But she couldn’t help feeling warm relief as she moved back to stand with Rory, who was taking deep breaths to calm down. Tania was staring wide-eyed from the other side of the bar. Her eyes were apologetic. Kylie knew if Leslie had been here, the scene would have played out much differently. But Tania was still getting used to being in charge.

“Ryan Hart?” one of the men asked. A blond friend of the one who’d grabbed Kylie. “What are you doing here? I should call the paparazzi. Oh wait, maybe they wouldn’t care since you broke your head.”

Kylie’s chest burned as they insulted her man. Wait, her man? When had that happened?

“Yeah that’s right,” the other man said. “How does it feel to be a has been?” He snickered and looked at his friends for support, and Kylie had to restrain herself from going over to punch him. No one talked to Ryan that way, not while she was around.

Ryan just stood there with his back to her, his arms folded. She didn’t know how he was taking it.

“Yeah, so how does it feel to be broken?” the man asked, leering up at Ryan like he was far too happy to have a reason to feel superior to the powerful snowboarder. She hated people like this. Able-bodied people who thought they were better than anyone else.

“Not too broken to do this,” Ryan said, reaching for the man’s collar.

“Ryan, no!” Kylie said, running forward to wrap her arms around Ryan’s waist and hold him back. She knew she couldn’t possibly stop him with how much bigger he was, but she had to try. Men like this weren’t worth it.

“That’s right,” he said. “Let the chick save you. Cripple.”

Kylie’s heart pounded hard and her eyes narrowed. Before she could think, she drove her fist right through the man’s smug face. It made a satisfying crack and she was too pleased by the way his face flew to the side to care about the pain in her fist. Her brother had taught her to throw a proper punch, so nothing should be injured.

She felt a strong arm wrap around her waist and lift her into the air, and growled at the men as she was placed behind Ryan again. This time Ryan took a step back and pointed to the door. His voice was tight with anger.

“Get out, now, before I call the police.”

“She attacked us,” the man said, pointing.

“Right,” Ryan said. “But are you going to be the one to tell the police that?”

“They committed assault,” Kylie shouted from behind him. “Against Rory. Go ahead and call the cops. See if I care. They’re my friends anyway, so we’ll see whom they listen to. Or put me in jail. But you aren’t going to talk to my friend that way! Take your hateful words and leave!” Tears stung her eyes as she flipped away from Ryan and strode across the bar to calm herself.

Cripple. Broken. All words that hurt, words she’d somehow learned to be immune to over the years. Mostly. But hearing them shot at Ryan, realizing just how people were talking about him out in the world he’d previously moved so easily in, just set her off in a way she didn’t like. Put her back to those days where every insult felt like a knife wound, sharp and bleeding.

She heard Ryan say something to the men in a low voice, and before she knew it, all three were skulking out, tails between their legs, careful to edge around her and not come close enough to touch. She slumped in the booth next to her and ignored Talia as she rushed over to Ryan.

“Thank goodness you came in. I was on the phone and, well, I’m so sorry. Rory, are you okay?” The two women began to talk and she heard Ryan’s heavy footsteps coming her way. She felt his presence in front of her before he crouched down in front of the booth to be at eye level.

“You okay?” he asked, tipping her chin up to face him. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here sooner. Janna called me to come down. She and Leslie had to deal with something last minute up at the lodge, and they sent me instead.” He rubbed his head bashfully. “Of course, I never mind an excuse to come see you. I was a little worried about you being here alone anyway.”

“I wasn’t supposed to be alone,” she sighed. “But yes, I’m rethinking this bar as a good place to meet up. It seems to attract some real winners. Well, losers.” She shrugged. “Are you okay? I’m sorry they said those awful things.”

“Hey, come on,” he said. “I’m an athlete, I’m used to a little smack talk.”

“Then why did you almost attack one of them?”

“He touched you,” he said simply, and she was struck by the possession in his eyes. He said it so frankly, as if it was completely natural that he should get violent over her. Maybe he really was serious about all of this. He certainly had been serious about the wooing. In fact, she didn’t know how much more wooing she could take.

“Thanks for standing up for me, though,” he said, rubbing his thumb over her cheek. “Tiger.”

“I can’t stand when people say things like that,” she said. “Not about someone I love.”

His eyes flicked to hers, and she realized what she had said. But she didn’t bother to correct it. He should know he was one of her friends. One of the many people she loved and would fight for. If she got flustered over it he’d just read more into it than he needed to.

He sat across from her in the booth. “Are you okay?”

She shrugged. “Yes. Language like that just brings back a lot of bad memories.”

“I can imagine,” he said. “For what it’s worth, I don’t see you any differently. It’s just one part of your life, one part of what makes you you.”

“Thanks,” she said. “That means a lot to me. It’s part of why I don’t show anyone. I don’t want them to look at me differently. I’m not here to be plucky inspiration and I’m not here to be pitied or treated differently. I’m just me with an extra challenge to deal with. And I have good days and bad days, just like anyone else.”

He nodded. “I can imagine.”

“Well, you can understand, can’t you?” she asked, looking up into his eyes. “I mean, since your injury. Speaking of which, how are you healing so fast? I mean, I thought from all the news stuff that it was going to take a long time. But aside from the depression you were dealing with when you wouldn’t leave your room, you seem to be doing fine. So what’s up with that?” She looked down at her empty glass. “I mean it doesn’t seem exactly fair.”

“Fair?” he asked.

She waved a hand. “You know, I came out and showed you things about myself to help you, but if you are struggling with anything, you’re hiding it from me. Are there symptoms you don’t show me?”

He looked down at his hands. “I don’t know how to explain. I’m just healing faster than they thought.”

She eyed him carefully. “Why don’t I feel like you’re telling me everything?”

“Because I’m not,” he said. “I can’t. Not until I know we’ll be together.”

Her jaw dropped. “Don’t you think that if there’s something I should know about you, I should know before we’re together?”

He scratched the back of his neck. “Maybe, but I can’t tell you. Ack, I’m screwing this up. But I mean, you have secrets too, right? Like, the Taylor thing. And I’ve stopped pressuring you about that.”

“Oh really?” she asked. “I hadn’t noticed.”

“So maybe when you tell me about that, I’ll tell you what I’m holding back. But for now, for both of our sakes, that’s my secret to keep.”

She sighed. “I don’t want to fight with you. It’s been a long day.” She looked at her phone. “So they aren’t coming?”

“I’m guessing not,” he said. “They told me they’d call, but they might still be working things out. One of the kids got sick.”

She nodded. “The kids come first.” Honestly, she was glad that he was there, sitting across from her. That he’d come in with his strength and interfered just when she’d needed him. “Thanks for saving me again.”

He cocked his head. “Does that mean I get a reward?” She laughed and he grinned. “Well, it probably doesn’t count, because I know you would have extricated yourself even if I hadn’t shown up. You can be a real spitfire, you know that?”

She nodded. “I’ve had to be. I’m the only one who will fight for me.”

“Not true,” he said, sliding into her side of the booth and putting an arm around her. “Now you have me. And of course, your friends.”

“Who are busy,” she said.

He nodded. “My brothers are too. It’s odd, but at least we have each other. And didn’t you always want me around anyway?”

She shook her head at him but couldn’t resist grinning. “True. Right from the moment you walked into the lodge.” She looked down. “In fact, that’s why I came down here for girls’ night. I wanted you around a little too much.”

One of his eyebrows raised. “Oh?”

She sighed in frustration. “Honestly, Ryan. You give me the best time of my life and then you spend a week torturing me with “wooing” and depriving me of what I really want.”

“And what’s that?” he asked.

“Your hands on me,” she said. “It felt so right, so amazing. Maybe I’m not ready or willing to put everything behind me. But I’m working on it. And I’d appreciate being rewarded for it. If nothing else, I really hate being rejected. I hate the fact that I want you more than you want me.”

He coughed. “Excuse me, what?”

“You know, because I keep coming on to you and can’t seem to resist you but you have no problem saying no to me.”

He gritted his teeth together. “Um, no. I’ve needed a cold shower every night after I said goodbye to you. Leaving you is the hardest thing I’ve done, every single damn night. But I’m trying to do things right between us. Don’t you get that?”

She bit her lip. “No.” She reached up to run a hand through his hair and then pulled him down close so she could speak into his ear. “Take me home tonight, Ryan. If you really want me, take me home and show me.”

His jaw tightened as he pulled back to look at her. He adjusted his jeans and a thrill went through her as she realized she really did have a physical effect on him.

“Come on, Ry. I’m practically begging.”

He stood and put out a hand for her. “Well, I can’t have that. No woman of mine should have to beg.”

She almost corrected him, but instead, she took his hand and stood. After all, right or wrong, it seemed like she was finally going to get what she’d been wanting.

And she wasn’t about to screw that up.