THE NEXT WEEK and a half flew by with a mix of laughter, late-night rendezvous, early-morning lovemaking, and a few solid doses of uncomfortable reality. Talia didn’t mind the discomfort. The more time she spent with Derek and his father and the better she got to know Maria, the more adept she became at helping with and understanding Jonah’s needs. That knowledge also helped her understand Derek’s daily life even more clearly. He and his father had already taken root in her heart, and as their lives became more connected, she found emotions that were realer and truer than anything she’d ever known. Relationships with Derek’s friends were also interwoven in this new life of hers. They’d had another potluck dinner last week at Eli’s, and though Phyllis wasn’t able to join them today for their ski adventure, they were taking so many pictures, she wouldn’t miss a thing.
They were blessed with a perfect sunny Saturday, and thanks to a quick shopping trip with Willow and Piper last night, Talia looked amazing. Her sisters had assured her that if she looked the part of an experienced skier, she’d feel that much more confident on the slopes. They’d even watched skiing videos with her so she wouldn’t be quite as nervous. Their support meant the world to her, and she was surprised how much she’d enjoyed opening up to them about her insecurities. That wasn’t something she’d ever been comfortable doing before. But being around Derek and his father brought the importance of family to a new level. She’d gotten so close to her sisters lately, she’d thought about telling them about his dancing, but she didn’t want to give them a reason not to like him or even to question his integrity. She had no idea what her family would think if they knew he took off his clothes for strangers. She was falling hard for him, but she still hadn’t gone back to see him dance. It was too hard to see other women gawking at him. Even though she trusted him completely, she didn’t need to have it thrown in her face.
As she and Derek waited in line for the J-bar lift with India and Eli, her love for him bloomed bigger, as if the sun fed her emotions. But it wasn’t the sun, the moon, or anything else. It was her beautiful man and his loving, generous heart. She was excited to try skiing again and hoped she wouldn’t make a fool of herself, but as Derek draped an arm around her and pulled her into their millionth scorching kiss of the day, she had a feeling the girls had done too good a job picking out her outfit, and looking amazing would equate to hours of weak knees.
“How’s my sexy snow bunny?” he asked. “Nervous?”
“A little, but it’s hard to think about that when you’re standing there looking model-hot in that beanie.”
“The first time I wore it with you, I ended up lying on top of you. I have high hopes.” He waggled his brows and then kissed her again, slower and sweeter and hot enough to melt the slopes.
She’d been spending nights at his place, and they’d been satisfying their every desire, but it never seemed to be enough. Would she ever get used to the magnetism between them?
“Hey, kissy-face couple! Turn around and let me get a pic.” India held up her phone as they both looked over their shoulders, and she took a picture. “Eli!” she called out. He stood in line in front of them, wearing the same hat he’d had on at dinner, only now it had a string tied beneath his chin. He turned for the picture, flashing a cheesy smile.
Derek pressed another kiss to Talia’s cheek.
“I got that one, too!” India waved her phone.
“I want in on this action.” Eli pushed his head between Derek and Talia and kissed Talia’s cheek. They all laughed as India took the picture.
“Get in here, India.” Derek pulled her forward as much as he could with her skis and held her phone up for a group selfie.
“I want copies,” Talia said.
They took a bunch of silly pictures as they waited in line, which was a great distraction from Talia’s nervousness. She and India exchanged phone numbers, and India texted her the pictures.
“We’re up!” Eli said as he skied out to wait for the lift. “See you guys at the top.”
Talia drew in a deep breath.
“You okay, babe?” Derek asked as Eli was swept up the hill and Talia transferred her poles to her left hand.
“Yeah, I think so.” During breakfast, Derek had drawn cartoons of them skiing while he reminded her of the ins and outs of riding the lifts. She wasn’t that nervous about riding the J-bar or even skiing down the bunny hill, but the bigger lifts and the more difficult slopes had her stomach in knots.
“I’ll be right behind you. Remember, all you have to do is slide forward at the top. Eli will be waiting for you, and I’ll be right behind you.”
“Just what she needs. A freak sandwich,” India teased. “You’re going to kill it, Talia!”
Derek swatted Talia’s butt as she skied out to wait for the lift, and India took more pictures. Talia blew Derek a kiss, and then the bar slid into place, pushing her up the hill. Eli came into view, standing at the top of the hill with his phone in one hand, either recording or taking pictures; she couldn’t tell which. When she skied away from the slope, he cheered and applauded.
“You’re a pro!” Eli said.
Derek and India arrived a minute later.
“Derek must have been pulling our legs about you not skiing,” Eli said.
“No. He was telling you the truth. I haven’t skied in forever. But this is just the kid area. It’s the bigger slopes and lifts that worry me.”
“I get that,” India said. “It took me forever to brave the bigger slopes.”
“Why do they worry you?” Eli asked. “Just tell yourself they are all bunny slopes.”
“Oh, right,” she said sarcastically. “A hill this size is doable. But the steeper slopes make me feel totally out of control.”
“You must be an oldest child,” Eli said. “How many siblings do you have?”
“How do you know I have any?”
“Because most eldest siblings need a sense of control,” Eli explained. “So . . . ? How many?”
She told him about her sisters and Ben. “Once I was able to drive, I’d bring them skiing, but there were definite advantages to hanging out in the lodge.”
“Hot guys,” India said, and held her hand up for a high five. “I hear ya. My sister and I totally figured that out, too. All the hot guys would snowboard, then hit the lodge to warm up.”
“We’re breaking you of that habit today.” Derek gave her a possessive—and hot as sin—stare.
She and India laughed.
“Let’s go, Tallie girl,” Derek said. “You set the pace, and I’ll ski beside you.”
True to his promise, he stayed in line with her the whole way down, even though she skied slower than nearly every kid on the slope. When she got to the bottom, India and Eli both had their phones out, taking pictures.
“What are you doing? Making a documentary?” she teased.
“Life is short,” India said. “We capture the good times when we can.”
Her heart squeezed at that little reminder. While she’d been enjoying the time with everyone, she’d forgotten the choreographing that had to happen in order for the others to go on outings such as this and the reality that nobody lived forever or remained the same throughout their lives. She kept that in mind as they skied the bunny hill two more times and then headed to a more difficult one. As she and Derek rode the ski lift up the mountain, the sun beat down on the glistening snow, laughter drifted up from below, and she felt a new level of appreciation for those simple things.
She took out her phone, cuddled closer to Derek, and took a selfie. She became aware of how good it felt to smile and how the man beside her kept her smiling. She turned and took a picture of India and her wild hair and Eli with that silly hat on his head on the lift behind them. Eli put his hand on India’s leg, and she swatted it away.
Talia faced forward as she zipped her phone into her pocket. “What’s with that hat Eli wears?”
“It was his older brother’s.” Derek placed his hand over hers and squeezed. “He was in the military and came home with PTSD. He committed suicide last year.”
“Oh no.” Her heart broke for him. “His poor family.”
They rode the rest of the way up the mountain in silence, and it was probably a good thing, because Talia was so nervous about getting off the lift that as their turn neared, everything else fell away. Suddenly there was only the sound of blood rushing through her ears and the view of the clifflike hill they were approaching. Derek was saying something about lifting the tips of her skis, but as she fumbled with her poles, she couldn’t focus on the words. She sat up straighter, watching the ground come up at her as they approached, and then she was standing and Derek was beside her, and she turned, excited to show him she’d done it! But her ski angled, catching on the other one, sending her ass over teakettle down the slope. She landed on her belly with an ooph as Derek tumbled down beside her. She tried to sit up, but her skis were tangled. Derek’s arm came around her waist and he hauled her on top of him, out of the way of the approaching skiers.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to trip you!” she said, more embarrassed than hurt to have tripped him up, too.
He lay beneath her, grinning like a fool—a lovesick fool—and her heart stuttered.
“You fell on purpose?” She couldn’t believe it! Why would he do that?
“Team Grant and all that,” he said. Then he pressed his lips to hers, obliterating her embarrassment.
As they got to their feet, she spotted Eli and India waiting for them.
“Are you okay?” India asked as she rushed to Talia’s side.
“Don’t worry.” Eli waved his phone. “We got it all on video. You’ll be the next YouTube sensation. Ski-Crossed Lovers!”
Hours of friendship and laughter passed with falls and teasing taunts, making for a fun afternoon. Talia was a fine skier, even if a little nervous. There were times when they didn’t say a word at the top of the mountain, and then skied down together. But other times Derek saw worries rising in her eyes or her smile trembling at the edges. He went to her then, standing close enough to demand all of her attention. In those moments, when her confidence wavered, he reminded her of who she was. Not the polished professor, but the careful woman who wanted to understand things before taking the next step. The woman who weighed her options and the risks before opening her heart to him. The woman who helped him see that he didn’t have to choose between his own happiness and his father’s. And then he took the time to talk through the risks and what-ifs that concerned her about skiing down the mountain. He didn’t push her to confront them. He simply listened and talked her through her worries. Once she felt safe and comfortable enough, they skied down. But he’d have walked down the mountain if she’d preferred.
As daylight gave way to evening, Derek looked around the dinner table in the lodge restaurant, thinking about the incredible day they’d shared. India was watching him as she whispered something to Talia. It warmed his heart to see how close the two of them had become. Across the table, Eli was scoping out a girl sitting on the other side of the room. And Derek’s sweet, beautiful Tallie girl, whose cheeks were pink from a day in the sun, sat in front of the roaring fire, looking radiant as she reached for his hand under the table. He loved that she could kiss him in front of everyone and still have shy moments like these, where their connection was kept just between the two of them.
“Are you guys up for Nightingale’s Wednesday night?” India asked.
Eli nodded. “Sounds good to me.”
Man, Derek had been so swept up in Talia, he’d forgotten the dinner was planned for this week.
He leaned closer to Talia and said, “Nightingale’s is the restaurant where my father used to work. Once a month, before they open for dinner, they host an early dinner hour for us and our parents. It’s nice. I had forgotten it was this week. I’ll have to get Geno to cover my shift at the bar. Can you join us?”
“You sure you don’t mind?” Talia asked softly.
“Babe, there’s not a single night when I don’t want you with me. It would seem strange not to have you there.”
“I already invited her to Phyllis’s for the potluck next Sunday night.” India patted her curls. “Because I’m cool like that.”
“Pushy like that,” Eli teased.
India rolled her eyes. “You like me pushy. It’s who I am.”
As Eli and India traded barbs, Derek said, “Pick your favorite dish for next Sunday night and we’ll make it together.”
She batted her long lashes, playful and sexy at once, and said, “There’s no oven involved with my favorite dish, and I definitely don’t want to share him.”
“You’re killing me, baby,” he nearly growled, and kissed her until India complained and they were forced to separate.
After dinner they headed out to the parking lot. Streetlights glowed against the winter-white sky like beacons in the night. Derek was in no hurry to leave their memories behind, and he hoped Talia wasn’t, either.
He drew her tighter against him. “What do you think, Tallie girl? Best day ever?”
She gazed up with the most contented expression. “There are no words . . .”
You’re wrong, baby. He’d had a few very special words pecking at his heart for the past few days, and it was hell keeping them in. He leaned in for a kiss as they reached Eli’s truck.
“You two are going to get lip-locked if you keep that up,” India said as she pulled Talia from his arms and hugged her. “See you Wednesday?”
“Absolutely,” Talia said, and then she hugged Eli. “Be careful driving.”
“Of course. Have fun tonight.” Eli winked at Derek.
“We always do.” The bastard was going to ruin Talia’s surprise if he wasn’t careful. Derek reached for Talia’s hand, and they headed for his car.
“Thank you for letting me tag along,” Talia said when they reached his car.
“Tag along? Where I go, you go. That’s what couples do. They go skiing and stay at lodges and take sleigh rides through the snow.” He kissed her softly, and she wound her arms around his neck.
“That sounds amazing. Maybe one day Maria can stay with your dad overnight and we can do that.”
He reached into his pocket and withdrew the keycard to their room in the lodge, which he’d picked up from the desk while Talia was in the ladies’ room. He waved it between them. “Tonight is our night, Tallie girl. And our horse-drawn sleigh leaves in half an hour, giving us just enough time to get our things up to the room and for me to get you sufficiently hot and bothered.”
“But . . .” She launched herself into his arms, and he twirled her around as they kissed. “I can’t believe it.” Kiss, kiss. “Thank you!” Kiss, nip, kiss. “What about your dad? Will he get upset or thrown off schedule?”
“Tonight is all ours. Maria’s staying overnight, and she’s taking him to the museum tomorrow.” This was the first time he’d spend the night away from his father since he’d started taking care of him. It was a huge deal, but he’d had a long talk with Maria about it. He trusted her, and he hoped his father did okay. He and Talia deserved this night.
“I have no luggage! Not that I care, but . . .”
He chuckled and kissed her long and hard before setting her on her feet. “You have luggage, babe.” He unlocked the hatchback and lifted out her bag. “I had your sisters pack for you.”
“Please tell me you mean Bridgette and Willow. If Piper packed, I’ll have a suitcase full of sexy lingerie and Lord knows what else.”
“I’ll plead the Fifth on that one—and make a mental note to have Piper pack all your bags from now on.” He hoisted their bags over his shoulder and pulled her close again. “Your mother was nice enough to send along lotions and oils. I requested her most potent love potions.”