Chapter Eight
“Hope you like marshmallows.”
Dina couldn’t believe how incredibly adorable Sam North looked standing at the top of the stairs holding two cups of hot chocolate.
“They’re one of my favorite food groups.” Dina smiled as her entire body warmed up just from seeing Sam. She was grateful they were meeting in such a public place or who knew where the night might end.
“I shut the place down so we can take as much time as we need to get you on those skis.”
There went that safety net.
Sam walked down the stairs and smiled at her, making her insides twist into knots. This was a much better end to her day than she’d expected. Especially after Catrina turned up at her store trying to sell her overpriced high heels.
The look on Catrina’s face was priceless, and it was easy to see that Catrina never expected Dina to be the owner of the bridal boutique.
It had to be the quickest sales encounter she’d ever experienced. Come to think of it, Dina couldn’t even remember Catrina showing her any of the heels that were in the suitcase. She got a brochure and catalog out of her and that was about it.
“You really think you can get me up on the skis and teach me to stay up in the same night?” Dina took a steaming mug from Sam and their fingers touched, sending a thrilling sensation through her body.
He looked really good tonight dressed in a worn pair of jeans and a navy wool sweater. His dark hair still looked as unruly as ever, but she had a fondness for it. He was the complete package, at least in her eyes. She was finally ready for someone who wanted nothing more than a little fun and that seemed to be what he offered.
“I told you I wouldn’t let you fall.” He took a sip of the hot chocolate, and she tried to wipe the dopey grin off her face. “I’m going to have you skiing down double-diamonds with me in no time.”
Her hand flew into the air. “Whoa, buddy. No, thank you. I’m just trying to graduate to the bunny hill.” She took a sip of the hot chocolate and realized it didn’t come from a packet. This was the real deal, melted chocolate, milk, whipped cream, and more marshmallows than she could count.
“Did you make this?” Her brow arched, and she took another sip.
“It’s my grandma’s recipe. I only pull it out on special occasions.” He took a step forward, and her mind instantly flew back to the kiss last night.
“This is a special occasion?”
“It is.” He smiled. “You actually showed up. That in itself is a special occasion.”
Dina chuckled and glanced toward the back of the building where a large, carpeted hill sat churning over and over with a low hum.
“Is that it?”
“It sure is.” Sam nodded and pointed toward the rolling hill of death. “That will get your confidence ready for the season.”
“Has anyone ever hurt themselves on that?” Her voice went up an octave, and Sam chuckled.
“Not with me around.”
“That didn’t answer my question,” she teased.
“Speaking of, I have a few forms for you to fill out.” He wandered toward the hill with Dina right behind him. “You know, just the usual release of liability type of forms.”
Dina stopped in her tracks, and Sam turned around, grinning. “I’m kidding. We haven’t had anyone get hurt. Not even a rug burn or a scratch.” He walked over to a shelf full of helmets and pulled a pink one from the top shelf. “But safety first. Everyone has to wear one of these.”
“Aren’t you the funny man?” Dina walked over to Sam and attempted to grab the helmet from him but not before he began adjusting the straps around her chin. “Everything is safe as can be, but here’s your helmet to protect your brain.”
Sam laughed. “On the mountain, I sport a helmet, knee pads, wrist guards.”
“That must look spectacular.”
“Minus the helmet, you wouldn’t even know. It’s all under my clothes. Besides, it’s the responsible thing to do.”
“Mr. Responsibility.” She shook her head. “You’re blowing my mind.”
His expression softened. “What can I say? Maybe you’re a good influence. So how was your workday?” Sam asked, looking genuinely interested, but the quick change of subject confused Dina.
“Far more interesting than I would have thought,” she began as Sam placed a helmet on his own head. “I actually got in several referrals from last night’s grand opening. A few veils and head pieces and an appointment for a dress consultation so that was unexpected.”
“That’s great.” Sam’s eyes sparkled with mischief.
And then it dawned on her. He knew.
“And I ran into your old friend. She tried to sell me on carrying some expensive bridal shoes. I don’t think she had any clue whose shop she was showing up to.”
“Really.”
Yeah. He definitely knew. She wanted to know how, but reminded herself not to care. After all, whatever tonight turned into was nothing more than a fun stop on the fun train. She’d never ridden the fun train, but she was excited to start and the first step was putting on a pair of skis.
“She looked like she was going to faint when I welcomed her into the shop. I actually felt bad for her,” Dina confessed.
“You felt bad even though she barely gave you the time of day?”
Dina shrugged. “I did, but needless to say, the shoes don’t match my clientele. My brides are a little quirky sprinkled with elegance. Maybe with a dash of bohemian style.”
“Is that how you see yourself as a bride?” His question scattered her thought process.
She’d seen herself as a bride more times than she cared to admit, but she refused to let herself go down that path again. That’s why starting tonight off with a little fun and no commitment could really change the path of her life, and she was ready for that change. She only hoped Sam was up for the challenge.
“Umm.” She bit her lip and glanced at the rolling hill. “I’ve stopped seeing myself as a bride.”
“If that’s something you’ve wanted, you shouldn’t let a few duds ruin your dream.”
Dina smiled and focused her attention on Sam. “But dreams can change. I used to think I wanted to be a nurse.”
“What changed your mind?”
“I helped take care of my grandma after she had surgery and fainted every time I had to dress her wound.”
Sam laughed and nodded. “So you’ve seen too many ugly wedding wounds to want it for yourself.”
“I suppose I have.” She smiled and felt immensely better talking to him about it.
Somehow, he made things—her life choices—seem normal. For so long, her family had made her feel like she was a disaster waiting to happen, and she had almost started to believe it…until she arrived in Silver Ridge.
Maybe that was why she liked the blog too. Emilia always had a way of making people’s love lives seem interconnected with the universe, mistakes included, and she always pointed out that mistakes and happen chance often led to love when a person least expected it. Not that Dina expected that emotion at this point.
Sam motioned toward the stairs leading up to the top of the massive carpeted hill that looked far more intimidating up close.
Although, this did kind of have disaster written all over it.
“So you’ve never thought about the whole wife, kids, dog, picket fence package?” she asked as she slowly made her way step by step to the top of the mechanical mountain.
She turned around, and her knees nearly knocked together when she saw the incline of the hill. All she could picture was flying down the hill and running into the wall at the bottom.
“I’ve pictured a dog.” Sam came up behind her. “And I have a picket fence around the vegetable garden in the backyard. But no. I really don’t think it’s in the cards for me. I work too much and I’m a selfish bastard.”
The statement shocked her into a fit of giggles. Or maybe it was her nerves from thinking she was about to face death. Either way, by the time she stopped laughing, tears were streaming down her face.
When she looked back up at Sam, his arms were folded over his chest, and he was watching her with a curiosity that made her wonder what he really wanted out of this.
“I don’t think you’re selfish. In fact, I’ve seen quite the opposite,” she assured him.
He smiled and grabbed a pair of skis from the rack and placed them on the floor.
“I had our guys set up the bindings for you. Autumn gave me your information.” He grabbed a pair of ski boots and placed them next to the skis before helping her step into them and fasten them.
“So far so good.” He stood up and took a step back. “Now, let’s have you slide the toe end of your boot into the bindings and step down to lock them into place.”
Dina’s eyes widened. “Usually this is where I go down.”
“Not today.” He smiled and took her hand as she did as instructed, first locking her right foot into the bindings and then her left. Hearing the click was really gratifying as she balanced both feet in her skis without crashing to the floor.
“See? You’re still upright.” Sam’s smile was genuine, and she loved seeing the excitement run through his eyes. Even if it was only a matter of him being able to teach her better than her ex-fiancé, she’d take it.
“Okay, now slide your right foot forward and then your left up to meet it.” He didn’t let go of her hand as she pushed one ski forward and then the other. “You took your first step.”
Dina was actually surprised she’d had so much trouble getting into her skis before after how simple it seemed today. But the rolling mat of carpet was an entirely different ordeal. She eyed it nervously, and her knees began to tremble as she glanced back at Sam.
“Don’t be scared. I won’t let you go down. You’ve got my word. Now, move your skis again just like before.”
“I’m not scared.” She straightened up and started to slide her foot and that’s when one ski went out from under her. “Just intelligently cautious.”
True to his word, Sam somehow managed to catch her and keep her upright.
Her breathing was ragged, and sweat began to immediately roll down her back as she shook her head, trying to gather her nerve.
“That’s enough for me today.” She flashed a shaky smile in his direction and was met with a shake of his head instead.
“Not on my watch. I can tell you exactly what happened.” He moved in front of her, still holding onto her hand. “Give me your other hand.”
Begrudgingly, she gave it to him.
“You locked your knees and straightened your spine right when you made your move. You want to keep your body loose. Don’t lock your knees. Just kind of keep them bent as you move.”
“I’ll try.” She clutched his hands and moved forward, careful to not make any part of her body rigid.
“Perfect.”
Dina made it all the way to the intimidating carpet-covered monstrosity that seemed to be rolling backward at the speed of light. She took a deep breath in and blew it out slowly.
“The first thing we want to do is pie into it. Picture a slice of pie and let your skis form the shape as I slowly move you onto the ramp. That is your braking technique.”
“So it’s pretty important.”
“It is.”
Dina’s pulse started pounding and no words would come as he slowly moved her onto the carpet. She kept the points of her skis together but not touching and couldn’t believe she was staying in place and not flying down the carpet. What amazed her more was how he was able to walk backward in front of her and never miss a beat.
“See? You’ve got this.” He smiled, but she felt his hands start to break free, which only paralyzed her.
“Don’t let go,” she commanded.
“You’ve got this. I’m not doing anything. It’s all you right now.”
Not sure she believed him, she shot him a dirty look as he took his hands away from her.
“You’re still standing.” He beamed as Dina balanced on two skis, on a hill that was moving, and for the first time ever, she thought she might actually get the hang of this skiing thing.
She glanced down at the brown carpet continually speeding by her as she kept her pie form and finally let out a deep breath.
“Notice your knees are naturally bent, and you’re staying in position without much work.”
“I don’t know about that. My quads are on fire.” Dina grimaced and Sam laughed.
“Yeah. That tends to happen.” He watched her floating on the tiny mountain and couldn’t be happier. With other women, there’d always been an end game. He knew what he wanted to do and where things would end up, but with Dina he knew absolutely nothing about tomorrow, which kind of terrified him in a good way.
“Do you think we should stop while we’re ahead?” she asked, bringing him out of his fog.
“Probably a good idea. I don’t want you to tire out before dinner. I’m going to walk back up to the top, and I’ll bring you in. Don’t stop the pie.”
“Don’t worry a bit. I have no intention of moving a muscle. I’d like to live to see another day.” She stayed focused on the mountain in front of her and knew one false move and she’d go flying down the carpet where she’d either hit the wall or crash onto the concrete. Either way, it made her pie formation stronger.
Before she knew what was happening, Sam reached around her waist from behind and pulled her back onto the safety of the staging platform where she came to a gliding stop. Every muscle in her body felt like a noodle, but having his arms around her waist made her mind go to the crazy places again.
“It’s not just my quads that are on fire anymore.” She nearly slumped into him. “Even my shoulders feel like they had a workout.”
“Well, you had a lot on your mind trying to stay upright.” He brought his hands to her shoulders and slowly massaged the muscles. “One false move and you could have gone flying off the ramp.”
“Now you tell me that?” She laughed, feeling the tension from her body fall away as his fingers moved deeper. If it weren’t for the fact that she was on skis, she’d probably be in his arms right now, begging for a kiss.
So, it was a really good thing she was on skis.
“Does that feel better?” he asked, taking his hands away from her shoulders.
She didn’t even realize she’d had her eyes closed as she murmured a faint yes before flicking her eyes back open.
“Good. I’ll step on your left binding and you just pull your boot out.”
“Okay. I can handle that.” She gave a quick nod and attempted to get a hold of herself as each binding popped, and she pulled her boots out of the skis.
“It might take a few days for your muscles to recuperate and then we can work on the next step.” He bent over, picked up her skis, and put them back on the rack while she managed to pull herself out of the boots.
“There’s more to it than that? I can’t just pie down the mountain for the rest of my life?”
“Well, it’s probably a good idea to learn how to turn.” He smiled. “And stopping is always helpful.”
“I guess you’re right.” She unhooked her helmet. “Turning and stopping are both good things to master before the snow starts coming down.”
He took the helmet from her, and she followed him down the stairs.
“Ready for dinner?” he asked.
“Beyond.” A dip of disappointment stirred in her belly as she thought about the time going by so quickly. “I’m starving.”
“You burned a ton of calories.” He glanced back at her. “You’ve got to keep your stamina up.”
“Why’s that? Have something else in store for the night?”
He turned around and his gaze locked on hers. “Like what?” The timbre in his voice sent a thrill through her, and she didn’t even know why. It didn’t hurt that he looked especially good tonight, which seemed to redirect her mind to exactly one place.
“I don’t know what you adventure types do up here in the mountains after a dinner date,” she teased. “For all I know, you go hiking in the wilderness and—”
“That wouldn’t be particularly safe in the dark.”
“Well, what would be safe in the dark?” she asked, moving a little closer.
Sam let out a low grumble and shook his head. “I can think of a few things, but I don’t think either of us are ready for that complication.”
She narrowed her eyes on the handsome man standing in front of her, and she suddenly didn’t care about dinner. “I’m not sure there would be much complication, considering neither of us is looking for anything.”
“Is that so?” Sam closed the gap between them, circling his arms around her waist. “You think you can spend one night with me and just move on?”
Electricity was racing between them, and all she wanted was another kiss. Another possessive yet gentle kiss where she didn’t care about tomorrow and only let herself melt into the here and now. Something she hadn’t been able to do before.
“Isn’t that what you do?” she asked, nearly breathless as his piercing blue eyes stayed locked on hers. “No commitment means no expectation. I can go into this with no expectation.”
He drew his hand along her spine, pulling her into him even closer, and feeling her body press into his. They fit nicely together with her curves melding into his body. The thought of spending the night with her was tempting.
Beyond tempting.
But that wasn’t how he planned on this going with Dina. This was the first time he’d planned on going slow, taking it easy.
But he was a man and the thought of spending tonight with her was—
“You know my place is just up the road,” she whispered, tracing her finger along his jawline.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” His eyes darkened slightly as her eyes fell to his lips.
“More than anything.”