A Winter’s Tale by Carrie Elks (15)

If she wasn’t feeling so confused, the ride back to the mansion would have been exhilarating. Adam handled the shiny blue snowmobile with calm assurance, breaking through the banks of snow with ease. He’d hooked up a trailer for the luggage, with the four of them perched on the seats behind him, a blanket around their legs to try and keep out the cold. It was almost like being in a boat, the smooth gliding sensation very similar to her friend’s motorboat in Venice Beach. Yet the cold wind whipping around their faces left them in no doubt they were in the middle of a mountain winter, snow ploughing in front of them as if it were a wave parting in front of a boat.

‘So, about that Starbucks.’ Drake had to shout above the noise of the engine and the wind to be heard.

‘What Starbucks?’ Kitty replied. ‘The closest you’ll be getting to a venti mochaccino is Annie’s gritty percolator, and that’s if you manage to sweet talk her.’

‘Who’s Annie? Is she a barista?’ He scrunched his nose up, as though something smelled really bad.

She tried to stifle her shocked laugh. ‘No, Annie’s the housekeeper. We’re in the middle of nowhere. There aren’t any coffee shops or restaurants. Apparently there’s a store and a run-down bar and that’s it.’ She shot a glance at Adam’s back, remembering his harsh words when he found her next to that dying deer on the road. There were no businesses in Cutler’s Gap.

Was it really less than an hour ago that he was holding her in his arms, giving her the most sensual experience of her life? All the while that he prepared the snowmobile and loaded everything on board, Adam had continued to avoid her gaze. Now she was more baffled than ever. The man blew hot and cold so fast she wasn’t sure if she was supposed to burn or freeze.

Every time she looked at him she could feel butterflies somersaulting in her stomach. That couldn’t be good, could it?

‘A bar?’ Drake asked. ‘Is it one of those authentic mountain bars with bearded old men and a pool table in the corner?’ He turned to Everett. ‘We should check that out. It would be perfect for the farewell scene…’

‘Drake.’ The tone of Everett’s voice cut him off before he could finish. ‘We can talk business later, OK?’

‘Oh, of course. Do you play pool, Everett?’ The rest of the ride to the big house carried on something like that. Drake and Everett managed to keep up an unending stream of conversation that distracted her from her thoughts.

Adam pulled up just behind the house, shutting off the engine before climbing down from the driver’s seat. Everett jumped out, with Drake following close behind, the younger man muttering his thanks before they rushed towards the warmth of Annie’s kitchen. Adam held his hand up to Kitty, his head tilted to the side as he looked at her, and she grasped his gloved palm with hers, allowing him to lift her down from the seat.

Wrapping his arm around her waist, Adam squeezed her tightly as he set her feet down onto the snow-covered lawn. His hold lingered for a moment longer than necessary, sending shivers pulsing down Kitty’s spine.

Damn those butterflies. They got everywhere.

‘There you go,’ he said, finally releasing his grasp. ‘You should get inside before you catch the cold.’

Kitty looked up at him, trying to read his expression. Between the hair and the thick cap he was wearing, there wasn’t very much she could read at all.

‘Aren’t you coming too?’

He shook his head. ‘No, ma’am. Not while it’s all so busy in there.’

‘It’s not that busy. Just a couple of extra warm bodies.’

They both knew it wasn’t the number of people stopping him, it was who those people were. Curiosity washed over her. ‘What is it between you and Everett anyway?’

She wanted to kick herself as soon as she’d asked. Adam frowned and kicked at the snow with his heavy boot, looking angry at her intrusion.

‘It’s a family thing.’

She couldn’t equate the brooding man standing before her with the one who was so sensual less than an hour before. He looked the same, he even smelled the same, but it was as if the guy who kissed her had retreated inside his shell.

‘I should think so, you’re brothers after all. But it’s the season of goodwill, peace to all men, isn’t there any way you could try to reconcile? Especially with your mother’s accident?’

Memories of her own mother came rushing back. Or rather her lack of mother. Each Christmas it felt as though there was something missing, in spite of the efforts of her father and her sisters. A memory flashed into her brain, of a young Kitty curled up on the sofa, ramming sweets into her mouth as she watched some Hallmark Christmas movie.

Alone, as she so often was.

‘Don’t get caught up in something that doesn’t concern you,’ Adam said, his voice low. ‘What happens between me and my brother is my business and I’ll thank you to keep out of it.’

Stepping back as if he’d slapped her, Kitty stumbled in the thick snow. Her chest tightened in response to his vehemence, as she wondered what on earth she had done to deserve such a response.

‘I’m sorry,’ she said softly, blinking to disperse the tears. ‘It’s just that if my family was here I’d be delighted, not hiding away in a cabin by the lake.’

Something clouded his face, an emotion that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. All the same, it was enough to soften his voice when he replied. ‘Well in that case you’re very lucky.’ Pulling at his hat as if he was agitated, he quickly shrugged and then turned back to the snowmobile. ‘I’ll see you around.’

Those four words panicked her, as if she was losing something she wasn’t willing to let go. ‘Won’t I see you in the morning?’ she asked, still breathless. ‘When I come down to see to the dog.’

Adam turned his head, finally meeting her gaze. But instead of saying a word, he switched the engine on, the roar of the motor drowning everything out. He backed the snowmobile up, then turned the giant machine around, until every part of him had his back to her.

That was the end of that, then. Sighing, she watched him disappear back towards the cabin, snow shooting out from beneath the machine as he crossed the distance between the house and the trees.

Stupid, angry, sexy bastard. So what if he kissed better than anyone she’d ever met? As far as she was concerned he could disappear into the forest and never come back out.

Yeah. That’s exactly how she felt.

 

Adam was driving too fast, yet the need to feel danger, and let exhilaration wash away the anger he’d been feeling, was too compelling to ignore. He kept his foot firmly pressed down, manoeuvring the snowmobile around the ridge of trees, refusing to look back at the big house behind him, and the wet-eyed girl he knew was still standing in front of it.

Damn them all. Why the hell did Everett have to spend Christmas in West Virginia, complicating things with his family and his staff who seemed set on driving him crazy? How the hell did he end up kissing Everett’s nanny anyway? With her wide-eyed innocence and her perfectly pouty lips, she was everything he should be avoiding. She was…

His? 

Adam sighed as he parked the snowmobile up in the shed at the back of the cabin. Of course she wasn’t his. If she belonged to anyone, she was Everett’s; after all, it was his brother who paid her wages. He was the one she owed her loyalty to. Once again a surge of irrational anger overtook him. Like a jealous kid, he wanted to steal Everett’s toy, and keep it for himself.

What the hell was he thinking, kissing her? He of all people knew what living in LA did to people. Kitty was no different to the rest of them, with her bronzed skin and easy laugh, not to mention her inability to dress appropriately for the season. Yet there was a part of him that knew it wasn’t true. She might have flown in from LAX, but she didn’t have the guile he’d seen in most people in his industry. He didn’t feel that sense of appraisal when she looked at him; that wondering who he was and how good he’d be for their career and whether he could help them climb up another rung of that greasy, slippery ladder.

In that respect, Kitty was as far from Hollywood as he was. Adam could tell from the gentle way she dealt with Jonas, not to mention her supreme patience when she was handling the dog, that she wasn’t working any angle while she was here. She was just being who she was supposed to be. Nanny, employee… friend.

That brought him full circle to feeling like a shit of the highest order. What kind of man practically made love to a woman with his lips and then refused even to smile at her, let alone acknowledge the fire burning between them? Maybe he should admit that Kitty was better off without him. What on earth could a girl her age see in an asshole like him anyway? He was broken, a mere shadow of a man since he’d come back from Colombia and LA. He could barely venture out of his cabin, let alone be the sort of man Kitty deserved. She was young, pretty, and admittedly a little bit naive, but clearly didn’t have a bad bone in her body.

That fact alone was exactly why he needed to keep away from her.

And precisely why it was impossible to do so.

 

Kitty and Jonas spent the afternoon in the kitchen with Annie, helping her with the holiday preparations and trying to keep her calm. The room was warm, the aroma of coffee filling the air, along with the jars of spices she had open.

‘All these last-minute changes,’ she huffed. ‘And now they tell me Mr Montgomery’s a vegetarian. What on earth am I going to cook for Christmas Day? He won’t eat turkey or ham. I’m going to have to get some of that tutu or something, otherwise he’s going to starve.’

‘You mean tofu.’ Kitty tried to block the image of Drake wearing a ballerina skirt from her mind with only limited success. ‘And I honestly wouldn’t worry about Drake, I don’t think he eats anything anyway.’

‘Oh, he’s one of those.’ Annie poured another spoonful of cinnamon into the mixing bowl. ‘All those people in Hollywood who never eat. I’m surprised there are many of them left. Of course, your mum’s no better, Jonas.’

The boy nodded happily and grabbed a handful of chocolate chips. ‘Yep, she hates food.’

Glancing down at her thighs, Kitty wished for a moment that she could hate food too. But then Annie pulled open the oven door, and the mouthwatering aroma of fresh cookies filled the kitchen. How could anybody hate food when it smelled so good?

Adam hadn’t seemed to mind her curves when he was kissing the life out of her in his little cabin. Her cheeks flushed as she recalled the way his mouth had moved against hers, and the teasing sensation of his palms as he slid his hands beneath her sweater. She’d never been kissed like that before, with an animal ferocity that took her breath away. But then he’d practically dismissed her after the lift he gave them in the snowmobile, leaving her with a lingering feeling of distaste.

Sadly, even Annie’s warm cookies couldn’t remove the nasty flavour from her mouth.

Why was it that everything reminded her of Adam? It was so frustrating the way he invaded every thought. The memory of his kiss lingered like the taste of good wine on her lips, and it was all she could do not to touch them again and again. Kitty couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt like this – if she ever had – so consumed by somebody she had nothing in common with, except the chemistry that kept growing between them.

Maybe she’d watched one too many movies. She’d always assumed that passion was an invention, made up by writers in order to put bottoms on seats in the cinema. Now she’d experienced it for herself, she wasn’t so sure.

One thing she was certain of though, she needed to calm herself down. Whatever this thing between her and Adam was, it was sure to end in tears.

‘Can you take some cookies through to the library?’ Annie handed Kitty a china plate piled high with snickerdoodles. ‘They’ve set up shop in there, though goodness knows what on earth they’re doing so close to Christmas.’

Kitty slid the plate onto a tray and poured two steaming mugs of coffee out before balancing them all on the surface. Maybe a chat with Everett was just what she needed – it was the oral equivalent of a cold shower. ‘Are you coming, Jonas?’

The seven-year-old shook his head. ‘No way, Dad’s in a stinky mood. I’ve already been told off for messing with the equipment. I think I’ll just stay here with Annie.’

Annie gave Kitty a nod of agreement. ‘I’ll keep an eye on him.’

‘In that case wish me luck,’ Kitty said, making a dramatic face. ‘And if I’m not back in ten minutes, send out a search party.’

Jonas grinned, grabbing another cookie, while Annie rolled her eyes. From the looks of them, neither would be in a hurry to save her from an ear-bashing if she managed to upset Everett or Drake. So much for loyalty.

When she walked into the library, Kitty saw exactly what had enticed Jonas inside. It was as though the musty room filled with books had been transformed into a modern-day control centre. Laptops hummed, a Wi-Fi booster blinked and the desk was covered in paper. She looked a little closer. It looked like the pages of a printed script.

‘Where should I put these?’ Her voice sounded louder than usual, echoing around the tall-ceilinged room. Both men immediately stood up and swung around to face her, but it was Everett’s angry expression she noticed first.

‘You shouldn’t be in here. It’s strictly off limits. How many times do I have to tell you all? And stop looking at that script, it’s top secret.’

Kitty hesitated, still balancing the drink and cookies in her hands. She looked around in vain for somewhere to place the tray, but it seemed as though every surface was filled with computer equipment and piles of papers. ‘Annie asked me to bring some coffee in for you,’ she stuttered. ‘And there’s cookies, too.’ Part of her wanted to tell him where he could stick those damn cookies, and it wasn’t going to be anywhere near his mouth. But he was her boss, and more than that, her key to an internship. For better or worse, she needed him.

‘Are you deaf?’ Everett asked her. ‘Just get out. Now.’

Drake gave an uneasy laugh and walked over, taking the tray from her grasp. ‘It’s OK, Everett, it’s not as though there’s anything to see here. And she’s signed a non-disclosure agreement, hasn’t she?’

Non-disclosures were common for Hollywood staff, whether they were directly employed by the movie industry or not. The last thing a famous actor wanted was for his nanny to sell his dirty secrets to the newspapers. Pretty much everybody had to sign an NDA before taking up employment.

‘It doesn’t matter, if this gets out we could lose everything,’ Everett growled. ‘All it would take is the right word in the wrong ear and copycat movies will be showing up all over the place. I want this kept under wraps.’

He was being dramatic. Hollywood gossip always trumped secrecy, they both knew that. Whatever he was working on wouldn’t be secret for long. So why was he so tetchy?

‘Kitty won’t say anything, will you?’ Drake looked over at her, his eyebrows raised.

‘Of course I won’t. There’s nothing to tell anyway, just a whole load of flashing equipment and a script flung everywhere.’ It took everything she had not to roll her eyes. Any hint of excitement she’d felt during her first few weeks in Hollywood had long since passed. One thing was for sure, the movie business just wasn’t that glamorous.

Everett turned back to his assistant. ‘I want this room sealed off, you and I are the only ones allowed in here, and if it’s empty we lock it with a key.’

‘Sure, of course.’ Drake placed the tray on top of a pile of papers then gestured at Kitty. ‘I’ll show you out,’ he said, steering her towards the door.

Kitty didn’t resist; she couldn’t wait to get out of there. Everett was treating her as if she were a piece of dirt he’d found on the sole of his shoe. What with him, and his mercurial brother, she’d had about enough of the lot of them.

She couldn’t care less about whatever movie it was that Everett was producing, as far as she was concerned he could be making box-office millions and it wouldn’t concern her. She only wanted to look after Jonas for a few weeks, and then find an internship, with or without his help. Everett could keep his secrets to himself; she didn’t want them.