Just Perfect (4 page)

“Come on,” he urged. “Just a short break.”

“All right.” She nodded.

“Where are you from?” he asked as they skied slowly toward a safe area near the trees.

“Austin.”

“Really?” He stopped at the edge of the run. “We’re practically neighbors. I grew up in Elgin.”

“Oh yeah?” Her eyes brightened with interest, which he took as a green light. “I love Elgin sausage.”

“Best in Texas,” he boasted. “So what part of Austin?”

“Oh, um”—she shifted her eyes, the way people do right before they lie—“the Windsor/MoPac area.”

“Ah.” That drew him up a bit. Not a lie, but a toning down of the truth. A polite way to tell a poor hick from the sticks she’d grown up in Tarrytown, one of Austin’s most exclusive neighborhoods. And the way she said it told him Christine Ashton wasn’t “rich.” She was “seriously rich.” Women from that social stratosphere didn’t go out with trailer trash. Not that he’d mentioned growing up in a mobile home, but women had some sort of built-in radar for that.

He considered ditching the idea of asking her out—for about one nanosecond—then shrugged. No guts no glory. “So, Austin, huh? Great nightlife.”

“That’s what I hear.” She visibly relaxed and smiled back at him. Oh yeah, definite green light.

“Don’t you get out and enjoy it?”

“Uh, no.” Christine chuckled, thinking the only nightlife she ever saw was in the emergency ward at Breckenridge Hospital. The last thing she wanted to do, though, was talk about her residency while on vacation.

“Well now, that’s a shame,” Alec said. “Everyone should make the most of where they live.” His gaze held hers in a way that made her forget what they were talking about. Although who cared about the words coming from his mouth when his eyes were saying,
You’re gorgeous. 1 like you. Ya wanna get naked
?

Heat rushed into her cheeks as she returned his smile.
Maybe
, she told him with her eyes, even as a warning went off in her head. Every time she was instantly attracted to a man, he turned out to be a loser. After her most recent disastrous relationship, she’d promised Maddy and Amy she wouldn’t date anyone who didn’t get their stamp of approval first. Actually, she’d made them promise not to
let
her.

At times like this, though, when her hormones stood up and did the happy dance, that promise was really hard to remember.

Breaking eye contact, he took a deep breath, as if trying to cool down. “If you have your breath back, maybe we should continue.”

“I’m ready if you are,” she said with playful innuendo.

“I’m always ready.” He gave her a wicked grin.

She laughed. Dang, he was cute! And funny. And
tall
. Please let Maddy and Amy give her the go-ahead when she told them about him. “What did you have in mind?”

“I’m thinking we should move to more even ground and work on your balance.”

“Since you’re the instructor, I’ll put myself in your capable hands.”

The hour and a half that followed turned into the sexiest ski lesson in history, Christine was sure. Be-tween each exercise, Alec found an excuse to come up behind her, his skis straddling hers, so he could put his hands on her hips or shoulders and correct her form. His voice in her ear grew lower and rougher each time, until her whole body tingled with awareness. She even made it through two more rides on the chairlift—with him massaging her hands in a way that was very sweet, not to mention arousing.

At the end of their third run, he skied to a stop at the bottom. She slid in beside him.

“And that,” he said, lifting his goggles, “concludes lesson number one.”

“Already?” She pulled her glove down enough to see her watch. “Wow, time flies when you’re having fun.”

“Does it ever.” He gave her another of his wicked looks that made her belly do the tango. “So, do you have plans for the rest of the day?”

Uh-oh
. He was about to ask her out, but she couldn’t say yes until he passed the Friend Test. Her libido argued to say yes now and get approval later. Her friends were so dang tough she hadn’t had a date in months. Surely they’d like this guy, though.

No. Stay firm, Christine. Stay firm.

“I, um”—she cleared her throat—“thought I’d go back to the family condo, thaw out with a hot shower, and collapse on the sofa.” That was the best plan. Especially since she had a ton of studying to do for her upcoming medical board certification exam.

“I have a better idea for thawing out.” He crossed his arms over one of his poles, leaning his weight on it. “I’m planning to meet some buds at the pub. How does a warm brandy in front of a roaring fire sound?”

“Tempting…”
Very tempting
. “But no. I can’t.”

“Come on, just for a little while.” He bent to remove his skis. “My friends are all expert skiers, sure to swap a few tips on conquering the black runs.”

No fair
. How was she supposed to resist that on top of a physical attraction that was pinging through her body? Hoping for distraction, she bent and removed her own skis. “I would love to, really, just not today. Can I take a rain check?”

“Absolutely.” He straightened and didn’t look the least discouraged, thank goodness. “Take that hot shower you mentioned and some ibuprofen for your muscles. Then get plenty of sleep and drink lots of water.”

“You sound like a doctor.”

“Just looking out for my student.” He shouldered his skis and poles. “See you tomorrow. Same time, same place.”

“I’ll be there.” Watching him stride away, she fought the urge to dance in place and shout Yes! Surely her dating drought was about to end.

After a quick shower, Christine pulled on worn jeans and a faded orange sweatshirt with her college logo—a white longhorn—emblazoned across the front. Her mind raced, trying to compose an e-mail to her friends that would win their approval as she hurried down the stairs that led from the loft outside the guest bedrooms to the condo’s main room.

Like most of the building in Silver Mountain, the street level was full of shops and restaurants with condos above. The wall of glass across from her opened onto a sundeck and offered a spectacular view of the mountains.

Her laptop waited on the coffee table, atop last night’s pizza box. Coffee first, though, she thought, and veered toward the kitchen. The machine had finished brewing while she’d been in the shower, so she searched for a good-sized mug. Unfortunately, the cabinets held nothing but wimpy bone china cups with fragile handles. Resigned, she filled one, then carried it into the living area.

While the condo wasn’t as formal as the Ashtons’ main residence in Austin, the decor struck her as more appropriate for an English tearoom than a ski lodge, but that was her mother’s style.

Stepping over the shoes she’d kicked off last night, she flipped a switch on the wall, which ignited the gas fireplace. Instant flames popped up through the fake logs, all of it carefully sealed behind glass. She thought of Alec Hunter at this very moment sitting before a real fireplace in a crowded pub, surrounded by friends and laughter, with the scent of wood smoke and fried food filling the air.

If the next few minutes went well, she’d be joining him tomorrow.

Determined, she sat on the sofa and opened her laptop. Now, what to say?

The time indicator on the screen read four fifteen Austin time, which made it three fifteen Mountain Time. Perfect. Since Maddy had moved to Santa Fe, they’d fallen into the habit of all three being online this time of day. Amy would still be at her desk managing her Traveling Nannies franchise, a business that placed temporary nannies with the vacationing wealthy and even some celebrities. Maddy was usually ready for a break from working on her art, and, until recently, Christine would just be waking up and getting ready for her night shift at the hospital.

E-mail might not make up for the girlfriend lunches and movie days they’d enjoyed during the ten years after graduating from UT, but it was the next best thing. After a little more thought, she decided to start with something that was sure to get a positive response. She typed
I did it
! into the subject line.

Message:
I rode the chairlift! Three times
!

Maddy was first to respond:
Woo-hoo! Now give us the details, woman
.

Amy was quick to follow:
I knew you could do it. I’m so proud of you
.

Christine worked on her response, wanting to get it just right before she hit send. She started with:
Actually, it wasn’t as bad as I feared after the first ride. Mostly because of my ski instructor
.

There, that was a good opening. Now what else to say? She typed:
He’s so cute
! Then groaned and hit the delete key to erase that line. Any time she started , with a physical description, her chances of winning approval took an instant nosedive.

She pondered the screen, then flexed her fingers and tried again:
In fact, I really like this guy, and think you will too. His name’s Alec Hunter, and he’s very professional but not stuffy. Actually, I can’t remember the last time I laughed so much in one afternoon. Mostly
,

though, he was wonderful on the lift, distracting me and keeping me calm. He’s considerate and sensitive but also fun. And I’d like to go out with him, assuming you two approve, which I’m sure you will, because this one’s really great.

She reread the message a few times, wondering if she was laying it on too thick. Although everything she’d written was true. Bracing herself, she hit send.

And waited.

As the seconds ticked by, she pressed her palms together with her fingers against her lips.

Finally, Maddy’s response came through:
When you say “professional” I hope you mean employed. Because yesterday you mentioned the instructor they’d lined up for you didn’t work for the ski school. That he was doing this as some sort of favor for a friend. So what does he do
?

Damn! She cringed as she answered:
Actually, I’m not sure. I forgot to ask
.

Maddy:
Christine
¹
. Do we need to make out a list of minimum criteria
?

Angry at herself, because she’d probably flubbed it, Christine fired back:
Maybe you should just draw up an application for my potential dates to fill out
.

Maddy:
That’s not a bad idea
!

Christine:
Absolutely not! And this is getting ridiculous. The only dates I’ve had in the past two years were with total duds who put me to sleep before we made it through dinner
.

Maddy:
That’s because you always go to extremes. You either pick some starched shirt, then feel like you can’t be yourself, or you pick up strays and want to take them home. While the second group are a lot more fun, they eat your food, borrow money, and leave you feeling used. I

know you have a soft heart, that you want to heal every hurt, but men are not puppies, Christine. You don’t take them in just because they’re cute and homeless and you think you can fix all their problems. Can’t you find someone who’s between the two extremes? Someone who’s fun AND responsible?

“Apparently not,” Christine grumbled to herself before inspiration struck:
How do we know Alec isn’t both? Huh? Just because I forgot to ask if he had a job, doesn’t mean he doesn’t. Beside, I’m not looking to marry this guy. Jeez, I’m only going to be here three weeks. Come on, Mad, it’s my vacation and I’ve been so good. Can’t I have fun on my vacation? Sort of like going off a diet with one really great chocolate binge. Everyone needs to binge now and then. Even the diet books say so
.

Maddy:
They say to “treat yourself now and then,” not binge! Otherwise you get sick to your stomach and hate yourself the next day
.

Christine:
I will not. I promise. And if I do, I won’t blame y’all. I’m telling you, this guy is really cute and funny, and ohmigod, he’s sexy
.

Maddy:
Amy! Talk to this woman, will you
?

Several seconds passed before Amy’s calm and sensible response came through:
Actually, I agree with Christine. We don’t know he’s wrong for her until we get more information. I say we withhold judgment until after tomorrow’s lesson when she’s had time to find out more about him
.

Christine stuck her tongue out at Maddy’s posts:
There, see? Mother Amy agrees with me
.

Amy:
However, Maddy’s also right, Christine. I’ve been on enough diets to know binging isn’t good for you. It just makes resisting temptation the next time that much

harder. So promise, if you discover this man is a loser, you won’t go out with him, okay? No matter how sexy he is.

Christine:
Oh, all right! Man, you two are strict
.

Amy:
Only because we love you. When you get hurt, it hurts us too
.

Christine sagged with guilt:
I know. You’re right. So, any advice on resisting temptation should the need arise
?

Maddy
: I have some. Actually, it’s a variation of the advice you gave me when I arrived in Santa Fe and wanted to turn tail and head home. Keep your mind focused on why you’re there: in your case, to conquer your fear of the lift and outski your brother on the slopes. Second, reread part of Jane’s book. Not the part you told me to read, but the chapter about smart women who make dumb choices
.

Amy:
I’ll second that advice
.

Christine:
Thanks, you two. I really do love you. Even when you are killjoys
.

With a sigh, Christine logged off, then looked at the stack of medical books she’d brought. She should probably study, but following Maddy’s advice, she reached past them and grabbed Jane’s book,
How to Have a Perfect Life
. As angry as she was at Jane for using the three of them as negative examples, she felt strangely drawn to the book. She found herself coming back to it over and over, searching for the little pearls of wisdom she occasionally found hidden among a lot of cliched axioms.

Halfway through reading the chapter Maddy had suggested, she stared at the words as if seeing them for the first time. Not only had Jane used her as an example in the chapter on fear. She’d used her in this chapter too! It wasn’t as obvious, but it was there in black and white.