In Too Close

“What’s wrong, Lizzie?” he asked softly.

Guess she shouldn’t be surprised that he’d noticed her sudden trepidation. After all, they’d always been pretty in tune with each other. And even though she kind of wished he wasn’t quite so observant right now, it was probably better to just get this all out in the open.

“Well, if you must know...we haven’t had sex yet and this is getting complicated.”

“Only if you let it,” he said.

Her friend always knew the right thing to say to calm her down and make her believe things would get better. He was the reason they’d made this bargain. She would have been happy for a one-night hookup at Marina’s wedding and a lifetime of loneliness, but Bradley had teased her with the thought that she could have more.

“I hope it’s that easy.”

“Of course it is,” he said.

“You—

“Me and you,” he said. “That’s what this is about. We know what we want.”

“We do?” she asked. She wasn’t as brazen about that now as she had been last night. But then, he hadn’t just woken her from a steamy dream that had left her hot for him.

Reality had intruded big-time today and she was confused. That was it. She didn’t know what she wanted anymore. It wasn’t as straightforward as it had been the day before.

“Lizzie?”

“Yes.”

“I want you.”

His voice was deep and husky as it vibrated in her ear, and it sent shivers of desire down her spine.

“How do you want me?”

“Lying next to me. Curled up close so that I can lean over you,” he said.

“I’d like that. I’ve been thinking about that one kiss...wanting to know if it was the atmosphere and the champagne that made you taste so good, made it feel so right.”

“I can promise it wasn’t just that. It was you and me.”

You and me. He kept linking them together as though they belonged with each other. “You know this is just sex.”

“It’s friendship plus.”

She laughed. “Plus?”

“Yes, we’re still buddies, but now we get all the good stuff. Don’t forget we were friends first.”

“I’m not. I just need to be very careful that you don’t expect more. Like I said last night, I’m not ready for more than...” She couldn’t bring herself to say more than sex. That would make it seem as if she was using him.

“Late-night rendezvous.”

“Yes.”

“We’re good,” he said. “And tomorrow at dinner I will put your doubts about our kiss to rest.”

“They aren’t doubts,” she said.

“What are they?”

Longing. It was the hope that his kisses were just as hot and magical as she remembered, because she wanted Bradley to live up to all the fantasies she’d given him a starring role in.

“Never mind.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said.

“Good night, Bradley.”

“Sweet dreams.”

* * *

BRADLEY WALKED INTO his offices above Fresh Sno in Park City and tossed his leather duffel bag onto the big, overstuffed couch in the corner. The office area was a large loft above the retail store, and its open floor plan allotted lots of cubicle space for all his staff. Right now it was fairly empty.

“Cult of Personality” was blaring from the speakers, and his assistant, Tia, stood next to her desk flirting with Carter Shaw, world number-one half-pipe snowboarder and all-around lothario.

Tia was tall, curvy and had thick, brown dreadlocks that hung to the middle of her back. She wore an insanely short denim miniskirt over a pair of mustard-yellow tights and combat boots. She had on a thick Irish wool sweater that Bradley had brought her back after his last trip to the U.K. Fresh Sno had won a bid to supply skis and boards to a chain of indoor winter sports centers in England, Scotland and Wales, and he’d racked up quite a few frequent-flyer miles traveling overseas these past few months.

“I thought I was paying you to work,” he said.

“Believe it or not, boss man, I am working,” Tia replied, turning around to face him. “Carter is here with a business proposition.”

“I think that’s not the only proposition he had in mind,” Bradley remarked.

The snowboarder threw up his hands. “Hey, a boy can dream, can’t he?”

“Indeed. I need coffee, but then we can talk in the conference room at the end of the hall.”

“No problem,” Carter said, stepping away to check his cell phone. “Take your time.”

Carter was an Olympic gold medalist and had the sort of bad-boy reputation that the public adored. He was leading the lobby to have all of the resorts in Park City open all their ski runs up to snowboarding, and having the Thunderbolt Energy Games stop in Park City had certainly helped his cause.

As a retailer who sold a lot of snowboards, Bradley was backing the boarders. The only downside was that it caused some friction between himself and Elizabeth. Most of the luxury resorts preferred to keep to the status quo. Another way that Elizabeth was making herself old before her time.

Bradley didn’t enjoy being at odds with her. It reminded him that he came from a different world than she did. And he didn’t like it.

“Anything pressing?” he asked Tia as he escorted Carter out and stopped by her desk.

“No. But a package arrived for you from Tiffany’s.” She gave him a wry look. “Are you dating someone new?”

“None of your biz,” Bradley said, as he went to the coffee machine in the corner and made himself a double espresso. It was going to be a long day. But his reward was dinner and an evening with Elizabeth. He’d been in a state of semi-arousal ever since he’d called her two nights ago.