LITMIR.BIZ

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stood, pulling his jacket off the back of his chair. “I’m ready whenever you are.”

      She rolled her eyes. “Look, you don’t have to be so diligent in your duties, you know. Nothing’s going to happen to me between here and the ski area.”

      “You’re right about that.” He slid his arms into his jacket, pulled his cap down around his ears and removed his sun shades from his pocket. “Let’s go.”

      “Hey, wait for me,” Trish said, hurriedly finishing her coffee. “I’ll come back to change clothes after breakfast.”

      Ron stood and shrugged into his coat. “breakfast sounds good to me, too. Guess I’ll join you.”

      “Oh, great,” Ashley said. “Am I going to walk in with each of you holding one of my hands?”

      Nick looked at Ron. “Now there’s a thought. Maybe we should—”

      “Don’t even think about it!” she retorted, and stormed out the front door. Trish went to get her coat.

      Ron followed Nick down the front steps of the chalet. “I think you enjoy setting her off, don’t you?”

      Nick shook his head. “Not particularly. I’m just not going to play her little games. She’s acting like a spoiled brat. If she wants to get her nose out of joint every time I do my job, then she’s going to have a really silly-looking face. In the meantime, I will do my job, with or without her cooperation.”

      Ashley strode along the paved road that led to the lodge several feet ahead of them. Trish was content to walk along beside them, chattering about all kinds of things. Nick tuned her out.

      Ron finally interrupted by asking, “Did you tell the others where we’re going?”

      Trish tossed her head. “They’re all grown-ups. If they get hungry enough, they’ll figure out where the food is.”

      Uh-oh, Nick thought. A little dissension in the ranks already. What a fun day this was shaping up to be.

      As soon as they walked into the lodge, the savory scents of ham, bacon and hot syrup wafted toward them.

      Once Ashley filled a plate, she headed for a table for two located in one of the corners, hoping that Trish was right behind her. She glanced over her shoulder and saw that Nick was already moving toward a table nearby. She gave a silent sigh of relief.

      She was going to have to get a grip on her emotions, that was all there was to it. She knew she was acting like an adolescent and there was no excuse for her behavior. What was it about the man that set her nerves to screaming whenever she was anywhere around him?

      Her behavior wasn’t due to the fact that there were Secret-Service men with them. She actually enjoyed Ron and his quiet sense of humor. Somehow she had to get over her irrational dislike of Nick Logan. She just wished she knew how.

      “What do you have against Nick?” Trish suddenly asked, sitting down across from her. “You’ve been on his case ever since we got here.”

      Ashley rubbed her forehead with her fingers, feeling the hint of a headache looming. “I don’t know, Trish. I honestly don’t. He just rubs me the wrong way, that’s all.”

      Trish grinned. After taking a big bite of her food and chewing it, she carefully swallowed before saying, “I really don’t think I’d care which way he rubbed me, as long as he was interested in trying.”

      “Yeah, right. We both know you’re all talk and no action…so why the siren routine?”

      Trish didn’t answer right away. Ashley continued to eat and was taken aback when Trish finally responded by saying, “I didn’t know Joe was coming on this trip to be with Erin.”

      After a moment Ashley responded, “I think we all came to ski, Trish. That’s what this trip is about, isn’t it?”

      Trish sighed. “I came because I thought if I was in a small enough group with him, Joe would finally notice me.”

      Ashley studied her friend’s woebegone face. “Oh, Trish, I’m sorry,” she said in a quiet voice. “I had no idea you felt that way.”

      Trish sighed and continued eating. In a moment she said, “As long as Joe doesn’t know, I guess I’ll survive. You could have thrown me into a crocodile pit and I probably wouldn’t have noticed yesterday when Joe said he and Erin would share a room. I was totally freaked.”

      “But would you have shared a room with him?”

      “Are you crazy? Of course not! I’m not going to bed with some guy just because—” She stopped her tirade and shrugged her shoulders. “I just didn’t think this was going to be a trip about sex.”

      “It isn’t. It’s about skiing.”

      “For you, maybe.”

      “For me, definitely. Do you think my dad would have agreed to let me come if he’d thought I’d be sharing a room with some guy?” She made a face, hoping to lighten Trish’s mood a little.

      Trish chuckled. “He doesn’t have to worry about you, not with two chaperones following you everywhere you go.” She nibbled on a piece of toast before adding, “Wow. I just realized. That could really cramp your social life if you were seriously involved with someone.”

      “Tell me about it. I’ll probably end up single for the rest of my life.”

      Trish gave her a devilish grin. “Either that, or have an affair with one of your guardians.” She glanced over at the other table where Ron and Nick were eating. “If I were in your place, I would definitely be tempted.”

      Ashley replied, “Ron’s just getting over a painful divorce. I don’t think he’s ready for another relationship anytime soon.”

      “Not Ron, you idiot! Nick. I bet he could teach you all kinds of things.”

      “The thing is, Trish, I think you’re supposed to like the guy before you decide to have an affair with him. At least that’s always been my take on the matter.”

      “What’s not to like? Don’t you just adore his eyes? And the way he looks at you, as though he can read your very soul? Not to mention that body? Sometimes I have this urge to walk up and just stroke his backside in unabashed admiration, you know what I mean?”

      Unfortunately Ashley had just taken a sip of coffee when Trish nonchalantly threw that suggestion at her. She almost choked when the liquid went down the wrong way at her gasp.

      “Trish!” she finally was able to hiss, wiping the tears from her eyes.

      “Well, it’s the truth. I’m not really into body building and stuff like that, but I have to admit that I’ve wondered what that man would look like in the buff. I have a hunch he would be all burnished muscle and sinewy strength.” The expression she got on her face was embarrassingly dreamy.

      “Could we change the subject now?” she asked, with more than a hint of annoyance.

      “Sure.” Trish waved to someone and Ashley glanced around. Joe, Derek and Craig had just walked into the room. Trish jumped up. “I’ll go see what happened to Erin. See you later.”

      Ashley took the opportunity to make her escape. She gave a brief wave to the others before she hurried toward the door. She would return to the chalet long enough to gather her skis and poles before she headed up the mountain.

      Just as she reached out to push on the door, a masculine arm reached past her shoulder, swinging it open for her. She didn’t have to look around to know that Nick Logan had joined her.

      This was just great. She wouldn’t be able to look at him without thinking of Trish’s ridiculous comments. She glanced over her shoulder at him and forced herself to smile.

      “Thank you.”

      His expression didn’t change. Since

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