Page 49 of Two Times the Mountain Men
Chapter 18
~ One Week Later ~
Brock
“Hey babes, Tyler and I are finished work early and we’re thinking that we can take you skiing. Not sure if you’ve skied before, but I just so happen to know an Olympic—” I came to jarring halt at the doorway of Tyler’s bedroom, which had turned into Genevieve’s office since she’d arrived here. I watched her for a moment as she began packing her clothing into a duffle bag—my duffle bag.
She looked up and gave me a wide smile, excitement gleaming in her eyes. “Hey Brock! Guess what?” She looked down at the duffle bag, “Do you mind if I borrow this?”
I had a sinking suspicion that I knew what and I hated to admit that I didn’t like what I thought was about to be said. Despite all that I returned her smile. “What’s going on?”
“I finished the novel and sent it to the editor this morning. She already messaged me back and wants me in New York, ASAP. She said it’s the most brilliant book I’ve ever produced for the agency and has no doubt it’ll be a bestseller. She wants to see me face to face to discuss upcoming work.” She made an excited “squee” noise and jumped up and down like an excited teenager at a boy-band concert. “Isn’t that amazing?”
Taking a deep breath in, I forced myself to keep the smile on my face and hide my disappointment. I knew it was going to end soon. It had to end; it was only supposed to be temporary. It’s just that over the past couple of weeks we’d gotten into such a great groove. Life had depth to it now, much more than before she came into our lives.
“That’s wonderful.” Entering the room, I slipped my arms around her waist and gave her a big hug. She reached up and urged my lips down to hers and I obliged, kissing her with more enthusiasm then I as feeling.
She frowned pulling back out of my arms. “What’s the matter? I thought you’d be more excited for me?”
Aww fuck, now I felt like an asshole. “Of course I am baby. I’m extremely excited. You’ve been working hard and it’s the break you needed. I’m proud of you.” My words were genuine. I was proud of her.
She cocked her head and examined my expression with more scrutiny. “Then why am I getting some negative vibes from you?”
“Fuck,” I groaned, running a hand through my hair. “I just wasn’t ready for you to be gone so quickly.”
“Neither did I, but I am. It’s amazing. Meeting you and Tyler seemed to unlock something in me. It’s like...” She waved her hands in the air, looking like she was trying to say something or fly away, I couldn’t say for sure, but she couldn’t seem to come up with the right words.
My smile faded as I waited for her to explain herself further. “Like…”
She squished her nose and released a loud huff of air. “You guys were just inspiring. You’ve added a spice to my life that wasn’t there before and opened my eyes to feelings and ideas that I was blind to. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you.” She squealed a second time and threw her arms around my neck.
Bending down, I gave her another hug not sure how to proceed at this point.
Releasing me, she looked around me and into the living room. “Where’s Tyler? I can’t wait to tell him the good news!”
“He’s getting the skis in the truck so we could have a fun night out.”
Her face fell. “Oh. Oh no…” She took a step back and ran a hand though her hair. “You mean, the three of us…”
“It’s not a big deal. You’d said that you wanted to learn to ski and we thought since the roads are clear we’d take you out and give you some lessons.” I gave her a nonchalant wave of the hand. “But it’s not a big deal. Some other time.”
Dear God, I was acting like some heartbroken teenager. I had never wanted a woman in my life, fuck-and-go had always been my style, and there was no need to change now.
Tyler came bursting through the front door, a wide grin on his face, accompanied by rosy cheeks. It was perfect ski weather—between the fresh snow and the temperature that was just chilly enough to make going out and breaking a sweat on the slopes perfectly comfortable.
“Come on you two, the slopes aren’t going to ski themselves.” He looked from me to Genevieve and then back to me. His smile suddenly faded. “What’s going on?”
Forcing a smile to my lips, I motioned to Genevieve. “Tell him the good news.”
Tyler planted his hands on his hips. “What good news?”
“My book is finished, sent in and the publisher already read a lot of it and loves it.” This time her enthusiasm was more restrained, making me feel like even more of a bastard.
“Holy shit fuck baby!” Tyler’s excitement matched her former enthusiasm as he crossed the room in several quick, long strides, wrapped his arms around her waist, lifted her in the air and swung her around as if she were a ragdoll.
Genevieve threw her head back and laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck and holding tight to him. When he stopped the rotation, her hair whipped into her face which she brushed out of the way before his lips came crashing down onto hers. The kiss they shared was the kiss that I should have given her if I hadn’t been such a selfish prick.
Setting her back down onto her feet he gave her one last hug before releasing her and taking a step back. “This is wonderful. And what better way to celebrate than a few hours on the slopes and then we can take you into town and buy you supper. How’s that sound?”
