Page 7 of Snow More Secrets

I scoffed. “Both of which were so skintight they hid nothing. You might as well have been naked.”

“I didn’t—wait.” Jake’s brow shot up. “You know who I am?”

“It only just came to me a minute ago.” I giggled. “I can’t believe I didn’t realize it earlier.”

He laughed and took my hand again, leading me outside. “My name is usually more recognizable than my face. Although I meet people who have seen me in ads and still have no clue who I am. Seems like my sponsors got the short end of the stick there.”

“Oh?” I asked, a little confused.

Jake grinned and shrugged. “Obviously, they overestimated my ‘celebrity’ status. Except with sports fans.” He looked at me curiously. “Are you a fan of snowboarding?”

“I’m a fan of most winter sports,” I admitted as we walked down the sidewalk. A small gust of wind sent a shiver racing down my body, so Jake pulled me close, tucking me into his body with his arm around me. He was toasty warm, so I snuggled in close. “I’ve tried skiing a few times but not snowboarding. I’m much more comfortable on ice rather than snow.”

“Ice? Don’t tell me…you play hockey?” he teased.

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah. I kick ass. When those Canadians see all five feet and two, one hundred and five pounds of me, they shake in their skates.”

Jake laughed uproariously, forcing us to stop so he could catch his breath. “You are fucking adorable, Hannah,” he said with a smile.

“Um..thanks.” Cute wasn’t exactly the adjective I was going for in this outfit…

“And sexy as hell,” he added in ateasing voice. “So get that disappointed look off your beautiful face.”

I giggled with a sheepish expression. “So, um…where are we going?”

Jake winked at me, then we resumed walking before he answered. “I found an amazing bakery a block from my hotel last night. They have some of the best cookies and brownies I’ve ever eaten. Cookies and hot chocolate are a Christmas Eve tradition in my family, so I thought we could enjoy it together.”

“That sounds wonderful,” I said with a soft smile. Then I rubbed my hands together in anticipation. “I don’t eat much sugar, but I decided to take a break from my rigid schedule and diet for a few days, and that means I’m going to eat allllll the desserts. I’ll probably regret it once I’m back on the ice, but my coach will have no one to blame but himself…” She giggled. “And Wendy, of course. They are the ones who talked me into a vacation.”

He glanced down at me curiously. “Coach? What is it that you do, Hannah?”

“I’m a figure skater.”

Realization dawned on his face, and he chuckled to himself. “Ah, it all makes sense now.” He seemed to absorb the information for another second, then he halted in his tracks and stared down at me in shock. “You’re Hannah Clark,” he stated.

It was my turn to raise my brow in surprise. “You know who I am?”

“I saw you compete a few times in the past couple of years. My sister Cammie is a huge fan.”

Holy crap. He was Cammie’s brother? How had I never put that together?

I’d met Cammie a couple of years ago when I was minorly injured at a competition in New York. It had been a big event, and they’d needed extra hands for the medical staff. She was a nationally certified EMT with a Master’s in Athletic Training and was a year into her doctorate in physical therapy. And, Shawn, the medical director, was a friend of hers and had begged her to join the team temporarily. Luckily for me.

We hit it off and had been friends ever since. However, I was on the road or training in Denver most of the time, and she was busy with school and her job as a medic and ski instructor at the Winter Falls Resort. So we usually met up in random places around the world, even though we’d grown up less than two hours away from each other.

That meant we’d never met each other’s families, so while I’d heard my friend mention her brother, Jake—and even that he was a snowboarder—she’d said nothing about him being a professional. Somehow, I’d never put two and two together, which seemed crazy now because I could see the family resemblance so clearly.

“Damn, Hannah. You are fucking amazing. Everyone has you pegged for the gold in February.”

Jake’s compliment brought me back into the moment, and my cheeks heated. “Well, don’t jinx it!” I said with a giggle.

He laughed, and his eyes sparked with amusement…and something else that caused my stomach to do little anticipatory flips.

I quickly changed the subject, and we spent the rest of the walk talking and learning little things about each other.

“Here we are,” he eventually murmured.

We’d stopped in front of a cute little store with a big display window showing off treats that were making my mouth water.

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