Page 24 of Wild Desire

"I don't do relationships, I guess you could say. I'm too busy for that nonsense. Every time I try, I realize that I don't have the time or desire to put more of myself into something that might not even work out. Right now, I need to be solely focused on work and my family."

"What do you do for fun?" I asked.

Noelle placed the strips of chicken in a bowl. "I go out with my friends occasionally. But lately, they're spending more time with their boyfriends—I guess you could call them fiancés now."

"You don't have any hobbies?" I persisted as she swiped the cut peppers from my board and dumped them into the pan on the stove. She turned on the heat.

I grabbed the onion, peeling it before cutting it into small pieces.

"No time for hobbies either. But if I had one, I wouldn't even know what I'd do." Her voice was contemplative.

"What about snowboarding?" That's all we did as kids. I couldn't imagine she didn't do some form of it now, at least for fun if not exercise.

"It's not something I can justify. Snowboarding is a luxury. Maybe one day."

My heart contracted. "I don't think I could survive if I couldn't snowboard." I gestured at my bum knee. "I'm barely surviving now."

Noelle smiled over at me, then turned her attention to the peppers which were simmering in the pan. "You'll be okay."

I couldn't imagine not being able to snowboard, and not because it was my job, but for the joy of it. "When was the last time you snowboarded?"

Her eyes shuttered. "It was before you left." Then she waved a hand. "Since the kiss."

She hadn't been on the slopes since the kiss. Not only had that kiss changed everything between us, but she'd given up the one thing she loved more than anything.

7

NOELLE

Ikept my gaze on the peppers softening in the pan. I couldn't believe I'd admitted that to him. No one had asked about me snowboarding in years. It had thrown me off because it was my first love. On the slopes, I wasn't the maid's daughter or the girl who wore clothes from a thrift shop. I was just a snowboarder. No one knew my story or judged me for what I had.

It bothered me that the lessons and lift tickets were free and the equipment rented. But I got to do what I loved.

"Do you still have your gear?" Killian asked.

He probably wanted to make things better or offer to let me have a free lift ticket now, but I wouldn't accept. "I never had equipment. Those were rentals."

I looked over at him and grabbed the board, which was littered with cubed onions, and slid them into the pan. I was grateful that I had something to occupy my attention.

"I didn't realize."

I hadn't wanted anyone to know. I hated being someone who needed to take handouts to do anything. But I'd overlooked it because I loved snowboarding so much. "It's not a big deal."

"What would you have done on the college team?"

"I had a full scholarship. It included equipment." The college coach hadn't been surprised about my predicament. I wasn't the only one in that situation.

"I'm sorry, Noelle."

I flashed him a look. "I'm not looking for your sympathy."

"I know you're not. I just feel like an ass. When I was a teenager, I wasn't paying attention to much of anything outside of my life."

"And all the girls you dated," I teased, even though it had bothered me at the time. Killian went from one girl to another, never considering me as an option.

"None of them meant anything," Killian said.

"They occupied a lot of your time," I said before I could stop myself.

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