Page 16 of Against All Odds

“Perfect.” He straightened. “How do you feel about the great outdoors?”

“I live in Aspen,” I replied.

“And how do you feel about skiing?”

And here was the Grand Canyon-sized divide between us. I may have grown up in Aspen, but I didn’t know how to ski. I couldn’t afford it when I was growing up, and once Iwasall grown up, I was too embarrassed to learn.

“I don’t ski,” I whispered, feeling a tinge of shame.

His smile turned devilish. “You will after Monday.”

“More arrogant than charming.” He was like no other man I’d ever met in the best way possible.

“How about arrogantly charming?” He held out his hand. “May I have your phone?”

I opened my phone with facial recognition and gave it to him. He worked on it and then checked his phone. He showed it to me and said, “You’re in my contacts.”

He had listed me as Bambi.

It was sweet and sexy at the same time.I’d never had a nickname before—unless trailer trash counted, which it most definitely didn’t.

“Message me your address. I’ll pick you up around eleven.”

“That’s early,” I remarked and looked at his contact information on my phone. He’d listed himself as Charming Heath.

“I’m a planner, Bambi, and I’m going to need time to make this date so good that you’ll say yes to the next one.” He brushed his lips against my cheek.

Now, I’d walked the earth for forty years and didn’t believe in things like instant lust. But then maybe that was because I’d never met Heath Falkner before. A shiver ran up my spine at his light kiss.

I watched him leave my tavern; my panties wet for the first time in years for a man who wasn’t Charlie Hunnam.

CHAPTER 5

heath

“I’m going to fall, aren’t I?” Sable looked skeptically at the bunny slope. She was in a black jacket and matching ski pants that I’d gotten for her. Her arms were stiff at her sides, and the skis that I rented clung awkwardly to her boots.

“You’ll be fine.”

“Everyone is going to laugh at the grown woman who’s going to fall on her butt.” She tried to make a joke out of it, but I knew that she was indeed worried about exactly that. From what I had gleaned from Alexa and Natasha from my first encounter with Sable, she’d been brandedtrailer trash, their words.

I could have asked someone, but I wasn’t about to tell a soul that I’d taken Sable out on a date. Partly because I wasn’t sure how Juno would react and partly because I knew Sable wouldn’t appreciate being the subject of town gossip. From what I’d gathered, she’dalready endured enough judgment growing up—branded for being poor, having parents who didn’t give a damn, and eventually becoming a ward of the state. All of that had left scars, ones her ex-husband had probably deepened when he knocked up a girl half his age.

She took a deep breath. “Is it embarrassing that I don’t know how to ski?”

There it was, that fragility she hid ably but sometimes let slip. “You know, my mother doesn’t ski. She never learned as a child and didn’t want to as a grown-up. She prefers to go to the spa while my brother, father, and I ski.”

“Really?” She looked so hopeful that I was glad I could tell her about Mom, who did, indeed, not ski.

“Absolutely. Darlin’, the worst thing that can happen is you fall over. And if you do, I’ll be right there to help you back up. The snow is soft; you won’t get hurt.”

She narrowed her eyes. “The worst thing that can happen is I go flying downhill, crash into a tourist, and end up in one of those videos people post online to humiliate themselves.”

I tried not to laugh. “I promise you’re not going viral today. You’re finally trying skiing, and I’m the best possible teacher.”

Her brows lifted.

“Trust me,” I said, nudging her toward the gentle incline. “I run a resort. I’ve taught people before. You’re in good hands.”

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