Page 20 of Never Been Snow Lucky

“Thanks, man.” I stood and shook his hand.

“I’m the one who should be thanking you, Jack. Offering this kind of service will help the facility stand out against our competition,” he explained with a grin. “Santa basically dropped an extra present under the tree for us, bringing Iris to Winter Falls.”

“For me,” I growled, shaking my head as his laughter trailed me while I strode away. The bastard had no place in finding my possessiveness funny when he was the same damn way with his woman. And he had less reason to worry about other men since she wore his ring and had given him four children. Goals I was hoping to accomplish with Iris sooner rather than later. Starting with one baby of course…and maybe with a boy or two sprinkled in so I had some help watching over the girls.

13

IRIS

After getting so much alone time with Jack, spending the day on my own was a bummer. My bath was relaxing, but I found myself wishing he was in the tub with me. And when I finished off the leftover tacos we’d made for dinner last night, I remembered how sexy he’d looked standing at the stove while he cooked.

No matter what I did, Jack was always on my mind. It was impossible not to think about the man who had stolen my heart. I didn’t want it back, but I wasn’t sure how I would handle being halfway across the country from him when I went back to the university at the end of my vacation.

I was on my laptop, checking to see how far out I could push my flight when he returned to the suite. Flipping the lid shut because I didn’t want to get his hopes up if staying longer wasn’t possible, I asked, “How was it out there?”

“Snowy.”

He followed his answer up with a deep kiss, his cold nose rubbing against mine until he warmed up…and I got hot with desire.

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

“I’m glad you asked.” He dropped onto the couch cushion next to me and flung his arm over my shoulders. “Remember how you mentioned that you were thinking about ditching your plan to go for a PhD and get a job consulting with athletes instead?”

I wasn’t sure where he was going with this as I confirmed, “Yes.”

“Winter Falls is in the process of building a winter sports training facility. I talked to Caleb about the project, and he loved the idea of having someone with your expertise on the team when they open in a few months.”

My lips parted on a gasp as I stared at him for a moment, my brain trying to make sense of the opportunity that had just dropped in my lap. “I…I don’t even know what to say.”

His fingers toyed with the ends of my hair as he asked, “Is it something you think you’d be interested in doing?”

“Absolutely!” I shifted so I was facing him. “I know that I told you how my adviser hooked me up with an internship with the university’s men’s basketball team so I could complete the required practical experience for my certification, but winter sports are my preference. After figure skating for so many years, it’s where I'm most familiar.”

“Caleb said he’d interview you before he posted the position. All you have to do is impress him, and the job is yours. Which I have zero doubts about you being able to do.”

His confidence in what I could do made me love him even more.

My breath caught in my lungs at the thought.

I didn’t want to leave Winter Falls because I had fallen in love with Jack Stanhope. Madly and deeply.

“I have more good news.”

I shook my head, trying to keep up with our conversation even while my senses were reeling over my realization of howserious my feelings were for him. “Dang, you were a busy boy while you were gone.”

“The weather has cleared up enough for the airport to open again tomorrow. So your parents can fly in to celebrate a belated Christmas with you, as well as New Year’s.”

I froze, blinking slowly at him. “Oh…yeah, I should probably text my mom to see when they’ll get here.”

“Are you going to introduce me?” he asked with a grin.

“Do you want me to?”

He laughed. “Of course I want to meet my angel’s parents. This will probably be the first of many holidays that we’ll be spending together.”

My heart swelled from his words. “Really?”

“Really,” he echoed before leaning in to place a quick peck on my lips. “I thought I made my intentions clear when I did my best to hook you up with a job you’d love so you’d have a good reason to stay.”

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