Page 98 of Fall for You
“So…” He flicked another look her way. “Am I taking you home, or…do you want to come back to the inn with me?”
He tried to play it cool, he really did.
He failed. It had to be clear to anyone with ears that he’d much prefer the latter. But she sounded a little shy when she said, “Would it be all right if I come back to the inn with you?”
Dallas lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “Always.”
They were nearly to the turnoff when Dallas circled back to the unspokenbut. He’d never been one to leave a conversation unfinished, and he didn’t want whatever this was with Ronnie to start off with any misunderstandings. “So, you’re good with us doing more of…” He held up their linked hands. “This?”
Her smile put him at ease. “Yes. Definitely. It’s just…” She hesitated again, and with every passing second, his chest grew tighter with anxiety. “It won’t be for long, that’s all.” She flashed him an apologetic wince. “The season starts soon, and then I’ll be off, chasing my tail and trying to do my country proud.”
He nodded slowly. He should have seen that coming. “Is that what you really want?”
She shifted, tugging her hand from his to clasp her cup like she needed its warmth. “I want to snowboard. But…I want to love it like I used to.” She turned to him with a helpless shrug. “I know I’m good enough to place. I know it in my bones. And I want that…”
“But?” he prompted.
She sighed. “It’s just all the pressure that’s been getting to me. I hate the way it affects me so much. Why can’t I just compete with zero press and exposure?”
“That would be nice,” he agreed.
“But that’s not the reality,” she finished.
He pulled the car over on the road up to the inn.
“What are you doing?” She smirked at him.
Dallas turned to face her. “This drive isn’t over until we come up with ways to help you cope with the pressure.”
There was a softness in her eyes that he wasn’t used to seeing, but he freakin’ loved it. Her affection and vulnerability were irresistible. “Thank you, Dallas.”
And he couldn’t respond with anything other than a kiss.
When he pulled away, she was smiling at him. “What was that for?”
“Do I need a reason?”
He’d been tempted to say,“Does a boyfriend need a reason to kiss his girlfriend?”
But it’d been one day. It was possible he was moving light-years faster than she was.
“Okay, coping strategies.” She blew out a big sigh. “I’m all ears.”
He started them off, and then she chimed in too. None of the ideas were groundbreaking, just ways to get through this season without crumpling under the stress.
She seemed just as dissatisfied as he felt by their ho-hum brainstorm.
Finally, Ronnie sighed. “Honestly, I wish I could just…bring you with me.”
He paused, the idea taking a second to sink in. And then his eyes popped wide, surprise rippling through him—delight not far behind. “Yeah?”
She grinned, leaning forward to give him a cute little peck on the cheek. “Yeah. What you did earlier…being a buffer for me with Mike, coming up with strategies to help my reputation while protecting my boundaries. That was amazing.”
His chest swelled with pride so far and so fast he thought he might explode.
She shrugged with a wistful sigh. “I wish I could bring you with me.”
“I’d do that in a heartbeat.” He wasn’t sure who he shocked more with that statement, but a full second passed as they stared at each other in mutual surprise. “I mean it,” he finally added. “I would love to come with you on the road and help you however I can.”
