Page 18 of Fall for You
She looked up at a puffy cloud as it drifted by. Maybe this was what they’d been talking about.
It wasn’t like she’d loved catering to sponsors before the injury, but now she was all too aware of how fickle those endorsements were. How her financial future rested on her being able to be…
Well, a champ.
“So, champ?”
The stupid nickname made her flinch. “I’ll think about it.”
He started to launch into another sales pitch, his tone lighter now, like it was a done deal just because she’dthinkabout it. And maybe it was. He knew she wasn’t in a position to turn away a paycheck.
“Mike.”
He didn’t stop talking.
With a sigh, she said his name again, and then “I’ve gotta go.”
She hung up before he could respond. Right now, she needed silence. Just a few minutes to herself to think without Margot asking her opinion about another costly wedding expense or her dad gently but persistently prodding about when she was going to be ready to compete again. And definitely without Mike in her ear harping on about sponsorship deals.
She stood, not even sure where she was going to walk next, but knowing the best thing she could do to relieve this stress was to keep moving.
She’d taken no more than two steps before she heard it.
“Well, hello, Ronnie Colbert.”
She blinked. The voice was low and familiar, eliciting a plethora of emotions, from nostalgia to amusement to outright irritation.
She turned slowly, until?—
There. A tall dark-haired man was walking toward her, and for a second, her breath caught.
He was hot. Piercing blue eyes and a cut jaw, a short, manicured beard, broad shoulders, and a cocky strut that could only belong to one man.
“Dallas King,” she whispered, but he smiled like he’d heard.
Oh crap. That smile. Her heart gave a sharp kick of surprise.
Dallas King. Bailey’s twin brother. Her summertime nemesis. The most annoying teenage boy to ever walk this planet.
Oh boy.
He was all man now.
He drew closer, his smile twisting into a sexy smirk and his strut becoming a swagger that she should not find so attractive.
Her shoulders straightened and her spine stiffened. She was battle ready as old instincts locked into place.
When he was mere feet away, she eyed him from head to toe. It was the beard, she decided.
Last time she’d seen him, he hadn’t had facial hair, and it?—
She swallowed hard. She didn’t like beards on most men, but his was neat and trimmed and gave him a sort of Captain America vibe.
Oh heck, it looked good on him. If one liked that sort of look.
“So, what do we have here?” Dallas eyed her just like she’d been eyeing him. “You on vacation, or are you calling it quits with that whole snowboarding thing?”
Chapter Seven
