Page 3 of All in December
By the time we reach the base, Sam’s cheeks are red, and he’s grinning from ear to ear. He turns to me with wide eyes. “Did you see that jump, Dad? I got so much air!”
“You did,” I agree, even if he barely left the ground. “I also saw my life flash before my eyes.”
He grins and turns to Benji. “Wanna do that one again after lunch?”
Benji nods with a huge smile on his face. “Definitely!”
Nash pulls off his gloves, letting them hang from his wrists. “You guys eating at the lodge now?”
“Yeah, I promised Sam we’d stop after one more run right before you guys hopped in line with us,” I say as I watch the boys take off their skis, Benji already moving like he’s coming with us. “Sam’s on a strict diet of overpriced chicken tenders and hot chocolate.”
Nash chuckles. “Benji, too. Must be something they worked into the ski school curriculum all those years ago.”
“I think you might be right about that,” I joke. “You guys want to eat together? It’s always hard finding a table, and the boys seem to be getting along… but no pressure if you’ve got other plans,” I add, because I don’t want him to feel obligated.
Nash looks down at Benji, who’s nodding enthusiastically, then back at me. “Yeah, we’d love to.”
“Cool.” I unclip my boots from my skis and try to be coolabout this, but I’m more nervous than I’d like to admit with this ridiculous urge to impress Nash.
After we line our skis up on the rack outside, Nash pushes the door open, and a rush of warm air hits us the second we step inside. We stomp the snow off our boots, unzip our jackets, and make our way further into the large lodge. It’s less of a cozy cabin and more of a busy food court with multiple stations to pick from, tables packed shoulder to shoulder, and people everywhere.
I wasn’t exaggerating when I said it’s hard to find a spot. But lucky for us, there’s an empty table by the oversized wood-burning fireplace tucked in the corner that we manage to snag.
Nash and I both hand the boys money, and judging by the look Nash gives me, we’re both thinking the same thing: Let them pick what they want, then eat whatever they inevitably leave behind.
I set my gloves and helmet on the table before dropping into the wooden chair, and a sigh escapes me. “Why does skiing make you feel like you’ve been hit by a truck, even when you’re having fun?”
Nash laughs as he takes off his helmet. “Because it’s secretly a full-body workout disguised as a good time.”
Usually, I’d laugh because he’s correct, but right now, I’m trying to pick up my jaw. Nash is hot. This is the first time I’m seeing him without his helmet and goggles on and… holy hell, I don’t even have words.
His brown hair is a sweaty mess with damp curls plastered around the edge of his forehead. My eyes trace the movement of his hand as he reaches up to run his fingers through the strands like he’s trying to bring them back to life. His cheeks areflushed red from the cold, and his jawline is coated in stubble. He’s the whole stupidly attractive package, and I quickly look away, pretending to search for the boys before I start drooling.
“Uh,” he starts, drawing my attention back to him. I must’ve done a bad job of hiding my disbelief at how handsome he is, though, because he’s looking at me with a confused expression. “Everything okay?” he questions, probably from my strange response to his joke.
My cheeks heat more at Nash calling me out, but my god, how am I supposed to act normal when the hottest man I’ve ever seen is sitting across the table from me? “Yep. Totally. Just trying to see where Sam went,” I say, shaking my head and blinking to try to snap out of it.
But all that does is make me realize Nash is also seeing me for the first time right now, and I’m a sweaty mess who can’t pull it off nearly as well as he does.
He leans back in his chair, arms stretched casually over the backrest of the empty one next to him, and smirks. Fucking smirks. Like he wasn’t already radiating hot single dad energy all over this ski lodge.
I’m so fucked.
He’s got to know what he’s doing to me. My cheeks are still hot, and the tips of my ears are burning now, but at least I managed to pick up my jaw and blink.
Thankfully, Sam and Benji return with their trays of chicken tenders and fries, and what I’m assuming is a cup of hot chocolate, interrupting us before I can embarrass myself further.
“Make sure you don’t eat yourself into a food coma.” Nash laughs as he warns Benji, and probably Sam. “We’ve still got a whole afternoon of skiing still ahead of us.”
They both nod at him, and I smile at the fact that Sam seems to feel comfortable around the two of them already.
The three of them talk while I try to stop sneaking glances at Nash, but he’s making it hard. He’s funny, and present, and he looks at Benji like he hung the moon—and yes, he’s the most attractive man I’ve ever seen.
It’s a dangerous combination, and it’s making me want to explore all my quiet desires for the very first time.
CHAPTER 2
Nash
