I shook my head.
“Giles, over here!” she shouted.
Turning, I saw Giles walking toward the ski hill’s lodge carrying a snowboard. When he spotted Erin, he turned his stride toward us. He was completely covered in black snow pants and a navy-blue jacket that had the ski resort’s name on it. His goggles were pushed up on his helmet, and he had a bandana covering his chin. How was it possible that he could still look so good, maybe even better, in all those layers?
“Hey, Erin. What’re you doing at the bunny hill?” He glanced over at me and back at Erin before doing a double take and looking me up and down.
“Mattie?” He squinted his eyes, clearly surprised.
“Hey.”
“What the hell are you wearing.”
He said it like I was out here in a bikini or something.
“Um, ouch. Watch your tone, or I might think you don’t like my outfit.”
“You look like a ski bunny.”
“A what?” I asked at the same time Erin hit Giles in the arm.
“Don’t be rude, Giles. Mattie is doing a great job for her first day.”
“What’s a ski bunny?” I asked again, still out of the loop.
“It’s just someone that tries to look hot on the ski hill and only cares about picking up men. It’s implied that they aren’t good at skiing—or boarding.” Erin smiled apologetically.
“Hey.” I glared at Giles, offended now that I knew the meaning. “I’m trying out here. And why can’t I do it in a cute outfit? That’s ridiculous.”
He held up his hands. “It’s just something people say.”
“Well, they shouldn’t.” I lifted my chin defiantly.
He chuckled. “Okay, Florida. So, you’re out here learning for real, huh?”
“Yes, and she’s getting pretty good,” Erin chimed in. “But unfortunately, my instructing skills are pretty lackluster. Will you help her learn toe side? I want to catch up with Johnny.”
I raised my eyebrows at her sudden need to ditch me.
“I don’t know.” Giles stuck his snowboard in the ground and leaned against it. “I just got done with a lesson. I’m pretty beat.”
“It’s just on the bunny hill. You’ll be fine,” Erin insisted, already walking away from us. “I’ll see you two later.”
With that, I was left alone with Giles.
“You so don’t have to help me if you don’t want to.” The last thing I wanted to do was bother him. “I think I was getting the hang of it.”
He let out a long slow breath and stared at me before looking back to the lodge as if weighing his options.
“Let’s see what you got, Florida.”
He strapped in and effortlessly glided to the lift entrance while I hobbled behind him.
Turning around, he laughed when he saw me.
“Still haven’t gotten the hang of that, huh?”
“It’s kind of hard to walk when I’ve got a twenty-pound board attached to me.”
