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“You just have to beat them off with a stick, huh?” She tried to tease to lighten the moment and not have him see the jealousy flaring inside of her.
He looked at her and then burst out laughing. “Not with a stick, but it is hard, all the constant female attention.”
“Poor guy.” She rolled her eyes. Of course he had constant female attention. What did she expect … that she was special to Jace? Why was she so disappointed that she wasn’t? He hardly knew her.
“All right. We’re almost there.”
She took that as her signal to start executing the awkward snow-boot walk again. Jace walked as smoothly as if he were in tennis shoes. He’d told her he’d been skiing almost as long as he’d been walking so it made sense.
They reached a relatively flat spot of snow near the ski lift. There was a short line at the lift. A few people called greetings to Jace and he responded in kind. Ayla loved the small-town feel of this town and ski resort. This place was something out of her dreams. Soon it would feel like a dream. She’d better enjoy it now. She imagined she looked even prettier than Abigail and was dressed in a beautiful white coat with pale blue snow pants with white flowers on them with her hair long in curls coming out from under a cute white beanie, instead of her own hideous gear. It helped keep the embarrassment at bay.
Jace set the skis down and lined them up, jabbing his poles in the snow. “It’s time, Ayla.” His dark eyes shone. He was in his element and clearly excited to show her his world. She could hardly wait. She pushed the worries over Abigail, all the women Jace probably dated, and Bryan’s troubles away and concentrated on this moment.
He helped her step into the skis and then easily popped into his fancy-looking skis and picked up his poles. He held a pole in one hand and extended the other pole to her. “Okay, easiest way to get started is hold on to my pole and let me tug you forward.”
“All right.” She held on and he gently tugged her forward. She glided on the skis. It was smooth and easy, and she smiled. She liked this. It was like roller blading with absolutely no effort. They slid into line for the ski lift and Jace eased her close to his side. He transferred the poles to his right hand and held her elbow with his left.
“Doing all right?”
“Yes, sir.” She looked at the ski lift in front of them. As each chair went past, people were easily skiing into position and then sitting down as the bench scooped them up. She hoped she wouldn’t crash getting on or off. It seemed like a timing thing, and she didn’t even know how to move on the skis without Jace helping her.
After people loaded onto the chair it lifted up into the sky and soared up the mountain. Her stomach swooped with anticipation. That part looked fun.
A couple of teenage boys in front of Jace looked over her snow gear with obvious smirks then focused on Jace as he slowly tugged her forward in the short line.
“Fresh pow, Jace,” one of the boys called out happily. “You’re late! We’ve been carving it up for an hour now.”
“Sweet,” Jace responded, extending his fist which they both leaned back to bump.
“Can we stick with you? I wanted to work on the backflip again and you have it dialed down more than anyone. I think you’re better than Death Wish.”
“Sorry. I’m teaching Ayla how to ski today. This is my friend Ayla.” Jace nodded to the boys. “Dirk and Porter.”
“Nice to meet you both.”
“Lucky chick!” Porter said. “This guy’s the bomb. Are you working on your speed, technique, or tricks today?” Again, his eyes swept over her too-puffy coat and weirdly patterned ski pants, but he didn’t say anything about it.
Ayla’s eyes widened. She looked to Jace. “All of that,” she managed. He grinned at her. “I’ve actually never skied before.”
“Da-ang!” Dirk drawled out. “That’s … not goated at all.”
Ayla’s face flushed. From their perspective, she was ruining Jace’s chance to enjoy a “fresh pow” ski day.
The boys glided forward to load up on the lift.
“Missing a powder day,” Porter said.
“At least she’s hot,” Dirk muttered.
“I guess that’s worth it. No, not really. She’s dressed like a newb.”
They loaded up and were gone. Ayla didn’t want to dwell on their words and luckily didn’t have a chance. Jace was guiding her forward with his hand on her elbow and they slid into the spot to load up. Her skis somehow crossed and she pitched forward, popping out of her skis and sprawling face first on the platform. She flung her hands out and they slapped the hard snow first, pain radiating up to both elbows. Cries of surprise sounded around her.
“Chad!” Jace roared.
At least she’d been able to get her hands in front of her to break her fall, but Ayla was certain that ski chair would hit her on the head. Amazingly, she heard the lift motor stop.
“Ayla?” Jace bent down close, and she turned her head to look at him. “You all right?”
