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“Am I the only passenger?” I looked around the rows of empty seats. The heater was blasting and I settled in behind the driver’s seat.
The driver checked his phone. “There was one more booking, but it looks like he missed his flight.”
My stomach sank. Had that fuckwit of a boyfriend really not cancelled any part of this trip? I hoped to hell that I wasn’t going to show up at the Sugar Peaks lodge to find him snoring in the honeymoon suite.
The bus shook as the driver turned the key and started the engine. The radio crackled and the driver grabbed the microphone. “Miss Julia Atkins on board. Chance Powers no show.”
A laugh echoed through the speaker of the radio. “What the hell kind of name is that?”
The driver cleared his throat and turned down the volume on the radio. “Am I clear to proceed without Mr. Powers?”
“He had his chance.” The voice on the other end laughed. “Have a good night Donny.”
The driver had a low voice and a white beard mustache combo. He glanced in the rearview mirror through yellow sunglasses as he spoke. “My apologies, Miss Atkins. We don’t make fun of everyone’s name around here.”
Julia smiled. “His name is Chance and he’s coming to Chance Rapids? What was Power Pond all booked?”
The driver chuckled. “I don’t think the skiing is as good over in Power Pond. I’m glad to see you still have your sense of humor after a long day of travel.”
It had been a long day, but as I stared out the window of the bus at the silhouette of the mountain peaks, I breathed a sigh of relief. As ridiculous as his name was, I’d never been so grateful to hear a name other than Steve Crawford.
* * *
The morning sun beamed over the mountain peaks, but my body was still on east coast time and my stomach had been growling since four in the morning. As soon as they opened, I called the airline to see if my bags had made the journey to Chance Rapids.
They hadn’t.
“I guess I’m not skiing today.” I sighed as I disconnected the call. It was tempting to curl up in bed, book some spa services, and order room service, but no. I had been taking ski lessons on the tiny slopes outside the city and this was my first trip to the mountains. I had to make the skiing happen.
I made another call. The phone rang and just before I was about to hang up, my best friend’s voice squealed through the FaceTime call on my phone.
“Julia! How’s ski bunny life?” Christina always spoke like she’d had one too many espressos.
“The ski bunny lost her costume. Well, the airlines did.”
“OMIGOD. That’s perfect.”
“In what world is that perfect, Christina? I came here to ski. I don’t have skis, snow pants, goggles, or even a sports bra!”
“Ouch.”I could hear Christina suck in air through the speaker on my phone. I was a strong, curvy woman. Some people would’ve called me plus-sized, and with that came a chest that required support—I couldn’t even run up the stairs in a normal bra.
I crossed my arm across my chest thinking about the moguls on the ski hill.
Christina tsked through the phone. “Go out and buy the sexiest sports bra you can find. The airlines will reimburse you for everything that you buy while your luggage is lost.”
“Are you sure?” Christina had done a lot more traveling than me, and I hadn’t been able to reach anyone at the airline all morning.
“Yes. That’s why it’s perfect. Keep all your receipts. Go out and buy all new sexy ski gear.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’ll buy practical ski gear that will keep me warm and dry.”
Christina groaned. “Fine. I guess. But, do yourself a favor, and get some sexy underwear. Trust me. It matters.”
“No, it doesn’t.” I shook my head. “I’ll have layers of thermal long underwear underneath my new and practical snowsuit.”
Through the tiny screen, she shook her perfectly manicured finger at me. “Just do it, Julia.”
“Fine.” I groaned. Although I doubted that the small town of Chance Rapids would have a lingerie shop.
