"I guess," she said slowly, as if she was as surprised as him, "I forgot to be afraid."

He didn’t think this time, just reached for her hand. "I’m glad."

* * *

By the time Colbie fell for what had to be the twentieth time, she didn’t even have the strength to laugh at herself anymore. Noah plopped down into the snow and lay back beside her. When he turned to smile at her, her stomach did flip-flops.

"Let’s make snow angels."

She’d seen people do it in movies, but had never done it herself. Noah went first, moving his arms and legs up and down, back and forth, until she couldn’t resist doing the same. A private plane flew overhead and when the pilot saw what they were doing, he tipped his wings at them.

Noah stood up, then pulled her to her feet so that they could admire their snow angels. "They’re beautiful," she whispered.

It had been an unexpectedly perfect day. Better than any she’d had in a very long time. And she had Noah to thank for it.

"You did great today, Colbie."

She was never going to be a pro, but he had been patient and encouraging...and she’d had fun. She’d even forgotten to be afraid of heights on the chair lift with him. He was funny and charming and sweet. He loved to ski—not to show off his moves or the latest gear, but because the snowy mountains were beautiful and feeling the wind on your face as the trees whizzed by was incredibly exhilarating.

"What do you say we go find a fire and a vat of hot chocolate?" he suggested.

She could so easily see them cuddling together in front of a fire under a thick blanket, her hands in his, her head on his shoulder as they watched the flames dance. A perfect day, followed by what would likely be a perfect night.

Colbie teetered on the edge of saying yes. But even with the word right there on her tongue, and despite the fact that she’d had a fantastic day with him, she knew that nothing else about her situation had changed.

One perfect day with Noah didn’t mean she was ready for a new relationship. And she certainly wasn’t ready for a one-night stand. Especially not with a man who out-talled, out-darked, and out-handsomed every guy she’d ever met by miles.

Sure, sex with Noah would probably be great. Mind-blowing, even. And if she cuddled up with him by a fire, she was one hundred and ten percent sure that she wouldn’t be able to resist getting even closer for a kiss that would surely lead to more.

But, as she knew from painful experience, after the orgasms faded, the broken heart lingered.

For way too long.

She’d braved the challenge of spending a day with Noah and letting him try to teach her to ski. And she was glad that she had. But there was a difference between bravery and stupidity.

She couldn’t risk getting hurt again so soon. Not when the pain was still resonating from the mistakes she’d made in her last relationship.

She picked up her skis and slid them back into place on her boots. When she reached for her poles, Noah grabbed her hands instead. Even touching him through their thick gloves sent a shock of awareness through her.

"Colbie, what’s wrong?"

Maybe if she had met him a few weeks from now when she didn’t feel quite so raw, so vulnerable, she could have taken the risk. But with where her heart was right now, one day on skis was all she could handle.

She didn’t want to hurt him, didn’t want to do anything to ruin the gift of this day he’d given her, so she quickly said, "My friends are probably wondering where I am."

"Call them." He pulled out his cell phone. "Tell them you’re with me. Give them my name and phone number so they’ll be able to track both of us down if they need to."

Again, she was tempted. So very tempted. But more than that, she was afraid of what she was feeling for Noah after meeting him only hours ago.

It was too much, too fast. Way too much.

"Thank you again, Noah. I had a really good time with you today. Better than you know." She risked one more look into his dark eyes. "But I’ve got to go now."

Digging her poles into the soft snow, she pushed away from him and went flying down the hill faster than she ever had. And wouldn’t you know it, the miracle of all miracles happened: She made it down to the bottom in one piece.

See, that’s proof, she told herself. You did the right thing by turning down a night with the hottest guy on the planet.

Only, even after she was finally safely inside her cabin with the door locked behind her, her ski clothes in a heap on the floor, fresh from a scalding hot shower, with her plans for her new store spread out all around her as she waited for her friends to return from their day on the slopes, she still wasn’t sure she believed it.

Chapter Four

Seattle, Washington

One week later…

Noah Bryant threw the basketball toward the hoop and when it barely caught the rim, he turned to his friend and said, "I met a woman in Lake Tahoe last weekend and I can’t get her out of my head."

Rafe Sullivan caught the basketball as it fell. "Is that what you’re blaming for your performance today?"

It wasn’t like Noah to let a woman who captured his interest go without getting her number—or, at the very least, her last name so that he could look her up. But the beautiful, lushly rounded woman on the ski slopes had rattled his brain. And not just because they’d gone tumbling down the hill together and then spent several great hours together while he taught her to ski.

No, his brain had stopped functioning right from that first moment he’d put his hands on her and had breathed in her soft floral scent. And then she’d pressed herself against him and he’d lost his balance, an ex–ski instructor who couldn’t keep his skis in line for the life of him.

But falling had been worth it. More than worth it. Because it had meant he’d been able to hold her. Talk to her. Laugh with her. And drink in her incredible beauty. Unfortunately, hours later she’d left him all alone at the top of the mountain. Wanting to kiss her, and laugh with her both in and out of bed, and find out everything about her, but knowing it couldn’t ever become a reality.

Because he didn’t have the first clue how to find her.

He’d been useless at work today, so he thought he’d play a game of pick-up basketball with his friend Rafe. Turned out he was useless at basketball, too.

Noah and Rafe had gone to college together at the University of Washington and over the past few years, Maverick International, the company Noah worked for as VP of Legal Affairs, had hired Rafe several times. Rafe was the best private investigator in Seattle, and had come through for them in spades each time they’d needed his services.