Love on the Lifts Read online

  I was stunned. My brain wouldn’t function, no words would come forth. Because standing right beside him, grinning as well, was…

  Brad Connor.

  Chapter 2

  “You’re one to talk,” I finally tossed back at him when my brain kicked into gear. “Throwing snowballs. What are you, like, one?”

  Okay, so maybe my brain was still in lockdown mode. It was trying to putter along, but it obviously wasn’t warmed up yet.

  “God, Kate, your comebacks are sharp enough to…well, heck, I guess they aren’t sharp.”

  Nothing more humiliating than having someone point out the obvious, especially in front of someone you like. I glowered at Sam. “What are you doing here, anyway?”

  “Aunt Sue invited me and my buds to use the condo over winter break.”

  My mouth dropped open. “Not this condo!”

  “Yeah, this condo.”

  “But we’re using it.”

  “We can share. You remember my roommate, Brad, right?”

  Since he made a nightly appearance in my dreams and was plastered all over my computer screen at home, yeah, I remembered him.

  “Hey, Brad,” I said.

  He leaned forward, folded his arms on the railing, and gave me a smile that could have melted our snowman, because it was sure melting me. “Hey.”

  I didn’t think I’d ever heard one word sound so incredible. He made it seem so important, and I know I was probably grinning like an idiot, but I couldn’t help it.

  “And this is Joe Foster,” Sam said.

  My mother had raised me to be polite. I tore my gaze from Brad “the hunk” Connor and shot a quick glance at the grinning guy standing on the other side of Sam. “Hi.”

  “Cool snowman.”

  “Thanks. Going the nontraditional route was Leah’s idea.” With my thumbs, I pointed to my friends standing on either side of me. “Leah and Allie.”

  “Hey, Sam,” Allie said, sounding a little breathless. Cold could do that to you. “Brad, Joe.”

  The guys muttered their greetings, but Brad’s gaze never wandered from me. I was completely down with having him stay in the condo, but no way did I want Sam around. I would be too self-conscious flirting with Brad while Sam looked on. Especially since I knew Sam would give me a hard time about it once he realized I had a serious interest in Brad. It’s just the way Sam was.

  Besides, we’d gotten here first and staked our claim. After all, this area of Colorado used to be mining country, and that was the way it was done. You staked your claim. Let Sam find someplace else to bed down.

  I forced my attention back to him. “You can’t stay here. There are only three bedrooms, and we’ve already claimed them.”

  Sam held up a finger. “There’s the main bedroom on this level—”

  “I’m familiar with the bedrooms. We’ve already checked them out and settled in. That one is mine.” Although it had a king-size bed in it, I wasn’t about to share it with anyone. Okay, not completely true. I could see myself sharing it with Brad, but not if Sam was around.

  “—two bedrooms at the level below,” Sam continued as though I hadn’t spoken, holding up two more fingers like he was talking to a kindergartener. “Each has a set of bunk beds. That’s five beds.” He flashed five fingers. “And the couch. Six people, six places to sleep. We can work it out.”

  “Sam could sleep in my room if he wanted,” Allie said quietly.

  “Please! He snores and has stinky feet. He can stay with Aunt Sue. She invited him.”

  “Kate, this is non-negotiable.” Sam liked to throw around words like that, like he was always in charge, just because he was fifteen months older. Another reason I didn’t want him around. He thought he was the boss of me. I didn’t want Brad to see me as a kid. He’d lose all interest.

  “We’re staying,” Sam continued. “And it’s childish to deny us a bed when they’re available.”

  It was childish. I knew it was and his pointing it out made me seem even more childish. At that moment I hated my brother, but I tried to look on the bright side. Brad hadn’t taken his eyes off me and he was still grinning. I just didn’t know if he was grinning because he liked watching me or he thought I was having a totally moronic conversation with my brother. Where was my confidence when I needed it?

  “Allie can move into my room,” Leah said. “I’ll even let her choose the upper or lower bunk. That’ll leave one whole bedroom for the guys to use.”

  Okay, this could work if Brad took the couch. He’d be upstairs with me while everyone else—

  “I’ll take the couch,” Joe said, and I hoped my face didn’t reflect my disappointment.

  “Great!” Sam said. “We’re all set then. We’ll haul in our stuff and leave you girls to finish playing with your snowman.”

  Sam was still chortling like one of the three stooges as the guys disappeared into the condo. I wanted to kick my brother for his arrogance and for always making me feel so stupid. Frustrated, I spun around and drove my booted foot into our snowman.

  “Hey!” Leah said, slapping at my leg. “Don’t destroy my creation just because you want to destroy your brother. Besides, this is great!”

  Had her brain totally frozen in the cold?

  “What’s so great about it?”

  “Brad?” She gave me a pointed look. “Staying with us, sleeping with us, eating with us.”

  I shook my head. “Not with Sam here, too. You see how he treats me.”

  “Forget about Sam. Focus on Brad. You wanted him to notice you. This is the perfect opportunity for you to get to know him. And better yet, for him to get to know you. No ski instructor for you, girlfriend. You get to have the real thing!”

  “I can’t believe you invited Sam. And I can’t believe you didn’t tell me that you’d invited him.”

  Leah might have thought our present situation was great, but I was not yet convinced. Not as long as Sam was in the picture. I’d trudged down the hill to the main part of the village where my aunt had her bookstore—A Novel Place.

  “Katie, sweetie, I couldn’t make the offer to use the condo to you and not to him,” Aunt Sue said.

  “Sure you could have,” I muttered.

  “Besides, I thought I told you he’d be here,” she said, totally ignoring my previous statement.

  “No, I would have remembered if you’d told me something as horrible as sharing the condo with my brother.”

  I was sitting on a stool at the hot chocolate counter, sipping on some comforting mint chocolate. My mug matched Aunt Sue’s. It showed the backs of four cowboys sitting on a fence and below them was written HOT BUNS AND COCOA TO START THE DAY. Like Leah with the snowman, Aunt Sue appreciated the fine shape of a man.

  In addition to the hot chocolate counter and the bookstore area, A Novel Place also had a little area in the front where people could curl up in plush chairs or on loveseats with a book and something warm to drink. It drew in the crowds when it was really cold outside, which was at least half the year.

  A fire was dancing in the corner fireplace nearby, the scent of burning cedar filling the air. The huge window looked out over the town and the mountains. It was a breathtaking view.

  Aunt Sue placed her elbows on the counter and leaned toward me, her long gray braid draped over her shoulder. She’s always reminded me of a gypsy, a free spirit, the complete opposite of my mom even though they’re sisters. She has dark green eyes like mine, and in her youth, her hair had been the same shade of red as mine. She still had freckles. Unfortunately, so did I.

  While working in the store, she dressed in flowing clothes so the exact shape of her body seemed a mystery. That was how I always thought of her—as a mystery.

  She lived in Snow Angel Valley during the winter months when business was brisk. But in summer when there weren’t many tourists, she closed down everything and traveled the world, going to…well, going to novel places.

  I hadn’t been sure if she’d named her shop A Novel Place