On Thin Ice Read online

  Christopher watched as she settled into the seat beside him. She fastened her seatbelt and folded her hands in her lap without a word.

  It was a start, he guessed.

  She looked fragile, with her hands tucked in her lap and her head bowed, like a bird with a broken wing that needed tending. Wil had never been one who needed to be treated gently, but perhaps that was the one thing that changed.

  He’d adapt. He could be gentle.

  Malory had dozed off a few times on the two hour drive to Denver. But at least she hadn’t argued with Christpoher.

  She thought they should park the truck in the lot across the street rather than attempt to maneuver the tight parking spaces in the parking garage with Christopher’s big truck. He obliged, then took her bag, and her gloved hand, and walked across the street to the unique triangular building that had stood as a Denver landmark for over one hundred years.

  Malory wondered, as she looked up toward the curtained windows of the guests rooms, if the rumors that the hotel was haunted were true. Every old building came with such rumors, but thinking about it still gave her a little jolt.

  They entered the building through the gold-edged revolving door, and Christopher turned toward the desk to check in. Malory wandered the atrium, looking up at the massive chandelier that they managed to hang it each year from eight stories above. It never ceased to amaze her.

  She looked around the railings that climbed to the top of the hotel and tried to remember which ornate panels were installed upside down. She could find only one of the three.

  “It’s on the second floor.” Behind her, Christopher stepped close enough she could feel his breath on the back of her neck, and she closed her eyes.

  When she opened them, she found Christopher’s hand raised before her, pointing to the panel she’d missed. She let out nervous laugh and took a step forward to create space between them.

  “I remember your mother showing me them the first time we came here when we were little.”

  “I remember. She dressed Harvey and me up in monkey suits and you in a dress so she could have elegant tea at the Brown Palace.” Christopher shook his head with a smile. “I think we really disappointed her.”

  “No. You’ve never disappointed her.”

  His eyes softened as they always did when it came to his mother. “C’mon, let’s find our room. We’ll freshen up and have dinner.”

  The room was basic, and small. It was then she realized she’d hoped for some kind of suite, one that would allow them space to separate. As it was there was a king-sized bed, a desk, two chairs, and a television. There was no escaping from Christopher in that room. She suspected that was the point.

  Awkwardly, they began to unpack their clothes and arrange their items in the bathroom. It was obvious to Malory that they were both nervous and the activity occupied the silence.

  She locked herself in the bathroom with her overnight bag. She’d told him it was going to freshen her makeup and change her clothes, but she needed to gather her courage. They’d made it to Denver and she was unpacked and sharing a hotel room with him. It was no time to get nervous and back out.

  When she emerged, she had slipped on a nice pair of jeans, and a crisp white cotton blouse that only at that moment did she realize had a lower cut front than she had thought. She was pleasantly surprised to find Christopher’s dark eyes met hers and never once wandered down her body to see what she was wearing.

  “I have a ride waiting for us downstairs. You’ll want to bundle up.” He reached for her coat from the bed and held it up as she slipped her arms into it.

  He settled his hands on her shoulders. “You seem nervous.”

  “I’m extremely nervous.” She turned to meet his concerned stare. “Chris, I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want to be.”

  “I know. I promise to take this evening slow.” He touched her cheek with his fingers, and his stare lingered. Malory waited for the kiss, soft and warm, but she saw it in his eyes, if he started, he’d never stop. “I’m planning a whole life with you. There’s no need to rush anything.” He turned to retrieve his coat off the chair, the need he denied obvious in the taut lines of his body.

  Malory felt the force of a lead weight drop in her stomach. In three days how could he have decided to plan a lifetime? Did he even know what it took to make a relationship work? Did she?

  It was obvious she wasn’t a good candidate for a relationship. Everything between her and Christopher had been ruined fifteen years ago, and did she learn anything from it? Obviously not, if she married a man she thought she loved, and that fell apart too.

  When he turned back, she did a quick adjustment to her attitude. As long as she was with him, she wasn’t going to ruin the evening worrying about what had happened so long ago, or how her marriage had crumbled, and her life in California had been based on lies. It was a night to celebrate the holidays, her new business, and the return of an old friend. That’s exactly how she was going to handle it.

  Outside a horse-drawn carriage waited for them. Malory’s attitude softened as she sighed and clasped her gloved hands to her chest.

  "This is our ride?" It was sweet and romantic, something she never would have expected from him. The two chestnut horses waited patiently as cars drove by and the driver, perched atop the carriage with his long trench and top hat, added to the mystique.

  "I thought you'd enjoy it." He held out a hand to help her up into the carriage.

  Christopher settled in next to her and pulled the heavy blanket provided on the seat up over their legs. His hair, scented from shampoo, brushed her cheek. His dark eyes buried themselves into hers. “Are you comfortable?”

  “Very,” she answered realizing it wasn’t just the answer to the question at hand. She was comfortable with him, and that pleased her.

  He settled in next to her, his arm draped over her shoulder, holding her close. This was right where she’d always wanted to be. In his arms with the promise of forever.

  Eating raw fish wasn’t exactly the meal she would have chosen after such a romantic carriage ride, but she put on her game face and looked over the selections at the sushi restaurant. Christopher assured her that certain rolls had only vegetables, or she could have noodles, or even just a salad.

  Malory looked around the restaurant to see if anyone’s dinner looked more appetizing than another’s. She settled on vegetable tempura and an avocado roll.

  Christopher let out a chuckle as he poured sake into her cup. “I thought you were more adventurous than that.”

  “Really? I think I’m quite conservative.” She lifted the small cup and sniffed its contents. “Sake?”

  “It’ll warm you to your toes.” He lifted his cup and they toasted silently.

  She watched as Christopher sipped the warm drink and set the cup down. She followed suit, but when the liquid slid down her throat she coughed and quickly set the cup down to reach for her napkin.

  Her chest burned and her throat was on fire. “Dear Lord, that is horrible.”

  “Oh, don’t tell me you’ll give up that easy.” He raised his cup to her and took another drink.

  “That is nasty.”

  “Live it up, Wil.”

  She picked up the cup again. She could use a little more adventure in her life. Holding her breath, she drank down the warm liquid. The moment it passed through her mouth, her skin warmed. She shook off the tingle and let it settle, hot and prickly in her stomach.

  Christopher leaned over the table. “Now that’s my girl.”

  Malory blew out a fiery breath as Christopher filled her cup again.

  The evening flowed just like the sake into Malory’s cup. She laughed. She smiled until her cheeks hurt. And she gave in and even tried the tuna.

  She had to admit, it wasn’t as bad as she’d assumed, but then again, what she could feel and taste was less and less as she finished her last cup of sake.

  Malory set the cup down with a thud and leaned her arms on th
e table. “Why did you go back to Aspen Creek?”

  He was laughing at her. Why was he laughing at her? Her questions were legitimate questions in need of answers.

  She narrowed her eyes, and then batted them, trying to focus on his face—that sexy face that turned her into a puddle of goo. She tilted her head and studied, through the haze, the scar above his brow. She’d done that. She’d knocked him right in the head with a hockey stick the first time they’d let her on the ice to play. Four stitches. Ha!

  His nose was just the slightest bit off center. He was handsome. In her foggy mind she tried to recall, had she broken his nose?

  Thoughts of leaping over the table and kissing him senseless bubbled inside her along with the sake, but he was still laughing at her. “Why are you laughing?”

  “You’re swaying.”

  She braced her arms firmly on the table and stared at him. It was more like swooning, but he didn’t need to know that.

  “Answer my question. Why’d you come back?”

  The humor in his face vanished as he picked up his cup to sip his drink. “Something just kept saying that concussions and stitches weren’t worth it anymore. I decided to quit the league.”

  “That’s it?”

  “Ever had a concussion?”

  Malory shook her head until she had to stop the spinning by squeezing her hands around her temples.

  “You’d understand if you’d had even just one. I’ve had ten.”

  Malory bit down on her lip. He wasn’t running away as much as he was saving his own life by returning to Aspen Creek. She wanted to wrap her arms around him, right there in the restaurant and keep him safe and out of harm’s way.

  Christopher gave her a nod. “Tables turned. Why did you come home?”

  “I’m single.” It was the simplest way to tell him she was his. She wasn’t sure it even made sense by the way he shook his head at her. “What? Why stay somewhere that wasn’t home if I had no one to make a home with?”

  “Why did you get divorced?”

  “Why did you never get married?”

  “I asked you first.”

  “And I asked you second.” She was beginning to annoy herself and she tried desperately to grasp her common sense, which seemed to have been drowned by the sake.

  “I didn’t think I was the marrying type.”

  Malory gave him a nod. “Well I guess neither am I.”

  “Really? I think you’re just the kind of woman who would be the perfect wife.”

  She wasn’t sure if she snorted, laughed, or coughed. Either way, her point was made. She was a lousy wife. Divorce was proof enough.

  Christopher paid the bill, and she rested her head in her hands.

  “I think I should go back to the room.”

  His eyes smiled through dark lashes. “I didn’t bring you to Denver just to get you drunk on sake.”

  No he wouldn’t have had to; she would have been putty in his hands just by the way he looked at her, like she was the only woman in the world.

  “I’m just not much of a drinker.”

  He stood to help her from her seat. “I see that. You only had three cups.”

  “Three too many. And I think the cup kept getting bigger.” She took his hand as he held it out to her. She stumbled into him and he held her until she regained her balance, then they walked hand in hand to the corner and waited for the shuttle bus to take them to the other end of the pedestrian mall.

  The walk wasn’t too far, normally, but as Malory could hardly stand straight, the bus seemed the best idea.

  Christopher held her close and she buried herself in the dark eyes, on the handsome face, framed by the slight curls that hung down to his chin. She tucked the strands back away from his face. “I missed you.”

  “You did?”

  “Uh-huh.” She nodded with a hum. “I hated you. I really did hate you. But I missed you every day since you left me at the rink.”

  “Wil, we can talk about this some other day.”

  She shook her head. “Look.” She pulled the necklace out from under the collar of her shirt. “I never take it off.”

  Christopher touched the medal he’d put around her neck the day before they both moved from Aspen Creek. “It was to keep you safe during your travels.”

  “It did.” She closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of having him close. “I never told Alan where it came from.”

  “I didn’t think you’d remember it.”

  She opened her eyes slowly and gazed up at him. “I fell in love with you when I was a little girl. You don’t forget things like that.” She swayed closer to him.

  Christopher shook his head and wrapped his arms around her tighter. “You’re going to regret those words when you sober up. I promise you.”

  Malory shook her head. “No. I promise I won’t.”

  Christopher kept her in his protective arms until they reached the hotel.

  The November air chilled and threatened of snow as they walked through the revolving doors.

  Malory’s head spun and her stomach sloshed. She remembered why she didn’t drink. Christopher wrapped his arm around her waist and escorted her to the elevator, where she leaned her head against his chest and fought against the feeling of the elevator rising.

  He brushed her hair back behind her ear. “Let’s get you tucked into bed.”

  “This isn’t how I envisioned this night.”

  “Do I get to hold you all night?”

  “Yes,” she whispered as she lifted her head to focus on him.

  He smoothed his hand over her hair, and she felt the hesitation in his touch as he pulled it away. He stepped back from her and kept his eyes locked on hers. “Then that’s all I need, Wil. This isn’t about sex. This is about us.”

  There he went again, thinking that he’d made up his mind on forever. She couldn’t do forever. She was proof of that. Wedding vows meant nothing.

  She shook her head. The voices that danced around in it were getting too loud. He’d figure it out before it was too late. He was a smart man.

  He ordered room service for dessert and a movie on the TV while Malory soaked in the deep tub and tried to regain some composure. She wasn’t sure it was working well. Sake was definitely off her drinking list forever.

  When she emerged, the room service tray sat on the coffee table with a piece of cheesecake and a pot of coffee. She smiled. He certainly would do his best always to take care of her.

  “The movie should start in a few minutes. I know you packed pajamas in that bag you brought.” He tilted his head down and raised his eyebrows. “And under the circumstances I think it would be a good idea for you to put them on before you come lie down next to me here on the bed.”

  “You didn’t happen to order up some Tylenol, did you?”

  “Shaving case. Help yourself.”

  “Thanks.”

  She went back into the bathroom and opened his case. She found the bottle of pills next to his razor and cologne. She opened the pill bottle, shook out a few, and swallowed them down with a glass of water. Then, because she couldn’t help herself, she looked through his bag again.

  She took out the cologne and inhaled it deeply. Just the scent of him sent her heart into overdrive. Back in the bag she found the few items he’d need to get ready in the morning, but she wondered, as she dug deeper, where was his protection? Wouldn’t a man who had planned an evening of sex with a woman have condoms packed in his bag? She’d watched him unpack his bag and he hadn’t slid any in a drawer. When he’d paid the bill and pulled out his wallet, one didn’t fall on the table. Perhaps he was thinking forever started tonight. Well, wouldn’t she have something to say about that?

  Then again, didn’t she fight everything, and wasn’t that half her problem?

  She’d put her marriage under a microscope and picked it apart too, before she ever thought to mend it. She just tore at it until there was nothing left to fix.

  If she tore apart what she and C
hristopher had just built, she’d fall apart. She’d miss him terribly, especially his friendship.

  Alan, on the other hand, wasn’t missed. She could say that without hesitation. She didn’t miss his voice, his face, or his knowledge on absolutely every subject there was. But she missed the presence of a person whose things were once mixed in with hers.

  Out of sentiment, she took her toothbrush from her overnight bag, and Christopher’s from his toiletry bag and laid them side by side next to the sink.

  That felt right.

  She returned in her pajamas with the extra blanket in hand. He had changed into flannel lounge pants and a San Diego T-shirt. There were bites already taken from the cheesecake.

  “Had to. Sorry.”

  She smiled warmly and snuggled in next to him. The scent of his cologne was still floating in her senses when she smelled it on him and had to move in closer.

  She moved her lips to his neck and placed a line of kisses to his ear and down his jaw. When a moan vibrated in his throat, she moved in closer to him, wrapping herself around him. His chest rose as he sucked in a breath, placed a soft kiss atop her head, and rolled her off him.

  “Rest, Wil. You’re going to need to sleep off the sake.”

  Disappointment and shock riddled her, but as his arm came around her and his body brushed up against hers, she let it go. He was right. The sake was already taking its toll on her as her eyelids grew heavy.

  The next morning the sun was brighter than she’d remembered. It wasn’t because she was in a fantastic mood. No, it was because those three sakes were still pounding in her head.

  She scanned a look over Christopher as they drove up the mountain back toward Aspen Creek. He was grinning.

  There wasn’t much conversation, verbally, but his eyes spoke volumes. He was undoubtedly keeping a secret from her.

  “Do you want to tell me what you’re thinking?”

  “No.” He let out a laugh. “If I told you, I’d have to show you. But you can tell me what you’re thinking.”

  “Well, you’ve been smiling since we left Denver. What are you smiling about?”

  He smiled again, this time broadly. “I just spent the night watching the woman I love sleep.”