The Billionaire Athlete’s Christmas Fling - Leslie North Page 0,13

away and fled, leaving him standing there. She didn’t dare turn around, or her resolve to leave might vanish.

6

The lost and found at the Elk Lodge was a fantastic place for Tana to score the much-needed ski jacket for Lindsey on such short notice. Company policy allowed employees to sort through the after-sixty-day box before the items were donated to a local charity, and she intended to take advantage of the rule.

The actual container was a massive chest carved from birch trees. Tana liked to run her fingers over the decorations on the front of it, something she’d discovered during her first week working for the Elkin family. Lots of well-to-do families vacationed at Elk Lodge, and inevitably they left some of their clothes behind.

Linda, the secretary, poked her head in the room. “Hey, Tana. Hope you find something good because that box is overrun with stuff. I’ve got to run upstairs. Just don’t grab anything with the name Emily on it. She loses things so often that we try to set them aside for the next visit, and her mother hasn’t been in to check yet.”

“I’ll make sure. Talk to you later.” Tana started to dig through the chest, piece by piece, searching for the perfect coat.

Bingo. She pulled out a purple jacket that looked brand new and would fit Lindsey.

“Did one of your students lose something?” Chase’s voice sent a shockwave of embarrassment through her.

Tana’s cheeks blazed, and she yanked the jacket guiltily to her chest. She’d walked away from him when their lips were inches apart, as if she didn’t really want to kiss Chase. And she didn’t. Except part of her did. Part of her wanted desperately to know how it felt to have his lips brush against hers and for his tongue to—

Oh, stop. She hadn’t done anything wrong. Tana lifted her chin and turned to face him, who stood in the doorway watching her. “No, they didn’t. I was looking through the lost and found for a ski jacket for Lindsey. I don’t have the time or the money to make a shopping trip before her lesson with you.”

“Well, if you find one, make sure it doesn’t have the name Emily on it.” He grinned.

Tana’s mouth twitched as she fought back a laugh. “Oh, so you heard?” In the past two days alone, Emily had reported to her she’d lost a set of ski gloves, a pair of snow pants—how? —and a change purse. Tana hadn’t known girls still carried change purses—they seemed like an artifact from her own childhood.

“I heard.” Chase smiled, too, and suddenly it felt illicit to be having a conversation with him about a guest at the resort.

She shouldn’t be gossiping about guests with Chase—a bad idea on so many levels. Especially when she was picking through the lost and found. Tana took another look at the jacket, arranging her face into what she hoped was a serious expression.

Chase’s eyes followed hers, then strayed to the chest behind her. “Let me buy her a new one in the ski shop.”

Tana tensed. “No, you don’t need to do that.”

“Why not? I get a good employee discount. And if there’s nothing here, I could run into town and find her something.”

Tana clutched at the jacket. “Seriously, this is fine.” The fancy ski shops would cost a fortune, not that it would make any difference to Chase. This was precisely why she couldn’t get involved with him. They were from two different worlds. “We’ll make do with what we have.”

Chase pressed his lips together, and an awkwardness crept in around the beat of silence. “Are you...satisfied with your pay rate working here? Because if it’s not good enough, I’ll speak with the family about upping salaries across the board. It wouldn’t be out of line. We want to make sure we’re the best.” He caught Tana’s eyes again, and she had to catch her breath. “That includes taking care of everyone who works at the resort.”

She made herself meet Chase’s eyes. “The income and benefits you offer here are fantastic. I just learned the hard way that if you can scrimp and save for a rainy day, you should do it.” Tana sighed. “You know, I’d really rather be hitting the slopes and refreshing my skills. I haven’t done any work on the moguls or hills in quite a while, and I’m getting rusty. Not the best look for a ski instructor.”

“I could help you out with that. Want a free lesson?”

Chase’s words