The Billionaire Athlete’s Christmas Fling - Leslie North Page 0,30
future—this would be the norm every year. Don’t imagine that now. Focus on the gifts. Shopping for Tana and Lindsey was better than imagining their life out west together, right?
Sure it was.
In a couple of hours, he’d exhausted his leg and his desire to shop. Chase headed back to the lodge, skipping the main road. He spotted Tana’s car in front of her cottage. He hadn’t planned on stopping by—not really. But one quick stop to drop off Lindsey’s birthday present and their Christmas gifts shouldn’t be a problem.
He gathered up the packages, already wrapped care of several kind store clerks, and sprinted up the front steps. Play it like a delivery guy. In and out. Chase knocked on the door, balancing the gifts in his arms.
“Coming,” Tana called from inside. She opened the door a moment later with a little plastic tray in her hand—one of those microwavable meals. Her face flushed deeply. “Hey, Chase. How’s it going? Wait—what’s that?”
I want to be in your bed again. “Good. Listen, I wanted to talk to you about something.” Following her gaze, he glanced down at the bundle in his arms. “I brought some skis for Lindsey—they’re a birthday present.”
Tana frowned. “Oh, Chase, you don’t have to do that kind of thing.” She looked wary.
“I’m glad to do it. I wanted to. Lindsey’s going to be a great skier, and why not do it on some cool skis?”
She hesitated, and he remembered the way she’d held back at the lost and found. But then her eyes slid over the skis, and Tana’s face brightened. “You’re impossible to stop. Did you know that?”
“I can be pretty persistent, yeah. But this delivery won’t take that long.” He felt slightly ridiculous, standing on her porch and holding an armful of presents. “I wanted you to know that I talked to my brother today. Jonas. He’s the one who—”
“You should come in. It’s cold out.” Tana stepped back to let him into the narrow front hall. “I’ve got a few minutes before I have to head out.”
“Where to?”
“To get Lindsey from school. I got lucky today—a lesson ended early and I had some spare time to stop at home and eat. Makes the evening lessons better when you’re not hungry.” The fridge opened and closed, and water ran in the sink.
Chase shut the door with an elbow. She didn’t have much time, so he couldn’t linger here, watching the way her dark hair spilled over her shoulders.
“What was it you wanted to talk about?” Tana came back out of the kitchen and put her hands in her pockets.
“I finished the job today. With the applicants. I turned in the list and told Jonas I won’t be helping with the final interviews. I just wanted you to know that I’m not part of the process anymore. You don’t have to worry about things between us affecting anything to do with your application.”
Oh, great. “Things between us” sounded awfully official—like he’d just asked her to be his girlfriend. He hadn’t, not exactly. The pressure seemed to fill the room.
She looked away, then back at him, concern shining in her eyes. “I’m...glad you’re doing things by the book, I guess, but Chase—you can’t tell anybody about us. It still doesn’t look good. You’ve got to swear.”
Chase knew Tana’s biggest concern was being thought of as someone who’d slept her way to the top. She had integrity. But a smaller, more insidious voice whispered in the back of his mind that it could also be that she was embarrassed to be seen with him. He wasn’t good enough for anything more than a fling.
His ex-girlfriend drove that point home when they split up after the accident. A has-been skier wasn’t an attractive prospect for most women—they’d just stick with him for the money. Even all his money hadn’t been good enough for the ex. He’d overheard her say as much just before they broke up—that without the fame, all he had was money, and the money didn’t make it any better to be around him with his injury.
“I won’t. I promise.” Now he felt like a massive fool. He’d come here with holiday gifts as if he had a right, and what Tana really wanted was for him to back off. Way off.
Tana worried at her bottom lip with her teeth, cheeks still pink. She didn’t look like a woman who wanted nothing to do with him. His body responded despite himself, warring with his mind. “Thank you,” she