She squealed and tried to get to her feet. I caught her, knocking her to the ground. She was laughing as she rolled to her back. I straddled her body, grabbing her hands and pinning them to either side of her head. Looking down at her, I soaked in her beauty.
She had auburn hair and dark green eyes. Her porcelain skin with the smattering of freckles made her look like a doll. She was stunning. She wasn’t willow-thin either. She was an athlete and could have probably gotten away from me if she really wanted to. She was strong with muscular arms and legs and curves in all the right places.
She was looking up at me with wide-eyed innocence. It was our first study date, but I hoped to god it wouldn’t be our last. I couldn’t resist the allure of her. I leaned down and kissed her. I remembered that first kiss like it was yesterday. Her soft, plump lips and the taste of the chocolate bar we shared on her tongue.
I felt her jerk in my arms and was snapped back to reality. I looked at her, seeing her in the present. I was just as taken by her beauty as I had been the first time I saw her. She was staring at me with recognition and surprise.
“Harper!” a young woman with strawberry-blonde hair exclaimed as she came running around the display. “Oh my god. Are you okay?”
Harper looked at me and jerked away. I helped her to her feet.
“I’m fine,” Harper said, smoothing down her hair and adjusting her shirt. “I’m okay.”
“Are you sure? Did you hit the floor?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“I’m so sorry,” she gushed.
“It’s fine,” Harper insisted. “Why don’t you go get a couple of people to help take this down and rebuild it?”
“I’ll go get some help,” she muttered.
“Good plan,” Harper said.
The young woman rushed away, leaving me alone with Harper. She looked at me and put on a fake smile.
“Chase,” she said coolly. “What brings you here?”
I needed to think fast. It was clear she worked for the store. “I was doing some holiday shopping,” I lied.
I couldn’t very well tell her I was there to check out their holiday displays. That would make me look like a poacher. I wasn’t poaching. Well, I was, but it wasn’t like I was their competition. When I spotted her on the ladder, I got tunnel vision. I could only see her. It was like peeking into a time warp. I saw her, and I had to be next to her.
When she stumbled off that ladder and fell into my arms, it was like an angel had fallen from heaven. A Christmas miracle had literally fallen in my lap. Well, I thought it was a miracle. Judging by the way she was looking at me, she did not feel the same way.
“Are you going to be in town long?”
“No, I’m headed to Vail. I’m opening a resort there.”
“You’re still in the family business then?”
“Yes, I am. My father retired, and I took over. We’re opening new resorts every year. It’s really been growing.”
“Congratulations,” she said with a tight smile. I got the feeling she didn’t really mean it.
“Thank you,” I answered. “It’s been a lot of work, but it has been very rewarding.”
“How is the family?” she asked.
She was being polite. I felt like I was talking to a stranger, an acquaintance. Harper was neither of those things. At least she didn’t used to be. “They are good. My parents live in Malibu. Cori too. It’s all sun and sand for them.”
“That’s a big change in scenery and climate,” she said with a small laugh.
“They were tired of the winters. They still come back on occasion.”
She nodded before looking around. “I need to get back to work. Tell the family I said hi.”
“I’ll do that. It was nice to see you again.”
“You too,” she said with another smile before she turned and walked away.
I watched her walk out of my life once again. Damn, if I didn’t like watching her walk away. Her skirt was tight, hugging her hips and showing off the round ass. The years had been good to her. She had a more womanly body but she had clearly found a fountain of youth. I hated that she was acting like we were nothing, like I meant nothing.
I was no longer interested in seeing much more. I had seen all I wanted to see. I walked out of the store