Daric's Mate Read Free

was no longer, able to ski no longer capable of hitting the slopes with him to admire his skills and sigh over every expert maneuver he made. Mark was an Olympic hopeful, and he had replaced Hannah with a brainless little blonde ski bunny once Hannah was no longer useful to his image or his massive ego.
    Couldn’t have a limping woman on his arm, could he? It wouldn’t look good on camera.
    Hannah pounded the dough harder, wishing it was Mark’s face. Oh, she didn’t delude herself anymore that she loved him, but it was galling that she hadn’t seen through his superficial façade earlier, to chase her own dreams instead of making his dream her own for eight years. When she and Mark had left Temple at the age of eighteen, Hannah had been an expert skier and Valedictorian of their class, capable of doing great things in the future. Instead, she had worked ski patrol and taught skiing courses to support the two of them while Mark chased his dreams, with Hannah as his greatest supporter. Honestly, she had loved her job as a member of the ski patrol, but she could have done so much more, should have been working on an education instead of waiting for Mark to marry her. Like an idiot, she had waited for years, making excuses to her father that Mark was too stressed, too busy, too exhausted to worry about a wedding. And I was too busy worrying about Mark.
    To his credit, her father had never lectured her about Mark. Instead, he had quietly encouraged her to make a life of her own, pursue her education. Looking back, Hannah wondered if her dad had known how things would end with Mark, but had never wanted to push her. Most likely, he had known Mark’s true nature, but it wasn’t her father’s way to interfere, trusting his daughter to figure it out on her own. Now, at the age of twenty-seven, Hannah wasn’t even sure what her dreams were anymore.
    After spending eight years living Mark’s dreams, it was time for her to find out exactly what Hannah wanted. She had spent the last year in and out of the hospital, losing her father four months after her accident, while she was still recovering from her last surgery.
    Hannah hadn’t been there when her father had died, needing to be closer to a large medical facility to recover. Dad had stayed with her in Denver, taken care of her, only going back to Temple to check on the business. It was during one of those quick visits to Temple that the heart attack had struck, taking him away within moments, leaving Hannah weak and grieving in Denver, while friends looked after the details of his burial here in Temple. She had come home for his funeral, never leaving again since that dark day eight months ago. The local doctor checked her leg, watching for problems or infection. No doubt Hannah would need another surgery in the future, but right now, she was determined to keep her father’s memory alive by running Temple’s.
    Hannah had worked at Temple’s with her father as a teenager, but she hadn’t been involved in the business since she’d left for Vail at the age of eighteen. She had dived in, tried to learn everything she possibly could about the pizzeria, from bookkeeping to making the items on the menu. She had a good manager, and business was just as good as it ever was, but something was…missing. It was as if nothing could fill the gaping hole that was left in the business since her father had died. His laughter, his jokes, his positive attitude and gentle ownership were gone, leaving the pizzeria just…empty, a shell of what it had once been.
    Give yourself time, Hannah. It’s only been eight months. The darkness will lighten eventually. Get this damn order done and go home. You can’t afford to mess this up. Not with Daric Carvillius.
    Hannah shivered as she placed the pizzas in the oven, recalling the low, demanding voice of Temple’s most notorious resident. Daric Carvillius was beyond wealthy, living in an enormous mansion outside of town. Nobody really knew the