Exposed: New Adult Sport Romance (The Boys of Winter Book 5) Read Free

taunt Neal. “I’m going to become your most annoying customer when I insist on tasting every one until I’ve tried them all.”
    Neal winks at me. “If that’s all it takes to get you to come see me, I welcome it.”
    I walked right into that one. But with the help of wine to loosen me up, I decide to play along. “I guess you didn’t need to buy that jacket after all.”
    Nika snorts and gets up from the couch with my empty glass. “I’ll just go refill this, because I’m seeing a side of you I didn’t know existed.”
    I smile at Neal as I think, Me, too.

Chapter 3

    Candlelight flickers as Christian sets plates of food before us. Moans of appreciation sound as we all take our first bite. Nika says, “This might be the number one reason I’m marrying you.”
    Christian swallows and says, “I wasn’t this good of a cook when you said yes.”
    “Well, I must have known, because this is amazing.”
    I say, “It really is. I’ve never had duck before.”
    Christian raises his glass of wine as he says, “I thought you might like it, Ruby. It’s fun introducing you to new foods.”
    Neal is next to Christian and across the table from me. He asks, “I bet you didn’t know what you were in for when you agreed to a management position for two foodies.”
    “If they’d told me, I wouldn’t have understood what a perk it was. I grew up eating about ten things.” I stab a green bean and put it in my mouth, savoring the lemon butter that lightly coats it.
    Nika says, “Neal, a year ago she didn’t eat many vegetables beyond the starchy ones.”
    He looks at me in amusement, and I shrug. “It’s true. But I didn’t know what I was missing.”
    Neal asks, “What are the new foods you’re in love with these days?”
    “Wild game. Bison, pheasant, and now duck make the carnivore in me so happy.” I sigh and pick up my wine glass. Before I take a sip, I say, “I’m still working to get over the texture of eating plants, but because they’re good for me, I’m trying. And, honestly, Christian makes then taste yummy enough, it’s not hard.”
    Nika says, “Ruby, you’re going to have to try the elk at Neal’s restaurant, Stone Soup. It’s to die for.”
    Stone Soup is a fancy restaurant that isn’t somewhere I would go. Expensive meals are not a luxury I am willing to pay for. I smile and nod while chewing instead of saying something that might insult Neal.
    I’m a little uncomfortable with the focus being on me, so I shift it to Neal. “How did you get into food and wine?”
    “I started working in restaurants when I was in high school. I knew I could make more money at the better ones and worked my way up over the summers off from college.” Neal pauses to take a sip of his wine. “When I was getting my MBA I did a stint as a restaurant manager and decided the money was in owning one. And having add-on businesses.”
    “What made you pick Breckenridge?” I drag the last piece of my duck through the raspberry-balsamic vinaigrette sauce.
    “I grew up around here. But enough about me. What brought you to Breck?”
    While a pregnancy brought me here the first time, I don’t have to lie about why I came back. My fork clinks when I set it down on my plate. “The skiing. I used to be a racer in high school, and when I graduated from RISD I decided to come make a go of an indie career here.”
    Christian and Nika nod, but Neal asks, ”Ris-de?”
    “Sorry, Rhode Island School of Design. It’s an art school where I got a degree in fashion.”
    Neal’s plate scrapes against wood as he pushes it away so he can rest on his elbows and lean closer toward me. “Wouldn’t New York make more sense?”
    “It would, if I were into haute couture. But I prefer to work with affordable materials and create for the average woman.”
    “I’ve seen your designs, they’re lovely. Kind of like Robin Kaplan and Krista Larson.”
    I just about spit out my food. “How do you know about that?”
    Neal winks