Just Perfect Read Free Page B

so afraid of parental disapproval that I put pleasing my father ahead of my own happiness.”
    “Is that true?”
    “No, it’s not true.” Indignation sparkled in her eyes. “But what if it is? What is wrong with wanting to earn my father’s approval? He happens to be a brilliant cardiologist. I respect his opinion, so of course I want to make him proud. That’s not fear, and it doesn’t mean I put my own happiness aside for him.”
    “How did all this turn into your ski challenge?”
    “Oh.” That reined her in some. “Well. It’s a little complicated to get into while we’re dangling a million miles above the ground.”
    “Don’t think about that. Tell me about the challenge.”
    “Basically, we agreed that Jane was wrong about the big fears holding us back, but that we did have some smaller fears that were stopping us from doing things we wanted to do. So we came up with a separate challenge for each of us. Whoever hasn’t met hers at the end of one year has to take the other two out for a really nice lunch and put up with ribbing for the rest of her life. Since my challenge is to go skiing, I thought as long as I’m going to do it, I’d really like to make my brother eat my powder in front of my dad. Just once in my life, I want to hear my father admit Robbie isn’t perfect at everything. That there is this one thing, at least, that I can do better.” Her gaze grew pleading. “Can you help me?”
    “I guess we’re about to find out, since… we’re here.”
    “We are?” Christine turned forward to see the top of the lift right ahead. Before she had time to protest, Alec raised the safety bar.
    Her whole body sang with relief as they hopped off the chair and skied down a gentle slope to an open area at the top of the run. She turned to take in the view.
    The wide blue sky domed the Rocky Mountains while snow dusted the tall pine trees lining the slopes. Skiers and snowboarders swished down the mountain beneath the never-ending line of lift chairs. Wow. She looked at how high those chairs hung in the air—and felt triumphant.
    “I did it!” A rush of gratitude made her want to throw her arms around Alec Hunter. Checking the impulse, she smiled instead. “Would it be entirely inappropriate if I kissed you?”
    He chuckled. “Wouldn’t bother me.”
    She let out an exuberant laugh. “Teach me what I need to know and maybe I just will.”
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Chapter 2

     
    Alec really wished she hadn’t made that joke about kissing him, because now he couldn’t get the thought out of his head. They moved away from the crowded lift area so he could give her some basic instruction, but his brain had trouble focusing on skiing. That was a new phenomenon, since skiing was normally what he ate, drank, and slept.
    He went through his safety-first speech by rote, then turned his attention to her equipment. “Okay, what you want to keep in mind is that your new skis are going to be very different from the ones you would have used fourteen years ago.”
    “Yes, the salesman mentioned that.” Her face was a study in concentration, letting him know she had no trouble focusing. “Something about the shorter length and wider width taking less effort to make turns.”
    “Exactly. You won’t need nearly as much body action. The motion is more of a shifting of weight, like this.” He demonstrated while facing her. She copied his movements—which drew his gaze to her body. Even with her bundled in bulky skiwear, he could easily imagine the figure beneath: all long and lean and naked. That led to imagining how all her body parts would line up with all his body parts as he closed his mouth over hers for a slow, deep, soul-searing kiss that started with both parties standing and ended with them lying flat on their backs, sweaty, panting, and totally sated.
    Okay, normal guy reaction to a good-looking woman, he assured himself, but he really needed to get his mind off kissing her. “That’s good.” He nodded.