Take Me in Tahoe Read Free Page A

do you paint?”
    “Oils. Landscapes as well as portraits.”
    He nodded. “Really? I’d love to see your work some time. Where do you sell them?”
    “I work with a small art gallery down by the waterfront. I can give you a card if you’d like.”
    “I’d like. Very much so.”
    A small amount of pleasure stole through her, and she felt her cheeks warming. This was just weird. Usually men got all freaked out when she announced she was an artist. As if they expected her to ask for handouts during the date. It was nice to not be written off or just so judged.
    Maybe it was time to go. Get the hell out of Dodge. This just wasn’t good. She was getting way too sappy over a sexy dentist who so obviously wasn’t going to be hitting on her.
    Standing up, she walked toward the bedroom. “I’ll grab my things and head out.”
    “What?”
    She heard him get up and walk after her.
    “You can’t leave, Nikki.”
    “Well, I can’t share this cabin with you.” She sighed, running a hand through her hair. “Look, obviously there was a mix-up. You were nice to let me crash here last night, but I should leave you to your weekend alone.”
    His jaw had hardened, and he didn’t look to be listening to a word she was saying. His narrowed gaze was moving over her body.
    “What?”
    “You’re half naked.”
    “I’ve got a T-shirt and panties on. I’m dressed.” Jeez, you would’ve thought she was completely naked. And the T-shirt covered her bottom by at least two inches.
    He cleared his throat and looked away. “Anyway, you can’t leave.”
    “Why?” He should be begging her to leave by now. What the hell was going on with this guy?
    He walked past her and pushed aside the white lace curtain. “This is why.”
    Had he even opened the curtain? Her eyes narrowed, and her stomach dropped. Oh God. The curtains were open—everything outside was just covered in white. It had snowed, just like he’d predicted.
    She hurried to the window, pressing her hands against the glass as she looked down the road. The entire world seemed to be blanketed in snow. Why hadn’t she taken him seriously when he’d brought up that smell of snow thing last night?
    She leaned her forehead on the glass. “Oh, shit.”
    Chase folded his hands across his chest and tried not to look at the back of her thighs. All smooth and pale peeking out beneath the long, black T-shirt.
    He wanted to grab her a pair of sweatpants out of his bag—cover her up. No, that was the last thing he wanted. Those thighs were proving to be a great source of entertainment visually.
    “Maybe I should try and drive now before it gets any worse?”
    Was she nuts? “Do you have chains?”
    “Chains?” She shook her head. “What do you mean? I have an awesome chain metal necklace, but—”
    “Chains for your tires. Have you never driven in the snow before?”
    “No. Hell, this is probably only the second time I’ve ever even seen the stuff besides on television.”
    Was she kidding? But the mixture of confusion and fascination on her face made him realize she was dead serious.
    “You need to get out of the city more.”
    She wrinkled her nose at him. “Trust me, I try. This weekend was actually the biggest trip I’ve taken in a while. It should have been…” She hesitated. “This just wasn’t how I envisioned it.”
    A thought hit him. One that had his gut clenching and him reaching out to grab the knob on the wooden bedpost.
    “Was he planning on coming up here too?”
    “He?” She dropped the curtain and sat down on the bed. “He who?”
    “Justin.”
    She snorted. “Oh, no. He had those damn tickets for the theater and wanted to stay in the city.”
    Was he missing something? “You don’t like the theater?”
    “It’s fine, I guess.” She shrugged. “Though I can think of better things to do with my time.”
    Had something happened between her and Justin? He looked at her closely, hoping for some hint in her expression. But she looked calm,