Page 9 of One Unexpected Gift
Her body had more curves than he remembered, not that he got a good look at her either time. Her face was rounder, more full of life. Every time he saw her she grew more beautiful.
She moved her hands rapidly through the air as she talked and laughed with her friends. Charlie spotted him, and even from a distance, he could see the smirk on her lips. While Skylar might have been hesitant to see him again, he had a pretty good feeling Charlie was all for it.
Nick tipped his chin up in greeting then returned to his work. Even through the sound of the rake and leaves, he could hear her soft whistling behind him. When she stopped, he knew she’d spotted out who her work partner would be.
He’d have to figure out a way to repay Charlie. Not stopping his motion, he craned his neck over his shoulder and tossed Skylar a wink. “Guess today’s my lucky day to be partnered up with you.”
“What are you doing here?” She rested one gloved hand on her rake and the other on her hip.
“Working. Helping out. Same as you.”
“I co-own the camp,” she said unnecessarily.
“I know. And I’ve been volunteering since you guys opened.”
“Oh.” She tapped her gloved finger to her chin and then scowled at him. “What’s with the hat?”
Nick slid his fingers across the bill of his baseball hat and shrugged. “Nothing. I have a lot of them.”
“The Cowboys? Really? You’re in thick Patriots Nation here,” she said as if disgusted and started raking leaves and pine needles into a pile.
“A little diversity in cheering on sports teams is healthy.”
“So you do it for attention?”
“No.” He laughed, enjoying how hard she worked to not like him.
Skylar didn’t seem like the type of woman to have a one-night stand—twice. The way Nick looked at it, she was trying to come across hostile, unlikeable, so she wouldn’t have to deal with... whatever was going on between them. Whatever could be going on between them. Had she emitted so much attitude during their encounters, he wouldn’t have been drawn to her. But after watching her interact with her friends and their husbands, he figured this wasn’t her normal.
“Why?”
“Why what?” he asked.
“Why the Cowboys?”
“I’m from Austin, but the Texans weren’t a team when my dad was a kid. Easily influenced by him, we all cheer for Dallas. Like Maine is with the Patriots, not rooting for the home team was considered blasphemous.”
“You’re from Texas?”
“Born and bred.” He liked that she was asking questions about him. Maybe there was a hint of interest on her end.
“What brought you to Maine?”
He subtly raked his pile of leaves into hers and moved closer to her.
“My family used to vacation in Bar Harbor when I was a kid. My dad retired a few years back, and the folks decided to settle up here.” There was a lot more to it than that, but he liked to get to know a woman before telling her too much about his family.
“When did you move to Maine?”
“Two years ago.”
“Why?”
Nick quietly chuckled at her short, almost curt questions. “At first, it was for the skiing.”
“That’s what I heard. Only you prefer to ski places that aren’t the norm like Tuckerman’s ravine in New Hampshire.”
She didn’t mean to sucker punch him in the gut, and he forced a grin to hide the pain her question sparked. Normally by now he’d be planning out his ski trips with his buddies and brothers. Tuckerman’s was a rite of passage with its high alpine conditions, steep chutes, and cozy gullies. He’d been making excuses to his buddies as to why he had to bail out this year, using The Zone as an excuse.