Jackson decided the case would give her something to hang on to once those soft leather boots hit the snow outside and sent her spinning to the ground. “Then let’s get going.”
“I appreciate you meeting me.” She was brisk and businesslike and he wondered how long she’d keep that up once she met his family. They had a way of sucking the professional from a person.
“You’re welcome. As a matter of interest, did you pack any winter gear in those bags?”
She glanced down at herself. “Exhibit A. Warm coat. Boots. Scarf. What am I missing?”
He thought about pointing out she might be missing fingers and toes if she didn’t find herself a few more layers, but decided she had brain enough to work it out for herself soon enough. She was dressed for Manhattan not Mount Mansfield.
“You look great.” Truthfully she looked better than great. “You might need to add some thicker layers. The snow is pretty deep at the moment. We had a big storm a few days ago and another is forecast.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. What a nuisance.”
Her comment confirmed everything he already suspected about her relationship with snow. “We’re a winter sports resort, Kayla. Snow is good. In fact it’s essential.”
“Of course it is.” Her gaze didn’t shift from his. “I knew that. I just meant, what a nuisance I didn’t bring my other boots.”
“You own a pair that doesn’t have a four-inch heel?” He tried not to look at her legs and then decided what the hell. He hadn’t seen anything that good in Vermont in a long time, and he was going to make the most of it.
“Actually, no. But it will be fine. I’m developing a public relations strategy for you, not skiing downhill.”
He refrained from pointing out she was going to be skiing downhill the moment those heels touched the ice. “We’ll find you something when we get to Snow Crystal.”
He unlocked the car and stowed her bags.
Kayla sprang into the passenger seat and her coat parted, giving Jackson another glimpse of those incredible legs.
Lust slammed into him, and he was just recovering his balance when she turned and hit him with her smile.
Christ.
Felled by that smile, Jackson wondered how the hell he was supposed to focus on the words that came out of that mouth when all he wanted to do was kiss it.
He slid into the driver’s seat and tried to erase those lips and legs from his brain. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this attracted to a woman. Lately he’d been working too hard to notice the sex of the person he was talking to.
But not this time.
Deciding that employing Kayla Green might just have made his situation more complicated, not less, he picked a neutral topic. “Have you seen much of the U.S. since you’ve been here?”
“I travel quite a bit meeting journalists and clients, but I mostly see the inside of an airplane and a hotel. You know how it is.” She settled in her seat and her perfume wafted over him, swamping his senses.
Jackson kept his hands firmly on the wheel. It was that or grab her and haul her onto his lap. He was shocked by how badly he wanted to mess up that hair and ravage that soft mouth. Eighteen months at Snow Crystal and he’d obviously lost his grip on professional. “So you’ve never been to Vermont?”
“Never. But I’ve read extensively since our last meeting. You were born here?”
So she had the facts about the place, but not the feel. “Yes, but my mother is British. She came over to work in the hotel for a winter season and met my father. Married him and stayed.”
“The last eighteen months must have been hard for all of you.”
“She’s struggling.” He decided an understanding of his family was essential to understanding the unique needs of the business. “My grandparents live at Snow Crystal. My mother has been focusing all her energies on caring for them and making sure they’re coping.”
“And how are you coping?”
No one had asked him that question before. He hadn’t even asked it of himself. Hadn’t dared.
“I’m coping fine.” He ignored the tension in his shoulders. “But it’s been hard on my family.”
“Is your mother involved in the business?”
“She helps out where she’s needed.” And that was part of the problem, of course. The lack of structure.
“What else do I need to know about your family? You mentioned a brother?”
“There are three of us. It’s a wonder my mother is even remotely sane, given what we put her through growing up.”
“Three brothers.” Something in the way she said it made him turn his head toward her, and he immediately wished he hadn’t because there was her mouth again.
“You don’t have siblings?”
“Only child. You’re the eldest?”
“Yes.” The responsibility landed like a heavy weight on his shoulders. “Then Sean, then Tyler, who lives with his twelve-year-old daughter.”
“He’s the downhill skier—retired from racing after an accident. He’s married?”
“Single parent. Jess’s mother decided Tyler wasn’t marriage material and married someone else instead.” He was surprised by how much trauma could be condensed into one short sentence.
Kayla murmured words of sympathy, and Jackson thought back to that time, thought about the boy his brother had been and the man he was now.
He wasn’t about to talk about the custody battle. Nor about the fact that Janet had never wanted Jess, just Tyler’s money and a slice of the fame. “Burned him badly. He hasn’t had a serious relationship since.”
“Not surprising. But Jess lives with him now?”
“She’s been back with us for a month.” It had been a surprising turn of events, and he felt a rush of concern for his niece. “It’s complicated.”
“Relationships are always complicated.”
“Are yours?”
“I keep mine simple.”
“What’s your secret?”
“Not to have any.” Her tone was light and then she moved off the subject, talking about work again, grilling him on tourist numbers, hotels in the local area and transport links.
She’d whipped a tablet computer out of her bag and made endless notes as they talked.
The landscape was dotted with red barns and white-steepled country churches
