Extended Excerpt:

The Billionaire Athlete’s Christmas Fling

Chapter One

Chase Elkin had never once in his life thought he’d end up back in his grandmother’s office in the Elk Lodge. Sure, it was their successful family business, but it didn’t belong to him. The only thing that had ever belonged to him was his career as a professional skier, and now he didn’t even have that.

His grandmother sat behind her desk, head bowed over a massive ledger. Even at work, she was the picture of elegance—silver hair swept back in a neat bun, a cream sweater that looked soft enough to fall into. They kept computer records now, of course, but there were some things Elin Elkin still liked to do by hand. One of those things was keeping track of the staff.

Chase watched the swoops and falls of her pen across the paper while he lowered himself carefully into one of the antique chairs across from her. Any wrong move could bring back the pain of his old injury. Being back at the Elk Lodge felt like having his knee wrenched all over again.

Fine—it wasn’t as bad as that. But the ache he felt when he moved through the halls had little to do with the ski injury. He waited without speaking for his grandmother to acknowledge him. This, at least, didn’t hurt his feelings. She’d always been focused on keeping the Elk Lodge functioning at its best. When Chase was little, he’d learned to sit quietly and wait. But now sitting quietly reminded him that his old place at the Elk Lodge didn’t quite fit, like clothes that had gotten too small. Who was he, if he wasn’t a skier?

But where else was he supposed to go? The bottom had fallen out of his skiing career. There was no going back to that now—not with his injuries. He’d come home from Salt Lake City, ordered home for Thanksgiving just like the rest of his brothers. Gabe hadn’t come, despite the orders—claiming an emergency at work.

Chase suspected it wasn’t much of an emergency, but who could say—and at first, he’d been mildly jealous of Gabe’s ability to slip the bonds of the family. The dinner had been traditional—they dressed for the occasion, and Chase still felt the stiffness of his suit jacket, though he’d long since taken it off. After the dinner, though? Grandmother had ordered the servers out of the room and announced her diagnosis.

She’d always been a formidable woman when it came to running the company, but now, at seventy-four, there was some question about how much of a toll the treatments would take. Was she even going to survive it? Now Chase wished Gabe had been at the dinner. They were under a new set of orders not to say a thing to him until Grandmother had had a chance to speak to him herself. Chase didn’t like to imagine getting the news over the phone. But she wouldn’t do that. She’d probably decide to tell Gabe when he arrived for Christmas. It would change everything that came after for him, but Chase pushed those thoughts out of his mind.

His grandmother put down her pen, closed the ledger, and slid it to the corner of her desk. Her green eyes met his. Chase’s throat went tight with regret and shame and something else, too—fear. She looked so much older than he remembered. He’d been back to the lodge twice in the last year, but somehow time sped up at breakneck speed between visits. She looked older and smaller than he remembered. Chase wanted to throw his arms out and create a barrier between her and the rest of the world. Except it wouldn’t do any good now—the world had already gotten to her.

She reached across the desk, palms up.

Chase placed his hands in hers. Some things still fit, he supposed. His grandmother squeezed tight, not looking away. “How are you, Chase? You doing all right with the news?”

He let out a sorrowful laugh. “Is anybody?”

She gave him a rueful smile. “This is something we’ve got to face as a family. And we will be able to face it as a family, just as soon as your brother arrives for Christmas.”

Chase would never forget the announcement she’d made last night as they sat around the dinner table. Cancer. And the doctors weren’t sure if they could stop it or slow it.

After a stunned silence came the questions. Jonas had retreated deep into his own thoughts, sullen. Perhaps he thought she was finally handing over the company. Who knew with Jonas? He kept everything bottled up inside. And Gabe—well, they’d have to wait to see how he reacted. Maybe he’d bury himself in business again. Get right on the next plane out. It was impossible to say, and the wait till Christmas seemed interminable.

Chase didn’t have much stake in the resort, but the thought of his grandmother not being here in her office anymore made his heart ache. “We will. We’ll face it.” He squeezed her hands, the words scratching at his throat and making his eyes burn.

His grandmother gave him a stern look. “Don’t get all choked up on me, Chase. We’ve got things to talk about.”

“I’m fine.” His tears were reflected in his grandmother’s eyes, but to her credit, she simply laughed.

For a moment, Chase sensed everything would be all right. His grandmother might be getting on in her golden years, but her laugh was still the same. He found himself trying to memorize the sound. No matter what was going on, it would be okay.

She took a deep breath.  “Chase, it’s time to start figuring out what your next steps are in life.”

Too late. It’s too late for me, and everything I’ve worked for has come to nothing. It’s pointless to even discuss this. Chase choked back the instinctive, negative response. What could he say? How could he communicate this hopelessness to her without making her feel worse? “Is that a question, Grandmother?” He tried and failed to put on his most winning smile. “We don’t really have to discuss this. I’ll be just fine figuring things out for myself.”

She patted his hands and sat back. “Chase, you’ll always have a place here.” He caught a flash of tears in her eyes again, which almost killed him. He wanted to put a hand to his chest and hold his own heart in. His grandmother looked down at her ledger and pressed her hand to the paper. When she looked back up, her eyes were bright. “Which brings me to my second request. As part of that place, your first task is to help your brother wrangle a replacement for the ski-program director.”

Anger made his skin flush at the mention of the previous ski director. Hal had been promptly fired when his grandmother discovered what the man had done—had been doing for far too long. The Elk Lodge was a favorite resort of celebrities and wealthy visitors, and unfortunately, Hal thought they wouldn’t notice if he lifted a piece of jewelry here or some money there. The man had set up a whole system around it, creating pockets of time in the schedule where he could go through the guests’ belongings while they were out on the slopes.

The local news station had a field day with the story. His grandmother had gone into damage control mode to protect the reputation of the resort.

“Jonas doesn’t need my help,” he said automatically. “He’s the one who’s great at the resort stuff. I’d be in his way. Besides, I’ve got physical therapy appointments in Salt Lake City.”

“I disagree, and we have physical therapists here in Colorado.” His grandmother picked up her pen and ran it through her fingers. “We got more external applications than I expected. Many more. Jonas needs help weeding through them, and you’re the man with all the experience.”

With being an athlete, he wanted to say. With going through the motions. But how could he say that? She could be dying. He pasted a smile on his face, the way he always had when he got to the bottom of the slopes and met the press. “Fine. I won’t let you down.”

“It would be nice to hire a replacement before the lawsuits wrap up,” she said dryly, a smile playing over her lips. “I’m glad you’re going to help.”

She pulled the ledger back in front of her, and Chase got to his feet. He’d been dismissed from her office a million times in his life. Most of those times, he’d wanted to stay and talk to her, but he knew it was better to hide his storm of emotions behind a smile.

He kept it together until he was out of sight of her office, then dropped down on an overstuffed sofa in one of the less-traveled hallways of the lodge. God, he was a wreck. The past year had really roughed him up. And now he had a brand-new goal that he didn’t want—to work at the lodge and help his brother fix the mess Hal had left.

Chase stared at the ceiling. The thing was, he didn’t need the money. He’d saved and invested enough from his endorsements as a pro athlete to be set for life if he was careful. But he did not want to be so close to the ski industry. That would only be a daily reminder of everything he’d lost. More than daily—hourly.

But that same nagging question came back—what else could he do?

Leave. It was more than an idea. Brad, a friend of his, had only just last week invited him to become a partner in his winter sportswear startup company. Win-win, he’d claimed. Chase’s name attached to the deal would give the company credibility and cachet, which in turn, meant the media would be all over it. Brad had offered him a pretty sweet deal—one that deserved serious consideration.

Still…the idea of being treated like a show pony left a bitter taste in his mouth. Especially knowing that working in the industry would put him in direct contact with people involved in the skiing world again.

As much as he wanted to leave the lodge behind, it just wasn’t the right thing to do. He let out a heavy sigh and took out his phone. His grandmother had been right. The family needed to face her diagnosis together. It meant acknowledging, even though it hurt, that every moment with his grandmother was newly precious. Walking away now would be the biggest mistake of his life.

Chase pulled himself upright and tapped out a text to Brad.

Chase: I’ve been thinking about your offer. Not ready to decide just yet—need to focus on family right now.

The three dots indicating a reply popped up almost immediately. A flash of anxiety ran down the back of Chase’s neck. If Brad cut him loose right now, the loss of his backup plan would strip him of what little confidence he had left. He shouldn’t be relying on Brad to give him that, but that’s how it was. At least for now.

Brad: That’s fine. I get it. Need to know where you stand soon. By Christmas at the latest.

Brad: This is a great opportunity for you, man. You could show the world that you’re stepping up to the challenge of the new chapter in your life. Let everybody know that nothing gets you down for long. 

The truth banged against Chase’s heart, loud and insistent. None of his plans—working in Salt Lake, ignoring any place with mountains, putting his finger on a map and moving there—were as good as what Brad had in mind for him.

This gig at the lodge wouldn’t last forever. It couldn’t, because Jonas wouldn’t want him there. His oldest brother wanted to step into his role as the leader of the resort without his brothers getting in the way. Nobody truly needed Chase at the Elk Lodge except for his grandmother. His stomach twisted painfully again as the horrible anticipation of losing her resurfaced.

Get it together. He had to have somewhere to go when things at the lodge reached their natural conclusion—and they would. There was no doubt about that. And being the face of Brad’s company wouldn’t be nearly as bad as staying here to be pitied by his family.

The business opportunity would give him something to do. It would be something he could look forward to through all of this. And in the end, it would give him something he could say he’d accomplished.

Something that would be worth it.

Right?

Chase: I’ll let you know.

Chapter Two

Tana Birch stood tall on her skis at the top of the bunny slope, her students arrayed around her in a ragged semicircle. The clear, sunny day made everything look like an ad in an adventure magazine. The bunny slope might not be an adventure to her, but it sure would be for the kids in the Beginner 5–7s.

“Okay,” she called, watching five pairs of eyes snap up to meet hers behind goggles in a rainbow of colors. Green. Red. Pink. Blue. It was a sight to see against the white snow. “Let’s remember to do big curves on the way down,” she said, demonstrating by moving her hips side to side. “If you want to slow down, what do you do?”

“Make a pizza!” The children shouted out the answer with a wild enthusiasm that made her heart beat faster. A few of them pointed the tips of their skis together to show her.

Giving them a thumbs up, she knew they were ready to go. “That’s right. Let’s head out.”

Tana waited for the gaggle of children to get level with her before she tipped forward and pushed off with her poles. They were catching on quick, but not too quick. One of the girls shot out ahead of the pack and Tana reacted without thinking. She straightened her skis and sped down the hill. It was a very long hill—the longest bunny slope she’d ever seen—but the first lesson she tried to teach the kids was to stay in control.

She came up alongside Sadie, who didn’t look uncomfortable in the least. Her poles were pointed straight back, and with a perfect bend in her knees, the girl continued down the hill.

“You’re doing awesome, Sadie,” Tana called. “Now show me your side-to-sides.” She took a deep breath to calm herself. “If you ever race, you’ll have to know how to do the slalom. Side to side.”

It worked.

The little girl slowed her pace and made a wide loop to the left.

Tana stopped and looked back up the hill. The other four kids in the group were cautiously making their way down through the snow. Plenty of proper pizza stances. It had been, all in all, a good lesson.

She waited for them in the middle of the hill where she could also keep an eye on Sadie. Man, she’d lucked out. Taking the ski instructor gig at Elk Lodge had put her right where she needed to be to make a better life for her daughter. And she didn’t mind the work—another bonus. She liked the kids and most of their parents, the pay was decent, and the hours were good.

But Tana wanted more. And this winter, she just might get it.

The Elk Lodge was hiring a new ski program director, and Tana had put her name in for consideration. The new position was on her mind as she turned and went down the hill with the last of the group. Speculating on what might happen wouldn’t do her any good, but she just couldn’t help it. The program director’s job would be a perfect fit for her. And she would be so great for it. With the full-time salary and benefits, she’d finally be on the right track.

She came to a gentle stop with the kids on their skis chattering happily around her. “Great job, everybody. Remember—make big turns, side to side, and make a pizza. Those two things will get you down the hill when you’re out on the slopes with your parents, okay? What should you remember?”

“Side to side and make a pizza!” The kids shouted the phrases in a burst of glee.

Grinning, she watched them scatter in different directions. Their parents stood in various places by the entrances, most of them waving enthusiastically as their children approached. The job definitely had more highs than lows.

Tana pushed forward with her poles and moved smoothly toward the lodge. She’d make sure all the kids met up with their parents or nannies and then take her break. With another lesson coming up in an hour, there was just enough time to get a cup of cocoa in the cafeteria and take her boots off for a few minutes. As much as she loved teaching ski lessons, it was a bit taxing on her body. Another silver lining—she’d be in great shape when she got the program director’s position. When, not if. That was the attitude she needed for this application.

A flash of color out of the corner of her eye brought her up short as she watched a man approach. He crunched through the snow on winter boots, the sound reminding her of Lindsey chomping on cornflakes with an open mouth.

“I’m Ace,” he called out when he got closer. “If you have a second, I could give you a couple of pointers for your lessons.”

Uh, no. Tana did not have a second to listen to advice on how to do her job from some random scruffy man with sandy curls peeking out from underneath a fitted beanie. Especially one named Ace. Stunned, it took her a bit to figure out a reply without being rude.

“Kids like that girl who headed out in front of you. It’s better to take her down for a few solo runs before class if you can fit it in. Kids with that kind of courage can get away from you. Don’t want that. And I’d practice a few more turns with the rest of the group up top, while you still have time left on the slope. A few of them didn’t look too confident when they got down to the bottom. Build their trust in themselves first.”

Apparently she’d taken too long in her denial. Tana’s couldn’t believe how ridiculous his speech had become. She lifted her goggles over her head, then pushed back her hood with her free hand, staring at him. Glaring at him.

“I wasn’t asking, mister. If you don’t mind, I need to ensure all of my students are back with their families.” Her answer served double duty. Putting him in his place and getting rid of him. She was not a fan of this man, whoever he was.

His mouth dropped open, and she couldn’t help but notice the full perfection of his lips. That, with oddly compelling green eyes, ignited her curiosity. It felt like sitting a foot from the fire in the lodge. The heat only increased with the awkwardness. The man looked vaguely shocked like no one ever dared talk back. Who did he think he was anyway?

One of the parents stepped up between them, giving a shy little wave, the mom’s cheeks pink. Her little boy, Gus, stood close beside her.

“I’m so sorry to interrupt your conversation.” Her smile got bigger, her expression not matching the words. She looked almost giddy. “But my son was wondering if we could get a selfie.”

Ace’s face broke into a thousand-watt smile, and something clicked into place. Something awful.

“Sure thing.” He signaled for Gus and his mom to stand closer and Gus held out his phone to Tana. “Would you mind taking the photo for us?”

She took the phone and moved back. Seriously? Taking photos with him?

“Right around here, Mr. Elkin,” Gus’s mother gushed. She couldn’t stop smiling. Gus beamed up at Ace like the sun rose and fell on the man.

Hot shame flooded her face. Oh, my god. The man was champion world skier Chase Elkin. One of the Elkin family, as in owners of the lodge. And she’d been snippy with him. The earth seemed to drop away under her feet. Tana wanted to sink into the snow and disappear.

Chase, however, seemed completely at ease. He didn’t appear at all upset that an employee had just been incredibly rude to him in front of the guests.

Putting an arm around Gus, he smiled patiently while the boy’s mother took several pictures. Chase even offered to pose for a photo of the three of them and doing funny poses.

Wind, blow me away now.

“Thank you so much,” the mom said, giving Gus a gentle push toward the lodge. “We’ve got to go.”

Tana forced a smile to her face. “See you next week, Gus!”  Her voice sounded too bright and too false, even to her own ears. And she still had to swim through the increasing awkwardness of the moment.

When she turned back to Chase, he was standing there with his arms crossed, checking her out from head to toe.  Tana wasn’t a big fan of blushing, and the cold would only make her cheeks pinker, but she couldn’t stop it from happening. Get out ahead of this. 

She let out a deep breath, the moisture forming a wispy cloud in the cool air.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Elkin, for… using that tone with you. I shouldn’t have said what I did. That wasn’t right.” Tana was aiming for apologetic, even if deep inside, she didn’t think he deserved it.

“Why? Because my family owns the lodge?” His grin had settled into something more sultry. “I don’t know if I’d turn down my own advice, but I’m sure you had your reasons.”

“I thought you were a random mansplaining guest,” she blurted. “I had another guy earlier do a similar thing, only he was a lot pushier about it. It gave me a bit of a short fuse.” Her nerves sparked with cold and dread. “I shouldn’t have spoken to you that way.”

“Sorry about the disgruntled guest.” Chase put one gloved hand into the pocket of his winter jacket. “Want me to have him removed from the premises?”

“No, of course not. I was only trying to explain—” Why I was so short with a man who’s basically my boss. “Why I didn’t accept your constructive criticism the way I should have.”

“I didn’t mean for it to come off as criticism.” Chase’s wide smile lit something inside of her. It made her think of adventure and laughing until her stomach hurt and the rush of pushing off the top of a black diamond hill. His eyes held sadness—no surprise, considering what had happened to him. “Call it expert, friendly advice. I wanted to get to know the ski instructors better and decided to watch how everyone operates. Is this your first teaching gig?”

With her promotion officially on the line, Tana had to try and save it. Flashing him her warmest and most welcoming smile, she stuck out her hand. “Well, I’d love to start over with an introduction. I’m Tana Birch.” It was a little awkward because of the thick ski gloves they both wore, and she let out a laugh that approached a high giggle. Oh, no. “One of the ski instructors. And yes, it’s my first time, but I’ve also taught dance, and I was a private tutor for a while.”

“Explains your grace on the slopes, then.”

“Aw, thanks. I think you did have a point on the timing of the runs, though. It’s a bit tough with the smaller kids. Sometimes they don’t follow the plan.”

“Don’t I know it.”

Tana lifted her wrist and pushed aside the base of her glove. “Listen, I’d love to talk more, but I need to head into the lodge before my next class.” The words started out as a courtesy exit, but once she’d said them, she realized they were true. “It was really nice to meet you.”

“It was great to meet you.” His green eyes traced over hers, and his smile softened. “Before you go, can you tell me anything about the guy who was bothering you? I’m all for pleasing the guests, but that doesn’t mean they have carte blanche to be rude. Do you know his name?”

“Oh, no, no.” Tana couldn’t believe he was offering to go to bat for her with one of the customers. She did not need Chase Elkin hunting down one of the parents from her ski lessons just because she’d had an irritating encounter this morning. “You don’t have to do that. He was pesky, but it won’t be a problem.”

“Are you sure about that? I want things to be all right for you in your job. That’s a priority for me.”

“I’m good. We’re good.” We’re good felt pleasant in her mouth, to her shock. What was happening at this moment? Not a crush on the man who very much appeared to be one of her new bosses. Definitely not that. “I’ll see you around the lodge.” Tana pushed off toward the racks before her cheeks could get any redder.

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