New Lease on Love Page 17

  "What?" Chelsea whispered, stupefied.

  "We'd like something similar to the operation you're involved in now. We'll guarantee you the same pay and whatever benefits they're offering."

  Chelsea shot to her feet. "I don't believe your gall! What do you think I am, Nick Tanner? Some kind of puppet who can be yanked one way and then another? Why didn't you say something before I accepted this other job and went through all the trouble of uprooting myself?"

  "I don't know," he admitted in frustration, "and for that, all I can say is, I'm sorry. I thought about it a lot. I just didn't realize you'd put me on a clock and my time was running out."

  The balloon had leveled off and was drifting softly toward the gray-green slopes of Pine Ridge Mountain. A glance over the instruments and down to the road told Chelsea that everything was under control. She returned her attention to this man, this infuriatingly wonderful man, whose musky scent alone could rob her of any powers of logic.

  "We've discussed other ideas, too," he went on, "like the bed-and-breakfast tour I once mentioned, and we've looked into hosting rallies. I realize you might not have the time or inclination to get involved with so much activity. The scope of this thing would be your decision entirely."

  Chelsea placed a hand to her head. She had to think, had to retrieve her perspective. She supposed she could quit her new job without causing a major upset. She'd only been at it for two weeks, hardly long enough to become indispensable. Besides, one of the other pilots she'd hired had a family and needed the job more than she did. He wasn't quite as experienced, but she had no doubt he'd do fine. Still…

  "I… I don't have any place to live."

  "The house you used to rent's available."

  "Sure, but for how long?" she asked sarcastically.

  "Indefinitely. It's been portioned off from Pine Ridge and sold. It's a separate property now."

  "Sold? To whom?"

  "Me."

  Chelsea laughed incredulously. "I'd be renting from you personally? Terrific."

  "If you want the place, I'm sure we can negotiate mutually agreeable terms."

  Her powers of reasoning were getting fuzzier. Move back? Enter into business with Chet Lockwood? How could she do that after what she'd done to his daughter? "Are you sure Chet is in full agreement?"

  "He's crazy about the idea. Why wouldn't he be?"

  "Well…" Her cheeks warmed. "I thought Grace might've mentioned…"

  A smile of compassion flicked through his expression. "It's over, Chelse. Grace is gone from my life. She never should've been there in the first place."

  Chelsea clutched her hands to control their trembling. "Does she know it's over?"

  His smile broadened. "Yes. We talked the whole thing out."

  "And Chet doesn't hold any grudges?"

  Nick shook his head, his eyes trained on her. "Neither does Grace. They'd both feel privileged to have you aboard. So would I."

  Chelsea felt her defenses crumbling. With those last few words, she wanted nothing more than to fall into Nick's arms. She had to remind herself that he was only offering her a job, not his love.

  She glanced away, over the endless green hills and lakes touched by the gold of the lowering sun. "I don't know, Nick. I'll have to think about it."

  He moved a few steps toward her, closing the distance that separated them. Her thoughts scrambled. Being here felt unreal. She looked at the sky and the hills and now at Nick's ruggedly handsome face as if through a haze. It was so blessedly wonderful to be with him again that the joy was almost too much to bear.

  Was he really reaching out to her, she wondered groggily, or was she only dreaming it? When his fingers touched her cheek, she still wasn't sure. She only knew that her heart was fluttering at an unholy rate and her body felt as if it could float without the balloon.

  "Chelsea, I had to talk to you for another reason. It wasn't just to offer you a job." His thumb stroked the line of her jaw. A mesmerizing glint intensified his stare. "We have to straighten out this misunderstanding between us. Larry told me you moved away because of the opportunity this new job offered you, but I can't help thinking it had a lot more to do with what happened in my apartment."

  "D-did something happen?"

  "It certainly did. We were having a conversation, of sorts. I believe you were in the process of telling me you loved me."

  Chelsea thought she would die of mortification right there and then. "I'm sorry. It was a ridiculous thing to say. I shouldn't have."

  "Especially since I didn't return the sentiment?"

  Chelsea turned away, but there was no place she could go. He turned her to face him again.

  "I thought perhaps if I got you alone we could continue that conversation." He pulled her against him, and she pressed her face into his shirtfront, wanting to cry for reasons she couldn't fathom anymore.

  "I wasn't looking for a response, Nick. I realize I'm not the sort of person you care to take seriously. You know what you want, and I simply fall short of the mark. It's no big deal."

  He folded her closer, his body molding itself to hers. "Don't say that. Don't even think it. I was the one who was all messed up, and for what it's worth, I'm sorry I didn't answer you that day. My body was trying to tell you what was in my heart, but I realize now some things should be spelled out more clearly."

  Chelsea pulled back to put a little space between them so that she could look up into his face. She couldn't quite figure out that boyish expectancy in his voice. It was then that she realized the balloon was drifting directly above Pine Ridge, and as if a voice were calling to her, she looked down toward the ski area.

  Through the trees, she could see a sign draped across the sloping roof of the chalet that housed Nick's office. "Chelsea, I love you," it read for all the world to see. And on the far broader roof of the main dining hall stretched another. "Chelsea, I love you," it also read.

  Chelsea clasped her hands to her mouth as she drew in a sob. "Oh, Nick, did you do that? All the trouble…"

  "It was," he agreed dryly. "I used every sheet I owned."

  She laughed on a hiccup. "That's just about the most romantic gesture I've ever heard of."

  "You were overdue. Our courtship hasn't exactly been the most idyllic affair so far. I've kicked and bucked it most of the way. But you ought to know I can be a very romantic guy. In fact, from now on, you're going to think you've hooked up with the king of romance." Nick smiled lovingly at her. "I've missed you, Chelse," he whispered, touching his forehead to hers.

  "I've missed you, too."

  He tilted her chin and pressed her lips softly with his own. His breath shuddered as he drew away. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him closer. When their lips met again, all their longing, all their love and desire, came together.

  "I love you, Chelse. I can't imagine my life without you in it." He stroked back her hair, wiped the wetness from her cheek.

  Chelsea would have said something then, but another rooftop sign was caught in her peripheral vision. She turned slightly, just as Nick whispered, "Marry me," repeating the message peeking up through the trees. "Marry me, please."

  Was this really happening, Chelsea wondered, or was she caught within some sorcerer's dream? She looked into Nick's eyes and knew she wasn't dreaming. They were really at the beginning of a new life together.

  She nodded. "Yes, of course I'll marry you."

  "Soon."

  All she was able to do was nod before he captured her in another kiss. Through the fog clouding her mind, she remembered to reach up and fire the burner to give them a safer drifting altitude. Then she returned her full attention to the kiss that was deepening and turning her bones to water. Apparently it was having a similar effect on Nick, because she soon discovered that they were lying on the floor of the basket.

  The radio crackled into life. "Some surprise, huh, Chelse?" Her brother laughed. "We were up doing those signs till almost one in the morning. I was beat today, let me
tell you."

  Katie giggled. "Hi, Dad. Hi, Chelsea."

  Then Mimi rattled on about how hard it had been to keep the secret and how she was afraid Katie wouldn't be able to.

  Chelsea felt Nick's mouth curve into a smile. Their breath mingled in a shared laugh.

  "They don't have to come along on our honeymoon, do they?" Nick asked.

  "I'll see what I can work out."

  "Mmm. You do that," he murmured as his lips worked their slow way down her neck.

  "Hey, can you guys hear us?" Mimi questioned. "Larry, do you think something's wrong with the radio?"

  Chelsea knew she'd have to answer them sooner or later. She also knew the balloon would eventually have to land. But not yet. Just for a while longer, she and Nick would sail on through the silent dusk. And though she knew in body she'd soon be back, her heart would never come down to earth again.