Buch lesen: «How To Find A Man In Five Dates»

Table of Contents

Cover

Dear Reader

About the Author

Title Page

PROLOGUE

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

Copyright

PROLOGUE

HERE’S TO A brand-new year.

Dr. Miranda Dupris clutched her empty champagne flute and waited for the dreaded annual countdown to begin. The huge gathering area of her father’s lodge—with its vaulted ceilings and blazing fireplace—was packed, the free food and drinks drawing in legions of guests and employees, all hoping the year ahead would be kinder than the one they were leaving behind.

Or maybe that was just her.

A fresh glass of glittery amber liquid was pressed into her hand, while the empty one was plucked free and deposited onto the tray of one of the serving staff. The smell of champagne clogged her senses, its sharp bite a welcome diversion.

“Mira, we totally forgot to make our resolutions!” Her best friend grinned at her, long blonde curls bouncing as she swirled the contents of her own glass. “Let’s do them now. That way you can dump Robert into the universe’s nearest black hole and start over.”

At the mention of her ex-fiancé, Mira curled her toes into the ankle-slaying red stilettos while the familiar sting of betrayal lanced through her gut.

Never again. Never, ever again.

If anyone was jumping into the nearest black hole, it was going to be her.

She was done with relationships. For good this time. Three failed engagements in the last seven years should tell her something.

“I’m all for that.” She forced her lips to tilt upward, trying not to ruin their New Year’s Eve tradition, something she and Ellory had done for the last ten years in this very room. She lifted her glass. “I’ll even go first. I hereby swear off committed relationships for the next twelve months.”

Her friend laughed. “What about uncommitted ones?”

What about them?

Oh! Her foggy brain finally put two and two together. Ellory was asking if she was swearing off men altogether. Was she?

Maybe that was a bit too extreme. She did like men. Some of them, anyway. Just not certain bastardly ski instructors.

“Uncommitted is good. More than good, actually.” She raised her glass even higher. “Okay, how about this, then? I resolve to date twenty-five men over the next year with no emotional involvement whatsoever. Zip. Nada.”

Her friend blinked. “Whoa.” Ellory now had to yell over the crowd as the clock hands on the huge screen across from them shifted closer and closer to the witching hour. “Are you serious? Miss Monogamy Dupris is going to serial date?”

Um … yes. Why not?

The idea sounded more and more attractive. Or maybe that was the three glasses of champagne she’d had. Whatever. She took another bracing sip. “That’s exactly what I’m going to do. Serial date. Twenty-five men … one year.”

“This I’ve got to see. Bet you a hundred bucks you either back out or you don’t make it past man number five without getting attached to him.”

Ha! Unless the fifth guy was a puppy hiding in a man suit, she didn’t see that happening.

“Make it ten men. No, wait … all twenty-five. And backing out is not an option.” She waggled her shoulders back and forth, her courage growing with each passing moment. “Tell you what. Next New Year’s Eve we’ll see who pays whom. Your turn. What’s your resolution? And it’d better be good!”

“Well, if you can swear off serious relationships, I can swear off men altogether—maybe work on myself for a change, take on a project. And I’ll bet the same amount of money that I will follow through.” Ellory’s expression had taken on a serious note, totally out of character for her fun-loving friend.

But with the hands almost at the top of the dial, she didn’t have time to question her. “Okay, so we each have a hundred dollars riding on our resolutions, right?”

“Right.”

She’d just gotten the words out when a cacophony of voices began chanting backwards from ten. Ellory clinked her glass against Mira’s and they downed the last of their drinks.

Confetti rained all around her, the cheers and laughter of the crowd forming a frothy wave of mirth that carried her up and out of her funk. Mira caught her friend up in a tight hug, so glad Ellory had come to stay with her for a while.

She stepped back, about to say something, when a masculine voice came from behind her. “Well, well, well. Looks like I’m not the only one without a date tonight. Or are you two together?”

Mira’s eyes widened when she realized the slightly slurred tones were far too close to her ear for comfort. Still holding onto one of Ellory’s hands, she raised her brows in question. Surely not.

“Turn around,” her friend mouthed. “He’s talking to you.”

Knees quivering, Mira released her hand and pivoted on the spiked heel of her shoe until she was face to face with a beefy hunk who could have stepped straight out of an ad for a gym membership. He was tall and buff, and his too-tanned-to-be-real neck rose from a pressed white shirt and black tux. His blue eyes gleamed with something that looked like … interest. Or boredom. She couldn’t decide which.

“I—I …” Her mind went blank, and she scrabbled for the nearest coherent sentence. “Er … hello.”

How the hell did one serial date, anyway? She’d have to ask Ellory for some pointers later.

The man’s smile grew. “I waited a whole ten minutes to make sure no irate boyfriend was going to bust my jaw for coming over here. I noticed you as soon as you walked through the door. Are you alone?”

Oh, no. Not this fast.

She glanced back at her friend, who opened her beaded purse and tipped it toward her with a knowing jiggle. “You want to pay up now, honey?”

Egads. The woman knew right where to hit.

Straightening her spine, she turned back to the man in question. “Yep. I’m alone.”

“What say I buy you a drink, then?”

Since the booze was free, that was hardly an enticing offer. But if her job was to stay unattached, this guy seemed like the obvious choice.

“What say you do?” Mira tried for a purr, but it came off sounding like an asthmatic wheeze.

Before she could chicken out, she handed her empty champagne glass to Ellory, who stared at her with undisguised shock. Mira leaned forward and whispered two words, drawing them out for emphasis. “Game. On.”

CHAPTER ONE

JACKSON PERRY WAS going to fall.

No matter how many times he tried to stab his ski poles into the snow, they ended up flailing around like twin javelins about to be launched by a drunken athlete.

Make your skis into a wedge to slow your rate of descent.

The instructor’s mandatory lesson played through his skull, but actually obeying that advice was almost impossible, since he was too busy trying to find his center of gravity as his body continued to pick up speed down the slope. He tried to ride it out like a surfer on a killer wave. Only skis were nothing like the smooth, wide surface of his well-waxed board. And the ground looked a whole lot harder than the soft embrace of the ocean.

Wobble.

Correct.

Wobble.

Correct.

Not. Gonna. Freakin’. Work …

A brilliant plume of white spray rose up as Jack belly-flopped onto the snow, his skis detaching from his boots—thank God. He bounced his way over some moguls, instinctively tightening his abs to absorb as much of the impact as possible. Fifty yards later he slid to an ignominious halt, still facing the bottom of the hill. He had one pole in his hand, the other was long gone, probably back there with his skis.

Good thing he hadn’t tried a tougher slope.

Sucking down breaths into lungs that felt like they were on fire, he assessed his body bone by bone, tendon by tendon. Knees? Undamaged. Wrists? Still there. Ego? He’d come back to that one later. Skull? Intact, although he wondered about his sanity in agreeing to this damned vacation.

He raised a hand to wipe away some of the snow on his face, only to find his gloves were also covered in the stuff.

Hell!

Take a vacation. Have some fun. You need a break.

Or else.

His coach may not have added those last two words, but Jack had seen them written in the tight lines of the man’s face when he’d been late to yet another early morning meeting. The product of a recurring nightmare followed up by a sleeping pill. He hadn’t even heard the alarm the next morning.

Go skiing, Jack … or I’m afraid we’ll have to find ourselves a new doctor.

So, was the plan working?

Oh, yeah. So far, he was having a blast.

And every damn memory he’d been trying to forget had followed him right down that hill, crashing into the snow beside him.

Several more skiers sailed by, none of them seeming to have any trouble with the so-called “bunny slope.” Nothing like wiping out on your very first run.

A pair of skis came into view. Angled just like the instructor had described. Perfect. He glanced up, squinting to see past the blinding midmorning sun.

“Need some help there?”

A vision in a white ski jacket and matching snow pants stood before him, the light seeming to halo around the figure’s shoulders and head.

Maybe he’d hit the ground harder than he’d thought.

He shook his head and then struggled into a sitting position, but the slick fabric of his own suit caused him to slide down the hill a few more feet. The person matched his downward trajectory inch for inch, again coming to a halt right as he did. Still on her feet.

A quick feminine laugh met his ears. “Here, take my hand. Your boots should help you gain some traction. I’ve already picked up your skis and pole.”

He glanced up again and saw that the woman—and she was definitely a woman—did indeed have his errant equipment caged in the crook of her arm. A white-gloved hand stretched down toward him.

Definitely not a beginner. At least, he hoped not, otherwise he might as well throw in the towel and stick to football and watersports.

“I’m good.” The last thing he wanted was to bring her down with him. He struggled to his feet, somehow succeeding on the first try. She was right, though, about the boots giving him traction.

“Think you can make it to the bottom?” She flipped her goggles up over her head, causing the fur-trimmed hood of her jacket to fall back, revealing a pink knit aviator hat. Soft brown eyes that were alight with humor regarded him.

She’d probably get a lot of mileage out of this story over drinks with her friends later on.

She was exactly what he pictured when he thought of snow bunnies, from her matchy-matchy suit to her obvious ease in the frigid environment. Even her complexion was pale and frosty, with just a touch of pink warming her lips and cheeks. Cool and untouchable. All except for the flaming locks now visible from beneath her hat.

Just like Paula’s hair had been. His teeth clenched.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

Right. She was still waiting for him to tell her if he could make it down the hill.

“I’ll be fine from here. Thanks again for the help. If you’ll just hand me my gear …”

“First time on the slopes?”

Wasn’t it obvious? A spark of male pride urged him to tell her that he’d once competed in some of the biggest surfing competitions California had to offer. But that had been before he’d gotten his medical license and changed his focus to football. Before the accident that had changed his life forever.

Coach was right. He’d let himself go over the last four years.

“Yep.” His eyes tracked a little girl zipping down the course with ease. “They make it look so easy.”

The woman glanced over her shoulder with a smile. “Yes, they do.” She turned back and held out her hand again. “Miranda Dupris.”

“Jack Perry.” He took her hand and gave it a quick squeeze, suddenly glad they both had on gloves. Even so, something in his gut twisted at the brief contact.

A voice came from the side. “Hey, Florence Nightingale, do you mind clearing the slope? I don’t want a pile-up on my watch.” His instructor from a few minutes ago pushed his poles into the snow and surged past them, heading on down the hill. He didn’t glance their way, but something about the wry twist to his voice said he knew Miranda. Quite well, in fact.

Of course the guy knew her. She was a snow bunny. She probably knew all the instructors by name.

Then a strange thing happened. Instead of waving to the man with a laugh, her brown eyes went from smiling and carefree to cool and irritated in the space of a few seconds.

A woman scorned? Or something else?

“Come on,” she said. “I’ll buy you a hot chocolate once we get to the bottom.”

He almost groaned. He’d been hoping to clomp his way down the hill and head straight to his room, where he could lick his wounded ego in private. The last thing he wanted to do was hang around the bar with a woman who’d seen him at his worst.

He swallowed and retracted that last thought. She hadn’t seen him at his worst, but his coach had. Including the twenty pounds he’d shed over the past six months as the dreams had swallowed more and more of his nights and haunted his days. It’s what had made the man book this vacation in a frozen wasteland. Why couldn’t he have chosen Hawaii instead?

Maybe he could refuse her offer with grace. “No need, but thanks.” He held out his hands for the equipment she still held.

“Maybe not, but standing here without working my muscles has made me realize I’m freezing my tushie off, and I could sure use something to warm it back up.”

Those words finally yanked him free of his morose thoughts and put them right on …

No, you don’t, Perry. Don’t you dare look.

Too late. His eyes had already skated over her hips and mentally guessed what lay beneath all those layers of clothing. And it was good.

Wow. If she knew what you were thinking, she’d dump your gear in the snow and march her oh-so-cold tushie right back down the hill.

Damn. Time to renew his gentleman card. Paula would have given him a single raised eyebrow if she could hear him now.

But she couldn’t. Thanks to him. And the coach. And the team.

No. That was no one’s fault but his.

Suddenly the last thing he wanted was to be alone. Even if it meant spending a half-hour with a woman who’d probably made the rounds more than he had during his entire internship. “Hot chocolate sounds good. Thanks.”

She gave him a quick grin and handed him his equipment. “Don’t hurry, unless you enjoy sliding down the hill. I’ll meet you at the bottom.”

With that, she turned around and pushed off, her skis flashing as she leaned forward and took the slope like an expert.

Sighing, Jack juggled his poles and his skis and took his first shaky step.

Did forcing someone to drink hot chocolate count as date number five? Mira scrunched her nose as she waited for her next victim to finish trudging his way down the hill. She wouldn’t have pushed so hard if it hadn’t been for that Florence Nightingale crack Robert had made as he’d sailed past her.

Yes, it was spiteful to head for the bar with another man when she knew her ex was there on his break, but she wanted to make it as plain as the icicles hanging from the man’s heart that she was done. No amount of sweet-talking would get her to take him back. Seducing your female students was not part of a ski instructor’s job description, no matter what most people thought.

Ellory was right. She needed to move on. Not getting emotionally attached was something that came hard for her, but if she kept choosing men who were not her type, it should be a breeze.

Jack Perry was definitely on the “not” side of the equation. Her newly written “not” side, anyway.

With his chiseled, clean-shaven jaw and refusal to let her help him up, he was evidently a man’s man, something she was now avoiding like the plague as far as relationships went. She’d been there, done that—three times, in fact—and had the heartbreak to prove it. The next guy she got serious with was going to be a poet. Or an artist. Someone who was in touch with his feminine side.

There was nothing feminine about the man she’d met on the slopes. She’d bet he was an athlete—from the easy way his wiry muscles had pushed him up off the ground. Yeah, he might have crashed and burned on that slope, but that was from lack of experience, not lack of strength. Those glutes had some power behind them.

Something she was better off not thinking about.

Hot chocolate. Nothing else. She might have joked with Ellory about bedding a man or two during the next year, but she wasn’t planning on actually doing that. Too dangerous. For her, anyway. The words sex and casual? An oxymoron. It always became personal.

So far she’d racked up three losers. Three men who couldn’t resist the thrill of the chase, even when that chase involved someone other than their fiancée.

No more bad boys for her.

Surely after a year of empty dates she’d be able to tell the difference between a player and a guy who was capable of monogamy. Until then, she had to stick to the plan.

But, man, oh, man, as Jack sidled the last twenty feet, making short work of each step in those heavy boots, he was making her little heart go pitter-patter.

Reaching down to undo her skis when she realized she’d been watching him instead of attending to her own business, she stepped out of them and hefted them upright. “Ready?” she asked, when he reached her.

“Yes.” His voice was a little tighter than it had been up the hill, although she didn’t see how that could be, since he hadn’t been jumping for joy at the thought of spending some time with her. She’d had the opposite problem with man number three. He hadn’t exactly been happy when she’d closed the door to her room with him on the wrong side of it.

Well, from Jack’s guarded expression, getting rid of him should be a snap.

They turned in their skis and poles at the equipment center next to the ski lodge and then Mira led the way into the foyer of the main building. The familiar honeyed tones of wood-covered floors and walls welcomed her like a snug, warm cocoon, especially when compared to the vast snow-covered surfaces outside its doors. The crackle of the fire in the huge stone fireplace in the middle of the room only added to that sense of welcome.

Moving over to the long hallway lined with pegs and cubbies, she shimmied out of her jacket and hung it up along with her hat. As she ran her fingers through her hair to fluff it up a bit, she was far too aware of the man next to her shuffling out of his own coat and snow pants. She smiled at the snug black jeans he had on beneath his clothes. And, man, she was so right about those glutes.

Damn!

He swung back around, catching her in the act. One brow lifted, and his lips tightened just a touch. So he didn’t like her looking. Well, it wasn’t as if he hadn’t checked her out on the slope. She’d seen those dark eyes skim over her in quick appraisal. Right after her ex had zoomed past, like the jerk he was.

Forget about Robert. He was not on her current shopping list. Jack was.

She refreshed her memory about the goals of this particular encounter: have a quick cup of cocoa and then she was free to move on.

To man number six.