Page 1 of Snowbody

Chapter One

Jacob

It felt good to be back on the mountain.

I missed it in the summer, when the snow melted. Sure, the lodge was still active in the warmer months, but there was less for me to do. I only went up when they needed me to fix something and worked part-time in town.

But now I was here until the snow melted again.

I’d always loved these mountains, ever since I was little. They’d introduced me to my greatest passion—snowboarding.

That was how I’d gotten here. Snowboarding. The rise of an up-and-coming champion, the literal and figurative fall that ended it, and now a full-time job here. On the mountain where I’d first learned how to snowboard.

It brought back a lot of good memories.

And it also brought the fans.

I’d been hot shit for a while, and people knew who I was. I was one of the draws of the resort—snowboarding lessons from Jacob Reed! Olympic medalist, world champion, retired at twenty-four!

Hence, the woman desperately trying to flirt with me.

I was supposed to walk everybody I had a lesson with back to the lodge, to make sure they went in and warmed up for a while. Even with warming stations, the mountain got cold, and there was a mandatory warm-up time after every lesson.

“So, me and my friends are wanting to go down into town, check out some of the bars.” She was walking too close to me, her hand brushing against mine.

I tucked my hand into the pocket of my parka. “Yeah, there’s some good ones down at the base of the mountain. I like McAdams’.”

“You should show us.”

I glanced at her. Tall, blonde, and blue-eyed but stick-thin. Even her tight pants couldn’t make her ass look thick.

Not my type. At all.

“Thanks, but… I’m good. I’ve got more lessons to teach today, anyway.”

She huffed in disappointment.

I opened the door to the lodge, gesturing for her to go on in. “Well, it was nice to meet you.”

“Yeah.” The woman looked at me, biting her lower lip. Still trying to flirt, even after being let down gently.

“Maybe I’ll see you around? My room number is—”

“Maybe we’ll see each other.” I turned and walked away from her before she could get out her room number.

I didn’t need women throwing themselves at me. As flattering as it was, I was here to work, not play.

“Well, but—” She was calling after me, even as I walked away from her.

Some people just couldn’t take a hint.

But I saw my ticket out. Across the lobby of the resort stood my boss, Mark.

Unfortunately, Melody was with him.

Mark was one of the owners of this resort, along with a few others. His group of owners and investors managed several properties; this one was his responsibility. However, he was sixty and ready to retire. At this point, he’d turned most of the resort responsibilities over to Melody. I liked him. He was a good guy.

His daughter, though…

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