Page 49 of Sugar and Spice
He laughs and puts the car into gear. “I think I can arrange that.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Mason muttersa curse under his breath when we get close to the lodge. Chrissy and Christy are standing in the driveway, chatting in the storm.
What the heck.Why? Why would they yap at each other in the snow when they could go inside and have the world’s best cup of coffee in the dining room?
“I hate myself for saying this, but you need to duck,” Mason says. “Fast.”
I whip off my seat belt and crouch on the floor, well under the window. Placing my hands on the seat and setting my chin on them, I angle my head toward Mason. “Good thing this wasn’t a date, huh? This would be an unusual way to end it.”
He grins, but he doesn’t dare look my way. We pull into the lodge, and Mason gives the women a curt wave of acknowledgment.
“Do you think they suspected anything?” I ask.
Mason glances in the rearview window. “I don’t know, but they’re headed this way.”
“What do I do?” I ask, growing a touch frantic.
They can’t see us together. They’ll make such a fuss about it, Tammy might have no choice but to toss Sadie and me off the show.
“Stay here. I’ll draw them away. Wait two minutes, and then make a run for the side door.”
“Got it.”
He quickly gets out of the car and shuts the door before Chrissy or Christy can see inside. They call to him in high-pitched, flirtatious voices that make me want to gag. They’ve got to be twenty years older than him—at the very least.
True to his word, Mason encourages the women to move inside and out of the weather. I wait several long minutes after it goes quiet, and then I stick my head up, feeling very much like a prairie dog poking out of her hole.
Another inch of snow has accumulated since this morning, and more is on its way. Even though it’s not quite dark yet, the street lights at the entrance have flickered on. There are plenty of empty cars and several of the network’s vans, but I see no sign of people.
Cautiously, I open the door. Unfortunately, just as I’m stepping out, another car pulls into the lot. I freeze, hoping to act casual as Jerome grins at me from the passenger seat of Cole’s Jeep. Jessica and Anne are in the backseat.
Please don’t let them realize whose car I just exited.
“Can you believe this snow!” Jessica calls to me as she gets out. She holds her hands to the sky, looking like she’s going to twirl. “It’s amazing.”
Cole shakes his head. “Tennessee girls,” he teases Jessica. “What do you think of the snow, Harper?”
I shrug, happy we’re talking about the storm and not Mason. “It makes for good boarding.”
“That it does.” Jerome helps Anne from the backseat. “What did you do with your day? I thought you were going to join us on the slope.”
Instead of answering, I avoid. “Anne! What did you do to your leg?”
Jessica’s cousin limps through the snow, clinging to Jerome’s arm.
She rolls her eyes. “I slipped in the parking lot. I don’t think it’s sprained, only twisted.”
I eye the girl’s ankle. It’s already swelling under her leggings. “Are you sure?”
Anne winces when she attempts to put pressure on the bad ankle. “No.”
Just the thought of trying to traverse the baking kitchen on crutches makes me cringe.
As soon as we step inside, I find Mason cornered next to the fireplace by both Chrissy and Christy. His posture is rigid, and he wears a pained smile. Neither appears to notice that they’re the cause of his irritation.
He glances our way and gives me a quick, subtle grimace.
