Kissing Jenna (Big Sky 2)

He grins. “Of course. Give me five to make my own coffee.”

It takes him three, and then we’re walking the short distance to the other tree house. The snow has stopped falling, and it’s not terribly cold out.

“Do you want to stand out on the deck for a bit?” I ask him.

“In the snow?”

I laugh and push up on my tiptoes to kiss him. “It’s not snowing now. I just want to step out for a minute.”

“Let’s go.”

We lean on the railing, sipping our coffee and watching skiers sail down the run to the village below.

“This is a fun spot,” Christian says, just as a breeze kicks up.

“Damn, it’s cold now. Let’s go in.” He shuts the door behind us, and I flip on the fireplace and sit on the couch. “How did you get this property?”

“That’s actually a fun story,” I reply and set my cup aside. “The property itself had been for sale for a long time, mostly because it was a weird shape. It butts up against the resort, and the way it was before, it was a weird triangle. Not great for building something like this.

“Well, thankfully, I know Jacob, and he owns said resort. So, I went to him and told him that I wanted to buy the property, but that we would need to rezone the property lines so I would give him a piece of my property in exchange for a piece of his, and he agreed.”

“It’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” he says with a smile.

“It’s both.” I hold up my mug in salute. “Jacob is a shrewd businessman. He knew that these tree houses would be beautiful and interesting to skiers. And he knew that I’d bring in more business for the resort, so it was a win-win situation.”

“Sounds perfect,” he says with a nod. “I see that there’s another lot available for sale just below you.”

“I’ve considered it, mostly because I’d like to make sure that no one can build on it and obstruct the view that I have here.”

“That sounds completely reasonable. Why don’t you buy it?”

I stare down into my mug. “Because I can’t afford to yet. I had to invite Max and Brad to be investors in the tree houses. They went over budget, and it was more money than I had on hand. They both jumped on board. I just acquired the property in the park a few months ago, and I have a mortgage on that. So, until I have those paid off, I can’t add more. It’s too much.”

“Jenna, I can—”

There’s a knock on the door.

“That must be the pizza.”

I jump up and set my mug on the kitchen island as I walk past it and pull the door open, then frown.

“Hi, I’m Nina. Is my brother here?”

Chapter Seventeen

~Jenna~

I’M STRUCK DUMB. A petite brunette is standing in the doorway asking for Christian, and my brain doesn’t want to connect the dots.

Why in the world is Nina here?

“Um, yeah,” I reply and step back so she can come inside. “Christian,” I call out as Nina walks inside, squeals, and gives her brother a hug.

“Hey,” Christian says, looking at me over Nina’s head with confused eyes. “What’s going on?”

“Well, I was going to have to send the plane for you anyway, so I just came with it. I haven’t seen you in too long.” She steps back and looks around my tree house. “This is nice.”

“Thanks,” I reply.

“And you must be Jenna,” she says, holding out her hand for mine. “Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise.” I think. “This is actually a unit that I’m filling later today with guests. Christian’s is on the other side by the ski run.”

She nods and hooks her dark hair behind her ear. “Well, this is definitely a great place. Christian, we need to get back to the plane right away.”

“What the hell is going on?” he asks. “If you called or texted, I didn’t get it.”

“You didn’t?” She scowls and checks her phone. “My text didn’t go through.”

“What the fuck is going on?” he asks again.

“Mom’s in the hospital,” she says. “I’m sorry you didn’t get my text earlier. She had a heart attack during the night, and they think she’s going to be okay, but we should probably get back.”

I glance at Christian, whose jaw is clenched as he shoves his hand through his hair. He looks frustrated, but not particularly sad or worried about his mom. Maybe he’s just taken off guard?

“You left your mom after she had a heart attack?” I ask, unable to keep the words inside, and Nina turns to me with glacial blue eyes.

“You don’t know me,” she says, her voice heavy in warning. “You don’t get to question my choices.”

“Sorry.” I hold up my hands in surrender, and then the reality of the moment hits me.