Rafe just grinned with those pretty white teeth he’d flashed for the cameras when he’d won his own gold medals over a decade ago, and patted her head. “Don’t you worry, Mom. I promise to keep your little boy safe. You are officially off duty.” Rafe walked toward the exit as Noah swept to a
stop nearby. “Don’t wait up.”
He exited the main doors to the deck and called to Noah, who snapped free of his snowboard, slammed it upright into the snow, and opened his arms to Rafe for a bear hug.
“You’d think they hadn’t seen each other in years.”
“Are you pouting?” Drake asked with surprise.
“No,” she lied. “I’m worried. You have no idea how hard it’s been to get that guy into a routine. If he hurts himself and backslides…” She shook her head. “Hell to live with. Absolute hell.”
“You say that like he’s not hell to live with now.”
She lifted a shoulder, reluctant to admit how well they were getting along—despite the sexual tension. “He’s…trainable. Sort of. I guess.”
She was just about to pull her gaze from Rafe and Noah when Noah’s attention turned to the windows. He’d pulled off his cap and flipped his sunglasses over his head, letting them lie at the base of his neck in a smooth, sexy move. And when his gaze found hers, his smile grew into one that beamed through the glass and hit her chest dead center.
In that moment, she thanked God she’d had the wisdom to end their sexual relationship and kept it from flaring back to life. Because if she hadn’t, the combination of that mind-blowing sex and this building camaraderie between them had the potential to break her heart. A girl only needed one broken heart to last a lifetime.
He lifted his arm and gave her a thumbs-up. She couldn’t help but laugh at his joy, glowing as bright as the fresh snow, and returned the thumbs-up even though she wanted to shout be careful. Then crossed her arms tight again as he turned and trudged up the mountain with Rafe by his side, both men holding their snowboards behind their backs.
“It’s so hard when the kids crawl out of the nest, isn’t it?” Drake asked.
Julia laughed and kicked him lightly. “Shut up.”
“Hey,” he said, changing the subject. “I have something to talk to you about.”
“Mmm-hmm?” She curled one leg underneath her and watched Noah hop onto a different lift, one that would take him to the other side of the mountain and out of her sight.
“Julia.” Drake waved a hand in front of her face. “You’re obsessed.”
She knocked it away. “I told you, I’m worried. I have a lot invested in the guy, okay?”
“Yes, you do. And the Wing’s event is a great place to leverage that investment,” Drake said. “You’re going, right?”
She frowned, her mind scanning but coming up empty. “What’s Wings?”
“The Red Bull sponsorship event,” he said as if jogging her memory. “In LA.”
She shrugged. “All I know about sponsorship events is how to avoid them.”
Drake heaved a frustrated sigh. “Noah told me he was going to talk to you about it. Maybe you can
work on his memory while you’re here.”
“He’s got a great memory.” If the way he liked to slip in reminders of their night together every damn day was any indication. “Which means he purposely didn’t mention it. And that’s a problem, since I’ve got his schedule packed up until the moment he takes his first qualifying ride at the X Games—in two weeks.”
God, that seemed impossibly soon.
“Then he’s probably trying to decide if he’s going, but he needs to, because all his sponsors are going to be there, including Epic and Guru. A lot of his competitors are going to be there too, and he needs face time. He needs to rattle cages. Let everyone know he’s back on track.”
“Drake, I’m going to need every damn minute to get him ready. He may look good, but there’s a chasm between here and gold.”
“It’s just one night, and this is an important event for both of you.” He stretched his arm along the back of the sofa. “All those competitors and sponsors are going to want to know who’s bringing the star back to the slopes. That one event alone could cultivate enough name recognition to secure your future for the next five, eight, ten years, if you play it right.”
This news whipped Julia’s calm waters into choppy waves. “If this event is as big as you say, a lot of my previous clients will also be there.”
“That’s a good thing. The perfect time to reconnect with them, put your name out there, tell them you plan to start your own practice.”