bright and warm in his handsome face. “I’ve got to hang out with some friends this afternoon, but I hear there’s going to be an awesome party tonight over at the Solstice coffeehouse. Maybe I’ll see you there?”
My heart stopped, sputtered, and then thump-thump-thump ed in my chest. Okay, okay, so he wasn’t exactly asking me out, but it sounded like he wouldn’t mind if he ran into me later either. And given my stupid, unrequited, disastrous crush on Logan, I’d take what I could get.
“Maybe,” I said, trying to play it cool.
Preston smiled at me a final time, then headed across the lobby.
A few seconds later, Daphne broke free of the crowd and stepped over to me. When I didn’t immediately turn toward her, the Valkyrie snapped her fingers in front of my face, making pink sparks flash everywhere and fall to the ground like raindrops.
“Earth to Gwen. What are you looking at?”
“Oh, just this guy I was talking to.”
Daphne’s black eyes narrowed. “What guy?”
I tried to point out Preston to her, but there were too many people between us and him, and he was walking away too fast for her to really see him.
“He looks cute,” she said, standing on her tiptoes to try to get a better look. “At least from the back.”
“Believe me,” I murmured. “He is.”
Daphne elbowed me in the side. “See? I told you there would be guys here from the New York academy, and you’ve met one already. And you didn’t want to come.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, yeah. You’re my genius best friend, always looking out for me.”
“Damn straight,” Daphne crowed. “Now, come on. Let’s go dump our bags in our room. I told Carson that we’d meet him as soon as we could.”
“Yes, master,” I sniped.
We grabbed our luggage and headed toward one of the elevators. I looked for Preston, but I didn’t see him in the crush of people hanging out in the lobby. Still, I couldn’t help but think that maybe Daphne was right—finding a cute guy to take my mind off Logan was the best thing I could do this weekend.
Chapter 8
My hopeful mood lasted until Daphne and I met Carson in one of the ski shops off the hotel lobby. The two of them wandered up and down the crowded aisles, looking at all the equipment and trying to decide if they wanted to ski today or go tubing instead.
Like everything else I’d seen so far at Powder, the shop had the best of everything. All shapes, sizes, and styles of skis stood in racks against the wall, their bright, shiny surfaces as slick and smooth as glass. Puffy coats, pants, and gloves, all branded with designer logos, took up the middle of the shop, while sunglasses, hats, and scarves crowded together in a counter next to the back wall. Neon-colored inner tubes dangled from the ceiling, looking like oversize doughnuts.
I followed my friends through the shop, feeling small, shabby, and lost. I’d never really been an outdoorsy type, preferring to stay in my room and read comic books or watch television. All this nature was a little tough to take. Seriously. What was so fun about standing outside in the cold, trying not to fall and break your legs as you zoomed down a mountain?
Finally, Daphne and Carson picked out some skis, boots, and clothes and then looked at me, expecting me to do the same. Which meant that it was confession time.
“I, um, don’t ski.”
Daphne frowned. “What do you mean you don’t ski?”
I cringed. “I mean, I don’t know how to ski. I’ve never been. That’s one of the reasons why I didn’t really want to come to the resort this weekend.”
Her mouth dropped open. “How can you live in the mountains and not know how to ski? Practically everyone at the academy comes to Powder or flies out to Aspen at least once or twice a year... .”
The Valkyrie’s voice trailed off as she realized that I’d never been to Aspen either or to any of the other fancy places she had.
I stared at a pair of sunglasses and shifted on my feet,
My heart stopped, sputtered, and then thump-thump-thump ed in my chest. Okay, okay, so he wasn’t exactly asking me out, but it sounded like he wouldn’t mind if he ran into me later either. And given my stupid, unrequited, disastrous crush on Logan, I’d take what I could get.
“Maybe,” I said, trying to play it cool.
Preston smiled at me a final time, then headed across the lobby.
A few seconds later, Daphne broke free of the crowd and stepped over to me. When I didn’t immediately turn toward her, the Valkyrie snapped her fingers in front of my face, making pink sparks flash everywhere and fall to the ground like raindrops.
“Earth to Gwen. What are you looking at?”
“Oh, just this guy I was talking to.”
Daphne’s black eyes narrowed. “What guy?”
I tried to point out Preston to her, but there were too many people between us and him, and he was walking away too fast for her to really see him.
“He looks cute,” she said, standing on her tiptoes to try to get a better look. “At least from the back.”
“Believe me,” I murmured. “He is.”
Daphne elbowed me in the side. “See? I told you there would be guys here from the New York academy, and you’ve met one already. And you didn’t want to come.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, yeah. You’re my genius best friend, always looking out for me.”
“Damn straight,” Daphne crowed. “Now, come on. Let’s go dump our bags in our room. I told Carson that we’d meet him as soon as we could.”
“Yes, master,” I sniped.
We grabbed our luggage and headed toward one of the elevators. I looked for Preston, but I didn’t see him in the crush of people hanging out in the lobby. Still, I couldn’t help but think that maybe Daphne was right—finding a cute guy to take my mind off Logan was the best thing I could do this weekend.
Chapter 8
My hopeful mood lasted until Daphne and I met Carson in one of the ski shops off the hotel lobby. The two of them wandered up and down the crowded aisles, looking at all the equipment and trying to decide if they wanted to ski today or go tubing instead.
Like everything else I’d seen so far at Powder, the shop had the best of everything. All shapes, sizes, and styles of skis stood in racks against the wall, their bright, shiny surfaces as slick and smooth as glass. Puffy coats, pants, and gloves, all branded with designer logos, took up the middle of the shop, while sunglasses, hats, and scarves crowded together in a counter next to the back wall. Neon-colored inner tubes dangled from the ceiling, looking like oversize doughnuts.
I followed my friends through the shop, feeling small, shabby, and lost. I’d never really been an outdoorsy type, preferring to stay in my room and read comic books or watch television. All this nature was a little tough to take. Seriously. What was so fun about standing outside in the cold, trying not to fall and break your legs as you zoomed down a mountain?
Finally, Daphne and Carson picked out some skis, boots, and clothes and then looked at me, expecting me to do the same. Which meant that it was confession time.
“I, um, don’t ski.”
Daphne frowned. “What do you mean you don’t ski?”
I cringed. “I mean, I don’t know how to ski. I’ve never been. That’s one of the reasons why I didn’t really want to come to the resort this weekend.”
Her mouth dropped open. “How can you live in the mountains and not know how to ski? Practically everyone at the academy comes to Powder or flies out to Aspen at least once or twice a year... .”
The Valkyrie’s voice trailed off as she realized that I’d never been to Aspen either or to any of the other fancy places she had.
I stared at a pair of sunglasses and shifted on my feet,
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