Read Online At Any Cost by Mandy Baxter - Free Book Online Page A

was always a little bit of truth to every lie. “That’s impressive.”
    â€œShe trained in Tahoe when she was younger, I’m pretty sure. Anyway, you won’t have to worry about her on the slopes. Your . . . ?” Jane trailed off.
    â€œUh, daughter,” Nick said.
    Jane smiled. “Your daughter will be in good hands.”
    â€œGreat.”
    She reached under the counter and produced a brochure that she slid toward him. “Would you like to book the lessons today?”
    â€œI’ll let you know after I show this to my wife. Thanks for the information, though.”
    â€œAnytime,” Jane said. “Just give us a call when you’re ready to schedule.”
    It might have been a tiny kernel of insight into Livy’s life, but even a tiny kernel could produce a plant. Nick headed out of the office and down a long boardwalk toward the stairs, a hell of a lot more confident than he’d been this morning.
    â€œNick?” He turned to find Livy heading toward him, her steps awkward and clunky from her ski boots. “What are you doing up here?”
    Shit.

Chapter Six
    Nick looked a little like a kid with his hand in the cookie jar, but he recovered his calm resolve quickly enough to make Livy hope she’d imagined it. Fear trickled into her bloodstream but she forced the sensation away. Nick had every right in the world to be up here and it didn’t mean that it had anything to do with her. She needed to cut the paranoia and try to act like a normal human being for a change. The problem was, Livy had been looking over her shoulder for so long, she had no idea how to do that anymore.
    â€œHey.” His easy smile as he walked toward her relaxed the unwelcome tension that pulled her muscles taut. “I was looking for you, actually.”
    â€œMe?” He’d only been her neighbor for a week but in that time, Livy felt like she’d gotten to know him a little bit. He wasn’t a skier, so if he was looking for her it wasn’t because he wanted a lesson. “Why?”
    He gave a sheepish grin that did traitorous things to Livy’s body. Did Nick have any idea how good-looking he was? He seemed to wield his charm like a weapon. At least, it felt that way to Livy. A simple grin stabbed her through the heart. “Honestly?” He looked away as though embarrassed. “I’m going stir-crazy in the house. I drove around town but that took all of about ten minutes. You talk about the ski hill so much, I got curious. So I went for a drive. I figured since I was up here, I’d see if you wanted to get some lunch.”
    His story wasn’t too farfetched. She still couldn’t understand what in the hell he was doing on vacation in a place that had nothing to offer him, free house or not. That familiar suspicion crept up on Livy. Her equal measure of comfort and discomfort in Nick’s presence was another reminder that she needed to pull up camp and move on. He’s only here for a few more weeks. What would it hurt to let yourself enjoy a little human contact? “I’ve got about forty-five minutes until my next lesson. I could grab a bite.”
    Nick smiled and she swore if her ski boots weren’t holding her up, her legs would’ve given out. The fear that had kept her going for the past four years scratched at the back of Livy’s mind, warning her that getting close to anyone—even a guy who wouldn’t be around for much longer—was a bad idea.
    â€œThis is your wheelhouse,” he said. “Lead the way.”
    Her stomach leaped into her throat and floated back down in a not altogether unpleasant way. Yep. Letting Nick get close was definitely a bad idea.
    Livy paused and hiked up the legs of her ski pants to unbuckle her boots before they headed up the stairs to the third floor of the lodge and the restaurant. She usually didn’t mind walking around in her cumbersome ski gear but she