The Man Most Likely Read online

  She got through it somehow and trooped off the stage with everyone else when they were done. Bryan stood as she approached his seat, the same front-row spot she’d occupied earlier. “That was great,” he said.

  She smiled, determined to play it cool and not let him see how much his presence flustered her. She hadn’t really expected him to take her up on her invitation to visit, not after the mixed signals he’d sent during their meeting. “It’s a pretty funny play,” she said.

  “No, I mean you were great,” he said. His eyes locked on to hers. She read definite interest there and struggled to quell the sudden uprising of butterflies in her stomach.

  “Thank you. And thanks for coming tonight.”

  “Hey, Bryan.” Austin joined them. “What brings you here? Decided to add acting to your list of new interests?”

  “Angela and I are working together on the fund-raiser,” Bryan said. “I thought it would be a good idea to meet some of the other people involved.”

  “Oh, business.” Austin looked sympathetic. “I’m sure you’d much rather be over at LoBar.”

  “No, I’m interested in learning more about the group and what you do.”

  Angela thought Bryan sounded annoyed. Austin did have that effect on some people.

  “Hello, Bryan.” Tanya squeezed in next to Angela. “It’s good to see you.”

  “Good to see you, too.” He nodded to Tanya, and Angela waited for the inevitable. Whenever she and Tanya were together, every man in the room focused his attention on Tanya and forgot Angela existed. They couldn’t seem to help themselves. It had happened so often, it didn’t even bother Angela anymore.

  Much.

  But, while Bryan was friendly toward Tanya and listened to her explanation of the play and the makeup of the theater group and their plans for the money from the fund-raiser, his eyes didn’t assume the slightly feverish look so many men’s did in her presence. “We have forty or fifty people involved in the group off and on, depending on the size of the production,” Tanya said. “Crested Butte has had a community theater for over thirty-five years now, though I’ve only taken over as director recently.”

  “It sounds like a great group,” Bryan said. “I’m glad Angela invited me to stop by.”

  Tanya checked her watch. “We need to run through the next scene, but you’re welcome to stay and watch,” she said.

  The next scene featured only Tanya and Austin, so Angela settled beside Bryan to watch. As usual, Tanya lit up the stage. For ten years prior to returning to Crested Butte, she’d worked in Los Angeles, acting in commercials. She even had a part in a popular soap opera for a while. She’d been a professional and her skill showed. When she spoke her lines, the audience was transported to that New York City apartment where the play was set.

  When the scene ended, everyone applauded. “She’s brilliant,” Angela said. “We’re so lucky to have her back, with all her talent and experience.”

  “I’m no expert, but you seemed every bit as good to me,” Bryan said. “Aren’t you the star, or the female lead, or whatever it’s called?”

  She laughed. “You flatter me. No, I am not the star. That’s Tanya. I’m the supporting actress. The comic relief.”

  “If the rest of the play is like the little bit I saw, you’ll steal the show.”

  “Thanks.” She looked away, trying not to show how flustered she felt. Why would he go out of his way to flatter her so? After their meeting at the hotel, she’d asked a few people about him—very casually, under the pretext of wanting to know more about the man she’d be working with. Women invariably described him as good-looking and fun. Men said he was a good softball player and snowboarder.

  “Hey, Bryan! What’s up?” Chad, one of the crew members who helped with set construction, emerged from backstage and headed for them. He and Bryan bumped fists. “I been missing you on the slopes,” Chad said.

  “I’ve been busy,” Bryan said.

  “Yeah. I heard you were working at the hotel.” Chad shoved his hands in his pockets. “What’s up with that? I hear you’re even, like, a manager or something.”

  Bryan flushed. “I have a degree in hotel management. Decided it was time I put it to good use.”

  Chad laughed. “Never thought I’d see the day you’d go over to the other side,” he said.

  “What other side?” Angela asked.

  “The suit-and-tie corporate side,” Chad said. “This guy—” he put his hand on Bryan’s shoulder “—was one of the slacker kings. He and his buddy Zephyr showed us all how it was done.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe you gave up all that freedom for some job.”

  Bryan shrugged off Chad’s hand. “I guess I figured it was time I grew up.”

  “Oh, I’m wounded.” Chad clutched at his chest dramatically. “That hurts, bro.”

  Bryan, a slacker? Angela considered the idea. It was true the picture his friends had painted didn’t exactly fit with the polished professional image he’d presented to her. The idea of him having this other side intrigued her.

  “Rhiannon was asking about you at LoBar last night,” Chad said.

  Rhiannon Michaels? Angela wondered. Chad had to be talking about the sleek, sexy siren pursued by half the men in town.

  Bryan’s flush deepened, and Angela’s interest piqued. When Chad left and they were alone again, Angela decided to indulge her curiosity. “So you know Rhiannon,” she said.

  “Yeah. We, uh, we dated for a while.”

  That confirmed it, then. Bryan was definitely more party guy than serious businessman. Rhiannon only dated the wild ones—the men who only dated women like her.

  Not that Angela believed she was ugly, but it took a particular kind of man to appreciate her and she was becoming less and less sure that Bryan was that kind of man. She hadn’t missed the disappointment on his face at their first meeting yesterday, but later, in the ballroom, she’d felt a definite zing of attraction. Those contradictory reactions had confused her—a feeling exacerbated by his appearance tonight. She didn’t like this push-pull sensation because it recalled times she hadn’t been so secure in herself. She had a great life without a man complicating things.

  Of course, it wasn’t men in general she objected to, just ones who might break her heart. Like a good-looking, charming party boy out for a good time, a fling. A fling that was guaranteed not to lead to anything serious—since the very definition of a party guy was that he couldn’t be serious—was another possibility altogether.

  Could she date a guy and not end up with her heart broken? Was she capable of that kind of cavalier, temporary engagement? Maybe with some guys, but with Bryan—she wasn’t so sure. She watched him out of the corner of her eye as he laughed at something Tanya said. She hadn’t been this attracted to a man since Troy. And frankly, that worried her. A lot.

  THE NEXT DAY was Bryan’s day off, so he and Zephyr went snowboarding. It felt good to trade his suits and ties for fleece and board pants. Fun didn’t have a high priority in his life these days, but it was still a fundamental part of him.

  “Where were you last night?” Zephyr asked as they rode the Red Lady Express lift to the top of the mountain. “I looked for you at LoBar.”

  “I dropped by the Mountain Theatre group for a while.”

  “You thinking of going on the stage? Becoming an actor? That’s radical.”

  “No. The hotel is hosting a fund-raiser for the group and they invited me to come by and meet people.”

  “A fund-raiser? What kind?”

  “A fancy party with chocolate desserts and a silent auction.”

  “Chocolate!” Zephyr grinned. “Maybe Trish and I should make an appearance.”

  “It’s a hundred bucks a couple.”

  Zephyr’s smile vanished. “Maybe not, then.” He brightened once more. “But hey, you and someone from the theater should come on my show and talk it up.”

  Bryan knew his boss would like that. Nothing made Carl happier than publicity for
the hotel. “All right. I’ll ask Angela when she’s available.”

  They glided off the lift and stopped to adjust their bindings. “Who is Angela?” Zephyr asked.

  “Angela Krizova. She owns the Chocolate Moose.” But apparently making chocolate wasn’t her only talent. He still couldn’t get over her transformation onstage last night. “She’s coordinating the fund-raiser.”

  “Cool.” Zephyr straightened and unzipped his parka partway. “Maybe she can make some chocolate recipes on the show or something.”

  Bryan laughed. “You want her to cook?”

  “Why not? Food sells. So does sex, but you can’t do that on TV—at least not on my show.”

  The thought of Angela and sex sent a jolt through him. There was a definite sensuality about her, something Bryan was aware of every time he was with her. His attraction to her was unsettling. He’d never pictured himself with a woman who probably weighed more than he did, but when he’d been with Angela last night, he hadn’t thought about her size—except to notice the soft roundness of her hips or generous curves of her breasts. He shook his head, trying to clear it.

  “This weekend I’m broadcasting live coverage of the Al Johnson Memorial Race,” Zephyr said.

  “Oh, yeah? What are you going to do? Show footage of all the crazy costumes and stuff?”

  “That, and I’ll interview some of the entrants. But first I put together a short film about Al Johnson.” Al had been an early mail carrier in Crested Butte, one who lived up to the old saying about neither rain nor sleet nor gloom of night preventing the mail getting through. Al delivered the mail on skis, over mountain passes, sometimes in blizzard conditions. “I got Hagan to dress up in old-fashioned gear with a big mailbag we borrowed from the museum and I filmed the whole thing in black-and-white,” Zephyr said.

  “Hagan is probably the only one who could ski on those big, old wooden skis,” Bryan said. Hagan Ansdar, a Crested Butte ski patroller originally from Norway, had won the race two years previously, skiing with conventional telemark gear, but dressed in a ratty raccoon coat someone had unearthed from a basement.

  “He’s working this year, so he said this was as close as he could get to participating,” Zephyr said. “Maddie will be there, too, on call as an EMT.”

  Maddie and Hagan’s wedding had been the third one Bryan had attended this past summer—the one that had turned his thoughts toward settling down. If a former playboy and ski bum like Hagan could find happiness with marriage and starting his own computer software company, then why couldn’t Bryan make similar big changes in his life?

  They headed down the run, bombing through drifts of powder, carving wide turns on the steeps. They let out loud whoops as they raced each other through a stand of trees, then skidded into the lift line, red faced from the cold and grinning ear to ear.

  “Magic!” Zephyr said, exchanging high fives with his friend. “I’ve missed being out here with you, dude.”

  “This is great,” Bryan agreed. They inched their way to the head of the line and flashed their passes for the liftie.

  On the chair once more, Zephyr said, “Rhiannon was asking about you last night. That Rachel chick from the hotel said she’d tried to talk you into coming with her, but you turned her down.”

  “I told you, I had to go to the theater group.”

  “Trying to score points with the boss, huh?” Zephyr shook his head. “Better you than me. I couldn’t handle that corporate BS.”

  “It’s not so bad,” Bryan said. “I enjoy the work, most of the time. And this is just a stepping stone. One day I want to open my own hotel. A smaller, boutique place where I can do things the way I want. Right now I’m paying my dues.” And he had a lot of dues to pay. At twenty-eight, he had a long way to go to catch up with guys who’d gone straight to work out of college. He didn’t want to be an old man before he realized his dream, so he had to work extra hard and move up the ladder quickly.

  “I told everybody you hadn’t really sold out to the man,” Zephyr said. “I told them this was all part of a plan.”

  “Who thinks I sold out?” Bryan asked.

  “Oh, you know.” Zephyr waved one hand. “Just some people shooting off their mouths. It doesn’t matter.”

  But it did matter to Bryan. It annoyed him—and yeah, it hurt some, too—that his friends had so little faith in him.

  “So, who all did you meet last night?” Zephyr asked. “Anybody interesting? That new director of theirs, Tanya Bledso, is pretty hot.”

  “How do you know about Tanya?”

  “Dude, I know everything that goes on in this town. I’m plugged in, you know. So, did you meet Tanya?”

  “She was there.”

  “And she’s really hot, right?”

  “She’s okay.”

  Zephyr grabbed Bryan’s wrist and made a show of looking at his own watch.

  Bryan jerked away. “What are you doing?”

  “Checking your pulse. If you think Tanya is just okay, I’m worried those corporate types have turned you into a zombie.”

  “Just because I’m not panting after every pretty chick I see doesn’t mean I’m a zombie.”

  “Then what does it mean?”

  “Maybe it means I want more out of a relationship than the surface stuff. And don’t make any smart remarks about corporate brainwashing or anything.”

  “Why do you think I’d do that?” Zephyr looked offended. “I’d say it’s about time you realized there was more to women than good looks and sex. Not that you can’t have all that and a connection on a deeper level. Look at me and Trish.”

  Bryan was glad to shift the focus of the conversation away from himself. “I’m still trying to figure out what she sees in you,” he said.

  “Haven’t you heard opposites attract? We balance each other out. I help her loosen up and she brings out my intellectual side.”

  “I didn’t know you had an intellectual side.”

  Zephyr punched Bryan’s arm, and Bryan punched him back. Just like old times.

  “Seriously, what are you looking for in the perfect woman?” Zephyr asked as they unloaded from the lift again. “Maybe I can help you find her.”

  Bryan started to make some remark about not needing Zephyr as a matchmaker, but stopped. The truth was, Zephyr did know almost everyone in town, and he was a more astute judge of character than people gave him credit for. “I’m looking for a woman who’ll take me seriously,” he said. “Someone who can see beyond my partying past.”

  “I dig it. You want a chick who sees you’re more than just a pretty face and a good time.”

  “Something like that.” And maybe he wanted a woman who had more going for her than looks alone. Not that he thought beautiful women were shallow. He knew plenty of smart, savvy and sexy chicks. But so far he hadn’t made a real connection with any of them.

  “I’ll have to think on this awhile,” Zephyr said. “Somewhere there has got to be the perfect woman for you.”

  “Thanks, but I’d as soon find her on my own.”

  “Doesn’t mean I can’t keep my eyes open to help you out. After all, sometimes our friends know us better than we know ourselves.”

  If that was true, Bryan thought, then he was in trouble. His friends apparently saw him as either a sellout or a slacker. Neither was a very flattering picture.

  Chapter Three

  The Al Johnson Memorial Uphill Downhill Race commemorated the exploits of a pioneering mail carrier, but in typical Crested Butte fashion, it featured competitors in zany costumes, a carnival atmosphere and an excuse for locals and visitors alike to party.

  While Angela wouldn’t be caught dead barreling up a six-hundred-foot incline while dressed in a large, pink bunny costume or similar outlandish garb, she was happy to volunteer her services handing out hot chocolate to race participants and fans at the base of the Silver Queen lift. From there, participants made their way to the starting point at the bottom of the North Face lift. Racers could choose to
ski the entire course by themselves, but many opted to form relay teams, with one racer handling the uphill portion, the other the downhill. Keeping with the spirit of commemorating Al Johnson’s legacy, the uphill racer had to deliver a letter to his or her team member.

  Other than that, anything went, and did. As she dispensed paper cups of cocoa, Angela saw teams dressed as a hot dog and a jar of mustard, Betty and Barney Rubble, twin tigers and Batman and Robin.

  “Zephyr looks almost ordinary in this crowd,” said Trish Sanders, who was serving coffee next to Angela.

  “Is he racing?” Angela asked. Though she’d never personally met the colorful snowboarder and rock guitarist turned talk-show host, Zephyr was the kind of person it was impossible to ignore.

  “No, he’s filming for his show. Oh, there he is. With Max.” Trish pointed to where the blond-dreadlocked boarder was interviewing a burly skier who was dressed in a Colorado Avalanche hockey uniform.

  Max Overbridge owned the snowboard and bicycle shop just down from the Chocolate Moose. A second man in a hockey uniform joined him. “Who’s that?” Angela asked.

  “Eric Sepulveda, a ski patroller,” Trish said. “Looks like he and Max have teamed up for the race.”

  “Can a thirsty volunteer get a drink here?” A petite woman with a short cap of white-blond hair approached the refreshment booths. She was accompanied by a black Labrador retriever who wore a red search-and-rescue vest.

  “Casey!” Trish leaned over the table to hug the blonde, then turned to introduce Angela. “You know Casey Overbridge, right? Max’s wife?”

  “I’m one of her best customers,” Casey said. She accepted a cup of hot chocolate from Angela.

  “Are you and your dog working today?” Angela asked, nodding at the Lab.

  “We’re on call,” Casey said. “Though I hope we don’t have to rescue anyone. Mainly Lucy and I are here as publicity for Search and Rescue.” She patted the black Lab, who grinned up at her and wagged her tail.

  Casey straightened and looked past Angela. “Bryan!” she called and waved.