Magic in Our Hearts (13 page)

Brett had played with her, attending all-night parties and drinking oceans of champagne, but after almost two months of being pursued and hours of kissing, Brett had never touched her, and that was driving Juliet crazy. No one had put Juliet off that long. Brett would be a formidable catch, and that made her even more appealing.

After weeks of waiting, Juliet was determined to make something happen. She was the one who suggested that they go to Brett’s home in Boulder. Brett rarely took women to her home. It had been off limits because of Brett’s plan to share it with the one woman she would be with for the rest of her life. Brett no longer believed that would happen so she agreed to Juliet’s request. Juliet had planned it all—a week of playing, during which she planned to seduce Brett. No one held Juliet off for long. And the wild and charismatic skier was like a drug to Juliet.

She wanted her very much in a very physical way. Love had nothing to do with it.

Brett was charming, funny, drop-dead gorgeous, and had an incredible body.

Along with her fame, she was undeniably appealing, and refusing her made Juliet even more committed to seducing her. 

The second night at the house in Boulder Juliet zeroed in on Brett, plying her with several glasses of Scotch after a romantic dinner for two, provided by Helen.

They were lounging on the living room couch, Juliet draped over Brett, when she decided to end the drought. Reaching between their bodies, Juliet slid down the zipper on Brett’s silk dress pants and placed her hand between Brett’s thighs, cup-ping her wet center.

“Whoa, Juliet,” Brett had mumbled, pulling her hand away.

“Brett, baby, let me make you come. You know you want me,” Juliet had purred, her fingers reaching once more for Brett’s wet center.

“Juliet, don’t.” Brett’s words were slurred as she pushed Juliet off.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Juliet shrieked, standing next to Brett, angry as hell.

“Nothing is wrong with me. I just don’t want to fuck!” Brett snarled, getting unsteadily to her feet.

“You are a fraud! You haven’t touched me in two months! The great lover! Ha, you probably can’t ski either!” Juliet was livid. No one rejected her more than once.

“Just because I don’t want to fuck you doesn’t mean I can’t ski!” Brett lashed back. “Maybe I don’t want to fuck someone who’s been with half of Los Angeles.”

Juliet jerked back as if she’d been slapped when she heard Brett’s comment.

It was no secret she slept around, but so had Brett. She was furious that Brett was judging her behavior. Brett was no better and she had no right. “Prove it!”

“Prove what?” Brett glared at the woman.

“That you can ski!”

The angry dare was more than Brett could take in her drunken state. The one thing that Brett could do better than anything was ski. They piled Brett’s equipment into the car and Juliet drove them to the pass. It may have been after ten at night, but the chair lift was still running. Even though Brett had been drinking, Juliet egged her on. Finally, they both stood at the top of the downhill run. Brett had looked out over the sparkling snow and felt her body calm down. Here was where she felt most at home—on the mountain skiing. She was most completely alive when she sailed down the snow-covered slopes.

“Watch this.” Those were the only words Brett said as she took off and headed down the steep slope. She executed the first half of the run flawlessly. Her natural, God-given talent and dedication to hard work were obvious as she sailed down the mountain. The raw beauty of Brett’s skiing stunned Juliet as she watched Brett gliding through turn after turn. But fate was not kind that night, and too much alcohol made Brett careless. She overcorrected on a sharp turn.

The minute she did, she knew she was in trouble. She crossed the ski slope out of control and slammed into a tree at full speed. She was knocked cold before she could feel the intense pain caused by her body being brutally crushed against the unforgiving trunk and low branches of the century-old Douglas fir. Thankfully she remained unconscious as she lay in a crumpled heap at the base of the tree.

Juliet screamed as she witnessed the accident from above. By the time the ski patrol had gotten to Brett, Juliet was completely hysterical, her words coming out in a jumble as she tried to explain what happened.

“It’s my fault, God, it’s my fault,” she cried over and over as she watched them load the critically injured woman into the ambulance. At the hospital, she told the police what had happened and waited while the emergency room staff worked frantically to keep Brett alive. She stayed until Mrs. Camden arrived, and then she had left. Her guilt over the accident and her fear for Brett made her run away.

She had gone back to Brett’s home and packed her things and fled back to Los Angeles. She hadn’t spoken to Brett since that night. Not even after Brett was released from the hospital had Juliet contacted her. It was as if they had never known each other.

Brett shuddered in her bed as she remembered waking up in the hospital, her mother sitting next to her bed.

“Mom, what …”

“Honey, you’ve been in a very bad skiing accident and you had to have emergency surgery.”

“I’m sorry, Mother, I’m so sorry …” Brett slid back into morphine—induced sleep as her mother watched and cried for her only child. She would have to tell her the horrible news. Her career as a skier was over. Mrs. Camden knew that information was going to destroy her daughter. Since she was a young child, it had been her dream to compete and win a gold medal in the Olympics. Brett had been less than a year away from her chance to do just that, and now that dream was destroyed. Roselin was angry at the fates that put her daughter in the hospital, but she knew Brett’s injuries had been brought on by her own unfortunate decision. Brett would know that when she woke up, and Roselin refused to put any more guilt on her only child while she was in this fragile condition. She was grateful that Brett was alive.

Brett closed her eyes and willed the memories away. That was in the past, and there was nothing she could do about it now. She had been stupidly careless and was now living with the results. How could she think that Taylor could love her?

How could she, knowing what Brett had done to herself? But she did, and that was a miracle. Brett would do anything to regain Taylor’s trust. Until she had something to offer Taylor, she wouldn’t sleep with her. She would get better and she would figure out some kind of a career. She would make herself worthy of Taylor’s love.

Taylor lay in bed, unable to sleep, her body still aching after being held by Brett. She had managed to keep her feelings under control until tonight. Seeing Brett so helpless and vulnerable had made giving in to her emotions so easy, and then that kiss … it was so perfect, so Brett. God, she made Taylor crazy. She wasn’t irreparably damaged. She was hurt, but Taylor could help her heal. Being an alcoholic was no small problem, but Taylor knew Brett could deal with it. It was the fact that Brett didn’t realize her own worth that disturbed Taylor the most. Taylor couldn’t make Brett value herself—that was completely up to Brett.

Taylor prayed that Brett would figure everything out, because if she didn’t, they couldn’t be together.

CHAPTER 14

Nervously, Brett pulled on her formal dinner jacket. At her mother’s request, she was wearing an elegant silk evening suit in jade green. Brett was not comfortable wearing an evening gown, but her mother had chosen her outfit well. The smartly cut designer suit fit her perfectly, and she smiled at her reflection. She was starting to feel more like the Brett she used to be. She was now doubling her workouts, against Taylor’s recommendation, but Brett had a goal. She was going to try to coach the U.S. Ski Team before their next winter season. She needed to be in better physical and mental shape to do that.

Brett gathered her wallet and keys and slipped them into the front pocket of her jacket before exiting her bedroom. She was anxious to see Taylor. Since the night of their kiss a little over a week earlier, neither woman had touched the other. But attraction shimmered in the air when they were together. Brett was about ready to combust, but she had a plan. She had started by placing a vase of freshly gathered wildflowers in Taylor’s room. Then she had arranged a surprise hike that she had planned, including a gourmet picnic meal. They had laughed together at two romantic comedies Brett rented for a “movies and pizza” night at home. Then Brett invited Taylor to go for a walk in the moonlight one night.

Not once did Brett do anything more than quietly visit with Taylor. Taylor was becoming increasingly puzzled by Brett’s behavior, but she was unwilling to take a chance by touching her again.

That evening Brett had another surprise for Taylor. A black velvet box was sitting on Taylor’s dresser with a note. The note had only one line:
Thank you,
Brett
. She had found a splendid pair of antique diamond earrings with a matching necklace to go with Taylor’s evening gown. Brett hadn’t seen the dress on Taylor yet, but her mother had described it to her in detail. It was a pale mint green that draped low on her back and molded perfectly to her curvaceous figure.

With her red hair and blue eyes, Brett knew she would be stunning.

“Brett, you look beautiful.” Taylor’s soft voice reached her as she came down the stairwell.

“You look …” Brett was speechless as she watched Taylor approach her. Stunning was too tame a word.

Taylor’s smile was entirely too sexy as she reached up and placed a kiss on Brett’s cheek. “I found your gift on my dresser. Thank you.”

“I see.” Brett’s eyes dropped to the diamonds nestled in Taylor’s cleavage. She envied the diamonds. “Are you ready?”

“Yes.” Taylor wrapped a matching silk shawl around her shoulders and linked her arm with Brett’s.

Brett’s heart pounded as she smiled into startling blue eyes and whispered to Taylor, her heart on her sleeve, “This is a date, you know.” Taylor’s eyes crinkled up with humor. “I know,” was all she said, but it was enough.

Brett almost floated out to the waiting limousine. Her mother’s driver tipped his hat at the beautiful couple.

The early dinner and auction were held at the downtown Boulder City Center Ballroom. Brett’s charismatic charm took over, and she made her mother proud.

Her opening remarks were clever and humorous, as was her direct and heartfelt plea for donations to the children’s charity. Many people approached her and not once did she fail to introduce Taylor. She kept her hand on Taylor’s back, or Taylor’s arm was resting on hers. There was no mistaking that the two women were there together. Brett was attentive, solicitous, and terribly cute as she wooed Taylor. It was after eleven, the dance floor was crowded with dancing couples, and everyone was having a raucously good time. Taylor asked to be excused for a moment to use the rest room. She had been balancing on her high heels for several hours and needed to slip away for a few minutes to freshen up.

“Did you see Brett? She’s back to her old tricks, sleeping with every gorgeous woman she can find. Who can blame her? That redhead is a knockout.” Taylor tried to let the carelessly spoken words bounce off her as she entered the bathroom. She couldn’t help overhearing the two women’s conversation.

They abruptly stopped talking when they saw her, but that didn’t stop Taylor from calling them on their gossip. 

“It’s really too bad that you don’t know Brett at all. She’s a generous and honest lover. She would no more sleep around on a partner than I would. You should be careful what you say. Slander can be very expensive.” The two women fled the bathroom while Taylor smiled sweetly at them as she exited the bathroom stall. She saw a grinning Rachel leaning against the sink. She looked delectable in a dark navy gown, her large breasts all but overflowing the low-cut bodice. Taylor couldn’t help but let her eyes linger momentarily before looking up into Rachel’s laughing eyes.

“Nice dress.”

“Thanks, same to you. Nice slam.” Taylor raised her eyebrows as she washed her hands. She didn’t know how to respond. “You were right though. Brett would never ever cheat on you. She’s madly in love with you. She has been since the first night she met you.”

“How do you know?”

“Because she told me. Brett and I have known each other for years. We only slept together once in awhile, and it meant nothing to either of us. We haven’t slept together since before her accident.”

“Why?”

“Because Brett didn’t want to sleep with other women after you broke it off.

You underestimated how much you hurt her.”

“What do you mean?”

“Her reputation was all hype. She didn’t sleep around all that much even before she met you, but afterwards, she refused to let anyone touch her. There were only a couple of women before she was injured.”

“You sound like you care about Brett very much,” Taylor remarked, watching Rachel carefully.

Rachel laughed softly. “Oh I do, but not in the way you’re implying. Brett is the most loyal friend a person could have. She’s never once refused when someone asked her for help. She came to my rescue a couple of times. I want to see her happy. You’re the one woman that makes her happy. She loves you.”

“I love her.”

“I know you do.”

“She still doesn’t believe she deserves to be with me.”

“Then convince her.” Rachel grinned as she walked out of the bathroom with Taylor. “You’re a smart girl.”

Taylor flashed a quick grin Rachel’s way. “Yes, I am. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” 

Taylor approached Brett who stood talking to a group of people about the charity for children. She was taking her hosting job very seriously and continued to solicit donations. As Taylor approached, she saw a particularly stunning bru-nette slide her hand around Brett’s waist up under her jacket. Taylor saw red as the woman’s hand started to slide familiarly over Brett’s backside. Brett’s hand reached back and caught the woman’s hand pushing it discreetly away from her.

At the same time, she turned to the woman, her eyes clear and direct as she spoke softly, just loudly enough for the woman and Taylor to hear.