Billionaire Games Boxed Set 1-3 (65 page)

Wisps of chilled wind caressed her face and she let her memories fuel her imagination. Thoughts filled her mind of Alexei tossing her into a double axel and then racing to catch up to her. Remembering his whispering praises breezing against her ear, she sighed longingly.

A familiar scent filled the air. Kate’s eyes shot open. Her memories—so clear, so real—she swore she smelled him.

Get a grip
! She shuddered.

“Katya…?” A familiar voice uttered in a broken whisper.

Icy fear twisted around Kate’s heart. Alexei was here?

She must be nuts. In what world had she thought she could avoid her ex-lover at the Winter Games, where figure skating’s gold medalists were supposed to light the torch at the opening ceremonies? Who else would call out her name—in Russian?

“Katya?” There it was again, Alexei Petrova’s voice sneaking up from behind.

Damn. What had she been thinking? Dread knotted in her gut, wouldn’t let her turn and face him. In truth, she’d assumed that if she ran into him he’d shun her after the way they’d ended. He was, after all, the one who’d initiated the break-up.

So much for assumptions.

He called her name again, louder this time. “Katya?” His questioning tone insisted she confirm her identity.

No, it’s not me
. Her heart fluttered and her head spun with the denial. She tightened her grip on the cold hard steel of the ice rink railing, not knowing if vertigo or the prospect of seeing Alexei fueled her fear of falling.

Kate’s vision faded in and out and stalled into a blur.

Oh, no.
Please, not now
. This wasn’t the time for her illness to exhibit its nasty side-effect.

She blinked, but her impaired view remained. She prayed it was short-term, like the doctors had promised.

Her fear of coming face-to-face with Alexei died away. It was replaced by a quick and disturbing thought. What if she never
saw
him again?

Did he look the same? Did he still command that tall, athletic presence she remembered? Was his hair still golden-brown? And—if she could see them clearly—would his electrifying blue eyes still capture her affection with a simple glance?

Curiosity made her turn to face the blurry shape. Her cool reserve shattered, trapping her in limbo where making decisions—much less acting upon them—was impossible.

“Katya? Is it really you?” His Russian accent, while discernible, was not as prominent as she remembered. Perhaps eight years had a way of distorting reality.

Damn it to hell. Denial was an option. Not a good one, but still an alternative. Claiming mistaken identity had its charms. There was also something to be said for honesty. What—she didn’t know.

The truth in one simple word sputtered from her mouth. “Yes.” She dangled one arm behind her back and steadied herself against the railing.

Keeping her impaired vision a secret would take some finesse, and a bluff or two. For starters, she painted on a practiced smile. She didn’t need to see it to verify its effectiveness.

The shadowy figure got bigger and blurrier. Great. He was coming toward her, and then he touched her, igniting fear and a familiar yearning inside Kate. His hands lingered and she cursed her bad luck. Why had her vision picked this moment to abandon her?

Alexei drew her into his arms, surprising her. The shock didn’t last long, chased away by an overwhelming sense of self-betrayal. She longed to wrap herself around him. Common sense deserted her and she surrendered to the familiarity of his touch. Images of tangled naked bodies flashed in her mind and the mental picture got stuck.

Stop that
.

But it didn’t stop. Thanks to her double-crossing heart and her sell-out body, she relished in the contact.

“It’s wonderful to see you again, Katya.” His faint whisper penetrated her thoughts.

She detected the sincerity in his tone but longed to see his face. It was the only way to know if her desires hadn’t tainted reality. Besides, why would he be happy to see her?

“Y-you too,” she said, a chill shimmering across her shoulders.

A flicker of light, the only thing visible during her sightless episodes, flashed off to the side. Instinctively, she turned toward it. The arena’s stands, hazy and distorted, gave nothing away.

Damn. This sporadic blindness thing—a consequence of her illness—had a way of making an inconvenient entrance.

She leaned back and pretended to peer at his face. A mannerism she’d mastered over the past year. His hands crept down her arms and tangled with her fingers. The chills spilled over her back. She faked a smile, hoping he didn’t catch on to her predicament.

To Kate, he was nothing more than a blur. Still, she recognized him. She’d never reacted to any man’s touch the way she had Alexei—then and now.

“Katya, where have you been?” His tone changed, hardening. She didn’t need to see to know he was mad. But why?

If anybody had a right to be angry, it was her. She refused to get into it in the middle of the skating arena. Talking openly in public about private matters was out of the question. But her faltering sight made it impossible to walk away.

“Alexei…” She paused, and tried to find some placating words. Ones that would satisfy his curiosity, at least for now.

“Kate.” A recognizable feminine voice interrupted.

Thank, God
. Debra Schilling, Kate’s boss at the restaurant where she’d been waitressing for the last three years, knew how to barge in with style. For once, it was welcomed.

Kate released Alexei’s hands, pivoted around and stumbled. His strong, familiar embrace—one she’d know anywhere but preferred to forget—caught and steadied her fall.

She stiffened, her body frozen by icy sheets of denial. Denial that she couldn’t
see
. Denial that Alexei could be forgiven. Denial that Debra’s crazy plan was somehow going to work.

Fear of discovery motivated her awkward nose-rubbing gesture. After all the trouble Debra had gone through to dream up the scheme, Kate hoped she saw the signal.

“It’s time for that appointment. Are you ready?” Debra’s words of affirmation calmed Kate’s choking, pounding heart.

She’d believed Debra was being paranoid, making up all those private clues; signs that only the two of them understood. Maybe she’d been wrong about that but she’d never admit her mistake.

“Yes, of course.” Kate took a couple of steps toward the direction she’d heard Debra’s voice come from and then hesitated, her thoughts getting sidelined by Alexei’s cologne. The exotic and seductive spices had never smelled the same on any other man. She pushed the reminiscing and the scent aside, and turned as if looking over her shoulder. “Alexei, it’s wonderful to see you again.”

“If you need a moment…” Debra’s voice showed Kate the way.

“No, Deb, that’s fine.” Kate stepped toward her voice and unwittingly stopped between her boss and her former lover. “Debra Schilling…Alexei Petrova.” She did the polite thing and introduced them. “We skated together,” she told Debra. “Briefly. A few years ago.” A thin, ice-hard wall of vigilance settled around Kate and she hoped it hid the pressure building inside. “Alexei…Debra is a friend of mine.”

Debra’s laughter echoed through Kate’s shaky countenance. “Don’t let her fool you. I work for Kate. I’m her private secretary.”

Kate’s sense of right and wrong told her to object, but her pride wouldn’t let her. It might lead to the truth coming out. If that happened she’d go from being a reclusive gold medalist, who was the darling of the Olympics eight years ago, to a pathetic figure worldwide.

“Alexei, it’s nice to meet you,” Debra said, her voice full of appeal.

Kate kept quiet, seeing nothing to worry about in her friend’s harmless flirtation.

“The Russian sensation. You’re quite the performer.” Something warm and enchanting in Debra’s suggestive chuckle set Kate on edge. Maybe it wasn’t so harmless after all. She didn’t need Debra to be smitten by Alexei. Debra’s allegiance was one of the few things Kate had going for her.

“Ms. Schilling, you are most kind,” Alexei said.

Kate imagined him kissing Debra’s hand or something charismatic. If he did, Debra would likely succumb to his tactics. Although married, Debra was easily charmed.

Kate had to get her boss out of there. And fast. Before Debra figured out just what Alexei was to Kate. Apart from a Gold Medalist who, for a brief moment, was her skating partner on the Olympians Skating Tour. If Debra inadvertently gave Kate’s secret away, that’d be disastrous.

“You and I should be going.” She lunged at Debra’s shadowy frame, latching onto her arm. Kate pretended aggression and their ruse played out with Debra leading her away.

“Katya?” Alexei’s voice chased after Kate.

She stopped and crooked her neck in a pretense of looking over her shoulder. “Yes?”

He didn’t speak right away and the silence rattled her composure. God, she’d give anything to see right now. It would make running away so much easier.

“Do you think we could get together? For dinner perhaps?”

His inquiry surprised her. Kate wasn’t expecting that. She couldn’t discern his motive for asking and that was vexing.

“Well, I don’t know…” She made a halfhearted attempt to come up with a reasonable excuse to decline.

“Unless of course you’re otherwise engaged.” Alexei’s tone soured.

The teenager in her—the one who’d fallen in love with him eight years ago—wanted to go, but hesitated. The grown-up Kate—the woman who couldn’t see right now—couldn’t count on her vision returning in time.

“She would love to have dinner with you,” Debra spoke up, grabbing Kate’s elbow. “We’re in the US residence, suite 422. Call us later with the details.” She dragged Kate away, spoiling any chance for objection.

After a few steps, Kate scolded her just above a whisper. “Are you crazy?” She’d smack her, but it would probably draw attention. And Kate couldn’t have that.

“No, I’m not crazy. But you must be.” Debra matched her tone. “Aside from the fact that Alexei Petrova is divinely delicious, he’s got more money than Carter’s got little liver pills.”

The first time Kate heard Debra mention Carter’s, she had to look it up to get the connection. Forever after that, she’d thought it dated Debra somehow, giving away her age. In the past it had always made Kate laugh. But not this time.

Once outside, a brisk breath of air wafted past Kate. She sucked in a deep gasp and declared, “We have to get out of here.”

“What’s got you so troubled?” The worry in Debra’s voice blanketed Kate with goose bumps.

Kate wished her eyesight would return. They had to leave before it was too late. Coming to Squaw Valley was a dumb idea. Really dumb idea. “Coming here was a mistake.”

“Are you kidding me?” Debra all but laughed out loud. “You said you skated with him. A quick round on the ice with Alexei Petrova, just for fun, and you’re sure to nail an endorsement deal.”

“Oh, sure.” Kate snorted in defiance. “I’ll just have him drag my blind ass around on the ice. That’s sure to be productive.”

Debra meant well, but she was forgetting one thing—the elusive illness that had Kate’s sight coming and going. Not to mention that her illness was the reason for her attendance at the Olympics in the first place. Sure, she’d been invited to participate in the Torch Lighting Ceremony. But that was just a mask to cover up the fact that Kate needed to land an endorsement deal to pay for the experimental surgery that could save her eyesight.

“Oh, don’t be so dramatic.” Debra chastised Kate. “In case you haven’t noticed, these days Alexei Petrova is a very handsome man. Not to mention, just as wealthy.”

“Maybe so,” Kate said, “but that has little to do with me.” She didn’t need to be reminded of the success of the former Olympic-champion-turned-billionaire-playboy. That made his rejection sting all the more.

“No pun intended, but you didn’t see the look on his face.” Debra chuckled, still clinging to Kate’s arm.

“I don’t want Alexei to know about my…condition,” Kate whispered, fearful of the consequences if she was overheard, or if Alexei suddenly grew a conscience.

“Why not? You two seemed awfully cozy—” Debra stopped. “Is he…?”

Kate shushed her. “Don’t say that. Not here. Not in public.”

A sharp slap echoed in Kate’s ear, and she envisioned Debra smacking herself on the forehead.

“Why didn’t I see it before?” Debra questioned herself.

“Debra, please…don’t say anything more.” Kate implored her companion to keep quiet. “We’ll talk back at the hotel. I promise.”

Given Kate’s lifestyle change—a simple waitress in a down-home café in Nowhere, America—she’d always believed the truth would never come out. It wasn’t like anybody was looking.

But that had changed. Debra had just figured it out. And she’d undoubtedly badger Kate until she acknowledged the one secret Kate thought she’d kept safe. Even so, Kate’s unavoidable confession seemed trivial compared to the mysterious, incurable disease that was slowly consuming her eyesight.

A
s a rule, Alexei Petrova didn’t like making appearances as an athlete anymore. He was beyond that now. Too bad his agent wasn’t. Brent Edmonds never saw past the bottom line, except to look for the next big deal.

But wasn’t that his job? Sure, maybe.

Even so, Alexei had grown tired of being the center of attention. Now he longed to fade into the background, but that wasn’t likely. Not since the Olympic Committee had decided it was a good idea to invite Figure Skating’s Gold Medalists to light the torch at the Opening Ceremonies.

Brent had jumped on that like a hungry dog on a bone. Alexei didn’t always agree with him but Brent knew his business. To ignore that was financial suicide. He went, although begrudging and reluctant.

Kate Peterson may have had a little something to do with his disinclination. The possibility of running into her had been hiding in the dark recesses of his mind, peeking out every so often. Still, he hadn’t expected her presence to be so efficient at disarming his jovial, if not a bit rakish, demeanor. He hated that a woman he hadn’t given more than a passing thought to in years still delivered this kind of effect.