Little does she know our courtship so far as been him telling me to do the filthiest things with his body and his mouth.

Calling me his baby, but meaning it in a dirty way that turns me inside out.

I wait until her back is turned to roll my eyes, trying to play off the blush as no big deal when we both know how out of my depth I really am.

I showed him all my cards last night, and it’s changed him.

His grin grows wider. “We're making you a nice, big breakfast. You need your energy today.”

More innuendo from a man who used to be the most uptight, careful boss.

And as far as I’m aware, he’s never been snowboarding in his life, so why are we even heading to the ski hill? “You know, we could stay here and help Nana bake cookies.”

I think about how we’d have the whole top floor to ourselves and not have to worry about anyone on the second floor hearing us.

From the look on his face, he knows what I’m imagining. But my hopes for stay in are dashed.

“I’ve heard the trails here are world-class.” His smile is now completely wicked. “Not to be missed.”

Nathan and his wife join us next, and as they pitch in to help Nana, I grab Jacob’s hand and tug him over to the breakfast nook.

“Do you even know how to snowboard?” I ask in a whisper.

He leans in and kisses my cheek. “Good morning.”

Heat rolls through me. “Answer the question!”

“I’m going to rent skis. It’ll be fine.”

“Do you know how to ski?”

That just gets me another grin.

* * *

Three hours later, I'm sprawled halfway down the ski hill, out of breath and panting.

Jacob “Call Me Jake” Lowe, the sneaky bastard, stands over me not out of breath in the slightest.

“So…you can ski.”

“Yeah. Spent four years on the ski patrol team in college.”

I make a face at him. “That feels deceitful. You looked nervous last night when my brother brought up snowboarding.”

“I’ve never snowboarded, and I considered doing it to try to fit it. To impress you.” He winks at me. “Then I realized I have more direct ways to impress you when we’re alone, and this way I can make sure that you’re safe every time you fall.”

“Falling is a part of boarding.”

“Which is why I’ve never done it.” He leans over and gives me his hand. “Come on. I promised to exhaust every muscle in your body, and that’s going to require you getting up.”

“I thought that was just dirty talk for Nana's benefit.” I take a deep breath and let him haul me to my feet, then clip myself back into my board.