Free Do-Over by Niki Burnham Page A

wave back and forth in the air. “But you seem like you’re in a better mood today.”
    “I attribute that to the coffee.”
    “At breakfast you started joking around with your dad before the coffee even came.”
    I elbow Georg, though it’s hard to have any impact with our pouffy ski jackets on. “You’re way too observant.”
    “I’m not observant at all. It’s just that I can’t help watching you. I try not to, but . . .” He lifts his shoulder, then lets it drop. “Like I said, I can’t help it. I’m just too aware of you and everything you do when we’re in the same room.”
    Omigosh. I think my heart is going to physically up and quit right now. I mean, I watch him all the time. Even if I didn’t like him, I’d study him simply because he hasthis interesting, unique look that appeals to the artist in me. But what really grabs me is that he has this aura about him that reaches out and demands my attention anytime he’s within a hundred yards of me. It’s something I noticed before I even knew he was a prince. But I never thought he would feel one iota of that same awareness about me.
    I mean, do people ever admit it when they’re that obsessed? I know I couldn’t have told him I felt that way without coming off as a goofy, lovesick dork.
    In an attempt to play it cool, especially given the way Georg and I left things last night, I say, “I talked to Dad after you went into your room. Okay, correction—Dad and I actually didn’t talk all that much. But we stayed up and watched a movie together and it went really well.”
    We get to the halfway point of the lift, and Georg looks over the side, taking note of the snow conditions on the run we plan to take, then looks back at me. “What’d you watch?”
    “The Matrix was on. It was in German, but since we both know the lines by heart, we made fun of the dubbing. The guysounded nothing like Keanu Reeves.” I soooo want to reach over and grab his hand, even though we’re technically in public and I probably shouldn’t anyway, given my performance in the hallway last night. “Thanks for telling me to be nice to him. Even if I am still cranky about the whole girlfriend thing.”
    I resist the urge to make a Putzkammer joke, since I can tell Georg really likes her.
    “I’m glad you and your dad aren’t fighting anymore. And I’m glad I went to bed early, even if you didn’t. I think we’re both in better moods this morning.”
    I grimace. “Yeah, I think that conversation would’ve gone downhill quickly. Thanks for suggesting we call it a night even though I didn’t want to.”
    He leans back in the chair, which makes his thigh bump up against mine. I’m not sure if he’s aware of the contact, but I’m hyperaware—and wondering what it means. Is he okay with me? Is he going to forgive me for my ranting last night?
    After a long yawn, he meets my gaze. “You were right yesterday, you know. My parents have a good marriage, so it’s hard forme to see things the way you do. I can’t imagine seeing anything that makes them happy as being a bad thing, the way you see Anna. But I can’t picture them being happy with anyone besides each other, either.”
    “You were trying your best to understand,” I say, since I know he was. I scoot a little closer to him in the chair, trying to work that thigh-contact thing to make sure he knows we’re touching. To see if he stays put or shifts away. “I’m sorry I flipped out on you. I really don’t want any of this stuff with my Dad to mess up the two of us.”
    “It won’t if we don’t let it.” His voice drops lower as he adds, “But I still wonder if you’d rather be in Virginia than with me.”
    “It’s not that simple,” I tell him. “I want everything to be the way it was a few months ago, when I went to a high school I loved and saw my friends all the time and when my parents were together and happy. But I’d want you there too. I want it all.”
    “But even if all that could