Free Devoted to the Blizzard: A romantic winter thriller (Tellure Hollow Book 3) by Adele Huxley Page A

shook my head and laughed. “Why don’t you just ski for me too, and we can save all the hassle?” Almost imperceptibly, Bryan’s mouth tightened. I did it again. I spoke without thinking, and wound up hurting the man I loved most in the world. “I’m sorry,” I said softly. His expression didn’t even have to change for me to know I’d just poked a sore spot.
    “It’s fine. Go run. I’ll take care of the wedding stuff,” he said, pulling the wedding binder off the bed as he left.
    I wanted to call out, to apologize profusely, but I was sure I’d only make things worse. I watched him walk from the room, internally beating myself up. You are on the brink of getting everything you’ve been working towards for two years. Yet, some sick part of you keeps trying to sabotage it!
     
     

    I wanted the run to clear my head, but I couldn’t stop thinking about Bryan. Although I never said it outright, one of the biggest reasons I feared failure was because I felt like I’d be letting him down. He dipped into so much of his savings to pay for Janet, to get me the help I needed to get up to speed so quickly. It’d started as a silly conversation, something I blurted out while we were laying in post-orgasmic bliss.
    “I should become a competitive skier,” I’d said with a laugh. But he hadn’t laughed. He sat up on his elbow and looked down at me with such seriousness, I was afraid I’d said something insulting.
    “You should,” he’d insisted. “That’s a really good idea.”
    “No, come on. I was just kidding.” But no matter how hard I tried to brush him off, he kept pushing it. For weeks and weeks, he brought it up in sly little ways. He even went so far as to fly Janet out on the down low to watch me ski one afternoon.
    It was a dream I was afraid to reach for, an ambition I thought was as realistic as me becoming an astronaut or President. But when Janet told him I had potential, my dream became our dream.
    And that was it. I was officially on my way to becoming a full time competitive skier.
    Right after we met, I bought my childhood home for Dad, because it was the only good thing that came from my relationship with Rick and Kayla. Unfortunately, it tapped my bank account and with no money to my name, Bryan stepped up and paid for everything. A small fortune just to get me to this point, to even earn the times needed to place in a competition. “It’s our money, anyway,” he’d say, but I still felt that stab of guilt.
    So I worked as hard as I could, making sure that his faith in me wasn’t misplaced. Of course, I cared about winning and seeing my own dream come true. On the most difficult days, it was winning for Bryan’s sake that pushed me through the extra set, that added an additional five pounds to my lifts.
    And when I lose, we won’t have enough money for the wedding, let alone a honeymoon or a house.
    I cried out in frustration and slammed the stop button on the treadmill. Standing on either side as the track slowed, I held the railings and panted to catch my breath.
    I shouldn’t be down here. I should be up there with him, enjoying the little time we get.
    ____________
     
    We caught a local bus down to the town and wandered around like a couple of tourists. It was one of the most beautiful places I’d ever seen. Queenstown hugs the shores of a lake and reflected in the still waters, a snowcapped mountain range. The faintest dusting of snow floated through the air, more sparkles than flakes, making the whole world look like we were caught in a delicate snow globe.
    All wrapped up in winter jackets, hats, and scarves, we held mittened hands and took in the sights. We stopped at a fancy chocolatier and tasted the most amazing lavender dark chocolate, grabbed a coffee from a corner cafe, and bought a few souvenirs for friends back home. It felt downright normal and for a few hours, we forgot our worries and were just Liz and Bryan.
    Slung around my neck was the camera Bryan had