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Secret Crush of a Chalet Girl
Lorraine Wilson
A division of HarperCollinsPublishers
Contents
HarperImpulse an imprint of
HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
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Hammersmith, London W6 8JB
First published in Great Britain by HarperImpulse 2014
Copyright © Lorraine Wilson Ltd 2014
Cover images © Shutterstock.com
Lorraine Wilson Ltd. asserts the moral right
to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue record for this book is
available from the British Library
This novel is entirely a work of fiction.
The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are
the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to
actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is
entirely coincidental.
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Ebook Edition © February 2014
ISBN: 9780007558346
Version 2014-10-02
Digital eFirst: Automatically produced by Atomik ePublisher from Easypress.
Thanks as always to the lovely team at Harper Impulse and also to my husband for believing that cocktail tasting at very nice hotels was essential for the writing of this book!
“So, what’s that you’re reading?”
Tash’s voice pierced Sophie’s happy bubble like a razor slashing a party balloon.
“Just a book.” Sophie shifted on her bar stool, inching the Kindle screen away from Tash’s line of sight.
Tash slid onto the cow-skin bar stool next to her and didn’t seem to pick up on Sophie’s irritation at being disturbed.
“You’re early.” Tash swiveled towards her. “We’re not meeting until eight.”
“I wanted a bit of time alone,” Sophie replied.
Fat chance of that around here, or in the dorm room at Chalet Repos, or…anywhere for that matter.
Privacy was the only luxury in short supply in Verbier.
“Me too, those kids were making a right racket back at the chalet. I wish Scott would make it an adults-only chalet.” Tash grimaced.
Sophie sighed heavily. Time to relinquish her vain hope for a bit of peace and quiet. There was no stopping Tash if she’d decided she wanted to talk to you. Things were certainly…difficult back at Chalet Repos, for more than one reason. But it wasn’t anything she wanted to talk to Tash about.
“So, what are you reading Ms. Trent? Why don’t you want to tell me?” Tash had grabbed Sophie’s Kindle before Sophie could stop her.
Sophie glared at Tash, who scrolled through the pages on-screen, a delighted smile on her face.
“Ooh, it’s a romance. I didn’t know you were into these bodice-rippers.” Tash’s cat-like eyes gleamed, reflecting the bar’s tea lights. “So, what page are the dirty bits on?”
“Ssh, will you keep it down?” Sophie reached for the Kindle but Tash lifted it above her head. She was only attracting more attention now from the other customers of Bar des Amis, some of them starting the après ski early, while others clearly hadn’t made it back to their accommodation to change from their ski gear yet. A hot flush crept up Sophie’s neck and heat radiated from her cheeks.
She automatically cast her eyes down to the floor – the way she’d always coped whenever she wanted to disappear.
What she’d give for a trap door right now. Or even just a chance to escape into her book again.
“Nathan tenderly stroked the side of Ava’s face. Yet despite the tenderness, his dark eyes blazed with the heat of passion and her skin tingled at his touch. ‘Do you feel it too?’ he asked huskily as their eyes locked,” Tash read aloud in a ridiculously over-the-top acting voice. “Then he reached for her, his mouth was on her lips, tasting her hungrily as his hands slid down to cup her…”
“For God’s sake, Tash, will you just shut up?” Sophie spoke fiercely into Tash’s ear, fighting the feelings of humiliation. She knew Tash wasn’t deliberately trying to ridicule her but this felt too much like all those horrible times at school for comfort. It felt like Tash had ripped all of Sophie’s clothes off, leaving