Her nervous brain had kicked into third gear, tossing up everything and anyone who had ever made her feel uncomfortable. She glanced at her watch. It was nearly eleven o’clock. She had to endure several more hours.
Never one to indulge in gaiety or frivolity for the sake of it, Meredith could not remember the last time she had been to an event that wasn’t business-related. Her whole life could be defined by one word: work. She had spent her college years with her nose to the grindstone and it had paid off. She had graduated magna cum laude from Harvard and had gone to work in her family’s Denver, Colorado-based company. She’d worked her way up and had been the obvious choice for CEO when her stepfather died. The shareholders had voted her in as president of Cartwright Enterprises at the age of twenty-nine. Since then she had worked long and hard to try to save their failing company from financial ruin.
Ironically, however, it was not Meredith who was saving their company but Carly.
Carly, although she had a title and office at Cartwright Enterprises, had never shown up for a day of work. But she had shown remarkable sense in love.
Meredith had long had her eye on a product called Durasnow, an artificial snow that stayed fresh in temperatures above freezing. Meredith had had little hope of acquiring the rights. After all, Durasnow was a product that could revolutionize the skiing industry. But Carly’s engagement had given her a leg up on the competition. Suddenly, Meredith had a family connection, and when she offered an all-stock deal, the Durans had seemed excited. Everything was finally moving on track.
“Meredith,” said her mother. “Have you seen Carly?” Viera Cartwright raised an eyebrow, indicating her displeasure.
“No. Why? What did she do?” Meredith asked. Although Carly was almost thirty, her mother still treated her as a child. There was something about Carly that made people want to take care of her. An almost delicate and vulnerable air that made one think she was incapable of taking care of herself.
“Her friend Josh is here.”
Meredith’s heart quickened.
“You remember him,” her mother said, misinterpreting Meredith’s silence. “Your old skiing instructor.”
“Yes,” Meredith replied as casually as she could. “I know. I saw him.”
“Well? Who invited him?” Viera asked unhappily.
“Does it matter?”
Her mother bit her lip. “Carly was just mentioning him the other day.”
“So? They were friends for a long time.”
Viera’s voice dropped to a stage whisper. “She was asking me if I ever had any regrets when I got married.”
“Regrets?” Meredith whispered back. “What did she mean by that?”
“She said the only regret she had was that she had never slept with Josh Adams.”
Meredith inhaled sharply. Her sister had a crush on Josh Adams? “She’s getting married in a couple of weeks!”
“You don’t think I know that? I just ordered five thousand dollars’ worth of white orchids.”
“But she loves Mark.”
“Of course she does. But she’s Carly. And Mark is out of town until Friday.”
Carly had always had her pick of the men in Aspen. She was known for her fickle heart, falling in and out of love as easily as some changed hairstyles. But it seemed that with Mark Duran, she had finally found the man of her dreams. The handsome, serious surgeon had won her heart and had Carly changing her ways. Or so Meredith had hoped.
“Where is she?” Meredith asked.
“I don’t know,” Viera replied. “And I don’t see Josh, either.”
“I wonder why he came back,” Meredith said, concerned. “He’s been living in Europe for years.”
“Yes. Quite a coincidence,” her mother said sarcastically.
“What do you mean?”
Viera sighed. “I just hope Carly hasn’t contacted him or done something foolish.”
Meredith gave up looking for Carly and began searching for her sister’s future in-laws, the guests of honor. If not for them and the impending purchase of Durasnow, the prudent Meredith would have called off her mother’s expensive holiday party. After all, they no longer had the funds to support such an extravagant lifestyle. But Meredith knew that a cancellation would stir rumors of financial hardship. And so, with the prospect of good fortune and wanting to squash any rumors of family turmoil, Meredith had allowed her mother to hire, buy and pay for the best of the best.
And now, it seemed, it was all a waste. All because of Josh Adams.
For once Meredith wished she’d told her sister the truth about what had happened that night on the mountain with Josh. Perhaps if Carly knew that Meredith and Josh had a history, Carly wouldn’t be lusting after him.
A waiter walked past carrying a trayful of filled champagne glasses. Meredith did a quick count. Twelve glasses at ten dollars a pop. One hundred and twenty dollars on the tray alone. And at that moment, there were at least twenty trays being passed around. Not to mention the trays of fresh shrimp, the lobster tails on the buffet…the elaborate French desserts. The thought of the amount of money involved was overwhelming. It was enough to make Meredith set her glass down and take another. She downed the champagne and turned back to her mother.
“Where are the Durans?” Meredith asked, referring to her sister’s future in-laws. Her mother glanced upward, toward the second-floor balcony. Meredith followed with her eyes. The Durans were standing by themselves. If the scowls on their faces were any indication, they were not enjoying the party.
“I’ll take care of them,” Meredith said, handing her mother her empty glass. “You look for Carly.”
Meredith pushed her way through the crowd. She grabbed hold of her long black satin gown and climbed the steps, two at a time. She wished she had worn what she’d wanted, instead of allowing her mother and sister to talk her into this ridiculous frock. She would’ve been much more comfortable in her black satin pants and shirt. “Wayne…Cassie,” Meredith said, approaching the Durans. “I was just talking to the Morrows about the quality of Durasnow—”
“Meredith,” Mr. Duran said, cutting her off. He pointed toward the dance floor. “Who the hell is that?”
Meredith turned. Carly stood under the ornamental lights in the corner of the room. And she was not alone.
Josh looked every bit as entranced by Carly as she was by him.
“Oh,” she said with a forced laugh. “That man? The one dancing with Carly? He’s our former ski instructor. We grew up with him. He’s practically like a brother to us.”
“I never danced with my sister that way,” Wayne said.
“Ha-ha,” Meredith laughed stiffly, trying to fight the panic building inside. “Josh lives in Europe.”
“Well, he’s certainly here now, isn’t he?” Wayne snapped.
“He certainly is,” Meredith said. “If you’ll excuse me, I absolutely must go say hello.”
How could Carly do to this to her? Do this to herself? If Mark heard about the way she was cavorting with a known womanizer…
She forced herself to take a breath. They were dancing. And that was all….
Carly leaned over and kissed Josh’s neck.
Meredith did a half jog the rest of the way. “Carly!” said Meredith, practically jumping in between them. “My goodness! Here you are. Your future-in-laws are looking for you.”
Meredith focused her attention solely on her sister. She did not acknowledge Josh. She could not look at him, for