Suite Embrace by Anita Bunkley Read Free Book Online

semiconscious half-sleep. Tossing off the soft, wool throw she had wrapped around her body when she fell across her rustic, four-poster bed, she struggled to sit up. The room was light, so she knew it was still daytime. Unable to sleep, she had gotten enough rest to feel a lot better. Her head no longer ached, but her stomach lurched with each step she took, and after pausing to run a hand over her tangled hair, she pulled open the door.
    It was not Deena standing there holding the tray with a tea caddy on it, as she had hoped, but a woman dressed in black pants and a crisp white shirt.
    â€œAh, hello. Miss Webster…hope I didn’t wake you,” she started. “I’m…”
    Skylar nodded in recognition, her mind beginning to clear. How could she forget the tall, big-boned girl with light brown skin, frizzy dyed-red hair and a heavy dose of brown freckles scattered across her nose and cheeks. “You’re Kathy. Food and Beverage supervisor, right?”
    Kathy beamed. “Yes. You remembered! My husband, John, is the assistant director of the ski school and I’m your backup concierge, don’t forget.”
    â€œRight. Kathy, you’ll have to excuse me. I know I look a mess. I had to lie down for a few, my system is really jacked up.”
    Kathy nodded sympathetically. “Altitude sickness?”
    â€œYep.”
    â€œToo bad, honey. But it’ll be gone by tomorrow.”
    â€œI sure hope so,” Skylar commented, rubbing her stomach. “So, Kathy. What can I do for you?”
    â€œI need your help. I wish I didn’t have to bother you, but I have a big party to tend to and there’s no one else to go and…”
    â€œNo, no. Come in,” Skylar invited, stepping back to let the nervous girl inside. “And I hope that’s a pot of hot tea you’ve got there.”
    â€œIt is. Thought you might need something to help calm your stomach.”
    â€œThanks. Just needed a little downtime to adjust. What can I do to help?”
    â€œYou have a car right?”
    â€œYes, a rental.”
    â€œGood. I need you to pick up an important delivery in Crested Village. It’s a small town about fifteen miles from here. It’s not a bad drive and if you leave now, you ought to get back before dark. I hate to ask you to do this on your first day here, but the delivery is a custom order for the head of our ski school and he’s been waiting for it for a week.”
    â€œFor Mark Jorgen?” Skylar asked.
    â€œRight. We’ve had a heck of a time tracking down this particular kind of liquor. Called Linie Aquavit —a type of schnapps that comes from Norway. According to Mark it’s placed in oak barrels and sent on Norwegian vessels back and forth across the equator to enhance the flavor,” she finished with a grimace. “Terribly expensive stuff.”
    â€œSounds like it must be very special stuff, too, huh?” Skylar remarked, surprised that Deena would go to so much trouble for the resort’s ski instructor. After all, it wasn’t as if Mark Jorgen was a major player on the sports scene anymore or even a movie star! He was an employee, just like she was. “Is he that particular about everything?” she wanted to know, thinking ahead about her involvement with him.
    Tilting her head to the side, Kathy considered Skylar’s question, obviously not about to answer too quickly. “Let’s just say that he, and his mother, are accustomed to having the best of everything.”
    â€œHis mother works here, too?”
    â€œOh no, but she’s arriving later this month for an extended visit. Deena has already filled me in on her tastes, and Linie Aquavit is her favorite drink, so Mark wants to have it on hand.”
    â€œHow nice of him,” Skylar murmured, curious to meet this Olympic gold medalist who was so devoted to his mom.
    â€œAnyway,” Kathy went on, “the Lainpour shop in