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the first vehicle are in radio contact with the pilots and have a rough idea where the balloons will come down. But it’s never exact because the pilots are at the mercy of the winds.”
    She snorted. “And that’s supposed to reassure me about going up there?”
    â€œThe pilots are very experienced—they’re also in touch with air traffic control at the local airport.”
    Avery fell silent for a few minutes. When she spoke again it was to sigh and say, “It is beautiful out here.”
    Guy had to agree. The sun was rising quickly, illuminating the meadows in the valley and the jutting mountain peaks.“Just wait a few weeks until fall arrives and the aspens turn gold—it’s spectacular.”
    â€œI’ll be gone by then.”
    Not if he had anything to do with it. Avery owed him—and he wasn’t going to let her go until he was good and ready.
    â€œWe’ll see,” he growled. “I’m still holding my breath.”
    There was an uneasy pause.
    Finally Avery broke it. “You clearly love it here. What kept you from returning all those years?”
    So she intended to avoid the tension that bristled between them? Guy was itching for a confrontation…one that might explode into passion. Make her say yes. Maybe her course was wisest. For now.
    Keeping his focus on the road, he said in the most even voice he could muster, “Work. After leaving school I studied haute cuisine in France, then worked for several years in London, before returning to the States to open Baratin. There wasn’t time to come to Aspen.”
    â€œâ€˜The finest French restaurant on the east coast’. Or at least that’s what Cuisine magazine called it.”
    The accolades didn’t ease Guy’s guilt. “This past month was the longest I’ve spent home in almost two decades.”
    Home, funny that he still thought of Jarrod Ridge as home. Yet he’d only returned because of the terms of his father’s will. If he and his brothers and sisters didn’t stay, they would lose out on their inheritance.
    None of them were ready to forfeit that.
    Her hand brushed his leg, hovered, then settled on his thigh. Oh, hell. His muscles clenched involuntarily under the tantalizing pressure of her fingertips.
    â€œGuy, your father knew you loved him.”
    Her words wiped out the pleasure her touch had bestowed. Unerringly, she’d honed in on the crux of his guilt and pain. “Did he? I’m not so sure.”
    â€œYou saw him before he died?”
    â€œI was too late.”
    And not for the first time.
    He couldn’t stand to see the pity in Avery’s eyes. God help him if she saw all the way to his soul and the festering regret. If only…
    â€œBut you spoke to him while we were—” she hesitated “—together. I even took a message for you to call your dad.” She sounded rueful. “You know what? I never even realized I was talking to the legendary Donald Jarrod.”
    Just as well.
    Otherwise he might never have discovered that all Avery wanted was a man made of gold. She would’ve taken care to hide her avaricious streak from him, would never have gone after Jeff. He didn’t voice the cynical thought. Instead he swung the SUV left into a lane lined with poplars.
    â€œI saw my father not long before I met you. He came to New York.” Because Guy had refused to go to Aspen. “He wanted me to take over running all the bars and restaurants at Jarrod Ridge.” He gave a crooked smile. “I refused. Then he died. Now I’m doing what he asked, anyway.”
    â€œAnd you wish you’d told him yes while he was alive.”
    Bull’s eye.
    Guy swung the wheel, pulling the SUV onto the shoulder of the road, then turned in his seat to face her.
    The understanding and empathy that glimmered in her eyes nearly undid him. He forced out a shuddering breath, and a heartbeat later