Chapter 1
MAIRI
Mairi reached the top of the hill that would lead her towards Holly Berry Lodge and took a moment to look over the Scottish mountains surrounding her.
They’d had a blizzard recently, which meant the peaks were fairy-tale white, and frosty snowflakes twirled around her face like mini ballerinas – their intricate skirts glittering in the wind.
She inhaled the pine-scented air and blew out a long breath, watching the steamy mist swirl around her face.
God she loved it here.
Then Mairi froze and her suitcase thumped onto the ground as her fingers inadvertently let go of the handle.
Suddenly she swore she could feel Jed’s presence – as if the visceral pull she’d always felt around him had rebooted itself after eleven dormant months, leaving her feeling boneless and overwhelmed.
It wasn’t something that Mairi could explain, but she recognised the sensation.
Her hormones had taken on a life of their own and were now fizzing and popping across the surface of her skin, scraping against her fragile nerves and giving her body false hope.
Which made her want to call the taxi that had just dropped her off so she could beg them to return.
But she was done with keeping her distance from Jed.
She had to be brave and finally face the unthinkable.
That he didn’t want her in his life. It was time for her to accept it and move on.
She took in another long breath, forcing herself to calm down. ‘You’re not going anywhere, not this time,’ she murmured. ‘Not until you’ve got what you came for.’ She thought about the envelope filled with papers in her suitcase and grimaced.
Steeling herself, Mairi turned and squinted at the gentle ski run – which was about twenty metres to her right – and searched through a flurry of snowflakes, trying to spot Jed amongst the figures in the far distance.
Dozens of people dressed in multicoloured ski gear were zipping and – in some cases – bumping their way down the stunning bright white hills.
She knew he’d either be skiing or teaching a class out there somewhere: being on the slopes was as vital to Jed Murray as oxygen.
Nothing had ever mattered to him as much.
Definitely not her.
Mairi’s stomach knotted and then unfurled as her eyes instinctively found and glued themselves to a tall man dressed in black as he expertly slid across the ice to help a fallen skier climb back onto their feet.
Jed. Even from here Mairi could tell he looked just the same, despite the accident.
All the long months hadn’t changed much, and her eyes gobbled him up.
He was still slim and long-limbed with broad shoulders that had always carried far more than their fair share.
Would his eyes be the same icy blue too – and would they still have the power to heat her from the inside out? And what about his mouth and that dark stubble that always framed it, which had made her whole body tremble whenever he peppered soft kisses down her neck before dipping lower to her—
Mairi shook her head regretfully, forcing her wayward brain to stop right there. Daingit. She clenched her gloved hands into fists. She was not here to reminisce. And she definitely wasn’t going to have any more sexy thoughts about that man. He was in her past. At least he was going to be soon.
Jed stiffened suddenly like he’d just caught a scent – and Mairi watched as he threw a startled glance over his left shoulder. A glint of sunshine bounced off his visor as he stared in her direction, making her stomach bounce into her throat and then drop like a plane hitting turbulence.
Hypnotised, Mairi took a sudden step forward and immediately lost her footing, slipping on the ice.
She windmilled her arms trying to stay upright, her stomach roiling before gravity got its way and she tipped backwards, landing with a hard thump on her behind.
‘Ouch!’ She hated being on the ice; she always seemed to slip or fall – and now she’d made a total eejit of herself. How typical.
She stayed where she was, feeling mortified, and glanced back towards Jed, her cheeks burning. He was still gazing in her direction. How did he know it was her?
Then Mairi watched, frozen in place, as he shook his head and urgently signalled at someone to take over the lesson before gathering up his ski poles. Then, with one last look over his shoulder, he took off and disappeared down the closest nursery slope.
In the opposite direction to Holly Berry Lodge – and her.
The reception of Holly Berry Lodge was empty of people and Mairi stood just inside the entrance for a moment, swallowing down the sudden barrage of emotions as they narrowed her throat.
She’d been coming here since turning ten and had never missed a summer or winter season in all those years, until recently.
In the past, the dark oak floorboards had been buffed to perfection and were so shiny you could practically do your make-up in their reflection.
Today Mairi could see multiple boot marks on the surface, suggesting they hadn’t been polished for a while.
The warm red rugs thrown over them usually added a cosy element few hotels seemed to get right.
But today they were rucked up and someone had left the vacuum cleaner in the middle of the walkway.
Where was Jed’s aunt Effie – who owned and ran the lodge – and what had happened to Rhona Affleck, her indomitable housekeeper?
‘Is anyone here?’ Mairi called out, taking in the pile of folded white bed sheets which had been abandoned on one of the oak sideboards, along with a couple of bottles of water and some cleaning cloths.
A black cat suddenly peered around the bottom of the furniture and blinked its one working eye. ‘Hello, cutie, are you one of Aunt Effie’s babies?’ Mairi cooed, taking a step forward.
Effie had a penchant for collecting strays, and it looked like she’d added at least one more since Mairi’s last visit.
The cat’s ears twitched and it hissed and then shot from the room.
‘I hope that’s not an omen,’ Mairi said gloomily as she dragged her suitcase further into the reception area, wincing as her bottom protested, still aching after her humiliating tumble on the ice.
She still couldn’t believe Jed had run. Wouldn’t have if she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes.
‘What’s going on?’ she gasped as she noticed the two bare Christmas trees on either side of the long reception desk.
She knew the lack of decorations was unusual – adorning all of the rooms and especially the Christmas trees had been a priority job whenever she’d helped out at Holly Berry Lodge in the holidays.
Jed’s aunt, Effie Murray, had always insisted everything was shimmering, sparkling and fully festooned in time for the first of December. Since it was already the sixteenth, something was clearly very wrong.
Frowning, Mairi started to walk towards the reception desk and almost went flying when she tripped on a spray bottle which had been left on the ground.
She righted herself and then spotted a couple of open boxes of decorations sitting underneath the bushy branches of the tree on the right.
She could smell the peppery scent of pinecones mixed with the subtle hints of sweet and spice and decided she could at least get the fairy lights up while she was waiting for Jed to appear.
She rested her suitcase on the ground and tugged off her gloves before undoing the buttons of her puffy winter coat. Then she heard the scatter of small feet just before a large dog charged towards her from the kitchen.
‘Bear?’ Mairi squeaked, feeling her throat burn with emotion as she dropped to her haunches to greet the mongrel who immediately lavished her with affection.
Bear was one of Effie’s cuddliest strays. The older woman had adopted the pup when Jed had found him abandoned on one of the ski slopes.
He was a mixture of a number of indistinguishable breeds – with a wide smiley mouth, a tail that always seemed to be wagging and a round body that begged to be hugged.
She scratched behind his ears and looped an arm around his neck.
‘Wow, that’s the welcome I was hoping for.
’ She glanced back the way the dog had come, her stomach churning with a mixture of excitement and trepidation.
‘Were you on the slopes too? Is Jed with you?’ she asked hopefully.
Bear adored Jed – in many ways the dog had adopted him. Since Jed’s father had deserted him when his mother had died in childbirth, Mairi had always figured the stray had recognised her husband as another abandoned soul.
Bear yapped something unintelligible, and Mairi guessed he was probably telling her she was a moron or something equally deluded.
Since when had Jed Murray ever run towards her?
Aside from those few days of wedded bliss, hadn’t it always been about him heading in the opposite direction as fast as he could go?
Emotionally, on skis or on foot, it hardly mattered: the direction was always the same.
Then again, their marriage had destroyed his skiing career.
For a long time, Mairi had waited for him to forgive her and reach out. But it was way past time for her to let go of that hope – it was why she was here. Her eyes filled.
‘Hennie?’ A warm and familiar voice boomed from the direction Bear had appeared, and Mairi rose to her feet and wiped her cheeks as a flustered-looking Effie trotted in.
The older woman was short with a perfect pear-shaped figure and grey hair the consistency of a well-used Brillo pad.
She wore a red and green Christmas housecoat and as a nod to the festive season had a set of reindeer antlers perched on her head.
As soon as she spotted Mairi, Effie squealed before sweeping her into a hug. Mairi leaned into Jed’s aunt’s arms, smelling the familiar mix of Scots pine, peppermint and creamy hot chocolate which had always defined the older woman.