Chapter Five #2
Amelie smiled as she watched them. They looked so good together.
When Jessie finally released him, she took his hand and pulled him toward the table.
“I know you guys spoke on the phone, but Mac, this is Amelie, the person responsible for designing our beautiful wedding bands.”
Mac smiled as Amelie stood up and shook his hand. “Thank you for adding that special touch to Jessie’s ring.”
Amelie smiled. “You’re welcome. I was happy too. I enjoy it when a client adds special touches like that.”
“Oh, and these cuties are her sons, Tyler and Trevor.”
Mac’s grin returned as he looked at the boys.
“Oh, we’ve already met,” Mac said, a slight smirk tugging his lips.
Amelie’s head whipped between Mac and the twins.
“You have? When?” Her eyes narrowed. “Should I be concerned?”
Mac laughed. “No. We ran into each other at lunch.”
Amelie looked at the twins, who were looking everywhere except at her. Interesting.
Before she could investigate further, Jessie glanced around the restaurant.
“Where are the others?”
“Probably still arguing over who wiped out the worst while snowboarding,” Mac said, jokingly.
As if on cue, Nico and Rafe walked through the entrance.
“There are two of them now,” Jessie said.
A second later, another figure appeared behind them, and Jessie’s face brightened.
“Oh, and there’s Grant.”
The name hit Amelie like a physical blow. Her heart stuttered.
“Grant?” she repeated softly.
“Hi, Amelie.”
The deep, familiar voice came from directly behind her, sending a shockwave through her. And for a second, she couldn’t move or think.
She took a deep breath and slowly turned around. The second her eyes landed on Grant, every coherent thought abandoned her as twelve years of memories came crashing back with breathtaking force.
He stood only a few feet away, his hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans as though this were the most normal encounter in the world.
Everything around her seemed to fade into the background as her brain struggled to catch up with what her eyes were seeing.
He looked older, of course. Twelve years would do that to anyone.
The boy she had fallen in love with was gone, replaced by a man whose broad shoulders filled out his Henley shirt and whose face carried the confidence that came from years of experience and responsibility.
There were faint lines around his eyes that hadn’t been there before, and somehow that only made him more handsome.
But it was still him.
Her gaze locked on those green eyes of his, and a lump formed in her throat. For twelve years, she had seen those green eyes every day when she looked at Tyler and Trevor.
Suddenly, she was hit by a massive wave of questions that crashed through her mind. What was he doing here? Was he looking for her? How had he found her? The boys?
What unsettled her the most was that Grant didn’t look nearly as shocked as she felt. While she was freaking out mentally and emotionally, still trying to process the fact that he was standing in the middle of the hotel in Switzerland, he looked rather calm.
Then she noticed him glance at the boys. He grinned and winked.
Amelie’s head snapped toward her sons.
Both of them wore the kind of smiles that suggested they had just pulled off the greatest operation in twelve-year-old history.
Suddenly, every odd moment of theirs since they arrived a little while ago came rushing back to her—the suspiciously vague answers, the constant glances they had exchanged whenever she asked what they had been up to, and the way they wouldn’t make eye contact with her.
The realization settled over her with startling clarity.
The boys knew. They were involved in this reunion.
Judging by the expressions currently on their faces, they looked like two kids who had just discovered Christmas morning had arrived early and Santa had personally delivered their father under the Christmas tree.
Then Tyler spoke, “Mom, it’s okay. Dad knows.”
Jesus Christ, was this some forgotten version of The Parent Trap? Apparently, she was the only one who hadn’t received the script.
Grant took a step forward, then another, his eyes never leaving hers as she held his gaze, and finally he smiled.
The tears she had been trying to keep at bay slipped free, trailing silently down her cheeks.
The world tilted as her heart forgot how to function and her lungs apparently stopped cooperating. Every emotion she had spent years burying came crashing to the surface at once, colliding in a dizzying rush of shock, joy, confusion, fear, hope, and panic.
The room suddenly felt too warm and small. She couldn’t breathe. She needed air.
Without saying a word, Amelie turned and ran. She vaguely heard someone call her name—maybe Jessie, maybe Grant, maybe both—but she didn’t stop. She crossed the lounge, passed through a set of glass doors, and finally came to a halt beneath a covered heated outdoor terrace overlooking the village.
She pressed both hands against the railing and closed her eyes. She took several deep breaths, trying to calm down. But how could she?
Grant was here! Grant knew about the boys! How did this happen?
Twelve years of wondering, twelve years of missing him, twelve years of convincing herself she was doing the right thing, and now he was here in Switzerland, of all places.
Before she could decide whether to cry, scream, or run all the way back to Norway, she heard the door behind her open and close.
“Still running away from me, huh?”