Chapter Seven #2
Her heart did something entirely reckless in her chest. “Grant, the boys—”
“Already taken care of,” he said. “Mac and Jessie said they’d keep an eye on them.”
She stared at him. “You planned this?”
“Maybe.”
“That is not an answer.”
“It’s the safest one.”
She smiled, knowing that she wasn’t going to say no. “Okay. I’ll go on a date with you.”
His eyes softened. “Seriously?”
She laughed. “Yes.”
“How does seven sound?”
“Seven is good.”
He stared down into her eyes. And as much as she would love to gaze into those green orbs of his, she was freezing.
“Grant?”
“Yeah?”
“Unless you want to go on a date with Frosty the Snowman, I suggest you let me up.
He grinned. But before he got up, he kissed her cheek.
He then helped her up from the snow, brushing flakes from her coat with more care than necessary. When she turned, Tyler and Trevor were standing several feet away, wearing identical expressions of smug satisfaction.
Trevor looked at Grant. “Well? Did she say yes?”
Amelie’s eyes widened as she turned back to Grant. “Was this planned by you and our children?”
Grant opened his mouth, but Tyler immediately yelled, “That’s classified information.”
Amelie just stared at the three of them. Then she laughed, shaking her head as she looked at Grant.
“They really are your kids.”
Grant’s answering laugh was loud.
“Who wants hot chocolate?” he asked, wisely changing the subject before she could interrogate all three of them in public.
The boys immediately cheered, and soon they were walking back toward the hotel with steaming cups in hand, the twins debating whether whipped cream counted as a food group while Grant walked beside Amelie close enough that their hands brushed once, then again, before he finally linked his fingers with hers.
By the time they reached the hotel lobby, Amelie felt lighter than she had in years. It scared her a little, how easy it was to fall back into the rhythm of being near him, but she couldn’t deny how fun the day had been.
As the boys headed toward the seating area with their drinks, she glanced up at Grant. “I’m supposed to meet Jessie at the spa. Apparently, I’ve been told that I need to relax.”
Grant’s mouth twitched. “Jessie said that?”
“She may have implied I’m incapable of sitting still for more than five minutes.”
Grant laughed. “She’s not wrong.”
Then he glanced toward Mac, Rafe, and Nico across the lobby before looking back at her. “Since you ladies will be doing your thing, would you mind if the guys and I took the boys snowboarding for a little while? Just for an hour or two?”
“Please, please, please,” Tyler said immediately, appearing at her side as if he had materialized out of thin air.
“We’ll be careful,” Trevor promised.
Amelie looked between them, then at Grant, who gave her a look that mirrored the boys’ hopeful puppy dog look. “Fine. Go have fun. But remember…”
“We know, Mom,” Trevor said in an almost bored tone. “Wear our helmets. No showing off. No racing strangers. And no trying anything with the word extreme attached to it.”
Amelie smirked. “And if either of you comes back injured, I am grounding all three of you.”
Grant snapped his head in her direction. “All three?”
“You heard me. All three. They are under your supervision. So, you’re responsible,” she said, grinning.
The boys laughed, and Grant lifted both hands in surrender. “Understood.”
She started toward the elevator, but Grant stepped closer before she could press the button.
His hand settled lightly at her waist as he leaned down, his voice low enough that only she could hear.
“I’ll meet you in the lobby at seven.” Then, before she could prepare herself, he kissed her cheek, soft and lingering enough to send warmth sweeping through her entire body.
Amelie stepped into the elevator with her heart thudding and her cheek still tingling. As the doors closed, she caught one last glimpse of Grant standing with the boys, all three of them watching her with matching green eyes and matching smiles. Good Lord. She was in so much trouble.
Her phone buzzed before she reached her floor.
Still smiling, she pulled it from her pocket. Her smile faded when she saw Marty’s name on the screen.
Marty Cole had handled a lot of Lumi’s legal matters over the years, and while he was excellent at his job, Amelie had long suspected he wanted more than just her business.
He had asked her to dinner several times, and she had turned him down every time as politely as possible.
This message, however, wasn’t personal. At least not directly.
Have you made a decision about bringing the investor in? We need to discuss the next steps soon.
Amelie stared at the message for a few seconds, feeling the outside world trying to push its way back into a day that had felt almost protected from it. Then she locked the screen and slipped the phone back into her pocket.
“Later,” she whispered to herself.
For now, she was going to do exactly what she had promised herself she would do. She was going to spend the afternoon being pampered.
She was going to enjoy the spa, the massages, the quiet conversations with Jessie, and the rare opportunity to relax without worrying about work or what trouble Tyler and Trevor might find. Not that she needed to worry about them since they were with their father.
Then again, that realization didn’t exactly make her feel better. If anything, it meant there were now three Carter boys running around Zermatt unsupervised.
She smiled as she stepped off the elevator.
God help her, and Switzerland.