Chapter One
Twelve and a Half Years Later
The first glimpse of Zermatt stole Amelie’s breath away.
For the past ten years, she has traveled all over the world, including Paris, London, Tokyo, and Milan.
All cities that are filled with luxury boutiques, fashion houses, and clients willing to spend millions on a single custom-designed piece.
Her work had taken her places she never could have imagined when she was a frightened twenty-two-year-old boarding a plane to Norway with two suitcases, a few sketchbooks, and a broken heart.
Yet somehow none of those places compared to the view unfolding outside the window of the electric taxi carrying her and her sons through the snow-covered Swiss Alps.
“Tyler. Look at those mountains,” Trevor said, practically plastered against the glass.
“I’m trying,” Tyler muttered from beside him. “But your giant head is in the way.”
“My head isn’t giant.”
“Dude, when you nod, nearby trees think there’s an eclipse.”
Trevor looked offended for all of two seconds before a grin broke across his face. “Okay, that was a good one,” he admitted, holding out his fist. Tyler bumped it without hesitation, both boys laughing as if they hadn’t been arguing a second earlier.
Amelie snorted a laugh at their predictable cycle of bickering and brotherly camaraderie. Shaking her head, she looked past her sons and out toward the village below.
Tucked deep into the valley, Zermatt looked like a living postcard.
Heavy snow blanketed the roofs of the traditional chalets, and strands of Christmas lights traced the lines of every balcony and storefront.
Wisps of smoke curled from stone chimneys, floating into the crisp alpine air.
Shoppers bundled in heavy coats and thick scarves wandered between festive Christmas displays, pausing to admire the decorated shop windows.
And above it all stood the Matterhorn. The famous mountain dominated the skyline, looking majestic and massive. Its sharp peak rose high above the village like an almost unreal guardian watching over everything below.
For a moment, Amelie forgot about deadlines, investors, and countless decisions waiting for her back in Norway. She just sat there, admiring the view.
“This place is insane,” Tyler said, staring out the window.
“Right?” Trevor agreed. “This is straight-up Christmas on steroids.”
Amelie laughed. “That’s one way to put it, though I don’t think that’s how the tourism board describes it.”
Trevor pointed toward the village, “I’m just saying, it looks like Christmas threw up everywhere.”
“Trevor,” she warned, though her tone lacked any real bite.
“What? That’s not a bad thing.” He glanced at his brother. “This place is kind of epic.”
Tyler snorted. “Kind of? Dude, this place is high-key epic.”
The twins exchanged identical grins, and Amelie shook her head. Even after twelve years, their ability to instantly team up and overwhelm her with the same energy remained both impressive and exhausting.
Some days, their unified front was terrifying, but most days, it was highly entertaining. She glanced between them and felt the familiar warmth settle in her chest.
Tyler and Trevor were identical twins, though anyone who knew them quickly realized their personalities couldn’t have been more different.
Trevor was thoughtful and analytical. He preferred books to television and often thought through problems before speaking. Tyler, meanwhile, approached life with the subtlety of a wrecking ball. He was outgoing, fearless, and somehow managed to turn nearly everything into an adventure.
Unfortunately, when the two of them teamed up, trouble usually followed. It was nothing serious, but just enough to keep her gray hair coming in ahead of schedule.
The car rounded a corner, and both boys suddenly sat up straighter.
“Whoa,” the twins said in unison.
Amelie followed their gaze as the hotel came into view.
The property sat slightly elevated above the village, offering an unobstructed view of the Matterhorn. Warm golden lights illuminated the elegant stone and timber exterior while enormous Christmas trees flanked the entrance. Every balcony was decorated with garland and twinkling lights.
It looked less like a hotel and more like a luxury Christmas castle.
“Okay,” Trevor admitted. “That’s pretty cool.”
“Pretty cool?” Tyler asked. “That’s the coolest hotel I’ve ever seen.”
Amelie couldn’t disagree.
The hotel had been recommended by her clients, Mac and Jessie, the couple who had commissioned the custom wedding bands she was delivering tomorrow.
The couple was vacationing here with some friends over the holiday.
Since Norway was only a short flight away, and the Swiss Alps had been sitting near the top of her travel bucket list for years, Amelie had offered to hand-deliver the rings herself rather than trust such valuable pieces to a courier.
If she was being honest, she had needed the break as much as the adventure.
The last few months had been a blur of client meetings, design deadlines, and a calendar so packed she could barely remember the last time she'd taken a day off.
Add in the increasingly aggressive business proposal currently sitting on her desk waiting for an answer, and a few days away from reality had sounded downright perfect.
More importantly, it allowed her to share something special with the boys. Christmas in Zermatt felt like stepping into a snow globe, and she knew the experience was one they would remember for the rest of their lives. Judging by the twins’ excitement since their arrival, she had been right.
For the last ten years, she had poured every ounce of her energy into building Lumi.
What had started as a desperate, exhausting apprenticeship under Magnus DuPont in Norway had slowly morphed into an international powerhouse.
Now, her custom jewelry was worn on red carpets, at royal galas, and by the kind of old-money elite who demanded absolute discretion.
Success had brought life-changing opportunities, but also immense pressure. The latest strain took the form of an investor seeking to acquire a stake in Lumi.
The numbers being offered were staggering. And that was saying something for someone who was already considered one of the wealthiest designers in the world.
Every advisor she had spoken to seemed to have a different opinion—sell, don’t sell, expand, stay independent—and the constant debate had left her completely mentally exhausted.
Which was why she had finally agreed to spend five days in Switzerland. Just five precious days with no work and just her boys, a beautiful snowy village, and hopefully enough distance to think clearly.
The taxi rolled to a stop beneath the covered entrance.
Before the driver could even open the doors, both boys were already reaching for their backpacks.
“Not so fast,” Amelie said.
Two identical faces turned toward her.
“Oh, no,” Trevor muttered. “Here comes the safety briefing.”
Tyler sighed dramatically. “The annual don’t accidentally end up on the news speech.”
Amelie tried to keep a straight face as she pointed a finger at them.
“We’re in a foreign country. At a very expensive hotel. In a village where I would very much like to avoid having my face appear in international headlines because my sons decided to test the structural integrity of a ski lift.”
Trevor looked offended. “We would never,” he said, looking to his brother for backup.
“Mom! We haven’t even done anything yet,” Tyler groaned.
The fact that he had added the word yet wasn’t helping their case.
Amelie folded her arms and looked right at both boys.
“Let’s review. No disappearing without me knowing where you are.
No climbing mountains. No attempting to snowboard off rooftops.
And no beginning any sentence with, ‘You know what would be cool?’ No befriending wildlife.
No feeding wildlife. And no bringing wildlife back to the hotel. ”
“Okay, but what if the wildlife brings itself back to the hotel?” Trevor asked.
“Trevor…” Amelie sighed.
“That happened one time, Mom. And in my defense, the goat followed me to the hotel. I didn’t technically bring him.”
“The goat followed you because you fed him half your lunch,” Tyler laughed.
Trevor smirked. “He was a good goat. I could’ve probably trained him.”
“Mom, remember when Trevor brought home that dog on the first day of school?”
With a long-suffering sigh, Amelie dragged a hand down her face. Most parents worried about curfews and homework. She apparently had to establish international wildlife policies for her children.
“The fact that it happened makes it a rule now.”
Tyler grinned, about to say something, but Amelie shot him a stern look.
“Both of you, just behave.”
The twins exchanged a glance. Then they smiled.
“Yes, Ma’am,” they said in unison.
And somehow those devilish smiles worried Amelie more.
The driver opened the door, and a rush of cold mountain air swept inside. Amelie stepped out, and before she could even take in her surroundings, the boys were already staring toward the village with barely contained excitement.
“Can we go to the Christmas market tonight?” Trevor asked.
“And the ice-skating rink,” Tyler added. “I heard it’s huge.”
“Mom, there’s also a chocolate fondue place,” Trevor said.
“What about snowboarding?” Tyler asked. “I can’t wait to try out my new board.”
“Yeah!” Trevor joined his brother’s excitement. “I was reading online about how a lot of snowboarders train here. We need to check those slopes out.”
Of course, they were already thinking about snowboarding.
The twins had inherited an adventurous streak that had been testing her patience for the last twelve years.
Anything involving speed, heights, or a moderate risk of injury immediately earned their attention.
The fact that they were already planning which slopes to tackle before they’d even checked into the hotel did not fill her with confidence.
The three of them entered the hotel together, and Amelie immediately understood why the property consistently ranked among the best luxury resorts in Europe.
The towering windows showcased panoramic mountain views while enormous crystal chandeliers sparkled overhead. A massive stone fireplace crackled throughout the lobby, filling the air with warmth and the scent of pine. Christmas trees decorated with lights and ornaments stood in every corner.
Even the boys fell silent.
“Wow,” Trevor finally whispered.
“Yeah,” Tyler agreed.
The check-in process was thankfully quick.
Within minutes, a bellman led them to a private elevator reserved for the upper-floor suites.
The boys spent the entire elevator ride debating the physics of snowboarding versus skiing, their voices echoing off the elevator walls.
Amelie only half-listened, her focus pulled toward the strange sense of anticipation settling in her chest. For years, her life had been measured in deadlines, sketches, and balance sheets.
Now, surrounded by the quiet gravity of the mountains, the silence felt heavy.
It was the kind of place that forced you to look backward, dragging up old memories she usually kept buried deep beneath a mountain of work.
And as always, those memories led straight back to Grant.
Twelve and a half years, and his name still carried a physical weight. The sharp, suffocating grief of her twenties had faded, worn down by the sheer exhaustion of raising two boys and building a business from nothing.
But the space he left behind had never truly closed. She loved him when she was carrying the boys. And she still loved him when she first held their newborn sons in a cold hospital room in Oslo. Even now, looking out at the snow, she knew she hadn’t stopped loving him. And she probably never would.
The soft chime of the elevator finally pulled her from her thoughts as the doors slid open onto the top floor.
The bellman led them down a private hallway before stopping outside a set of double doors.
When he opened them, both boys rushed inside.
“Mom!”
“You have to see this!”
Amelie stepped through the doorway and stopped.
The suite was breathtaking. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the village below while a massive stone fireplace dominated the living room. Christmas decorations filled the space without feeling excessive, and every room seemed designed to maximize the incredible mountain views beyond.
The boys immediately disappeared to investigate their bedrooms.
Amelie tipped the bellman and walked over to the heavy glass doors leading to the balcony.
Stepping outside, the freezing mountain air hit her face. She gripped the cold iron railing and lifted her gaze to the Matterhorn towering against the darkening sky.
The last traces of sunlight clung to the jagged peak while the moon slowly rose above it.
For a long moment, she simply stood there and took it all in as a sense of peace settled over her. Looking up at the moonlit peak, she found herself thinking that this Christmas was going to be one she remembered for the rest of her life.