Chapter 1 Mj #2
MJ gasped when she walked into the still-dark lodge kitchen and heard a voice from the table—and smelled coffee.
“Matt!” She froze in place, not expecting to see him before the sun rose.
“I’m still on East Coast time,” he explained, pushing up from his chair. “And I knew you’d be down here before anyone else.”
She watched him take a few steps closer, still getting used to seeing him in person, not her imagination. In real life, he was even taller, his chestnut hair clipped short and neat, his soft brown eyes full of nothing but warmth, his strong arms reaching for her.
With the echo of George’s song in her head, she hugged him back, but resisted a kiss or a squeeze.
“You okay this morning?” he asked as he drew back, proving that he was tall, good-looking, and perceptive.
“Yes, I’m…” She laughed. “Still reeling.”
“Why are you surprised?” he asked, searching her face. “I made you a promise.”
“But I never heard boo from you.”
He leaned closer, almost close enough for a kiss, and whispered, “Boo. Do you want your morning tea? I know you can’t start a proper day without it.”
She laughed softly, touched that he remembered her habits. “Actually, I was up very early and had some. I could use a coffee now, and company while I make breakfast for the lodge guests.”
“I didn’t think Snowberry Lodge was open yet,” he said, walking to her coffee pot with a shocking amount of familiarity. Yes, he’d spent plenty of time in here, helping her and chatting from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Eve. But it had been a different kitchen then, and a year had passed.
“We’re not officially open for business yet,” she told him. “But we had family and friends who traveled for the wedding and are staying, though most are leaving today. Jack’s mom is staying through the holidays, though.”
“Are Jack and Cindy taking a honeymoon?” he asked.
“Europe in the spring,” she told him. “First of all, their daughter, Nicole, is marrying Cameron Hale on New Year’s Eve.”
“Yes, I heard that last night. Exciting.”
She nodded. “We’re happy for her. Of course, with Jack managing the lodge and filling up the newly renovated suites and cabins, my sister is focused on building the wedding business for the new Starling Room.
” She let a smile pull. “All of this, I might add, made possible by a lottery winner from Florida who granted wishes and won our hearts.”
“Oooh, hearts have been won. That’s what this ‘lottery winner from Florida’ likes to hear.”
As she started to bring out bowls and ingredients for her pancakes, she chuckled. “You’re much more than that, Matt. Oh. Can I call you Matt still? I doubt I could start calling you ‘Graham’ now.”
Graham Matthew Walker had used his middle name when he’d stayed here, and had paid in cash. At the time, MJ had been a little suspicious—not as much as Cindy—then learned he hadn’t used his full name so she couldn’t Google him and find out he was worth twenty-five million in lottery winnings.
“Actually, I like it so I’m keeping it. In Utah, I’m Matt. Graham is old Florida me. And my nephew Wade will just have to deal. Oh…” He eyed her. “You’re okay that he tagged along, right?”
“Of course!”
“Good, good,” he said. “We’re close and he’s the only relative in my circle who didn’t suddenly become a different person when they found out I smelled of way too much money. We were together over Thanksgiving at his mom’s house—my sister—and he had some time and wanted to see Utah.”
“He’s more than welcome and I think he’ll be comfortable in the suite we gave him,” she said, watching him bring a cup of freshly brewed coffee to the island and settle on a bar stool in front of her.
A memory of George sitting at her old kitchen island flashed in her head, but she tucked it away, refusing to go there.
Reaching over the space that separated them, he put a hand on hers. “You sure you’re okay with this, MJ? I know it’s…unconventional. I mean, me being gone a year and all.”
“You explained it in your letter,” she said. “And you certainly were generous with us.”
He waved off the gratitude. “You and Cindy—everyone, really—thanked me enough last night. The fact is, I did what I set out to do. I gave just about everything away, but kept enough for me to live well, but not crazy. I won’t have to fix toilets as a plumber, but I won’t be flying on private planes, either. ”
She looked hard at him, the memories of her long and fun talks with this man flooding back. She’d deeply enjoyed their time together—more than a month of daily conversations, dinners, and enough time to really fall for each other.
When it ended rather abruptly, she’d realized how familiar he’d become.
She knew the silver threads in his hair, the strong shape of his nose, the hint of his upper lip under a surprisingly attractive moustache.
She understood what made him tick and what his life had been like—she just hadn’t known he was an extremely wealthy man.
“Now that I know what you were hiding,” she said slowly, “I can tell that you were never comfortable with that wealth.”
“I wasn’t.” He pulled back the cuff of a cable-knit sweater. “Look, Ma, no more Rolex.”
She smiled. “So what are your plans, Matt? Are you staying through the holiday or…”
Inching back, he gave her a look of disbelief. “I, uh, thought I’d stay…as long as you’ll have me.”
What did that mean? She took a slow breath, holding his gaze. “I…I…would like—”
He held up a hand to stop her stammering. “I will not take a room or cabin indefinitely, I promise.”
She laughed. “That’s not…” She didn’t know how to finish that.
“You do want me around, right?” he asked.
She lowered her wooden spoon, vaguely aware she hadn’t done one thing to make a single pancake yet.
“Well, you’re a distraction,” she joked, trying to make light of all the emotions and uncertainty ricocheting through her.
“I don’t want to confuse you,” he said, flicking his thumb and index finger over his moustache as he sometimes did when he was struggling with how to say something important. “But I would like to…be with you.”
She swallowed, feeling some blood drain from her face. Be with her? What did that mean, exactly?
“Starting with today,” he said. “I have an idea. Are you busy?”
“Well…” Was she? “We still have friends in town and we’ll be getting ready for a soft opening, so…”
“MJ.” He slid off the stool and came around the counter, holding her gaze as he approached. “I didn’t come to totally upset your apple cart.”
She smiled. “You didn’t?”
“Well, maybe tip it a little, but I feel like you’re distant this morning. Are you sure you’re okay with me being here?”
She had been far more than “okay” until that dang dream and the song and…George. Had he been sending her a message? Or was her imagination in overdrive?
“I love that you’re here,” she said, wanting to be fully honest. “It’s…a lot. But I’m very, very happy you came back, Matt. I’m happy you’re so interested in Park City.”
He smiled, taking both her hands. “I am interested in Park City, along with a certain someone who lives here. In fact…” He made a face as though he didn’t expect her to like what he was about to say. “That’s what I wanted to do today.”
“Tour the town?” she guessed, knowing he’d been everywhere last year.
“Tour an…open house. It’s Sunday and there are a lot of them.”
An open house? She just stared at him.
“I have to live somewhere,” he said. “And…you’re here, so…”
“You’re moving here.” It was a statement, but her voice cracked with surprise.
He didn’t say anything, but there was a glimmer of disappointment in his eyes, and she hated that she’d put it there.
“Not if I’m not welcome.”’
“Matt!” She gripped his hands. “You’re more than welcome. It’s just…”
“I know, I know. Let’s take it slow. I’ll stay as a guest at Snowberry for the holiday season. I can do that, right?”
“Of course! We love having you and your nephew. It’s perfect timing before we go into the high ski season.”
“Then we’ll slowly pick up where we left off. No big…changes. Just continue to get to know each other and see how that goes.” He eased her closer. “But you need to know I’ve really missed you, Mary Jane.”
She managed a shaky breath. “I really missed you, too, Graham Matthew.”
He chuckled and gave her a light kiss on the forehead. “Dinner this week?”
“Of course.”
“Maybe a sleigh ride, a trip to town, and you’ll let me help you make my favorite scones.”
She nodded. “Absolutely.”
“Okay. I’m going to peek at those houses alone or with Wade, though. I do love it here and I sold my house in Florida.”
“Give me a few days and I’ll go with you,” she said, letting him wrap her in a hug. “I’m still getting used to all of this.”
He agreed, gave her a light kiss, and left to go back to his suite upstairs.
She took a minute to let it all sink in, then walked to her spacious pantry to get her pancakes started, a few more threads of confusion wrapping around her heart.
Maybe that’s all the message from George really was—a warning call to not get swept up into something too fast or too serious. If that was the case, her late husband was, as usual, absolutely right.