Modern Romance December 2019 Books 5-8. Jane Porter

the experience was wonderful, magical. There was silence all around, apart from the swish of skis on snow, and not one other person on the mountain to disturb the solitude. It was just the two of them, equally dependent on the cooperation of the other. ‘I can see the houses in the village,’ she called out at last.

      Luc cruised to a halt. The mist had cleared, and the snow had stopped falling, leaving the sky above an improbable shade of unrelieved blue. ‘Suddenly, I feel optimistic,’ she exclaimed excitedly, turning to look at him.

      ‘Me too,’ Luc agreed in more considered tone. ‘This is perfect weather for the party.’

      The party. Something went flat inside her. She didn’t want to be reminded that her whole purpose in being here was to arrange a party for Luc. But those were the bald facts. He was thinking ahead, while she was guilty of living in the moment.

      ‘If only the gondolas were running,’ she remarked, staring up in a failed attempt to distract herself from the hurt inside her. They were halfway down the mountain, but there was no sign of any small cabins bobbing along. ‘I would have thought that with the return of reasonably good weather they’d be running by now.’

      ‘Wind damage,’ Luc explained, following her gaze before tightening his grip around her waist and setting off again. ‘Each part of the system will have to be thoroughly checked before they’re operational,’ he yelled in her ear.

      ‘But your guests…’

      ‘Don’t worry,’ he shouted back. ‘I’ve got an idea to transport them up the mountain.’

      ‘I’m intrigued.’

      ‘And I’m hungry. Are you up for going a bit faster with no stops until we reach the village?’

      ‘Yes!’ Stacey surprised herself with how much she wanted this. Testing herself with Luc at her back was easy. She felt so safe with him, and happier than she had been in a long time. Whatever the future held they’d have much to celebrate. And if that future didn’t promise to be exactly conventional, the prospect of maybe having a child to crown that happiness was a precious gift she looked forward to, no matter what.

      There was no point thinking if only, Luc reflected as he slowed at the approach to the nursery slopes bordering the village. He’d done too much of that. If only his parents had lived to see how successful his brothers and sister had become. If only they could share his good fortune. And now, if only they had lived to see their first grandchild. Wherever he was in life, and whatever the circumstances, the guilt he bore sat on his shoulder like an ugly crow waiting to peck out his happiness.

      Stacey whooped with exhilaration as he slowed to a stop, then she noticed his expression and asked with concern, ‘You okay?’

      ‘Me? Fine.’

      ‘That’s my line,’ she scolded.

      He huffed a laugh that held no humour. Steadying her as she stepped off his skis, he freed the bindings, stepped out of them, paired the skis, and swung them over his shoulder.

      As she glanced back up the mountain and shook her head in wonder at what she’d accomplished, he remarked, ‘If I told you at the top that we were about to ski the World Cup course, would you have come with me?’

      Her jaw dropped as she stared at him. ‘Really?’

      ‘Really,’ he confirmed. ‘Well done.’

      She grinned. ‘Maybe not,’ she admitted, ‘but I’m glad I did. You never had any doubt we’d get down safely, did you?’

      ‘If I had you wouldn’t be here. I would never take risks with your safety, especially not now. Anyway, congratulations again. You can tell your friends what you’ve done.’

      Oddly, she felt flat. Maybe because Luc had made it sound like a holiday adventure, Stacey reflected as they walked along. Perhaps that was all it was to him. It made her wonder if the possibility that she might be pregnant had made any impact on him. Was he really so unfeeling, and if so why? Once the party was over they would speed off in opposite directions. Would Luc keep her at a distance? Surely a child was an everlasting link between them? Whether he wanted that link, however, was another matter. She trusted him completely, and yet she didn’t know him at all, Stacey concluded as they walked along. As always, her concern for Luc won through over any other concerns she might have had. ‘How will you get back to the chalet when you’ve finished your business in the village?’

      ‘I won’t be going back to the chalet.’

      ‘Oh… I see.’ She didn’t see, but Luc didn’t offer any more information, and she didn’t feel it was her place to cross-question him. The last thing she wanted was for him to think her a clinging vine before she even knew if she was pregnant.

      Everything about him suggested Luc was back in work mode. As she should be, Stacey reminded herself. They weren’t lovers of long standing, let alone close friends, and when it came to his party in the mountains Lucas was the boss and she worked for him. She’d always known this had to end at some point. She just hadn’t expected it to end so abruptly at the bottom of a ski slope after such an amazing run, when she’d been so sure the shared experience had brought them closer.

      ‘I might stay over in the village,’ he revealed in an offhand tone.

      There was no invitation to join him, and why should there be? That said, it didn’t make it any easier to accept how loving and caring he could be one minute, and how distant the next.

      Of course you understand why he’s this way, her inner voice insisted. The ability to love had died inside Luc on the day his parents were killed. Everyone but Niahl and Stacey had been surprised by the intensity of his grief. It had almost seemed Luc held himself responsible for his parents’ death, but they’d been such a close family, loving and caring for each other, no wonder he’d been devastated. Many times she’d longed to tell him that he couldn’t be everywhere at once, working up a business, and caring for parents who, however lovely they’d been, had struck Stacey as being unrealistic, even irresponsible, when it came to money. They were always chasing the next new idea, leaving Luc to bail them out on many occasions. The true extent of their debt had only come to light after the funeral, which Stacey believed had been the driver for Luc believing it was down to him to support his siblings and to pay off those debts. He had nothing to regret, and she only wished she could tell him so, but doubted in his present mood he’d appreciate it.

      She flashed up a glance into his harsh, unyielding face. Loving might be beyond Luc, but caring was instinctive, having been bred into him by those same wacky, but deeply loving parents. He’d done so much for her already, she mused as they crossed the road, giving her confidence she’d never had in her body, and a sense of being wanted, which was entirely new. For however short a time, he’d made her believe she was worth wanting, and if whatever it was they had between them ended today, she would always be grateful for what Luc had taught her. Now it was up to her to accept this short time together for what it was: a brief reunion; amazing sex; care for each other and a renewal of friendship, as well as all the support she could wish for when it came to personal concerns, as well as in her professional life. It would be a mistake to read more into it. Luc was a realist, she was a dreamer, and if she mixed up the two she’d be heading for disappointment.

      ‘We’ll have lunch here,’ Luc said as they approached a busy café with steamed-up windows. ‘Then you can call by the pharmacy on your way to meet up with your team, and book an appointment with the local doctor for a check-up.’

      He barely drew breath before adding, ‘I’ll speak to my people, while you see yours, and then we’ll have a joint meeting.’

      To discuss the party, and clearly not the results of a pregnancy test or her visit to the local doctor.