‘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. Shouldn’t they be discussing their future?
Theirfuture?Touch base with reality, Stacey’s inner voice recommended.
Luc’s only interest at this precise moment was the vastly elaborate and hugely expensive party he’d paid for. Other things could wait. That was how he operated. Luc prioritised. He was a process-driven man. She was the dreamer, or had she forgotten that?
‘Of course,’ she confirmed in the same businesslike tone. She had filled a space in Luc’s life, and now he was done with her. ‘Actually, I’d like to eat with my team, if that’s okay with you?’
He looked at her with surprise. ‘Whatever you want.’
‘Forgive me—and thank you for your hospitality—but I’ve been away long enough.’ One sweeping ebony brow lifted as Luc stared at her and frowned. ‘Everything should be ready for the party,’ she hurried on, ‘but I need to check that all we have to do is light the touchpaper and stand back.’ She was gabbling now, talking nonsense, eager to get away before he realised how upset she was. Luc’s ability to close himself off was notorious, but it hurt when he raised those same barricades to her. ‘I’ll keep in touch,’ she promised. ‘I’ll bring you and your people into a team meeting, if you like?’
‘Of course,’ he insisted. ‘And let me know the result of the test right away, and what the doctor says. And if you need anything—’
‘I’ll let you know,’ she cut across him as her heart threatened to shatter into tiny pieces.
CHAPTER TWELVE
SHEHADTOclose her mind to Luc and that wasn’t easy. Thankfully her forward planning had borne fruit. The Party Planners team was ready to roll. Everything was in place. They could hold the event this very minute without a hitch. The biggest and most glamorous party of the season had taken over everyone’s thinking, and now it must take over hers, Stacey determined.
She hadn’t even asked where to find him. Luc hadn’t asked her—
Her throat dried as she remembered that she had his contact details safely logged in her file, where Luc and everything else to do with him should have remained.
