Page 32 of Mountain Impact

“The snitch.”

“You should have called me.”

“Nothing to worry about, Commandant. Kat, Jens and I are fine. How’s Tess? How’s Sardinia?”

“She’s doing well. Thinking about Jamie constantly, though. Maybe we should have brought him out here with us.”

Drake chuckled. It didn’t surprise him in the least. His friend Damien had been lucky to find a woman who happened to love his son Jamie as much as she loved Damien. And Jamie loved her right back.

“Tell her Jamie’s doing well. Your father is spoiling him like crazy. And I’ll be taking him bouldering next weekend.”

“Go to the beach, Damien. Enjoy your time off with your bride,” Jens said, resting his head against the car seat.

Drake realized he hadn’t been to the beach in years. He had to admit the thought of Isolde in a bathing suit made him want to plan a long weekend away. Maybe he could convince her―

Jens chuckled again, and Drake realized he’d missed part of the conversation.

“We’ll be glad to have you back next week, Commandant,” Jens said.

“Call me if you need anything, please. I can get back sooner.”

They spent a couple more minutes reassuring their boss. By the time they hung up the call, both Drake and Jens were smiling.

Chapter 12

Drake

That evening, Drake had gone to see Isolde, bringing takeaway from a local Asian fusion restaurant.

He’d told himself he wanted to thank her for coming to the hospital to see him in the middle of the night―but he knew he was kidding himself, he’d just needed to see her.

She’d been so impressed to see he’d guessed her favorite restaurant, he almost didn’t want to mention he’d seen the magnet on her fridge door the first time he’d been up to her apartment.

They’d skipped dessert and had sex together instead. Amazing sex. The kind he couldn’t even have described to anyone, not that he was the kind of man to kiss and tell.

Isolde hadn’t exactly asked him to stay afterwards but hadn’t kicked him out either, and they’d even had a cup of coffee together before he’d run off home to get changed before going into the office.

They’d agreed to meet again on Wednesday, but this time he hadn’t been sure what to bring. He was a half-decent cook, and thought maybe Isolde would enjoy a home-cooked meal. He’d checked her fridge that morning before he left and found it empty save for some old milk and a piece of Parmesan cheese, so he’d stopped by the Sherpa Supermarket after work.

Even with that stop, he’d made it to her place before her. He had always thought he and his team worked hard, but he was now discovering just how hard Isolde worked. She was one of the first people in the office in the mornings, and rarely came home before eight at night.

Drake stayed in his car until he saw her ratty little Golf shuffling up the street. While she parked, he got out with his armful of groceries. Suddenly, he felt shy.

Am I acting like a pest?

The kind of guest she simply can’t get rid of?

Then he saw her smile as she caught sight of him. It lit up her expression, turning her from pretty to blindingly beautiful in the space of a millisecond. She walked towards him in those serious-looking heels. He loved the way her hips swayed as she walked in them.

Maybe we should leave the heels on tonight.

“Hey,” he said. He leaned down to give her a quick kiss, but she looked up at the same time. Their cheeks collided.

“Sorry,” they both said at the same time.

“I thought we could cook tonight.” He hesitated for a moment. “If you’re not busy.”

“I was going to call you,” she breathed. “As soon as I’d taken off my heels.” She grimaced. Suddenly, he didn’t like those shoes nearly as much.