Snowbound With His Forbidden Innocent / Maid For The Untamed Billionaire

The real question was, did he want to?

She was looking forward to the big event in the mountains, and it had to stay that way. How Luc would feel when he saw her again, remained to be seen. Her feelings were unchanged. From day one she had felt something for him—a lot, she admitted—so if he ignored her or, worse, if he was unemotional, and confined their dealings solely to business, it would mean putting on the act of her life.

And she would, she determined as she said goodbye to the team. ‘See you in the mountains!’ she exclaimed brightly as she wondered why life had to be so complicated.

Because life was tough for everyone, she concluded when she was alone in the room, gathering up her things. Nothing was straightforward for anyone, and, short of locking herself away and never doing anything, there would be hurt and disappointment, and pain, but there would be moments of happiness too, so she’d cling to those and get through it. Dreaming of a life with Luc was not only unrealistic, it would be like walking into pain with her eyes wide open. Any thoughts of a long-term relationship between them was a fantasy too far. Luc was a high-flyer while she had barely tested her wings. As far as business was concerned, she was confident he couldn’t have any complaints, but when it came to personal feelings… Maybe she’d never know what he felt. Luc had always kept personal matters close to his chest. Niahl’s theory was that Luc would never open up, because that would mean confronting the grief of losing his parents. The stresses of business and people who depended on him for their livelihoods, together with concern for his siblings, had robbed him of the chance to grieve.

Niahl was probably right, and Luc had spent so many years regarding her as nothing more than Niahl’s annoying little sister that he probably couldn’t conceive of her being anything more.

Except for last night.

Which was already behind her.

What happened to your confidence?

She’d left it in his penthouse suite. Luc had restored her confidence in being someone worth spending time with, but one night of passion did not a romance make. Better one fabulous night, she concluded, gritting her jaw. It was more than some people had. Instead of dwelling on what she couldn’t make happen, she should concentrate on what she could, which, with the aid of her team, was to create the most fabulous party of the year.

After a tense breakfast meeting during which he could hardly concentrate long enough to sign a multimillion-dollar contract to upgrade the tech for the government of a small country, his thoughts turned back with relief to Stacey. Anything that had happened between them was his fault. He could have resisted and had chosen not to.

Calling the elevator, he stepped into the cab and, leaning back against the wall, closed his eyes. This was the same Stacey who used to wear her hair in braids and give him a hard time at the farm. He smiled as he pictured her at the banquet last night, so determined to make everyone’s night a success, including his. A little tired and frazzled around the edges, but definitely all grown up, as she’d proved later in his bed. As far as business went, early reports from his team said the banquet was the best yet.

As he stepped out into the lobby of the glass and steel monument to his success, she consumed his thoughts. His hunger to chart every change in Stacey from gauche ingénue to the professional woman she was today was eating him alive. And he’d never know, because he wouldn’t risk getting closer to her. He’d seen enough of her home life to know the journey she’d taken to this point. With no intention of adding to her woes, he’d put distance between them.

His Lamborghini was waiting at the kerb. Tipping the valet, he folded his athletic frame into the car and eased into the morning traffic. His thoughts turned to the day Niahl had left home. Stacey had been too young to follow her brother, and had made such a lonely figure standing at the farm gate waving them off. She’d looked broken. He’d watched in the wing mirror until they’d turned a corner and he hadn’t been able to see her any more. It had been a desperate end to an unhappy visit, during which he’d seen her run ragged as she’d tried to care for everyone. It had seemed to him that no one cared for Stacey but her brother, Niahl.

As soon as she’d been old enough, she’d changed her life. A scholarship to a college specialising in the hospitality industry in London had resulted in her graduating as the top student in her year. How could he risk destroying the confidence that had given her by embarking on some ultimately doomed affair? Stacey deserved more than a man who walked away if emotion ever threatened to cloud his rational mind.

Almost four hectic weeks had passed since the memorable encounter with Luc in Barcelona. Planning any party could be a logistical nightmare, but when the venue was in a challenging location Stacey and her team had to work flat out to make sure that everything was delivered well in advance. She’d barely had a moment to breathe, let alone consider what memories Luc had been left with after their passionate night.

After the clamour of the city the serene peace of the mountains was nothing short of a dream come true. The air was cool and clean. Crisp white snow crunched underfoot, and the sky was a flawless, cerulean blue. The small village with its backdrop of towering mountains was like the best picture postcard in the world. The slopes were teeming with skiers, all of whom moved to their own sure, rhythmical pattern, while beginners on the nursery slopes made shakier and more uncertain figures. One thing, however, was common to all. Everyone was smiling.

‘What a fabulous atmosphere! What a place to hold a party!’ she exclaimed to her companions in the team. ‘We’re going to have the best time ever here. It’s going to be the party of the year.’

Only the final tweaks remained and Stacey was as certain as she could be that Lucas would love what they had planned. Lucas. She was desperate to see him, and dreading it too. What if he—?

No. Don’t think that way. Only positive thoughts from now on.

They had to meet, and she’d take it from there. It wouldn’t be easy with the brand of his lips on her mouth and the memory of his hands on her body, but what was easy? Nothing worth having, that was for sure.

‘We’ll make this event something the Da Silva guests never forget, and for all the right reasons,’ she told the team. ‘How beautiful is this?’ she exclaimed, turning full circle. ‘Let’s get settled in, and then we can make a start.’

The success of any team depended on its leadership. That was something Lady Sarah had drummed into her right at the start, so, whatever Stacey’s personal feelings about Lucas, she had to get on with things for the sake of the team.

‘There will be a few more hurdles to cross here than we had in the city,’ Stacey observed later when she and the team were seated around a boardroom table in an office the hotel had made available for them. ‘The weather, for one thing,’ she said, glancing out of the window. The quaint, pitched-roofed buildings had been covered in deep mantles of snow when they’d arrived, but now they were gradually fading out of sight. A drift of snowflakes falling like a veil was growing heavier by the minute, while the flawless blue sky that had so impressed her was rapidly turning to unrelieved grey. ‘I should get out and scout the various locations while I still can,’ she said, drawing the meeting to a close. ‘Take the night off. I’m going to need everyone firing on all cylinders tomorrow.’

‘What about you?’ a colleague piped up.

‘I’ll rest when I’m reassured about our venues. Until then…?’ She shrugged.

‘Keep in touch.’

‘I will,’ she promised.

The village proved to be a fascinating place with its glitter and sparkle, but what struck Stacey more was the resilience of visitors and residents alike as they crowded the pavements in what were undeniably extreme weather conditions.

Still, everyone was dressed for it, Stacey reasoned, admiring the beautifully decorated shop windows as she strode past in her snow boots and Party Planners padded jacket. She was heading for the gondola station as, not only was there to be a party down here, but a reception higher up the mountain at Luc’s ski lodge, as well as a firework display and a torchlit procession down the mountain. Pausing briefly to adjust her snow goggles, she studied the statue of a miniature couple in one of the windows. Placed outside the model of a typical chalet, both figures were wearing skis and staring up at each other in apparent rapture.

I should have learned to ski, she mused silently. Too late now. But the gondola would take her where she needed to be. She could just step in and out, no problem.

Craning her neck when she reached the station, she tried to spot Luc’s eyrie. It was supposed to be the biggest chalet on the mountain. She thought of it as his castle, his fortress, his ivory tower. But she couldn’t see anything as low cloud and the misting of snow had blotted out the upper reaches of the route the gondola would take.

What if the gondola stopped running? How would they transport the guests?

There was time, Stacey reasoned. They had a good few days before the party. Surely the weather would have improved by then?

The hotel manager had told her that Lucas had arrived by helicopter that same morning. Her heart went crazy all over again, just as it had the first time she’d heard it. ‘Nothing deters him,’ the hotel manager had said. ‘Bad weather has been forecast, but Señor Da Silva is an expert pilot, so he knows all about timing to escape the worst of any oncoming storm.’

Yes, he would, she’d thought then. Niahl had warned her that the weather could be unpredictable but that this resort had some of the most challenging slopes in the world, which was what had attracted Lucas to the village in the first place. It would, she mused.

Would Luc be thinking about her, as she was thinking about him?

Only in as much as he might wonder if she and the team had arrived before the weather closed in, she concluded. She hadn’t heard from him since Barcelona, confirming her belief that their night together meant more to her than it did to him. Of course he’d take for granted the fact that she’d get on with things. And why shouldn’t he? She wanted him to know he could rely on her, and that Party Planners would give him the event of the year.

She paused at the foot of the steps leading up to the gondola station. Her pulse jagged at the thought of seeing Luc again. Dragging deep on the ice-cold air, she hunched her shoulders into her jacket and drove forward into the wind. Behind her, vehicles with snow chains were crawling along. Even they were having difficulty negotiating the road. But what she’d started, she would finish. All she needed was a quick look-see so she could brief the team, and then she’d head straight back down the mountain to take a hot bath and have a good sleep before the real work began tomorrow.

CHAPTER SIX

STACEY ONLY REALISED what she’d taken on as the packed gondola transporting skiers to their chalets on the higher levels left its berth on the lower station. It was one thing agreeing to what had seemed a perfectly reasonable request by the Da Silva team, to hold a party in the main village before transporting guests up the mountain for the grand finale of fireworks and a torchlit descent. There was no doubt that the infrastructure was here to support that. But when the weather closed in as it had done today, she could only be grateful that she’d taken the precaution of having everything delivered in good time for the party. She doubted anything else would get through.

Luc had intimated through the head of his team that he had a novel idea for ferrying guests up the mountain for the champagne reception. Stacey had yet to learn what that was, and had put in an urgent request for more information so she could plan for whatever needed to be done.

Firming her jaw, she stared out of the window. There were always challenges, but this took things to the wire. As the ground dropped away the wind picked up and whistled around the swaying car. None of her companions seemed concerned, so she made herself relax and wait until that blissful moment when she was back on solid ground.

Snow was falling steadily when she joined the crowds streaming out of the station. She had a map but it wasn’t much use now the street had disappeared beneath a thick white carpet. Seeing a ticket booth, she stopped to ask directions and was told that she couldn’t miss the Da Silva chalet as it was the largest private structure in town. ‘Will the gondola continue to run?’ she asked, staring up at the leaden sky.

‘Of course,’ she was told. ‘Only a white-out or heavy winds could stop the service, and this weather system is supposed to move on.’ A glance at the sky seemed to confirm this. A big patch of blue had broken through the cloud. Thanking the clerk, she took the precaution of donning a pair of high-performance ski goggles to prevent snow-blindness and set off, but she had barely made it out of the station before a strong wind kicked up. The patch of blue she’d been so relieved to see soon disappeared behind a fresh bank of cloud and these clouds were thicker and darker than before.

Weather in the mountains was known to be unpredictable. Could anyone accurately predict the capricious path of Mother Nature? Somehow, she doubted it.

A heavy silence gathered around her as she trudged along. Everyone else seemed to have retreated into their houses or hotels, and even those buildings had turned ghostly in the half-light. Her heart was racing. The snow was falling so heavily now, it was like a thick white curtain in front of her face. Her heart was racing. She’d heard enough horror stories to know she should be concerned. She couldn’t even be sure if she was walking in a straight line or going around in circles. Luc’s chalet was supposed to be close to the station, and, though it might be the largest private home in the area, if she couldn’t see the other buildings, what hope did she have of finding it?

Adjusting her neck warmer so it covered her mouth and nose, she bent her head into the wind and slogged on. Going back wasn’t an option. When she stopped and turned to try and get her bearings, the gondola station had disappeared. Tugging off a thick ski glove with her teeth, she located her phone and tried to call her colleagues in the village. No signal. There was only one option left, and that was to keep on walking in the hope that something would come into view, though that didn’t seem likely in this all-encompassing sea of white.

‘Hello! Hello!’ she called out, panic-stricken. ‘Can anyone hear me?’

Silence answered her call.

‘Hello! Hello!’ she repeated at the top of her lungs. ‘Is anyone out here?’

She stood motionless in the snow with her arms crossed over her chest as she tried to slap some life into her frozen limbs. There was not a sound to be heard other than the wailing of the wind and the deceptively silky whisper of deadly snowflakes.

And then…

Was she dreaming?

‘Hello!’ she cried out wildly, feeling certain she’d heard a faint sound in the distance. ‘Hello?’ she called again.

She tried to locate the source of the sound, but it seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once. ‘I’m over here!’ she bellowed tensely.

‘Stay where you are! Don’t move. I’m coming to get you.’

‘Luc?’ Relief engulfed her.

‘I said, stay where you are.’

His voice was harsh, imperative, quashing her relief, and turning it to exasperation that of course it had to be Luc who found her.

‘Stacey? You have to keep shouting so I can find you.’

The wind tossed his voice around so it was impossible to tell which direction he was calling from. ‘Hello! Hello!’ she called out in desperation. ‘I’m over here.’

‘Don’t move. I can hear you. Keep shouting…’

But his voice sounded fainter as he was walking away from her. ‘I’m over here,’ she yelled, frantic with fear that he might walk straight past her. ‘Please…’ Her voice broke with sheer terror that, having been found, she might be abandoned again. And then, quite suddenly, they were standing face to face. Regardless of anything that had gone before, she catapulted herself into his arms. ‘Thank God you found me!’

‘Dios! Thank God I did. What on earth are you doing up here?’

‘Researching.’

‘Couldn’t that have waited until tomorrow?’

‘I like to be prepared.’

‘But you’ve only just arrived,’ Luc pointed out. ‘My people gave me your schedule,’ he explained.

‘The team is resting,’ she confirmed, ‘but I want to be informed, ready to brief them in the morning.’

Luc frowned down at her. ‘There’s dedication to duty, and then there’s obsession,’ he observed. ‘Didn’t it occur to you that you should be resting too?’

‘Pot, kettle, black?’ she suggested. ‘Do you hang around when an important deal is on the table? No. I didn’t think so. And I wouldn’t be here at all if I hadn’t checked first that the gondolas would be running in spite of the weather.’

‘In fairness, no one could have predicted this,’ Luc agreed, driving forward. ‘The gondola station has only just closed.’

‘Closed?’ Stacey exclaimed. ‘How do I get down the mountain?’

‘You won’t—not tonight, at least.’

‘A hotel, then,’ she said hopefully, looking about.

‘All the hotels are full of people who are stranded,’ Luc explained.

‘So where are you taking me?’

‘Does it matter?’ Grabbing hold of her arm, he urged her along. ‘Come on, we’ll freeze if we stay here.’

Against her better judgement where Luc was concerned, she felt safe for the first time since coming up the mountain. And optimistic for some reason. She felt way too much of everything, Stacey concluded as she admitted, ‘This is not how I expected us to meet.’

‘I’m sure not,’ Luc agreed, forced to shout as he drove them both on against the battering snow. ‘You’re lucky I was checking the progress of evacuating skiers, and making sure the slopes were clear, or we wouldn’t be here.’

‘Where exactly are we?’ she asked. ‘How do you even know where we’re going?’ Having stared about, she couldn’t be sure of anything but an unrelieved vista of white.

‘I just know where I am,’ Luc said with confidence. ‘In-built GPS, I guess.’

She wouldn’t put anything past him. ‘I’m sorry to have caused you so much trouble.’

‘Not your fault,’ he said brusquely. ‘It’s been called the freak storm of the century. No one saw this coming.’

Reassured that he didn’t think her completely reckless in venturing up the mountain, she asked another question. ‘Do you have a phone signal at your chalet? I need to reassure the team I’m okay.’

‘I have a landline,’ Luc confirmed, ‘though mobile lines are dead. You can ring the hotel and leave a message.’

‘Sure?’

‘Of course.’

‘That’s very kind of you.’

This was too polite, she mused as Luc steered her away to the left; a bit like the calm before the storm.

‘My chalet’s over here.’

‘So close,’ she exclaimed with surprise.

‘As close as the black ski run where I found you.’ Luc’s voice held irony and humour in matching amounts. ‘You might have had a shock if you’d gone that way.’

‘Terrifying,’ she agreed. ‘Particularly as I can’t ski.’

‘Nor can I without skis,’ Luc pointed out dryly.

In all probability, Luc had saved her life. ‘I can never thank you enough for finding me.’

‘We’ll find a way.’

Her heart almost leapt out of her chest. Her brain said it was a throwaway remark, but it was still Luc speaking. She hoped he’d say more. He didn’t. Locking an arm around her waist, he steered her until finally he half carried her up a slope that had probably been steps to his chalet before the snows came.

‘Thank you,’ she said as he steadied her on the ground as the impressive entrance door swung open.

‘You’ll have plenty of chances to thank me,’ he observed with some irony. ‘You won’t be going anywhere tonight. Neither of us will. You’ll have to stay in the chalet with me.’

Left with that alarming thought, she smiled as obliging staff gathered on the doorstep to greet them. Without exception, they were relieved to see Lucas return safely. He introduced Stacey to his housekeeper, a rosy-cheeked older woman called Maria, who wanted nothing more than to take Stacey under her wing, but they all paused in the same instant as a thin wail cut through their greeting.

‘Did you hear that?’ Stacey asked.

‘Go inside while I take a look around,’ Luc instructed.

‘No way. I’m coming with you. It isn’t safe to be out on your own tonight.’

‘Says you?’ he countered with a devastating smile. ‘Do you think two of us will be safer?’

‘Two will stand more chance of finding someone stranded.’

‘No.’ He shook his head. ‘You’re freezing. Go inside.’

‘I can last a little longer, and if there is someone out there, we have to find them.’

‘You have to call your team,’ he reminded her.

‘And I will, just as soon as I get back.’

Luc frowned. ‘That sounds like an animal in distress…’

‘Let’s go,’ Stacey insisted, tugging on his arm.

An hour later, she and Maria were tending a cat after a most astonishing encounter in Luc’s boot room. Two calls later, and Stacey had informed her team that she was safe and they should stay where they were. ‘I’ll give you an update tomorrow,’ she promised.

‘Bath. Now,’ Luc instructed from the doorway. ‘I won’t be answerable for your well-being if you don’t take my advice.’

‘I didn’t ask you to be answerable.’ She couldn’t bring herself to add, I’m fine. I can look after myself, as the blizzard had clearly proved her wrong about that.

‘Lucky for you, I’m still going to care about your welfare,’ Luc said in a tone that made her think he was speaking as her brother’s friend, rather than as her lover. ‘Just remember—you’re in my house and I’m in charge. No arguments,’ he added in a mock-stern tone. ‘And when you take a shower be sure to run it cold, or you’ll burn yourself. Even on the coldest setting the water’s going to feel warm to you. It’s only safe to increase the temperature when the water starts to feel chilly to you. When you’re confident everything’s back to normal you can take a bath. Don’t rush. I’ll be doing the same thing.’

He was almost out of the door when he thought better of it and turned around. ‘You did well tonight. That could have been a person, and a cat is no less deserving of our care. Mountain rescue will be on the case by now. They’re a lot better equipped than I am for this sort of thing, so you can relax. I’ll call them to let them know the area we covered, and then we can safely leave them to it. I’ll join in later if they need me.’

‘Then so will I,’ Stacey insisted.

‘No, you won’t. You can’t ski, and you don’t know the mountains. You’ll only get in the way. Stay here. You were brave tonight. Don’t be foolish now.’

‘I wasn’t brave, I was scared to death,’ she admitted. ‘That’s why I had to go out again, in case there were others trapped like me.’

‘You’re very honest,’ he observed.

She shrugged. ‘I try to be.’