Page 3 of Ice To Meet You

The tinny sound of Antonio’s scoff pummelled my ear drum. “At Tiano? That’s a little below your pay grade, isn’t it? You can’t have skied there since you were a kid.”

“I pop up from time to time.” That was a vast exaggeration.

He chuckled. “Your grandparents summoned you, then?”

My gut gave a tug. He knew the truth of it. “Yes.”

Antonio let out a whistle like a bomb dropping right before it exploded. “How are they? What do they want this time?”

I hadn’t seen them yet, only received a message that my presence was required for dinner tonight. There’d been no mention of skiing, but if I was here, I’d gladly take the opportunity. I hadn’t touched snow in a week. Even if the slopes here were on the tamer side, I needed to blow away some cobwebs.

“My grandfather didn’t go into specifics—just mentioned an important business matter. They want me to meet someone.”

“Interesting. Maybe they’re trying to marry you off?”

I chuckled. “Doubtful. They haven’t seen me with a woman in years” It’d been a long time since I dated, full stop. I had casual flings here and there, but these days, I didn’t have the time or the inclination.

“So, they still have their house in Tiano?”

“They do.” It was the best part of any visit. I genuinely loved the old place. It held so many memories.

“Well then, maybe you can swipe a few heirlooms forourplace. Only the cool ones, of course—they need to match the decor.”

Our place, as he called it was an old ski lodge we’d renovated. We planned on running a high-end heli-skiing business out of it.

I chuckled. “Not going to happen. I need to keep a healthy separation between my family and our business plans.”

I turned around toward the chairlift. A bank of people had built up at the front of the queue. I craned my neck to check what was going on but saw nothing. Only the backs of shiny ski helmets.

“Well, those plans could go horribly wrong if you don’t help me finalise everything.” An ominous tone laced his voice.

“Isn’t that your job? You pitched yourself as the brains of the operation.”

“And that’s why I need you here, in Rome. I may have the business brain, but right now I need charm. Lots of it. Andconsidering you’re the nearest thing to a celebrity, and far better looking than me, that burden lands solely with you, I’m afraid.”

I clamped my jaw, pulling my lips into a tight line. “What’s happened?”

“A couple of investors are having wobbles, and I need you to soothe their furrowed brows. We both know you’re by far the most loveable between the two of us.”

“Loveable?”

“You were always the one who got the girl.”

I wrinkled my nose. True, I’d beaten Antonio to the post a few times as teenagers. We had a terrible habit of having the same crushes back then. “Define wobbles.”

Antonio sighed. “There may be some unanticipated expenses with the refurbishment. Nothing earth shattering, but more than we budgeted for.”

I clamped my jaw tight. I’d invested most of my available cash into the project—without my family’s knowledge. I couldn’t afford any “wobbles.”

“Have the investors actually seen the place?” I pictured the large wooden building nestled high in the mountains. Virtually inaccessible outside using a Skidoo or helicopter, the thought of its wild, traditional charm brought a smile to my lips.

We planned on making the lodge a luxury escape, with plenty of adrenaline on the menu. Only adrenaline and luxury cost a lot of money.

“How far from launch are we?” When he paused, I imagined the cogs in his brain whirring.

“A few weeks. A month at most. Thanks to you, we’re fully booked for the first trip.”

I’d done a bit of forward promotion and a lot of schmoozing. “Then what’s the problem?”

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