Page 45 of A Billionaire for Christmas
* * *
It seemed like seconds later that they were fully dressed and putting on their boots when there was a banging on the door. It was Toby holding two cases.
‘Good news and bad news,’ he announced. ‘The good news is I found your cases, Molly. They were buried up to the handles, but everything should be okay inside.’
Relief flooded her bones. Ava’s precious journal was inside one of the cases.
‘The bad news?’ asked Levi.
‘The pass back to the resort is blocked. We can’t get any staff through, and your mother is screaming holy hell because I made the wrong breakfast this morning. Apparently, she developed a gluten intolerance yesterday that I should have pre-empted.Andshe was planning on micromanaging the catering and outfits for the wedding extravaganza this week, but the wedding coordinator is stuck at the airport with all the fabric samples. She’s demanding the caterer that she booked, Molly… comes back to do all the Christmas cooking. She’s furious you let her go.’
Molly took a beat to percolate this information.
‘So…?’ Toby asked Molly.
Molly beamed at the universe interfering yet again with her plans, a ripple of hope blooming in her heart. She would love an excuse to be near Levi. No matter what she told him, she had feelings for him. A lot of feelings. After all, hadn’t they’d both just declared that they’d do anything to prolong their time together?
Molly nudged Levi, who had not yet said a word, wondering how pleased he was finding this fortuitous turn of events.
Levi seemed to be glaring at Toby.
‘So we need Molly to come back to the lodge,’ Toby clarified. ‘With us. Right now.’
Silence.
‘As a matter of urgency,’ Toby pointed out. It was the obvious solution and yet it would appear, from the way Levi was looking at him, it was the very last thing he wanted.
How embarrassing.
‘Erm, under normal circumstances that would have been fine,’ Molly said, wringing her hands together. ‘But unfortunately, Toby, I quit yesterday. So technically, I no longer work for the resort and so…’ She shrugged in lieu of finishing the sentence. Her cheeks were burning at the silence coming from Levi. He couldn’t be making it more obvious.
‘Can’t you just ask the boss for your job back?’ Toby bobbed his head towards Levi, smiling. ‘I’m sure he’d be able to pull some strings. Please, Molly. We’re desperate.’
Levi had a face of stone.
More silence.
And plenty of it.
The atmosphere was getting more tense by the nanosecond. So much for ‘staying in this moment forever’. Molly fiddled with her sleeves, hanging her head, hoping to hide behind a thick curtain of hair.
Toby’s confused eyes were ping-ponging from Levi to Molly. ‘I tell you what,’ he said, leaving the suitcases at the door. ‘Why don’t I leave you two to work it out? I’ll get back to the house. Your brother is complaining the sauna isn’t hot enough, and your father is lost without the Wi-Fi for his online golfing tournament. He’s livid and expecting me to perform some sort of technical miracle. I have under an hour to recreate the world wide web using a coat hanger and a ball of string. And your sister is hiding from your mother. She’s forcing me to tell all sorts of lies. I’m stressed to bits.’
Molly kept her surprise to herself at the casual way Toby was describing the family as they watched him leap onto his snowmobile and scoot off in a cloud of snow.
* * *
‘Are you sure about this?’ asked Levi as he pulled their warm coats from the drying rack. He had been unusually quiet.
‘Yes. I’m sure we can behave like civilised adults around each other. Besides, I have nowhere else to go until the pass to the resort reopens, there are limited supplies here, and your family… who sound delightful, by the way… need a chef.’
‘It’s not that I’m embarrassed by our…’ Levi said, looking the very picture of embarrassment. ‘It’s just that…’
‘I understand,’ said Molly sharply. ‘You’re the boss. I’m your lowly employee. I’m sure I can keep my hands off you for however long it takes to clear the pass.’
‘That’s not what I meant,’ Levi pointed out curtly.
She zipped her jacket up forcefully and spun round to face him. ‘It sounds like you areashamedof me.’
