Page 48 of A Winter Wedding Adventure
There was a rustling sound and Kira had the uncomfortable thought that Sophie might have still been in bed – his bed. It irritated her that his new happiness with Sophie brought into stark contrast her own isolation.
‘Yes, just a sec,’ Sophie said. ‘He went to get more wood for the stove. Andreas?’ She heard a muffled, ‘It’s Kira.’
‘What’s up?’
I have a really bad feeling about this wedding. ‘Have you seen the avalanche reports this morning?’
‘Not yet. But the warning level must be high where you are.’
‘They’ve raised it to level four. We won’t be leaving the prepared slopes.’ Unfortunately.
‘Good call.’ In typical Andreas fashion, that was all he said initially. ‘Was there something else?’
‘No,’ she replied, equally sparse with words.
‘Is… everything okay with you? With the wedding?’ he asked warily.
She’d never been more relieved that Andreas didn’t know about that day twelve years ago. He assumed she had the same opposition to weddings in principle that he’d had – until Sophie. Andreas had been even more upset by the merger between Great Heart and I Do, but admitting he loved Sophie – and finding that love returned – had mellowed him much more than she’d expected.
She sighed. ‘They’re getting married tomorrow. It shouldn’t, but it’s changing my approach to risk management.’
‘That makes sense,’ he agreed evenly. ‘But you know Toni’s gone over our insurance arrangements carefully. You’re covered. The client decided on this.’
‘I know, it’s more the feeling,’ she grumbled. ‘A wedding. A once-in-a-lifetime thing, full of wild superstitions.’
‘I thought you didn’t buy into all that?’
‘It doesn’t matter what I think. I’m responsible for getting the groom to the altar tomorrow.’ As well as not losing it when she saw her ex and definitely not kissing any more members of the wedding party. Not that there was anyone else she wanted to kiss. ‘It’s a nightmare. I’d rather be taking clients across the Grand Couloir right now.’ She wouldn’t. The avalanche warning for Mont Blanc must be through the roof, but he should see through her hyperbole to the truth of her discomfort.
‘I understand but remember, on the mountain, you’re in charge. If you’re not comfortable with the risk, don’t let them take the risk.’
‘Right,’ she agreed, trying to muster his confidence. ‘But I reserve the right to kill Willard later for creating this wedding monster.’
Andreas chuckled and there was a soft click over the line that Kira realised belatedly – in horror – was a smacking kiss, probably against Sophie’s forehead.
‘Good luck surviving the wedding, Watling.’
‘Thanks,’ she said drily, ending the call. It had better not come down to a matter of survival. Although if she died before the wedding, she’d never have to see Christian again.
Speaking of survival, she noticed Mattia striding into the dining room, headed straight for the coffee machine. With a quick glance to check that, of the two other people in the room, neither was paying attention, she hurried up to him, placing a hand on his back to get his attention.
He jumped, knocking over the wire rack holding the coffee pods. ‘Ahi!’ He also studied the room with a furtive glance as he popped the pods back into the rack. Kira helped him, both of them pausing when her fingers brushed his hand. ‘Is this what Austrians call coffee?’ he said, clearing his throat and drawing his hand away slowly.
‘It’s what George Clooney calls coffee,’ she quipped weakly.
‘Ah, he’s not Italian. That explains it.’ He managed to press the pod into the machine and looked around for a cup. Finding only a mug, he set it underneath and pressed the espresso button, his frown deepening as he watched the coffee emerge from the spout.
‘I need to talk to you,’ she said under her breath.
When he looked up to meet her gaze, her muscles turned the consistency of the froth. One look at his sharp jaw, the silver cross dangling from his ear and his dark eyes under impossible lashes seemed to turn her into a liquid.
‘Now?’
‘Yes, now,’ she said, annoyed that the bright glint in his eye was making her thoughts veer off course. She beckoned for him to follow her out of the room.
‘Bene,’ he said with a nod and knocked back the espresso before trailing after her.
It quickly became apparent to Kira that the hallway would not be an appropriate place to discuss not kissing. Footsteps sounded on the floor above and the staircase creaked. Grasping the front of Mattia’s shirt – another silky button-down with a fussy, paisley pattern that had no right looking so good on him – she tugged him towards the end of the hallway, searching for somewhere out of sight where they could talk.
