Page 47 of Holiday Cheese and Capers
He couldn’t stop thinking about the vulnerability on Exandra’s face when she’d realized they were trapped. She’d turned to him for guidance. And the way she’d looked at him when he’d done just fine, navigating the agility course despite his limp. And yes, even the way she’d embraced him just before that final moment when they’d tumbled through the last door together, panting, having just saved (they’d thought) an entire facility.
Working together had been amazing. Even if it was only for an hour. Even if it was totally fake. When push came to shove, they’d made pretty good partners.
He gave up on sleep around five in the morning, dressed, slipped into his trainers, and stepped out into the pre-dawn darkness.
The courtyard was empty, lit only by a few lanterns and the stars overhead. Frost glimmered on the stone pathways. Bayard walked slowly, his cane grazing the stones beside the path. Hewas following no particular route. Just moving because staying still was impossible.
He rounded a corner near the spa facility and meditation gardens and stopped in his tracks.
Across the courtyard, silhouetted against the steam rising from the heated water in the pool, stood Exandra.
She wore her bathing suit and appeared to be warming up for a swim. She performed a series of arms circles, then swung her arms from side to side, rotating her shoulders and wrapping her arms around herself. She wore a black and gold swimsuit, and her hair was tucked back into a matching gold swimcap. Without her hair to soften and hide the lines of her face, and clothes to hide the natural curves and strength of her body, he thought she looked even more beautiful, if that were possible. Her strong, proud features were larger than life. With her broad shoulders and generously curvy figure, Exandra looked like a statue of one of the old gods, come to life.
But she didn’t look happy. Even from this distance, he could see the tension in her stance, the way she kept shaking her head like she was arguing with herself.
He should go back. Give her space. They’d both said they wanted to be left alone.
But his feet wouldn’t move.
She turned, still stretching, and saw him outside.
They froze, staring at each other through the glass.
For a long moment, neither moved. Then Exandra looked away, raised her arms in the air, and dove into the pool so gracefully, she barely made a splash.
Bayard watched her swimming away from him, something in his chest aching so fiercely he had to press his hand against it.
They were both awake. Both alone in the darkness. Both too proud or too scared to close the distance between them.
He turned and walked the other way, and if his vision blurred a little, he told himself it was just the cold mountain air making him tear up.
By eight o’clock,the lodge’s dining room had filled with passengers enjoying a leisurely breakfast at the buffet. The smell of fresh pastries and coffee competed with the mountain air streaming through open windows.
Bayard sat alone at a corner table, pushing his frittata around his plate without eating. Fred pecked at a bowl of fruit beside him, occasionally quacking at him with what sounded like concern.
“Nonsense. I’m absolutely fine, Fred,” Bayard reassured the duck. “Just tired.”
“Liar,” said a familiar deep voice.
Bayard looked up to find Minerva and Zephyr standing beside his table, their expressions serious.
“May we sit?” Minerva asked gently, but she clearly wasn’t taking no for an answer. She was already pulling out a chair.
“I’d rather be alone—” Bayard sniffed.
“Too bad,” Zephyr said, settling into the chair on his other side. “We need to talk to you.”
Across the room, Exandra had just emerged from the buffet, carrying a plate of food. She was moving warily toward the tables. She took one look at the trio at Bayard’s table, froze, and pivoted toward the opposite corner.
“Agent Thorne!” Minerva called out loud enough for the request to be impossible to ignore. “Please join us.”
Exandra’s shoulders stiffened. She held up a finger. For a moment, Bayard thought she might refuse. But then she grabbed herself a mug of coffee and stalked over to their table, sitting as far from everyone else as possible.
“What do you want now?” she asked, her voice flat.
“To apologize,” Minerva said simply. “Last night was... a bit over the top. I’ll admit it. We pushed too hard. We stressed you both out, and that wasn’t fair of us.”
“Dying dragon’s breath right, it wasn’t fair!” Exandra’s voice was low but nostrils flared as she lightly pounded the table with one fist.
