The Little Swiss Ski Chalet by Julie Caplin

Author:Julie Caplin [Caplin, Julie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780008431228
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

Chapter Thirteen

The next few days passed quickly as Mina spent the mornings in the kitchen perfecting her kirscher torte recipe and the afternoons exploring the cross-country ski trails with Claudia and Amelie.

Her godmother continued to marvel over her uncharacteristic patience, as she tested several different variants of the recipe, making copious notes, but Mina was in her element. She loved this part of the process and it further reinforced how stifled she’d been at work and how little job satisfaction she’d derived in the last year.

On Friday, Amelie shooed her out of the kitchen and she spent a glorious day snowboarding with Luke, after admitting to herself that she had been avoiding him, something she regretted the minute she got out onto the slopes. Her misspent childhood in the skatepark came into its own and she found that snowboarding came more easily than she’d expected, although as always Luke proved to be an endlessly patient teacher.

They returned to the chalet having been wedged in on a packed train as the weekend skiers flocked in to the resorts.

‘Thanks for taking me out,’ said Mina, as she shook off her coat in the boot room and sat down to take her boots off. She’d had a wonderful day. A bit too wonderful. Luke had been a perfect gentleman, not one kiss or attempted kiss, and if he’d held her hand a couple of times, either helping her up or leading her up from the station, he just happened to be a very tactile person. He was also incredibly easy to be with. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d laughed like she had today or enjoyed someone’s company as much as his. Being with him was like drinking champagne all the time. She felt fizzy and sparkly, energised and excited. But, she told herself sternly, that wasn’t real life. You couldn’t drink champagne every day.

‘My pleasure,’ he said, giving her one of his broad smiles, his eyes twinkling, and she knew he meant it in the fullest sense of the word. She loved that he always seemed to be so happy and positive, embracing life with lively energy and enthusiasm. In some ways it was quite intoxicating and in others inspiring. It was also very attractive, and her heart chose to respond with one of its wayward flutters, but she managed to hold his gaze. It wasn’t fair. He was so damn gorgeous.

‘Not only did I have a great day but it helped clear my head. I’m starting a new train commission this week. A new suitcase is being couriered to me and I find getting out in the fresh air and exercise helps spark the old creativity.’ He grinned and tugged down the zip of his coat. ‘And I’ve come up with an idea. The client for the next commission wants a by-moonlight theme and I was racking my brains trying to think what that might look like.’ He tugged off the coat and tossed it on the bench next them before sitting down next to her.

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