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  “You need to eat, babe.”

  She made an effort for his sake, even if she really didn’t want the food. “I’m so bummed this happened today of all days, when Emma was off doing something fun for a change. She never gets a break, and the one day she does…”

  “Shit happens. She knows that.”

  “I wish I could be more like you. Nothing ever gets to you or rattles you.”

  “Lucy, honey, I was as rattled today as I’ve ever been. Your beautiful niece was entrusted to me to teach her to ski, and she got hurt on my watch. Trust me when I tell you it was upsetting for me, too.”

  “It wasn’t your fault. Like you said, shit happens. I’m just thankful she only hurt her arm.” Lucy tried not to think about how much worse it could’ve been.

  “Now you know why I insist on the helmet. Skiing is dangerous. People get hurt. It happens. Ask Will about the crash that ended his Olympic dreams.”

  Lucy cringed, imagining a crash bad enough to end a skiing career.

  “This was a fall on the bunny slope, babe. As bad as it was for us, knowing our intrepid Simone, she’ll want to get right back on skis again as soon as she possibly can.”

  “I like the way you say that, our intrepid Simone…”

  “She is nothing if not intrepid.”

  “I like the our part, too.”

  “You know I love her like she’s my own niece. What’s not to love about her? She’s adorable and sweet and curious and so polite and funny. And she’s incredibly smart. I’ve never met a smarter nine-year-old.”

  His kind words about Simone invoked an emotional reaction in Lucy that had her brushing at tears.

  “Aww, baby, don’t cry.” He tugged her hand to bring her onto his lap, wrapping his strong arms around her as he buried his face in her hair. “You know I can’t take it when you cry.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be sorry. It was a scary thing. It’ll be a long time before I stop hearing her screams.”

  “That was the worst part.” She took a deep sigh. “I’m probably better off not having kids of my own if this is the kind of mother I’d be.”

  “You’d be a great mom. Our kids would be so lucky to have you.”

  “You really think so?” She wanted to ask if he might have a timetable as to when that might happen, but after the day they’d already had, she didn’t have the courage to open that door. Not now, anyway.

  “I know so.” He held her and kissed her and made her feel better, the way he always did, but she couldn’t help but wonder if he ever thought about getting married and having those kids he thought she’d be such a good mother to.

  Chapter 7

  There is only one happiness in this life,

  to love and be loved.

  —George Sand

  Emma came to slowly, languidly, after the best nap she’d had in longer than she could recall. Grayson’s chest made for a comfortable pillow, and sleeping in his arms was delightful. Then she opened her eyes to total darkness and let out a squeak of distress that woke him, too.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s totally dark. What time is it?”

  He lit up the face of his watch. “A little after five.”

  “I need to go.” Like Cinderella after the ball, the party was over, and soon she’d turn into a pumpkin if she didn’t get home to her little pumpkin. Surely they were back from skiing by now and probably wondering where she was. “Would it be possible to take a quick shower?”

  Grayson turned on the bedside lamp. “Of course.”

  Emma closed her eyes against the light and the jarring return to reality. It was foolish, she knew, to feel shy about being naked in front of him after the afternoon they’d spent together, but she grasped the sheet to her breasts nonetheless.

  “Let me see if Ella’s packed the towels yet.” He got out of bed and went into the bathroom.

  Emma watched him go, taking a good long look at the tight muscular ass that made her mouth water when she remembered the flex of those muscles as he pounded into her. A tingle between her legs caught her by surprise. After what they’d just done, how could she still want more?

  “We’re in luck.” Grayson returned to the bedroom with a stack of towels in hand. “Ella hasn’t packed up the bathroom yet.” He dropped the pile on the bed and held up one of the towels for her, seeming to sense her shyness.

  As she released the sheet and wrapped the towel around her body, Emma appreciated the gesture.

  He placed his hands on her shoulders and kissed her cheek. “You’re not having regrets, are you?”

  “What? No, not at all. Are you?”

  “Not even kinda. This was the best day I’ve ever had.”

  “Same here.”

  “You want some company in the shower?”

  “Oh, I, um… I haven’t done that before.”

  “First time for everything?”

  “I really ought to get back to the house. I don’t want to take advantage of my sister.”

  “Of course.” He kissed her forehead and released her.

  As Emma rushed through a quick shower, using bath soap his cousin had left behind, she wished she’d taken him up on the offer to shower together. Now she’d have to wonder what might’ve happened if she’d invited him to join her. It was probably just as well that she hadn’t, because one thing might’ve led to another, and judging by the soreness between her legs, she’d already had too much of a good thing.

  Emma was careful not to let her hair get wet so she wouldn’t have to explain wet hair to her hosts or sister. She felt like a teenager who’d been up to no good sneaking back into her parents’ house. Wrapped in the towel, she left the bathroom and found Grayson sitting on the bed, waiting for her.

  “I’ll be quick,” he said, kissing her as he went by her to take a turn in the bathroom.

  She heard the shower go on and tried to find her clothes, which were scattered about the floor, a reminder of how eager they’d been. By the time he came out, towel wrapped around his waist, she was fully dressed and becoming more anxious by the minute to check on her daughter.

  She’s fine. Of course she’s fine. She’s with Lucy, which is the next best thing to being with me. Still, even knowing that, Emma wanted to see her if for no other reason than she missed her. Except for the time they spent at school and work, the two of them were nearly constant companions. Rarely did they spend more than twenty-four hours apart.

  Grayson got dressed and helped her into her coat. In silence, they left the apartment where everything had changed between them in such dramatic fashion. She’d had so much to say to him earlier, but now she had no idea what to say. Was this a vacation fling never to be repeated or the start of something more significant? She couldn’t say, and that left her feeling unsettled.

  She’d never been a one-night-stand kind of girl. Hell, she hadn’t had the time to be, what with getting pregnant at eighteen and becoming a mother at nineteen. Her experience with situations like this was nearly nonexistent.

  “You’re sure you’re okay?” he asked after a long silence.

  “I’m sure. It’s just a long time for me to be out of touch with Simone. I’m getting twitchy.”

  “I totally understand. Sorry to keep you so long.”

  “Don’t be sorry,” she said, smiling at him. “I’m not.”

  They arrived at the Abbott home a few minutes later. Colton’s truck was parked behind Lincoln’s Range Rover. Emma wondered how long they’d been back and whether she’d kept Lucy and Colton from plans by being gone so long.

  Aware of Grayson following her into the house, Emma hurried through the removal of her coat and boots and rushed into the kitchen, stopping short when she saw Lucy sitting on Colton’s lap as he wiping away her sister’s tears.

  A cold feeling of dread overcame Emma, making her stagger. “Simone.”

  “Oh hey,” Lucy said as she stood. “You’re back.”

  “What’s wrong? Wher
e’s Simone?”

  “She hurt her arm while skiing, but she’s okay,” Lucy said. “They gave her something for the pain, and she’s out cold.”

  Grayson’s hand on her shoulder offered comfort Emma didn’t want after hearing her baby had been hurt while she’d been off having sex.

  “Where is she?”

  “On the sofa,” Colton said.

  Emma all but ran into the family room, where Simone was asleep on the sofa, her arm in a sling and her face the ghostly shade of pale it became whenever she was unwell. She dropped to her knees next to the sofa and bent to kiss her cheek. “Mama’s here, sweet girl.” Smoothing the hair back from Simone’s sweaty forehead, Emma battled through the emotional firestorm of realizing her child had needed her while she was in bed with Grayson. This was what she got for being selfish and taking some time for herself. “I’m so sorry, baby. I’m here now, and I’m not going anywhere.”

  “She’s fine, Emma,” Colton said from behind her. “She dislocated her elbow, but there was no sign of a fracture or anything more serious. She’ll be sore for a couple of days, but no harm done.”

  Emma blinked back tears. “That’s a huge relief. Thank you for taking such good care of her.”

  “These things happen when kids are learning to ski,” Lincoln said. “How many dislocations, sprains, concussions and other maladies did we have, Mol?”

  “Too many to count,” his wife replied.

  Emma knew they were trying to make her feel better, but she still felt guilty for not being available when Simone needed her.

  “You want me to carry her up to bed?” Colton asked. “They said she’ll be out of it until the morning.”

  “If you don’t mind.” Simone was too heavy for Emma to carry anymore. “That would help. Thank you.”

  Emma and Lucy followed Colton upstairs to the room where Simone had been sleeping. She’d been told it was Colton’s sister Charley’s old room. He laid her gently on the bed, pulled the covers up and over her and kissed the girl’s forehead. “Sleep tight, sweetheart.”

  Moved by Colton’s tenderness toward her daughter, Emma perched on the edge of the bed, trying not to wince from her own soreness. She wished Simone would wake up and fill the room with the usual chatter about everything that’d happened since they last saw each other.

  “I’ll be right downstairs if you ladies need me,” Colton said.

  “Thanks, Colton,” Emma said. To Lucy, she added, “Did you try to get me?”

  “All afternoon.”

  “I’m really sorry. We were… We went for a ride in the mountains.”

  “Is that a metaphor?” Lucy asked, giving her sister a knowing look.

  Emma should’ve known that her older sister would see right through her ruse. “I feel sick that she was hurt and you couldn’t reach me. What kind of mother—”

  “You are the best mother I’ve ever known in my entire life. Taking a day off doesn’t make you a bad mother.”

  “Not being reachable when my child is hurt makes me a bad mother.”

  “No, it makes you someone who has now officially visited the cell phone wasteland known as Butler, Vermont. It’s not your fault, Em.” Lucy sat next to her on the bed. “So you had a nice time?”

  “You could say that.”

  Lucy nudged her shoulder. “Come on. This is me. You can do better than that.”

  To her utter mortification, Emma began to cry.

  Lucy put her arm around her. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing is wrong. Other than Simone getting hurt, today was one of the best days of my entire life.”

  “So then why the tears?”

  “Think about it, Luce. I finally meet a really great guy, and he lives six hours from me. It just feels so…”

  “Doomed from the start?”

  “Something like that.”

  “I know that feeling. I’ve been there, but we made it work.”

  “You didn’t have a child to think about.”

  “True, but please don’t think any of this is insurmountable. If it’s meant to be, it’ll be.”

  “I don’t know if it’s meant to be, but it sure felt that way for a couple of hours today.”

  “So you haven’t forgotten how?” Lucy asked. “That’s a relief.”

  Emma elbowed her in the ribs, making her sister laugh.

  “It was good, huh?”

  Emma huffed out a laugh. “Spectacular.”

  “Where’d you go?”

  “His new place. He’s taking over Ella’s lease in town.”

  “You sneaky devils.”

  “I’m really sorry, Lu. I didn’t mean to totally punch out while you had Simone.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. That’s exactly what you should do when I have her. You never get a break. You’d be crazy not to take full advantage of me while you can. Besides, Colton and I love being with her. She’s never a burden to us.”

  “Even when her elbow is dislocated?”

  “Especially then.”

  Emma reached out to stroke Simone’s silky red hair that was so much like Lucy’s. “Did she cry?”

  “Um, how to answer that without adding to your guilt?”

  “Poor baby. Poor you, too.”

  “I was a disaster. Colton was the hero. He was great with her.”

  “He’s going to be an awesome dad someday.”

  “Yeah, I guess.”

  Emma turned to her sister. “That’s not exactly a ringing endorsement.”

  “He will be great. I just wonder if it’s ever going to happen. We never talk about it anymore.”

  “Like ever?”

  Lucy shook her head. “It would come up once in a while when we were first engaged, but it’s been months since we last talked about the future.”

  “Have you asked him what he’s thinking?”

  After a long pause, Lucy said, “It’s weird because I feel like I can talk to him about anything—except this. Any time I try to bring it up, I freeze.”

  “You want the fairy tale, and you need to tell him that.”

  Lucy scowled. “I’m a modern kind of girl. Who needs fairy tales?”

  “You do, and there’s nothing wrong with wanting that, especially since your relationship with him has already been right out of a fairy tale.”

  “I still feel silly.”

  Grayson appeared in the doorway, seeming uncertain of his welcome. “How is she?”

  “Out cold,” Emma said.

  “Could I see her?”

  Touched that he would ask, she said, “Sure. Come on in.”

  Lucy stood to make room for him. “I’ll be downstairs if you need me. I hear people are coming over for the annual holiday game night tonight.”

  “Ah, yes, the dog-eat-dog blood sport known as Abbott game night,” Grayson said. “It’s got to be seen to be believed.”

  “Looking forward to it,” Lucy said on her way out of the room.

  Grayson came over to the bed and reached out to touch Simone’s hair. “She’s so beautiful,” he said softly. “Just like her mother.” He glanced at Emma. “Are you okay?”

  “I’ve been better.”

  He sat next to her, taking Lucy’s spot and putting his arm around her. “I’m sorry this happened while we were off the grid.”

  “It’s not your fault. It was an accident. I’m just thankful Lucy was with her. She’s the next best thing.”

  “Are you going to take a step back from me because this happened?” he asked, surprising her with the blunt question.

  “I should probably take a step back from you for a lot of reasons.”

  “Please don’t do that, Emma. Whatever this is between us, it’s good. It’s so damned good. I want more of it.” He nuzzled her neck. “I want more of you.”

  “It’s all so ridiculously complicated.”

  “So what?”

  She laughed softly. “Easy for you to say.”

  “It’s not easy for me to say. I don’t do
complicated as a rule, but in this case… I can’t imagine you and Simone leaving here later this week and not seeing you again until the next family event. I don’t want to wait that long.”

  “You don’t?”

  He shook his head. “A week is going to be too long.”

  Though his statement made her heart flutter, she said, “Why do I feel like we’re setting ourselves up for disaster? You’re starting a business here. I live in the city. How do you see this playing out?”

  “I have no idea, but the thought of letting you go on Friday and having this be over is completely unacceptable to me.”

  “It is, huh?”

  “Absolutely, totally and completely unacceptable.”

  She smiled at his emphatic declaration.

  “I know you’ve been off the dating circuit awhile,” he said, still speaking softly as he ran his fingers through her hair, “but what happened between us earlier doesn’t come along every day. Hell, it’s never come along for me. Not like that anyway. We’d be crazy not to see where it takes us.”

  “I feel like we’d be crazy to try to make it work under these circumstances.”

  “Will and Cameron made it work. Lucy and Colton are making it work.”

  “True, but they didn’t have Simone to consider, and with Lucy here more than in New York these days, I have to think about my dad, too. I could never leave him there all alone.”

  “It’s a lot to consider. I know it is. But all I’m asking for is a chance, Emma.”

  He was so sweet and so convincing and so damned sexy. She wanted to curl up to him and let him make everything that was wrong okay again, which was a rather radical thought for a woman who’d taken care of herself and her daughter on her own for such a long time.

  “Let’s take it a day at a time,” she said. “That’s all I’m capable of right now.”

  “I can live with that.” With his finger on her chin, he turned her toward him and laid a gentle kiss on her lips. “Today was amazing.”

  “For me, too.”

  For the longest time, he held her gaze, neither of them blinking as they drank each other in.

  Emma felt herself falling into something big, something so significant it had the power to flatten her if it went wrong. That scared the crap out of her. Simone relied on her for everything. She couldn’t afford to be flattened by a romantic disaster.