think I want to move in,’ Luc sighs. ‘Will you adopt us?’
His words, so carelessly spoken, make the worm of anxiety writhe and squirm inside me.
‘If you like,’ Holly grins. ‘I want to move in here, but Scott won‘t let me. He says paying guests won‘t appreciate a crying baby in situ and I suppose having our own space is best. Never mind, it‘s perfect for a party, and there are no guests booked in until Christmas.’
Holly breaks off to check her phone, forehead creased.
‘I‘m sure Maddie is fine, Holly. The babysitter will ring if there‘s a problem,’ I say for the umpteenth time this evening.
‘I know, I was checking the signal, in case there‘s no reception.’ She pulls a face. ‘It is the first time I‘ve left her for an entire evening and she‘s still so tiny. It‘s hard. Like I‘m missing a limb or something. Although, I‘ll admit it‘s nice to be wearing something other than pyjamas at seven p.m.’
We make our way down to the spa. Dark slate tiles and mood lighting create the ambience of a cave. An extremely luxurious cave with sleek S-curved loungers and coloured lights dancing on the turquoise pool‘s surface.
‘It has an aromatherapy shower and a cold plunge pool.’ Scott leads us along the side of the pool to the spa area and treatment room with massage table.
Voices upstairs interrupt our tour.
‘That‘s probably Amelia and Matt.’ Holly touches Scott‘s elbow and tugs him away from a discussion with Nate and Luc about how the aromatherapy shower works. ‘And the guests will start arriving soon. We should go up.’
We head back upstairs and when Amelia sees me I‘m greeted to a no-contact double air-kiss that‘s more like assault by perfume fumes than a friendly greeting. The whole air-kissing thing is so phoney. When we were both working at Chalet Repos and sharing a dorm room we never greeted each other with air-kisses. Getting engaged and then promoted has changed her – and not for the better.
I catch Tash rolling her eyes behind Amelia‘s back. Funny how Amelia doesn‘t try to air-kiss Tash. Now, that would be entertaining.
‘So, how are the wedding plans coming along, Sophie?’ Amelia asks once she‘s finished doing the double-kiss thing with Luc. Although I notice he didn‘t get the no-contact version – there was definite lip-brushing cheek action going on. Funny that. Hmm.
‘Um, well it‘s still early days,’ I avoid looking at Luc and try to suppress my rising panic.
‘Oh, you shouldn‘t leave it too late. I‘ve been planning since the day after Matt proposed.’
‘If not before,’ Tash mutters.
I suppress a giggle. ‘Really? Have you had a tour of Chalet Amélie yet? The spa looks amazing.’
‘Not yet.’ Amelia‘s fixed smile doesn‘t waver.
‘I bet you wish Holly had put you and Matt in charge of Chalet Amélie instead of Chalet Repos.’ Tash is also smiling, but the hint of snark is unmistakable.
‘Which chalet did Holly put you in charge of? Oh wait, she didn‘t. Sorry, I forgot.’ Amelia steers the conversation into treacherous waters.
Time to head for the lifeboats.
‘We‘re going to get a drink.’ I steer Tash away before she can open her mouth.
‘Ignore her,’ I whisper in Tash‘s ear. ‘You‘ve got a whole season to get through. Pace yourself.’
‘I might need more than one drink,’ Tash sighs.
While helping ourselves to champagne cocktails we bump into Emily.
‘Hi Sophie, how are the wedding plans coming along?’ She smiles brightly.
Arghh. Why does everyone assume I must have a one-track mind because I‘m engaged?
‘It‘s a bit … complicated,’ I hedge. It‘s going to be a long evening. ‘Have you and Jake moved in here yet?’
‘We‘re moving in at the weekend so we can be on site to oversee the rest of the work,’ Emily beams. ‘Oh hi, Tash, how are you?’
‘Great thanks,’ Tash mumbles. ‘I‘m going to find Nate.’
‘Sorry, Sophie, I‘ve got to head off too. I need to find Holly. I‘ll catch you later.’ Emily grimaces apologetically and follows Tash.
I make my way up to the snug on the gallery before anyone else can ask how the wedding plans are going. I‘m keen to see what books they‘ve put in the library area. Books have been my escape my whole life, from reading Sweet Valley High novels in the school library to hide from bullies to romance novels – a pleasure I refuse to feel guilty for. What’s so wrong with feel-good escapism? I don’t need depressing realism when I’m trying to relax.
After a happy ten minutes scanning the books I settle into an armchair with my drink, preparing to be thoroughly anti-social until Holly or Tash appear to drag me back into the fray.
It’s then that I spot him on a sofa below.
Him.
Thomas.
The ghost of ski seasons past. The cause of so much misery and pain.
Something twists painfully deep inside me and my stomach cramps. It‘s far worse than the anxiety worm this time; it’s bigger and more dangerous. It has fangs.
Fangs that have dripped poison into my relationship with Luc.
I press back into my chair, even though he‘s not looking up and I‘m well hidden.
Crap. Crap. Crap. What do I do?
I stay where I am, frozen, heart thudding until Holly, Tash and Lucy come up to find me. Part of me is glad of the friend armour now surrounding me but I‘m in too much of a state to hide anything from them. They know me too well.
‘It‘s your party, Sophie, you can‘t hide up here.’ Holly peers down at me, narrowing her eyes and frowning. ‘Hey, what‘s up?’
‘He‘s here. What‘s he doing here?’ I whisper. Something wet splashes on my lap. I look down to see my hands are trembling, spilling my drink onto my dress. Lucy takes the glass off me and Tash kneels down beside my chair, squeezing my hand.
‘Who are you talking about, Soph?’ Holly asks, forehead creased. ‘Who‘s here?’
‘Thomas,’ I whisper, trying to sink further down in my seat. I take my hand back from Tash and wrap my arms around my still-cramping stomach.
‘Oh.’ Holly‘s eyes widen.
‘What? That Thomas?’ Tash’s voice is much louder than I’d like.
‘Ssh, yes, that Thomas.’ I squeeze my eyes tightly shut and take a deep breath before opening them again. I think
