hadn’t known what to expect, meeting Leo. All he’d been told to start with was that he had a brother he’d never known existed. Then the particulars had trickled in—hotshot, self-made New York businessman. It wasn’t until he’d met Leo that he’d understood some of the other aspects of his life without his family. And not until his parents’ will had been read that he’d understood what Leo had meant to them.
When his parents had died, Seb had felt like he’d lost everything. After Maria leaving, and then later with the will...everything had seemed so changed and beyond his control.
But maybe he needed to start focusing on what he had left. Counting his blessings, so to speak. A sister, who was truly blissfully happy for the first time in who knew how long, and a new brother-in-law and twin nieces or nephews to go with it. A big brother, who knew when to talk and when to walk away, who wanted to be part of the family even though he had no ties to them. A business that he could take to new heights, he knew, now he had the chance.
A son he adored with every inch of his being, even if he didn’t always show it. And a chance to build the father-son relationship he’d always wanted. One that kept the best aspects of Salvo’s parenting but without all the pressure, perhaps.
And Maria. The only woman he’d ever imagined marrying, spending his life with. And still the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
Theirs may not have been a love story—no romantic nights out, falling in love—but it was their story, and Seb wasn’t ready for it to end. Maria was his wife, and he didn’t want that to change.
So maybe he didn’t have her, not any more. But he did have a second chance to win her back. If he could figure out how.
As Sebastian opened the front door to the chalet and stood, watching his blessings as they gathered around the huge Christmas tree, he knew he couldn’t squander that chance.
Maybe his marriage had been one of convenience to start with, but did that mean he couldn’t make it something more? Add a little romance, find out what Maria needed from him to be happy? If he could give it, he would, to keep one small aspect of his life in order. To stop one thing spiralling beyond his control.
But most of all to give him his son back.
Maria lifted Frankie to touch one of his parents’ favourite tree ornaments, his little face lit up with a joy that was reflected in Maria’s smile, and Seb felt his heart contract.
Maria seemed so much more confident, and even more content than she had before she’d left. He knew that proving to her—and maybe even to himself—that they could find that same happiness together wouldn’t be easy.
But he had to try.
It was what his parents would have wanted. It was what he wanted, if he was honest with himself. Leo was right. He’d spent too long waiting for Maria to realise that she wanted to come home. It was time to show her why she should. To prove to her that they could be happy again.
They’d been happy once, right? He smiled as he thought about their honeymoon. There had been romance then, at least, after their vows had been made—romantic walks on the beach, candlelit dinners and conversation, and long, lazy lovemaking at night.
That was what they needed again. What he needed to find here at Mont Coeur to remind her how they could be. Okay, maybe the beach was out—but snowy walks at Christmas in the Alps? What could be more romantic?
He could do it, he was sure. He just had to convince Maria to let him try.
‘What are you doing, lurking in doorways?’ Noemi asked, as she came up behind him. ‘Shouldn’t you be in there with your wife and son?’
Sebastian favoured her with a smile, realising that Noemi was someone else he needed to make more of an effort with. She’d be leaving with Max soon, after all. If he wanted to repair their sibling relationship, it had to be now—and when better than Christmas, anyway?
But first Maria and Frankie.
‘I’m going to win her back, Noemi,’ he murmured, excitement jangling through his veins at the idea. ‘We’re going to be happy again.’
Noemi beamed, and placed a kiss against his cheek. ‘Well, it’s about time,’ she whispered in his ear.
IT WAS SO comfortable in many ways, being back in the chalet where she’d spent so many happy times before, that it came as a surprise over and over every time something jarred with her memories of the place. A reminder that she was a guest here only, or of all the things that had changed since she’d left a year ago.
They’d all enjoyed drinks and a sort of help-yourself supper, before settling down in the main living space of the chalet together. Leo and Anissa had headed back to their own chalet—apparently Leo didn’t feel completely at home with them just yet, Maria thought—but Max and Noemi had joined Seb, Frankie and her for the evening. Noemi had put some soft festive music on and kept the conversation light and inconsequential.
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