“I imagine not.”
“I asked him if any man was worthy of you, and he admitted that no one was.” He looked embarrassed. “He knew about my past, Mia, and how hardened I am. It hurt.”
“I’m so sorry, love. None of that matters to me. Only you matter to me.”
“I know that.” He smiled so happily she couldn’t believe it. Her Rambo. Her Zeke. Here. And not only winning against her father, but changing her dad’s heart somehow. “So I told him how deeply I love you and how deeply you love me, and then I asked him if anybody loved him that deeply.”
Whew. Mia was dying at how brave Zeke was, and he’d been inspired what to ask her dad. And now he was praying. Ah, she loved him so much.
“There was a long pause, then the duke finally croaked out, ‘Abi.’ Then he grabbed my arm and told me we needed to move and quick. We drove here in the Bentley.” He arched his eyebrows. “And he was rambling the whole time about how much he loved his Abi and how he’d neglected her and overlooked her for years. And then … well, you saw.”
“You’re a miracle, Zeke. A true miracle worker.”
He looked down at her. “No, God’s the miracle worker and you’re my miracle.”
Her eyes pricked with emotion. “Your Christmas miracle.”
“I hope my every day miracle as well.” He kissed her slowly and then he admitted, “Mia, I don’t know how we’re going to work things out with careers or living on different continents or any of it, but I love you. Please say you’ll marry me and give me the best Christmas gift of my life.”
She smiled so big she thought she’d burst. “I don’t know if I can have a dress designed by Christmas.”
He laughed. “I’ll lend you one of my T-shirts. You’ll be gorgeous no matter what you wear.”
“Thank you. But I don’t know if my brand would survive that. My dress will be off the charts and we’ll get it ready by Christmas, but all that matters to me is I get to marry you. I’ll wear your T-shirt for the honeymoon.”
“Yes!” He lifted her off her feet and spun her around. “I love you, Mia Burton.”
“I love you, Zeke Hendrickson.” She put back her head and laughed. “I’m going to be Mia Hendrickson. That’s brilliant.”
He lowered her and murmured, “You’re brilliant.”
“That I am, love. That I am. Now kiss me scandalously. Let’s give these good people a shock.”
“I can do that.”
And he did.
His Ski Resort Overrun for Christmas
Chapter One
Jace Jardine strode from his office and stopped next to the reception desk. He looked over the entryway and massive gathering area of his ski resort’s lodge. He smiled. The new additions of a large gathering area to host weddings and parties and the ten new two-bedroom suites off the other side were already paying off. They could now boast twenty standard hotel rooms as well as the ten suites for rent, their restaurant and room service were delicious and run well by his mom’s best friend Shanna, and the resort was bringing in guests from not just nearby Denver but all over the country. They’d even had their first international guests from Switzerland last week. The guests loved the quaint town, the gorgeous views, and of course the best ski runs and snow on earth, despite what the Utahans thought.
People were lounging on the groupings of couches spread out in the open area, enjoying the warmth of one of the seven fireplaces, the view through the two-story windows of the beautiful Summit Valley below and the green snow-covered mountains circling the valley, or waiting for a table in the restaurant for an early dinner. It was perfect and Jace loved seeing he and his brother’s dreams coming to fruition.
A woman with flowing, blond hair glided through the double front doors of the lodge. No ski boots or gear, she was dressed in a long, white dress coat with high-heeled, very impractical for Colorado winter, boots. She looked like an angel straight from heaven. He pushed that thought away and tried to focus on practical matters. She wasn’t a skier. A guest checking in. He could go greet her and see if she was as angelic up close. He hoped she’d packed better boots than that. They tried to keep the walks clear but it snowed often and the skies could dump a foot in a few hours in their high mountain valley.
The lady glanced Jace’s direction and he stopped moving. There was no possible way he could walk a straight line with eyes that incredible honed in on him.
She stopped as well, her blue eyes lit up like the most glorious clear sky he’d ever seen. Her full lips curved in a happy smile and the smooth skin of her cheeks and next to her eyes crinkled. She was incredibly and naturally attractive, but he liked her laugh lines and the defined look to her face showing she had to at least be mid to late twenties. He’d had far too many eighteen year olds hitting on him lately.
Her blue eyes became even more irresistible and that smile. The smile she gifted him with was a welcoming, happy smile, as if they were long lost friends meeting again and they shared inside jokes and secrets unique to the two of them. Though he knew he’d never laid eyes on her before but that smile seemed to say this was the woman for him.
Jace had seen a lot of beautiful woman in his thirty years but this woman … glowed.
Tilting her head to him her smile changed from happy to see him to challenging him to get his body across the lobby and get to know her. Jace should’ve turned the other direction. He normally would. He hadn’t felt a connection and spark like this since he first met Iluminada. Unless his memory was faulty this connection and spark was stronger than anything he’d ever felt.
Usually all he needed to cool the desire to pursue a woman was thinking of Iluminada’s name. Instantly the remembrance of his ex-wife’s betrayal would clear his head. He thought he was over the hurt and bitterness but the lessons learned kept him and his heart safe.