“Do you hear anyone talking?” Cali jokes.
I groan and roll my eyes. “You two can get dinner together.”
Cali grabs my arm, linking ours together. “Thank you for saving my life.”
I’d say she’s being a little overdramatic, except she could have frozen to death if my daughter hadn’t been with her and gotten help. “You’re welcome. How about we all grab dinner together?”
Cali forces a smile and tugs her bottom lip between her teeth. I can’t tell if she’s nervous or hesitant. “I’m just going to head up to my room. It’s been a long day.”
“You need to eat,” I say. “Especially if the doctor gave you any type of painkillers.”
“Just ibuprofen. He didn’t give me any of the good stuff,” she jokes.
I glare at her. “Drugs aren’t a joking matter.” I turn my attention to Julianna, wanting her to get the message as well.
“Got it, Dad. Gosh, you’re so lame sometimes.” Julianna walks on one side of me while Cali hobbles on the crutches on the other.
I want to help Cali. Hell, I’d carry her all through the lodge if it meant her not getting hurt the rest of the time that she’s here. But I doubt she’d let me do that for her.
I ignore my daughter’s remark. “How long are you in town?” I ask, keeping a slow pace beside Cali as we approach the restaurant. Tonight, I’m not cooking for her. The last time I invited her up to the penthouse, she got the wrong idea about us.
Not that it was entirely her fault. I did give her mixed signals, indicating that I was interested in her. Because I was interested, I couldn’t turn off the signals even if my life depended on it.
I’ll do better tonight. Keep things professional between us. After all, she’s here on business, and I don’t want to muddy her review for the resort.
“I leave the day after tomorrow.”
“What about your phone?” Julianna asks. “We didn’t recover it when you fell off the ski lift.”
“It’s fine. All the footage should have been backed up to the cloud. I can access it when I get home. Although I need to check in with my boss and let her know that I’m not ignoring her texts.”
“You can use my phone,” I offer.
After we get seated at our private table in the back, Cali slips into the booth, and I sit across from her with my daughter. The waitress hands all of us menus. I already know what I want, and Julianna doesn’t even glance at the menu.
We’ve eaten here enough times to know what’s good and what’s amazing. Nothing is bad. Ever.
We put in our orders, and I request a bottle of white wine for the table along with two glasses. Julianna isn’t getting any alcohol until she’s twenty-one.
The waitress returns with two glasses and pops the cork, letting me smell it before pouring us each a glass.
“Can I have a sip?” my daughter asks.
“You know the rules.” I can’t risk our restaurant losing its liquor license for serving underage minors.
I take a sip. The alcohol is sweet and fragrant and not the least bit bitter. There’s no burning sensation like with cheap wine.
I retrieve my cell phone from my pants pocket and unlock it before handing it to Cali. “I hope you remember her number.”
“I swear it spells devil,” Cali quips with a laugh. She opens the messages section and begins typing. There’s a soft sigh, and then she glances up at me before continuing typing her message and hitting send. “I didn’t realize that you know Bridget Lancaster.”
The name brings a bitter metallic taste to my lips. “Are you going through my contacts?” I reach for my phone.
“No, but her name popped up when I typed in her phone number. Bridget is my boss.”
My stomach tenses, and my hands bunch into fists. “I’ll take my phone back now,” I growl at her, and snatch the device from her fingers.
“Ex-girlfriend?” Cali guesses based on my sudden shift in mood.