They had power and, most importantly, he was with Lex. So far, so very good.
CHAPTER SEVEN
LEXDIDAfull circle of the main house, taking in the wall lined with vintage skis as decor, and the benches where people could sit down and remove their shoes. Not wanting to have to mop the floor, she toed off her muddy trainers and winced when the cold floor permeated through the thin layer of her socks. Ignoring her tingling toes, she looked over the railing into the great room below. The room was huge, with two fireplaces at each end and leather couches and chairs grouped around the room, some facing the double-height window that ran the length of the room. In daylight they’d have extraordinary views of the mountains, slopes and valleys spreading out below them.
Wow, she thought, placing her hand on the railing that stopped the guests from tumbling to the slate floor below. She was impressed.
Cole also removed his shoes and she followed him down the passage, looking around him as he opened doors. An office, a beautifully appointed bedroom, another bedroom and what was obviously the master suite with the same incredible views of the mountains. There was another set of steps that Cole told her led to the third floor.
‘I’m betting this layout is duplicated on the other side of the hall,’ he told her as they walked out onto the gantry again. ‘Let’s see what’s downstairs. We also need to get some heat into this place, and I bet we’ll find the controls in the kitchen.’
‘And food,’ Lex said.
‘Hopefully,’ Cole agreed. She walked down the wide, quite steep wooden stairs, appreciating the way the designer had managed to give the house an essence of sophistication while still keeping the rustic ski-lodge vibe.
‘Is this a new build?’ she asked Cole.
He looked around. ‘Sixty percent of it is. From what I recall from the file Addi handed me containing all the paperwork relating to this place, there was an old farmhouse, double-storey, on this spot. My father kept some walls, removed others and added a floor. Damn, this place looks so familiar,’ Cole added.
She stared at his broad back, taking in the way he cocked his head to look at the old stone wall above one huge fireplace. ‘I thought you said that you’ve never been here before,’ Lex said, coming to stand next to him.
‘I haven’t but I feel like I know this house.’ Cole pushed a hand through his hair, shook his head and sent her a strained smile. ‘Sorry, I’m being ridiculous. I must be hungry and tired.’
Maybe. Or it could be that he did know this house. Maybe he’d seen photos of it, had heard it described or had visited here as a child and was never told.
But she knew that Cole wasn’t interested in discussing his memories or feelings with her, so she slipped past him and walked into the back of the lodge, past the massive dining table, a twenty-four-seater with brightly patterned cushions on the bench seats.
The kitchen was adjacent to the dining area and she stepped into the vast room. It was huge and beautifully designed with large tiles and marble counter-tops. The wine fridge and all the appliances, including an espresso machine, were built in. She looked around, saw an AC control panel and scanned the menu for heating, jabbing her finger against the button. She adjusted the temperature, heard a faint buzz and hoped that within a few minutes—ten or twenty—they wouldn’t feel like polar bears walking into an ice shack.
‘Great, heat,’ Cole said, placing his hand on the counter-top of the free-standing island. ‘I don’t suppose you’ve found any food yet?’
‘Still looking,’ she told him, heading over to the fridge. She opened the doors. As she’d expected, it was filled with fresh vegetables and salads, cheeses and a huge variety of condiments.Excellent.
But no milk, she noticed. And that meant no coffee for her, which was problematic.
Curious, Lex walked to the end of the kitchen, saw the entrance to the utility room and stepped inside to see three washer-dryers. Seeing another door, Lex popped it open and released a fist pump, taking in the full to bursting shelves.
There was pasta of all types, cans of Italian plum tomatoes, herbs, spices and various other foods. There were bottles of capers, Asian sauces and spices, vinegars and salad dressings. Seeing a chest freezer in the corner, Lex lifted the lid and saw a series of carefully and beautifully packaged ready meals, soups, stews and curries. There were also frozen beef fillets and tuna steaks, and all types of frozen sea food and—yay—frozen milk.
And enough boxes of hand-crafted Belgian chocolates to satisfy Cole’s sweet tooth.
She could work with what she’d found.
‘Woohoo!’ she shouted. ‘Cole, we have food—Oomph!’
Lex bounced off Cole’s hard chest and the plastic bottle of frozen milk dropped to the floor. It rolled away and Lex ignored it, caught up in the intensity of Cole’s yellow-brown eyes. He placed his hand on her hip to steady her and the heat of his hand burned through her clothes into her skin. She didn’t need an external source of heat, she just needed to be close to him.
‘We’ve got food,’ she told him, annoyed to find she was repeating herself.
The corners of his mouth kicked up. ‘I heard. I think the entire valley heard.’
‘Sorry, I didn’t know you were behind me,’ she murmured.
‘And yet I am very aware of you, all the time,’ Cole stated, his hand coming up to hold the side of her face.
Lex knew she was at a crossroads. She could either stand here and pretend to play it cool, hoping he’d kiss her, or she could give him the green light by making the first move. She was so tired of pulling back, of hiding her attraction, trying not to let him see how much he affected her. She wanted to stop censoring herself, to be herself, for Cole to know the real her for the few days they were together.
She’d promised herself that she’d be completely honest, consistently authentic in her words and her actions, and she wanted him for as long as she could have him. They only had a finite amount of time and, quite frankly, they’d wasted too much of it already.