I’ll deal with the fallout later.Because right now, with him looking at me like I was the only woman on the planet? I wanted to sit in that feeling for just a little while longer. “Yeah. See you tonight.”
“It’s nice getting away from that suffocating city,” said Diego as he fastened into his snowboard. “Forgot how much I like it out here.”
“For sure,” I agreed. It was a bluebird day and the sun shone on the slopes, turning the snow into a blanket of blinding crystals. We sat at the foot of the bunny slopes, taking a break after riding for hours, as the holiday skiers and boarders flew past.
“And that boss of yours is something else,” Diego noted. “Didn’t expect him to be so…nice.”
I snorted. “Yeah, me neither. He does the brooding act very well.” After his meeting, Nolan had met my family and quickly shot into popularity as Juanito’s new favorite when he’d presented the little guy with his very own Spider-Man ski helmet and a sheet of stickers to decorate it.
Diego cut a sideways glance at me. “Anything going on there?”
I sputtered, choking on my words. “He’s—we—no!”
With a chuckle, Diego showed me his hands. “Oh yeah, that’s convincing. I’m just asking,mana. Who you sleep with is definitely not my business.”
Choosing to ignore that comment, I waved at Juanito, who descended the short hill on his skis with Frankie, practically jumping up and down with excitement. An ember of love for my little brother glowed in my chest, then darkened. “Has Antonella tried to make contact again?”
Diego tucked his wavy hair inside his helmet with a grim look. “No. But Hal has been lurking on the street corner, sitting in his car. Watching us. He never does anything, but I don’t like it.”
My stomach churned. “Can you get a restraining order?”
“There’s no legal grounds for it. I’m just afraid of what hemightdo, and I don’t have any evidence that he intends harm. Especially since we couldn’t press charges against him for picking up Juanito from school. It wasn’t technically an abduction or kidnapping since he said he had Antonella’s permission.”
Even though we all knew it had been an attempt by Hal and Antonella to abscond with Juanito. They’d tried it before. “I don’t know why they can’t just leave us alone. Antonella made it clear that she wants to be free of us. Permanently.”
Diego’s mouth pressed into a thin line. “Maybe she’s trying to do something about it again.”
I balked. “You think she’s trying to…make Juanito disappear?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I’m being paranoid, but we’re the only ones standing between that little dude and a world that wishes him harm. We have to protect him.Ihave to protect him. It’s my job to be paranoid.”
I patted Diego’s arm. “Try not to drive yourself crazy with worry, okay? That’smyjob.” I smiled, but I was worried about Diego. Deepgrooves of exhaustion carved into his face since the last time I’d seen him. He looked haggard, stressed, and sleep-deprived.
He smiled back, nudging my shoulder. “I’ll race you. Loser buys dinner.”
A streak of nostalgia raced through me, and I smiled. It had been so long since Diego and I could act like brother and sister instead of Juanito’s caretakers. “Dinner’s on Nolan since he owns the whole freaking place, but you’re on.”
Chapter 23
NOLAN
“She’sgotyouwrappedaround her little finger, doesn’t she?” Cressida asked, smirking at me over her wineglass.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“The smitten look on your face says otherwise.”
It was New Year’s Eve and the resort was bustling with guests. After my last work meeting, I signed off early to meet Cressida for an afternoon drink at our exclusive cozy table in The Gilded Fern, making our public appearance to feed the tabloids a glimpse of us, blissful in our winter retreat.
“Things must be going well,” Cressida prompted. If she were anyone else, I’d have shut her down, but I didn’t mind her fishing for information. She genuinely cared, and she was the only one I could talk to.
“They are. We’re taking things slow,” I said, then took a casual sip of whiskey.
“Ah.” The arch in Cressida’s brow told me she saw right the fuck through me. “You’re holding back because you haven’t told her about the sale yet.”
Damn perceptive woman.“I have not.”
“Are you going to?”
