Page 192 of Modern Romance Collection December 2024 Books 1-4

‘But you were obviously still curious enough to find out by some other means, so I’m not that impressed, if I’m honest. But apologies; I’m being rude. Would you like something to drink? Tea? Coffee?’

‘I...no. I’m fine, thank you.’

‘So you were telling me how you managed to find me.’

‘I... I asked around when I got back to London.’

‘Enterprising.’

‘Do you have to be so sarcastic, Mateo?’

‘What were you expecting, Alice? An effusive welcome? The red carpet rolled out? Have you forgotten that what we had no longer exists?’ His body was singing from a different song sheet, unfortunately, not nearly so cool as that particular statement. It might be true but what his body wanted was a continuation of what they’d had.

What if she offered to resume their fling and pick up where things had been left off? He felt himself harden at the thought of that gloriously sexy body, so soft and responsive to his touch. He remembered far too vividly for his liking the soft, sweet little noises she made when he caressed her, licked her and explored every inch of her.

His original plan to turn her down flatly and politely when she inevitably offered herself back to him began to fray a little round the edges. The best bet, he decided as pride swooped in to replace hesitation, would be to send her on her way as fast as possible.

For starters, it wouldn’t pay to forget why he had decided to finish what they’d enjoyed: she risked being hurt. He had nothing to give and she wanted a lot, too much. He’d warned her and she hadn’t listened. Their bubble had burst and that was a good thing.

That said...didn’t the fact that she’d showed up here because she’d found out that he was wealthy put paid to his woolly ideas that she was somehow too sweet, too gentle, just too damnedniceto risk getting wrapped up with a hard-edged guy like him?

‘Who did you ask around to get the information?’ He reverted to the original topic because he was curious to find out to what lengths she had gone to track him down.

‘Remember I told you that I used to teach skiing to beginners on the mountain? I still know loads of the ski-instructors there and also the ones who’ve left and moved on. They knew who you were.’

‘And now you’ve showed up because...no, let me guess. Having found out that I’m not the freelance tech guy you thought I was, but instead the guy whoownsthose freelance tech guys—and that’s just the tip of the iceberg—you decided that it might be worthwhile to explore your options?’

‘Explore my options?’

‘Dump the innocent act, Alice. There’s no need. In fact, if you come clean and admit you’ve come here to see if what we had can be resurrected, then a conversation is there to be had.’ Why kid himself that he still didn’t want her? It beggared belief but no amount of burst bubbles, warning talks being ignored about the best option being to send her packing could stifle the insistent pulse of his suddenly reawakened libido.

‘You’re truly the most cynical person I’ve ever met in my life, Mateo.’

‘I find that’s a trait that’s always worked in my favour. Give people the benefit of the doubt, and invariably they let you down. So, okay, you’re here. You know I have money, and a lot of it, and you want to reconnect. I admit, much as it’s frustrating to say so, that I’m tempted by the proposition.’

Their eyes met.

Alice felt the race of her pulse, the hot pumping of blood in her veins. She’d dreaded this meeting and it was turning out that she’d dreaded it for good reason. He couldn’t even be bothered to be polite. The warm, funny, sexy guy she’d fallen for when they’d been locked in by snow was now a stranger in hand-made shoes and a crisp white shirt, sleeves rolled to the elbows, with an expensive barely there logo on the front pocket.

A stranger who thought that she was a gold-digger. And yet, she had to reluctantly concede that she could see where he was coming from. Women chased men with lots of money. Throw looks and charm into the mix, and the combination would certainly attract gold-diggers in a million different guises.

No wonder he’d been livid when she’d turned up at his door! That lodge was probably one of the few completely private getaways he possessed, where no one was around to pester him because no one could physically get there.

But surelyhe knew her?

Yet she’d managed to find him and there could only be one reason for that: that would be the conclusion running through his head.

Alice looked at him from under her lashes with a hint of impatience. She wished she could be angrier at his response but there was something so predictable, sohuman, in his defensiveness, something so weirdly vulnerable in his immediately jumping to that cynical conclusion, that she felt herself soften.

‘You’re tempted by the proposition, are you?’ she queried wryly, allowing him to continue on his tangent just a little bit longer.

‘I admit, I’ve been thinking of you.’

‘Have you? I’m surprised.’

‘You’re incredibly sexy. I reckoned that it might have been the circumstances—the two of us trapped for days in my lodge. I don’t have much time for romance, but I’d say that was pretty romantic. I assumed, actually, that that was why I couldn’t quite manage to forget about it...us...you. That and the fact that it ended before it had run its course.’

‘Hmm.’

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