Page 78 of The Black Trilogy

We spent Boxing Day pigging out on chocolate and lazing around the house—a pleasant contrast to last year, when I’d parachuted into a territory where the inhabitants didn’t celebrate Christmas.

The day after, I enlisted Tia’s help to distract Luke while I snuck his snowboard and warm clothes into the boot of his SUV.

“He still doesn’t know where you’re going,” she whispered.

“Good. Are you coming to watch?”

“Ooh, can I?”

“Why not?”

I gave directions, and when we arrived at the Snozone in Milton Keynes, Luke’s eyes lit up.

“It’s been ages since I’ve seen a ski slope. I never even thought of going indoor snowboarding.”

It had been a while since I’d seen proper snow too. Over a year, in fact. My husband had a chalet in Chamonix, where the snow was perfect in winter and we could go climbing in summer, but we’d been too busy to visit recently. I’d been sixteen on my first trip there, and I got hooked, first on skiing then later on snowboarding.

With Chamonix came memories of friends and fun. And maybe a teeny tiny bit of alcohol. I recalled the drunken bet that resulted in my husband and I skiing off a mountain, James Bond style, my parachute with the Union Jack, and his with the Stars and Stripes. The Snozone would be tame in comparison.

I tried to block those thoughts from my mind, not wanting the man I missed so terribly to cast a shadow over the day. But he was always there, lurking. I pasted on a smile and rented myself a snowboard while Luke went to change.

By the time we reached the top of the slope, I felt more upbeat. Something about the crunch of snow underfoot.

“Ready?” Luke asked.

“Three.”

“Two.”

“One.”

We took off, racing to the bottom, and it turned out we were pretty evenly matched. Before long, we headed over to the rails and jumps of the freestyle course.

“Nice,” said Luke, as I flew through the air.

“Not bad yourself.”

Of course, our competitive streaks emerged, and we tried to outdo each other. Tia declared herself the judge and pronounced it a draw.

“Thank goodness for that,” Luke said, stretching out his legs. “I’m not sure I’ll be able to walk tomorrow.”

“I’m glad you had a good time.”

“Not as good as your last surprise, but a close second.” He drew me in for a kiss. “Maybe we could come here again?”

“Sounds good to me.”

“By the way, where did you learn to snowboard? I worked as an instructor, yet you were matching me at every turn.”

“My parents started me young, and I used to go each winter with my ex.” I shrugged. “I picked it up over the years.”

Every time I lied to Luke, the pit I was digging myself into got a little deeper. It would be a tough climb out.

Luke went back to work the next day while I stayed at home with Tia, who still had a week of school holidays left.

“Do you want to go out?” I asked, recalling her comments about being stuck at home.

“I’d love to. Can we go shopping? I could spend my gift cards.”

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