A Slippery Slope (13 page)

‘Do you feel ... uncomfortable?’

She couldn’t take this any longer. She wanted him so badly right
now that it was almost a physical pain. It was madness. The whole thing was
madness. She still loved Tony. Not that that mattered. She was history as far
as Tony was concerned. But to feel like this, and about a man she hardly knew.
It was nothing short of insanity.

‘I need to go.’ Without looking in his direction, she got to her
feet and virtually ran towards the door.

He was by her side in seconds, his hand on her arm. It was not a
forceful, restraining grip – more a gentle ‘plea’ to stay. She could feel the
heat of his body; see the rhythmic motion of his chest; hear the rapid breaths.
And she knew without seeing his face that he felt the same as she did.

‘Verity, I–’

Mistral gave a loud bark and the moment was gone. The thud on the
floor was the sound of one of Verity’s rather battered shoes dropping from
Mistral’s jaws. 

Both of them stared at Mistral who sat proudly in the hallway,
slowly pushing the shoe towards them with one paw.

‘Good girl,’ Verity said when she gathered her senses. ‘Go find
the other one. Bring it to me, Mistral. Fetch!’

Mistral cocked her head to one side as if she didn’t understand.

‘Ask ... ask her in French please, Josh. Her owner was French.
Perhaps she’ll understand.’

Josh raised his eyebrows and shook his head in doubt but he did as
she asked and was clearly astonished when Mistral barked and ran off, returning
just a few seconds later with the other shoe.

‘Her memory’s come back! Don’t you think? Oh Josh, that’s
wonderful!’ Verity stared at her wet, slightly chewed shoes, lying on the floor
in front of her.

‘Wonderful,’ Josh repeated although he didn’t sound entirely
thrilled.

‘Thank you, Mistral!’ Verity bent down and hugged the panting dog.
‘Will you get a taxi for me please?’

‘A taxi?’

‘Yes.’ She smiled up at him. ‘I have my shoes. I can go home now.’

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Verity
wielded the shovel as if her life depended on clearing a path to the chalet
door. Snow fell thick and fast and she knew she was fighting a losing battle
but she couldn’t stop. She needed to keep busy. She’d hardly slept last night
and even though today was Christmas Day and breakfast wasn’t until nine, she
was up at six and prepping vegetables by six-thirty – and that was after only
three hours in bed.

‘Mum! What are you doing?’ Lucy called from the doorway at seven
forty-five. ‘It’s snowing, in case you hadn’t noticed. You look like a snowman!
Come in and get warm. You’ll catch your death of cold!’

‘I’ll be fine. Just five more minutes then I’m done.’

‘Really? I can’t see any difference. The snow’s already covered
where you’ve dug. Leave it for now. No one’s going anywhere for a while. None
of them is even up yet. Mum! Leave it.’

Verity finally stopped shovelling. She arched her back and
straightened up. Her entire body ached and she shivered from head to foot. Lucy
was right. This was a futile exercise.

‘Okay. I’ll make some coffee and start breakfast instead.’

‘I just told you. No one’s up so it’s too early to start
breakfast. And I’ve just made some coffee. Come in and sit down. Tell me what
happened last night.’

Verity’s head whipped round and she stared at her daughter.
‘Nothing happened last night!’

‘Really? Etienne told me that Josh brought you home because you’d
had too much to drink. I was going to come back but Etienne said to leave you
be. Are you telling me that nothing happened? On Christmas Eve? After a party and
alcohol? Seriously? Josh didn’t even try and kiss you good night?’

Verity walked into the hall and removed her snow-covered boots and
jacket. She shook her head and tutted when she saw the pile of snow on the
floor. ‘I’d better clear that up.’

‘Mum? Answer me. Did nothing really happen?’

Verity sighed. ‘Nothing worth talking about. Oh, except that
Mistral may be getting her memory back. That’s really good news, isn’t it? She
buried my shoes but she brought them back!’

Lucy looked confused. ‘When did you see Mistral? And how did she
manage to bury your shoes in the first place? Mum? There’s something you’re not
telling me.’

Verity went into the kitchen and poured herself a cup of coffee.
She pulled out a chair and sat at the table resting her elbows on the top and
holding the mug to her lips.

‘There’s really nothing much to tell,’ she said eventually, after
trying to think of a way to leave out most of the story. ‘I was a little drunk
and I’m afraid I ... threw up. And not just over me, but over Josh’s shoes
too.’

‘What?’ Lucy burst out laughing. ‘Sorry. I know that’s not really
funny. Was he cross?’

Verity shook her head. ‘Amazingly, he wasn’t. Oh, and I also told
him that I can’t cook.’

‘You did what?’

‘Don’t worry. He didn’t seem very concerned about that either –
oddly enough. I explained about Tony and everything and pointed out that it’s
been working well so far. He agreed and ... he didn’t say anything else about
it.’

‘So ... we’re still chalet girls then? He hasn’t sent us packing?’

Verity smiled. ‘No. He hasn’t.’

‘But ... how did Mistral get your shoes?’

‘Oh! Josh lives very near to Louis so he took me back to his
place. Just to get cleaned up. Um, my shoes were messy too so he cleaned them
and ... Mistral obviously spotted them. When I went to put them on again,
they’d gone. She’d run off with them. Josh told us that her former owners said
she had a habit of burying things. Remember? Anyway, a bit later she brought
them back. Josh brought me home and that, as they say, was that.’

‘So ... not even a peck on the cheek?’

‘Nope.’ Verity shook her head, wishing more than anything now that
Mistral hadn’t returned her shoes.

Josh hadn’t tried to persuade her to stay. ‘You don’t need a
taxi,’ he’d said. ‘I’ll take you home.’ He handed her a coat to wear over the
dressing gown and he didn’t say another word until he dropped her at the
chalet, only saying: ‘Goodnight, Verity. Merry Christmas.’

‘Merry Christmas, Josh,’ she’d replied and just moments after she
got out, Josh sped off.

‘Mum! Are you listening?’

‘Sorry, darling. I was miles away. What did you say?’

‘I asked if you were disappointed that Josh didn’t try and kiss
you.’

‘Oh! Of course not, darling. Not in the least. Anyway, what about
you? Did you have a good time? I didn’t hear you come in.’

Lucy smiled half-heartedly.

‘Yeah. Yeah, I had a great time. And you’ll never guess what. It
turns out that Louis is Etienne’s dad! Can you believe it?’

That came as no surprise to Verity. ‘Do you know I had a feeling
he might be. It was when I asked how long they’d known him. Josh said that
Etienne had known Louis all his life and he grinned when he said it – although
why he didn’t just say that Louis was Etienne’s dad is beyond me. Nothing is
ever straightforward with that man. Anyway, Etienne told us at the airport that
his dad had persuaded him to return to Meribel, remember? I didn’t really think
about it last night though. I mean, Louis could have just been a long-standing
family friend. Well, fancy that.’

‘I can’t believe it,’ Lucy said. ‘He’s absolutely loaded. Etienne
says it doesn’t make any difference but it does, doesn’t it?’

‘Does it?’ Verity looked her daughter in the eye. ‘Why?’

‘Well, Etienne’s rich. I’m poor.’

‘You’re not poor exactly, darling. But why would it matter if you
were?’

‘Because ... because I can’t be with a man as rich as Etienne!
Even if he didn’t think I was after his money, everyone else would, wouldn’t
they? That’s what lots of chalet girls do, you know. They come out to the Alps
to find a rich husband!’

Verity almost choked. ‘Find a rich husband! Er ... hold on a
minute. I didn’t even know you were
dating
Etienne. Are you? Since
when?’

‘I’m not! But now I can’t.’

‘Sorry darling, you’ve lost me. Has he asked you out?’

Lucy nodded. ‘Every day. Since the second day we were here. I
should have told you about it but ... well, it didn’t feel right to, what with
Dad and everything. He was ... asking me when you burst in on us in the kitchen
that night. You asked me about it, remember?’

Verity frowned. She was feeling a little bemused. This was all
news to her. ‘Yes. And you said there was nothing going on.’

Lucy shook her head. ‘I said Etienne was just being silly. Which
he was. He told me that he’d fallen in love with me the minute he saw me at the
airport! Can you believe it? What a line! I was sure he was interested in you.
He kept asking questions about you on the way here. I told you that, remember?’

Verity nodded. ‘I do remember. But I also remember telling you
that it was you he was interested in, not me. It was the way he looked at you,
darling. And what makes you think the airport thing was a line? People do fall
in love at first sight, you know. It happens all the time. Of course he is a
ski guide and–’

‘Precisely! We all know the reputation ski guides, ski instructors
and ski chalet owners have, don’t we?’

Verity was surprised Lucy had lumped Josh into that but evidently
she had. ‘Yes we do. They’re not all like that though. That’s a generalisation.
I don’t think Etienne’s like that at all. Of course ... we don’t really know
him that well so ... There’s something you’re not telling me, isn’t there?’ She
studied her daughter’s face. ‘Let me get this clear because I’m a bit confused.
Etienne’s been asking you out every day but you’re not going out with him.
You’ve been saying no, is that right?’

Lucy nodded.

‘But we haven’t seen him every day, so how?’

‘By text.’

Verity tutted. ‘Not another man who texts everything!’

‘He’s not like Dad! At least, I don’t think he is. He might be. I
don’t know! No. I’m sure he’s not.’

‘Um ... You sound rather defensive of a man you’re refusing to go
out with. And you said that now you know he’s rich, you can’t go out with him.
But if you don’t want to anyway, why is that a problem?’

‘I do want to! Now I can’t!’

‘Lucy, please darling, I am utterly confused. I didn’t get much
sleep and I really need you to explain this to me because I honestly don’t
understand. If you want to go out with him, go out with him. It doesn’t matter
whether he’s rich or poor if you like him. And as long as
he
doesn’t
think you’re after his money – which I’m sure he doesn’t – why does it matter
what other people think? What
is
the problem here? Oh! It’s not what I
said about him being nine years older than you, is it?’

Lucy shook her head.

‘Well then, what is it? It’s ... not because of
me
, is it?
You’re not refusing to go out with him because you think I might be upset or
something? Oh please, Lucy, don’t worry about me!’

‘I’m not! It’s not you ... exactly. It’s Grandma, I suppose. And
Dad of course.’

‘Grandma! What’s Grandma got to do with it? Or your father? Have
you been asking their advice because–?’

‘No! Grandma is the last person I’d ask advice from. She can’t
even get her own love life sorted. And Dad never talks about stuff like that.
You know that better than anyone. But that’s the point.’

‘Sorry,
what’s
the point?’

‘Mum! Grandma’s had more relationships than hot dinners and she’s
always going on about men being nothing but cheats and liars and only
interested in sex. I thought it was just her, but both the guys I’ve been out
with were jerks. I used to look at you and Dad and think Grandma was wrong
because Dad wasn’t a cheat or a liar or anything. Now I think that Grandma may
be right.’

Verity was stunned. Lucy didn’t sound upset exactly but she did
sound very disheartened.

‘Now, you listen to me.’ She took Lucy’s hands in hers and
squeezed them tightly. ‘Your Grandma is wrong. She’s my mother and I love her
but she talks a lot of nonsense. She behaves just as badly as the men she
berates so don’t take any notice of her. She’ll never be truly happy with
anyone until she decides what she really wants from life.’

‘It’s getting a bit late for that, isn’t it? She’s nearly
seventy!’

Verity grinned. ‘It’s never too late, darling. As for your father,
I’m as surprised as you are about that, but we have been married for a long
time, and people drift apart. I wish he’d told me how he felt but he didn’t. If
you’re saying that you won’t go out with Etienne because you’re frightened
he’ll hurt you, I understand completely. But life is about taking risks, Lucy –
especially where love is concerned.’

‘You’ve changed your tune. You told me to be careful with Etienne
because he was older, was a ski guide and lived in a ski resort. Now you’re
saying, take a chance!’

Verity shrugged. ‘I’m not really sure what I’m saying but yes, I
think so. If you like him, take a chance.’

‘But he lied. He didn’t tell me he was rich.’

‘Did you ask him if he was?’

‘Of course not!’

‘Well then, he didn’t lie. He just didn’t tell you. That’s not the
same thing as lying, exactly. I didn’t tell Josh I couldn’t cook, but I didn’t
say I could, so I didn’t really lie. Perhaps Etienne wanted to get to know you
first. Perhaps he wanted to make sure you weren’t out here ... “to find a rich
husband”. There’s nothing wrong with that and if he’s been asking you out every
day, he’s clearly very keen.’

Lucy let out a long breath and fiddled with her coffee mug. ‘I
suppose.’ She looked Verity directly in the eye. ‘The thing is, Mum, I just
thought Etienne was trying it on. You know – new chalet girl – new challenge
and all that. I said no initially because I thought he was too old for me. But
I really do like him and I ... I was going to say yes if he asked me out again,
last night.’

Verity waited for her to continue but she didn’t. ‘So are you
saying that he didn’t ask you out last night? Or that he did, but when you
found out he was rich, you said no ... again because of Grandma and your
father? And that was because you think he lied to you, and you don’t want to
get hurt? I’m sorry, darling, but I’m utterly confused.’

‘I’m utterly confused too, Mum! I just wanted to come out here to
have fun. That’s all. I’m only twenty-one and there’s a whole world out there
waiting to be explored. I know both you and Grandma married young but I don’t
want to. Not for years yet. I’m not ready to get serious about someone ...
especially someone who didn’t bother to mention he’s rich!’

‘Whoa! Hold on, darling! Aren’t you rushing ahead a bit? You
haven’t even said yes to a date yet.’

‘Precisely! And now there’s an even bigger problem. We were both
rather drunk last night and ... well, it was Christmas Eve and people do silly
things on Christmas Eve, don’t they?’