by Lexi Ostrow
Pausing to look at the spectacular view around him, he realized it was for the best. Colorado held too many memories, too many ghosts. A fresh start in Toronto would do him so good, assuming the job was still available.
Sighing, he watched as his breath formed a small puff in the air. He’d miss so many things about the winters, but he feared the appearance of Anna DeMarco is what he’d miss the most.
Looking over the boxes lined up against the living room wall he couldn’t believe what was about to happen. It had taken him less than three days to secure the job in Toronto, find a relator and pack up his place into heartless, bland boxes.
“They’re the perfect representation,” he said with a snort.
With less than thirty-six to go until he bored the plane in the new year, it felt like his life was far too easy to pack up. The small row of boxes, only stacked two high and five across, was enough to confirm that.
“I’ll do better in Toronto,” he assured himself as he surveyed the house, lingering on the warm fire and how it had illuminated Anna’s cream skin for the final time.
The job he was taking wasn’t his ideal match, but he’d lost on out on the resort the Toronto man owned just outside the city. Instead, he was back to coaching at a high school. Still, he was grateful the man had enough connections to get him that as a starting point. It wouldn’t be like life on the mountain, but it would be a new life.
“You know what’s left to do then.” He was speaking to his reflection in the oven door that he could see from where he stood.
Originally, he’d been planning on slipping away without a trace. He never attended the DeMarco New Year’s gala and there had been no reason to change that, despite the fact that he had an open invitation according to Elaine. However, he was trying to start fresh and that meant not acting like a fool any longer. He would say goodbye to Anna, wish her well and then get on with his life.
The question was whether he was going to do it before the big party that evening or if he could muster up the nerve to do it in the morning, knowing he could still bump into her throughout the day as he still had things to drop off at the lodge.
“Now. Get it over with so you aren’t sick to your stomach all day.”
Grabbing his beanie, he tugged on his boots and went to make his move.
He could see from where he stood on the slope that the DeMarco’s garage was not only open, but empty. It seemed strange that they would have gone somewhere the day of their event, but perhaps they had last-minute things to take care of. If not for the light visible through the side window, he would have assumed he’d have to come back another time.
Not knowing who was in the chalet, he took a deep breath and hoped it was Anna so he could get this over with. The snow had all but melted and the pathway down was as sullen looking as his mood. Step by step he moved slower and slower, as if he was subconsciously trying to drag it out, or change his mind.
“Marshall?”
He looked closer at the house and saw Leena out front with a small bag. She waved him down, and he immediately felt as if someone had tied concrete bags to his feet and dropped him into a lake.
“Come on down! I’m the only one here at the moment though.”
The sensation of drowning lessened just a bit, but he also didn’t want to get stuck in a conversation he honestly didn’t have time for. Yet, there she was, hair blowing in the small breeze, one hand on her belly and the hand holding the small bag waiving him down.
Before he knew it, he was finishing the walk to the house. He couldn’t help wincing at the friendly grin on Leena’s face. She probably thought everything had been worked out. Well, had worked out in a happier fashion.
“How are you doing, Leena? The baby not giving you any trouble?”
She smirked and walked around the side of the house, returning a moment later without the bag. “That was just how well my morning sickness has turned into all day sickness.”
He laughed before realizing he shouldn’t have and coughed to cover it up. “Sorry to hear that.”
She broke out into a grin. “I’m just messing with you! I’m making special cake pops to announce the baby at the gala this evening and that was the left overs.”
“The DeMarco’s make cake pops?”
She snorted and waived a hand in the air. “I am not just a DeMarco, thank you. But no, ordinarily they don’t.” She winked at him. “Which is why when they all went into town for a movie I stayed behind so I could make them. Jake isn’t going to dare say no to a pregnant hormonal woman after all the work she’s done.”
Chuckling, he followed her as she walked inside. “Poor, Jake. Bastard has no idea how conniving his wife is.”
“Oh, he has an idea. Lucky for me he’s can’t resist my charms.” Sitting down on the couch she tapped it for him to sit. “What brings you around? Ready to call off the drums of war and finally do what you and Anna should have done years ago?”
He blinked in shock, not sure if he was more thrown off by how candid she was or how painfully obvious his and Anna’s motions had been in the past.
“I actually came to talk to her.”
“Good.” Beaming at him, Leena rubbed her stomach.
“Um, maybe not.” He scrubbed a hand over the back of his head and realized his beanie was still on. Tugging it off he wrung it nervously. “I’m moving.”
Leena nearly flew off the couch and wrapped him in a hug. “That is the best news ever! I’m so happy for you both.”
Guilt settled down on him like a lead weight. “Not to London,” he mumbled against her shoulder.
“Oh?” She raised a brow as she released him from the hug. “Maybe I jumped to conclusions. I do that sometimes. Like with Nick and Tasha, but that’s irrelevant to this.”
Blowing out a deep breath he leaned back into the couch, letting his head dangle slightly over the top of it. “I’m tired, Leena. Anna and I…we’re just…just not meant for each other. You can read into the looks and blushes all you want, but at the end of the day we aren’t the endgame.”
“And why is that? Because some fancy pants lawyer flew down to surprise her?”
“Because some fancy pants lawyer is more equipped to fit into her life and give her what she deserves.”
“More equipped than what? I lowly ski and snowboard instructor who helps out around the house.” There was an oddly dangerous edge to her voice.
“Yes,” he said awkwardly, already thinking it was a mistake.
“Well, then. Thanks so much. It’s fantastic to know what you think about me.”
If looks could kill, he’d be dead. “I didn’t mean you.”
“Oh no? It sure sounded like you could be talking about any random assistant to the family, which guess what, I was.” Her voice rose, her anger growing with it.
“Fuck,” Marshall groaned, not sure whether it was her being hormonal or if he’d really just insulted her. Lifting his head off the couch he offered her his hand. “Handshake for forgiveness?”
She made a strange snorting sound but shook his hand, anyway.
“Have you even spoken to Anna? Does she know you’re leaving?”
He shook his head curtly. “No. I was coming to tell her know. To say my goodbyes. It’s what she wanted when she came.”
“But not what she wanted after less than a day with you. I saw the way she looked at you, Marshall. Not to mention I’ve seen the way she’s checked her cell phone every ten minutes and made more excuses than there are days in the week to go up to the damn lodge to look for you.”
“Why?” The word was growled, and he felt guilty, but he was annoyed that she wanted to rub her life in his face.
“To try to make you grow up, of course.”
It was his turn to snort. “I’m pretty sure that’s what I’m doing now.”
“No, you’re running away. And I don’t care that you’re my age, you’re acting like a child.”
“How else am I supposed to act when she clearly was mo
re interested in the lifestyle appropriate man?” he leaped up off the couch, his temper reaching a boiling point far quicker than usual.
Leena was abnormally calm. “You’re a bigger idiot than I thought. I guess it’s not just DeMarco men.” Sighing, she stood up. “She dumped Adam. She’s just tactful and was being polite when he arrived.”
“She what?” the question rolled off his tongue.
“Yup. She politely told him that they weren’t a match and then shouted some rather rude things at him after. But she wasn’t about to chase after you. She tried when you were eighteen and it didn’t work well then. She was just waiting for you to get your idiotic head out from your ass. Though with how far up it’s been shoved, I can see why it’s taking some more time than she’d realized.”
“She what?” he repeated a second time, sounding like a damned fool even to his own ears.
Leena chortled. “Why don’t you just wait here for her? You can help me finish off the cake pops. Only about two hundred more to go.” She walked off without waiting for an answer, likely to go get the supplies.
He dropped back down onto the couch, eyes opened wide and thoughts bouncing all around his head. “She dumped him.” The sentence made him grin and then he immediately scowled. “And you acted like a damned chicken rather than speaking to her for the last six days.”
He wasn’t certain if Anna still felt the same way, but if she did, he was more than willing to eat crow and apologize. London wasn’t the mountains, and it wasn’t Toronto, but if she would have him, he was more than ready this time around to call it home.
The cool air grazed her cheek like a tender lover and Anna let out a sigh. Watching as her breath visibly danced on the wind, she couldn’t help marveling at the winter around her. From the clean white snow beneath her feet to the crisp, clear sky above, it was so terribly different than London, save for the peace and quiet of the mountains. London was everything she’d dreamed it would be and there was no other place she could imagine living. Yet, there was a draw to the Colorado mountains that she couldn’t ignore.
“Even with Marshall being a complete toad,” she grumbled and kicked up some snow with her boot.
The area was more than just Marshall and family vacations with beautiful scenery. The mountains and the chalet were not just a peaceful getaway, they were places that represented her past, a time when she was far less complex and far more fun. She was the baby of the family, but she had been forced to grow up quicker than any of them when their mother had announced she was retiring from DeMarco Communications and London needed a DeMarco to sit as CEO.
In eight hours, she would be standing in a dazzling blue Dolce dress welcoming friends and extended family to the New Year’s party. She would have to smile and laugh—everything she didn’t feel like doing. Marshall was supposed to have come around before the party, and he was supposed to have grown up a little.
Instead, with mere hours until the new year, she was still stuck alone and waiting on the man she loved to realize his epic mistake. “Unless he isn’t going to. There’s always the chance you’re going to need to make him.”
Her life wasn’t amounting to anything that she could truly be proud of. She was the CEO of a massive corporation at a super young age because it was her family’s company. She lived in a beautiful flat overlooking the hustle and bustle of Buckingham Palace Road, and it meant nothing because, her family’s money had allowed her to live there. The only thing she’d earned on her own was gradating Suma Cum Laude from Oxford.
That was what made her stand out from Nick and Jack, her book smarts. However, those didn’t equate too much for her any longer. She wanted a family, wanted someone to spend the evenings with that didn’t leave once Big Ben chimed eleven at night. She’d thought she was working toward that with Adam, only something deep down had always known he wasn’t the one. That was the part of her that loved Marshall. The part that would only ever love Marshall.
It was impossible to feel like she wasn’t a disappointment to her mom and Peter. Nick and Jake had finally found someone, and all she’d done lately was choose incorrectly and create dramatic scenes. She knew in her heart that she belonged with Marshall, and it stung that they couldn’t seem to get on the same page. Her mother had long since forgiven him for taking her daughter’s innocence, and she knew her siblings already counted him as family because of her. All that was left to do was get him to realize it.
“I just want him to come around, just this once,” she admitted aloud, finally accepting that she was tired of chasing him. There was no denying he’d misread the situation with Adam, but it seemed he was always assuming she was choosing something else over him. First with London, then with Adam. Their pathetic love life could have been a reality show with how tiring it was for both of them.
A bird called somewhere overhead, and she looked around, wondering what other delightful surprises the mountain held. Her family had gone into town, but she’d been distracted and had begun to walk back. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that her feet would be screaming at her in the evening, but she wanted the alone time.
Nothing had gone as planned. From the moment her Christmas holiday had begun, everything had gone horribly wrong—except for her time with Marshall. She’d arrived early only to find Leena and Jake already at the chalet. She’d tried to maturely speak to Marshall and had wound up behaving like a spoiled brat. She’d even tried to right her ridiculous decision to be with anyone but Marshall, and that had still gotten blown to hell and back. That didn’t leave room for much confidence that the situation would work out without a lot of drama.
“But we will make it work.” Her words had never sounded more determined.
The chalet came into view a minutes later, smoke puffing happily out of the chimney. Leena had stayed behind, and she couldn’t help wondering what her sister-in-law was doing. Leena hated idle hands, which meant there was something baking, a craft project was in full swing or she was analyzing and organizing business documents for Jake.
Walking through the empty garage, she was shocked her parents, Nick and Tasha hadn’t already returned. They’d gone in to watch Tasha’s latest movie, but should have been back to prepare for the party. Shrugging, she opened the door.
“Leena?”
“I’m in the kitchen,” a cheerful voice called out.
Curious just what Leena was up to, she walked quickly to the kitchen only to stop dead in her tracks. There were easily six dozen cake pops in stands with the words Baby DeMarco barely fitting on any of them. Leena sat across from Marshall, decorating another. Marshall, who had been avoiding her, was sitting at her kitchen table, decorating party favors as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Marshall?” she squeaked out, still not moving from just outside the doorway.
He looked up, smiling at her so hard his eyes seemed to glow and waved.
“I think I’d better be going. I’ll just take a small nap.” Rubbing her stomach tenderly, she looked down at it and smiled. “The doctor said the more rest I can get in the first trimester, the better.” she pushed the chair back and walked right past Anna and down the hall.
Anna heard Leena’s door close, but was still in a state of shock.
“Marshall?”
“Anna, we need to talk.”
He was still smiling, throwing her into a further state of confusion.
“I love you.” She blurted the words, unaware she’d even been thinking of saying them until she felt the moment was right. “I’ve loved you every day of my life since I was sixteen. I’m tired of you feeling like you aren’t good enough. You are. You’re the most amazing man in my life, and I’m sick to death of pretending like we aren’t perfect for one another every few years because you run away. I love you, damn it, and I’m not leaving this vacation without you.”
The last sentence was rushed, the words mushed together because she was speaking so quickly. Marshall just looked at her as he rose from the seat. His ey
es were alight with what appeared to be happiness, and the smile on his lips was larger than she’d ever seen on him.
“Say something.” She urged him, taking a step closer but not daring to close the gap between them completely.
“Tell me again.” He grinned at her.
“Excuse me?”
“Tell me that you love me again.”
Cocking her head to the side, she did as he asked. “I love you, Marshall. Only you.”
His arms were around her in an instant, curling her against his burly chest in an embrace that always made her feel perfectly protected. She let her cheek rest against his pec, inhaling his scent as she did and practically purring at the rich, forresty scent of the man she loved.
She felt his fingertips under chin mere seconds before he used them to lift her head to look into his eyes as he looked into hers. “I love you, Anna, always.” His mouth crashed down on hers without a moment wasted.
A groan escaped her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing their bodies closer together. The kiss didn’t deepen, but it still seemed to consume her as she fell into the moment, into Marshall.
He loved the feel of her against him almost as much as the feel of her beneath him or on top of him. He merely loved touching Anna. In the hour since Leena had revealed what had happened, he’d had a million emotions to process—starting and ending with how much he loved the woman in his arms.
Breaking the kiss, he kept her close against him, afraid to let her go.
“I’m sorry,” he breathed out softly and placed another chaste kiss to her pinkened lips. “I was such an asshole. I know you still love me, but can you forgive me?”
The sparse seconds it took for her to respond felt like an eternity. He could hear an invisible clock ticking away and sweat gathered on his forehead in the quick moment that passed.