by Dani Collins
“And see, getting a goal and a cheer out of you makes me feel like I’m winning.”
She chuckled and cupped her hands over his beard, thinking she was probably a little more than just falling in love with him. She was pouncing out of the starting gate like a cheetah, picking up speed at an accelerated pace, throwing herself into love. If she caught an edge it would leave her in a thousand jagged pieces.
But as his lips settled on hers and his eyes stayed open, his gaze endlessly hot and tender, she was willing to risk it. He promised the ride of her life.
*
Marvin waited until Trigg returned, then he asked Vivien to host a family dinner in her suite. She already had a small bistro table in here, where she ate her breakfast most mornings. He knew that because he’d begun joining her after waking in her bed.
He was getting a helluva lot of good sleep these days, but after a week of it, they’d had enough of sneaking around like adulterers. He had a table brought up from the dining room along with three more chairs. She set it. He fetched the appetizer trays from the dumbwaiter and opened the wine.
They looked at each other a dozen times. What were the kids going to say?
Trigg arrived first, knocking and coming through the door they’d left propped open.
“No dog,” he assured Vivien, waving at the empty space behind him. “Nate has him. Needs something to cuddle since Rolf sent his Swedish massage to pick up her skis.” Trigg smiled with relief as Marvin poured him a beer. “Thought I would be the first to arrive. Thanks.”
Marvin sent a circumspect look at Vivien. She rolled her eyes behind her son’s back.
“I think it’s lovely that they’re coming out of their tailspin so well,” she said as Trigg turned to face her. “Nate and Ilke both deserve love. Everyone does.” Vivien touched the back of her neck, under her upswept hair, sliding Marvin a look. Flirt.
“Mom.” Trigg moved to the window and took a slug of beer. “If you start in on a lecture about sowing wild oats, I’m going downstairs for a burger.”
Rolf and Glory came in as he said that.
“You’re wild oats,” Glory said, then clapped a hand over her mouth. “I’m so sorry, Vivien. That was rude. I meant—”
Trigg turned, quite happy to see Glory stammering. “Can I get you a shovel? Would you like to dig yourself in further?”
It was the silliest thing, but Marvin grew misty at the way those two batted good-natured, sibling-like insults at each other. It made him see his budding relationship with Vivien as more than a stab at romance by a pair of old fools. They were making a family here.
There wasn’t much room in the small lounge. Five bodies pretty much filled it up. Glory sat on the arm of the chair that Rolf took like a king settling into his throne. Trigg stayed on his feet by the window. Marvin sat on the love seat next to his lover.
Vivien glanced at him.
He nodded. “There are some things we wanted to discuss,” he began.
“The catering, I know. Eden was away. They all went to Florida and hit the amusement parks for a week. But her chef friend confirmed and sent a couple of sample menus. Eden said she would come out next week and finalize it. She and her sister will help in the kitchen that week, too. Also,” she said to Rolf, “I was to tell you that Kurt got an email from a colleague while he was on vacation. It was about something somewhere that I can’t remember. Kurt said it might be a lead and he will call you as soon as he gets hold of the guy and has something specific to tell you.”
“Very helpful, thanks,” Rolf said dryly.
“I did a final fitting on the way back from Germany and my dress is in Dad’s room so Rolf won’t see it. Vows are drafted, tuxedos get a second fitting in a week, right?” Glory was counting off on her fingers. “The music is organized, the swag bags and baskets for the rooms are coming together. Ilke got a huge start on that before Rolf hijacked her for his little project.” She elbowed him.
He forestalled her jab with his cupped hand, not even jostling the beer he was bringing up to his mouth with his other.
“I think everything’s under control. But it’s super nice of you to have a private dinner for us, Vivien. We never get to sit as a family, do we? There’s always staff around, interrupting.”
“About that,” Marvin said, now his daughter had run out of steam.
“Vivien already told me.” Glory held up her hand. “I know, and I’m sorry. You’re not allowed to get mad at me, either,” she told Rolf. “The phone was ringing off the hook and I was right there. I didn’t know you were trying to wrap up the manager interviews by Tuesday. I’m sorry I said that woman could come Thursday, but she sounded really nice. You—” She pointed at Trigg. “Keep it in your pants this time.”
“Says the woman who left her mitten under my brother’s desk.”
“Trigg,” Vivien scolded him with a pained look.
“I was wondering where it went.” Glory slid a look at Rolf.
“You keep a dog under your desk,” Rolf pointed out to Trigg.
“Rolf,” Vivien muttered.
“We’re thinking of making a change,” Marvin said firmly, trying to pull things back on track before they devolved into utter nonsense. His voice might have cracked a tiny bit.
Vivien started to pat his knee, but chickened out.
The children—and they were clearly all puerile adolescents—finally shut their mouths and gave him their attention.
“If you tell me you don’t want to run a lodge after all,” Glory began in a tone of dire warning.
Rolf nudged her thigh.
She leaned her arm along his chair back, skimming a hand over his hair and touching her mouth to his hairline. “You’re right,” she murmured. “Best thing that ever happened to me.”
His brow quirked in a way that said he damned well knew he was.
“We’re finding our remote location is prohibitive when it comes to hiring a manager,” Marvin said, which was true, but he was also pleased to come into this announcement from a side door. “I’d like to be able to sweeten the deal by offering my suite.”
“You can give them any room, Dad. And we’ll have the staff quarters by September,” Glory reminded him.
“Mine has a kitchenette, which I never use, and quite frankly, I’d prefer a little more distance and privacy from the front hall. I’d rather be up here. The view is better.”
“You won’t mind the stairs?”
“Vivien doesn’t find them a problem, do you?”
“It’s just enough to work my hip without tiring it.” She smiled blithely.
His cheeks started to heat and he gave her a second look so she would know he knew what she was doing, the vixen.
“So, you’d take the corner one on the other end? When? That’s going to screw up all the room bookings for the wedding. Vivien has been working on that for weeks.”
“I need something stronger if this is going to be wedding talk all night.” Trigg glanced at Rolf on the way to the selection of bottles on Vivien’s liquor cabinet.
Rolf gave a hell-yes nod and drained his beer.
“We don’t need an extra room,” Marvin said, heart beginning to pound. “I’ll be in this one.”
“Where are you going?” Rolf scowled at Vivien. “Berlin?”
“Goodness, no. I’ll be here.” She showed not a single flutter of nerves. Her smile was amiable and calm.
“In this room? But—?” Glory frowned, confused. Then her eyes began to widen until they were more white than blue-green. “Are you saying…?”
Rolf swore and closed his eyes.
A dull thud hit the carpet. They all looked over to see Trigg scrambling to right the bottle of schnapps before the clear liquid leaked all over the carpet.
“I think we have their attention, Marvin.” Now Vivien put her hand on his knee. “Yes. We will share this suite. And the bed, if that is your next question.”
Silence.
Marvin knew he was bright as a pocket of coa
ls in a weenie-roasting fire. He picked up Vivien’s hand and found a light sweat in her palm. So she was nervous. He wouldn’t know it to look at her. She sat there cool as a cucumber as she met three pairs of unblinking stares.
Rolf moved first, holding out his beer stein. Trigg came over and glugged an unhealthy portion of alcohol into it before taking a hit straight from the bottle. Rolf tipped his own back and didn’t stop ’til he’d drained it.
“I need some of that, too,” Glory said, holding out her wineglass.
Trigg poured a couple of ounces on top of the burgundy.
“Since when?” Trigg asked. “You know, I’d be thrilled for you, Marvin, sowing some oats of your own, if it wasn’t with my mom.”
“So, you’re going to live together?” Glory asked. “Or—?”
“We’ll see how we get on,” Marvin said. So far, it was swimmingly. “Let’s get through the wedding we already have on the books before we worry about any others.”
“It’s still a big step,” Glory said. “What does it mean for the lodge?” She glanced at Rolf.
“Rolf and I will need to have some discussions,” Marvin allowed.
“Oh, sure. He gets to have ‘the talk’ that’s easy,” Trigg muttered.
Glory clasped her hands in mock excitement and leaned toward Trigg. “Maybe they’ll give us a little brother or sister!”
Rolf sighed and tipped his head back to give her a look that begged for deliverance.
Vivien squeezed Marvin’s hand. “I told you not to worry.”
He kissed her. Just a little one, but right there in front of their kids.
Chapter Sixteen
Spring melt was in full swing with only a few patches of dirty snow in the corners of the lot and a steady soundtrack of trickling water. The graveled lane between the lodge and the base was nothing but potholes. Nate watched Trigg weaving the ute back and forth around the handful of young men shoveling and raking gravel. Murphy zigzagged behind to smell at bushes and tufts of grass.
Nate turned his face up to the warmth of early May sunshine, squinting at the brightness and breathing the pine-scented air, feeling pretty damned good in the moment.
“Thought your Swedish was back,” Trigg said as he drew to a stop at the bottom of the stairs.
“She’s sleeping off the jet lag.”
“Is that what she’s sleeping off?”
“Lunch?” Nate tried.
“Just say ‘sex,’ man. We all do it. No reason to be coy.”
“Yeah, I heard everyone is doing it.”
Trigg gave him a half-lidded stare. “Was that a ‘your mama’ joke?”
“It’s okay if you’re feeling confused about getting a new dad. That’s normal.”
“I love how everyone thinks you’re the nice guy around here when you’re actually the biggest asshole of all of us.”
“You’re the one who turns it into a competition.”
“You’re on fire today, aren’t you? Is this what sex does for you? ’Cause you never used to be this quick.”
They heard the sound of an approaching engine at the same time and looked, but it was only a little hatchback, not the rented minivan Nate was expecting.
“So where are they? Or did you text me to get my ass up here ’cause you were feeling lonely?”
“Wanda texted that they left an hour ago.”
A brunette got out of the hatchback, hair in a ponytail with wispy bangs framing her face. She shouldered a heavy purse while giving the façade of the lodge a curious gaze, then brought her attention down to them. She might have jolted a tiny bit when she looked at them, but with the distance, Nate couldn’t be sure.
Trigg was busy trying to recover lost points anyway. “So, your grandparents had lunch with your gay ex-wife and her girlfriend? How did that go?”
“Grammy and Wanda were always very fond of each other. I’m sure they enjoyed catching up.”
“Who wouldn’t?” Trigg drawled, but sounding distracted now. The brunette had snagged his attention. He was making no effort to hide his interest as she approached and walked past the nose of the ute.
“Good afternoon,” she said, but sounded more guarded than interested. She wore a long blue skirt that kicked as she walked and she turned her head to stare down Trigg, barely glancing at Nate.
Trigg let a crooked grin spread across his face as she turned her attention forward at the last second. He made sure to lean back in the seat of the ute so he could see past Nate and watch her disappear into the lodge.
“Dude,” Nate snorted. “That’s probably your mother’s last interview for lodge manager.” Vivien had mentioned it when Nate dropped by the office ten minutes ago to tell her his grandparents would be here soon.
“You’re just jealous you couldn’t clock that. I wouldn’t tattle. You could have taken a peek.”
“You would tattle. In a heartbeat.”
“Yeah, I might do it anyway, just for shits and giggles. She was really cute, don’t you think?”
“I have no opinion and if you say I did, I will rat you out to Glory so fast, you’ll be watching her feed your nuts to your dog before you know they’re gone.”
“They made up their mind on Tuesday. This is just a courtesy because Glory screwed up and said this one could still interview. She’s not going to get the job and will probably need consoling.” He looked toward the doors. “How long am I going to be playing chauffeur?”
“I just need the wheels, man. Feel free to go offer a cuddle and a boot knock. See how that goes.” Because Nate didn’t think that look she’d given Trigg had been the invitation Trigg thought it was.
Trigg was giving him a pained, “Dude, they come to me. That’s rule one,” when Vivien came out.
She wore designer jeans over boots with a low heel and a quilted-silk jacket. She was pulling on a leather glove, but paused and removed it.
“It’s quite pleasant out here, isn’t it?”
Trigg sent a speculative look past Nate, as though waiting for the brunette to follow. “Thought you had an interview?”
“Marvin is handling it. I wanted to say hello to Nate’s grandparents. Do you mind?” she asked Nate.
“Not at all. Grammy is looking forward to meeting you.”
The minivan arrived. He waved and pointed at a spot across the parking lot, then went across to greet them.
*
Marvin was feeling sheepish as he showed Wren Snow into his office. The girl had walked into Vivien pretty much telling him to get rid of her as quickly as possible. They had been standing outside the door of his suite, easily seen and heard from the front desk when the dining room was quiet, which it was.
The lodge had been built before wheelchair accessibility had been law. Marvin had already asked Devon to draw up a proposal for an elevator at least to the first floor, but with Nate’s grandparents in town, and Marvin moved into Vivien’s suite, they had decided to put the older couple in there for the night. The retrofit on the door had only taken a day. He and Vivien were doing a final check of the room when Wren entered the foyer.
Marvin had been saying he felt sorry for the girl, driving all the way from Utah, but Vivien didn’t think they needed to hear her out.
“She gave us the wrong contact details. It’s her own fault she came all this way for nothing.”
That’s when they heard a small cough. Marvin was certain she had overheard them, but she was looking around, not letting on.
“I should see if Nate’s family has arrived,” Vivien had said, having the grace to look embarrassed. She snagged her coat off the wall behind the desk with barely a nod toward the girl.
Wren watched Vivien go with such a lingering gaze, Marvin had the impression she recognized her.
It added to his own curiosity about the girl. Vivien had a point. They’d made their decision, but his insatiable interest in human behavior had him wondering why this young woman had been ‘planning to be in the area,’ when she had talked Glory into booking
her an interview.
At the same time, he was learning that he didn’t always have time for chit-chat. Indeed, where he often saw himself as letting someone down easy, they occasionally misinterpreted it as a different signal. They were taken aback by his bad news if they’d had a lengthy, warm-hearted conversation leading up to it.
Managing was an art form. He needed exactly the right person to make this place work as well as it could. So, in agreement with Vivien over the experienced young man they had both favored, Marvin sat down and said what he had to.
“I’m afraid we’ve made our decision. I did try to cancel the appointment, but I wasn’t able to reach you.”
“I was traveling.” Wren said it so quickly, he suspected she had rehearsed the excuse. “But, do you mind if I ask… This place is being renovated by the, um, Johansson brothers. Is that right? The snowboarders?”
“Rolf skis. Trigg boards. But yes, they’re both gold medalists. Rolf retired a few years ago. Trigg is still competing.”
“Are they, um, here?” She pointed at the floor. “I mean, did I see Trigg Johansson on my way in?” She pronounced his name with an odd amount of care and waited with seeming bated breath for his reply.
From the first time Marvin had met Trigg, he’d noted the young man garnered a lot of female attention. Glory had begun drafting an employee manual and it contained a fraternization guideline she referred to as the ‘Don’t Frigg Trigg Rule.’
Marvin smiled in preparation for letting down this girl, who it seemed may have driven all this way for a glimpse of a crush.
“It’s very likely you saw him, but he’s only here part-time. As I say, he still competes which means he travels more than he stays put. If you thought that by working here, you would see him every day, that’s not likely.”
She stared at him, gray eyes blinking under the fringe of her dark hair, expression waifish and looking as out of her depth as a small-town freshman in her first week at college. Her paperwork said she was twenty-five, but she wore minimal makeup and looked about fourteen.
“Well, that’s embarrassing.” She brushed her dark brown hair across her forehead, sitting very straight. “I’m not—” She shook off the suggestion of interest in Trigg with a flushed, flustered kind of shudder. In fact, he thought he also read the same anxiety in her blush that young virgins at college wore, when they realized how experienced everyone was and were both uncomfortable and a teensy bit envious.