by Anita Hughes
Perhaps she should buy Gabriel a thank-you present for being such a good friend: a Christmas cake, or a box of pralines. She would miss their lunches and his stories. But she didn’t need his advice. Perhaps it was time to admit the break with Adam might be serious and she had to learn to live without him. Like a favorite sweater you can’t put away until you notice the holes in the elbows.
She entered a pastry shop and admired the glass cases of chocolates. There were milk-chocolate truffles with colored sprinkles like confetti, pink peppermint sticks, and chocolate pyramids drizzled in caramel.
The clusters of Brazil nuts dipped in dark chocolate looked delicious, and she handed them to the cashier. He wrapped them in a clear bag and tied them with a ribbon. She walked back onto the street and heard someone calling her name. Raj strode toward her, waving his cell phone.
“What are you doing here?” she asked in surprise.
“Finding you,” Raj said. “I tried calling, but it went straight to voicemail.”
“I’m sorry, the phone reception is so spotty,” she apologized. “Don’t tell me one of the models got hurt. We shouldn’t let them ski; someone is bound to be injured.”
“Everyone is fine,” Raj assured her. “I gave them the afternoon off until this evening’s bobsled race. I need to talk to you. This has got to stop.”
“What are you talking about?” Felicity asked.
“This thing you’re carrying on with the Swiss doctor, it’s all over the blogs.” He pointed to his phone. “At first I thought it was harmless, and any mention was good publicity. But it’s gone too far. You are a wedding dress designer—you can’t cavort around St. Moritz with a handsome stranger while your boyfriend is in New York.”
Felicity’s cheeks colored and her stomach dropped.
“I’d rather not talk in the middle of the sidewalk,” she said, and pointed to a café. “Let’s sit down and discuss it.”
“Listen to this,” Raj said when they were seated at a table. He clicked his phone on and read out loud. “Someone doesn’t have much Christmas spirit this year. Sports manager Adam Burton looked positively Grinch-like at the Union Square Holiday Market. We can’t blame him; the blogs have been swirling with photos of his wedding-dress-designer girlfriend, Felicity Grant, getting cozy with a mystery man in St. Moritz. We thought we had good news for Adam: Felicity was seen at St. Moritz’s hottest nightspot, Chesa Veglia, with her whole crew. She was eating their famous white pizza and hanging out with the models, and there wasn’t a dark-haired man in sight.
“The other girls headed for the dance floor after dinner, but Felicity begged off. She was later spotted at the Polo Bar sipping brandy with a female friend and looking very upset. It seems unlikely that she was missing Adam, since she’s been having such a good time in St. Moritz. Perhaps the mystery doctor didn’t approve of her friends at Chesa Veglia and they had a lover’s quarrel. It doesn’t look good for her boyfriend, Adam, in New York. No one wants to be someone else’s sloppy seconds. Thankfully, the New Year is around the corner. Seems like it’s a perfect time to put in motion the old adage: out with the old and in with the new.”
Felicity grabbed the phone and studied the photo of her and Patty sitting at the Polo Bar. The photo was dark but her mascara was smudged, and she looked like she had been crying.
“I don’t know why they keep making things up!” Felicity handed him the phone. “I got upset about Adam and decided to go back to the hotel. Then I was freezing and stopped at the bar for a brandy.”
“Who were you with?” Raj asked. “You don’t know anyone in St. Moritz.”
God! Nell hadn’t told Raj that her mother and father were in St. Moritz. She didn’t want anyone to know.
“The blogs made that part up too,” Felicity said, waving her hand. “I was just sitting at the bar.”
“I wondered why you left Chesa Veglia. It looks like something is going on with that doctor, and it has to end.” Raj put away his phone. “Every journalist and blogger is covering the collection. We’re not going to get favorable reviews if you’re behaving like a lovesick teenager.”
“Gabriel and I are just friends.” Felicity looked up and her eyes were bright. “If you must know, it was something one of the models said. I promised to keep it a secret. It doesn’t matter anyway. Adam and I are over.”
“What do you mean, it’s a secret? I need to know everything about the models!” Raj blustered. “This fight with Adam will blow over once you’re together. In the meantime, if the blogs keep making snide comments about you and Gabriel, the show will be a disaster. Everyone is coming to experience magic and romance, not to get in the middle of some sordid love triangle.”
“There’s no love triangle,” she said hotly. Then she remembered how hard she and Raj had worked on the collection. “If you really think it will hurt the collection, I won’t see Gabriel again. I promise there won’t be any more pictures online.”
Raj relaxed and leaned against the chair.
“You’ve never let me down in six years, so I’m going to trust you,” he said, nodding. “I know we’re both on edge. Every time a model leaves the hotel, I’m afraid she’s going to slip on the ice or run off with an Austrian count. But we’re creating a terrific buzz. The fashion show is going to be a huge success.”
“You’re doing a great job, and I’m grateful.” Felicity suddenly felt emotional. Felicity Grant Bridal was all she had left, and she had to put everything into it.
“I have to go, I’m meeting Greta.” Raj looked quizzically at her package. “Don’t tell me you bought something at Läderach? Their chocolates are terribly overpriced.”
“It’s a present for Gabriel,” she said sheepishly.
Raj picked up the bag and inspected the chocolate-covered nuts. “Why are you buying a present for someone you just met?”
Felicity’s cheeks colored and she snatched the bag away. “It’s Christmas, and he’s been very kind. Why shouldn’t I buy him something?”
* * *
Felicity climbed the steps to Gabriel’s office and knocked on the door.
“Felicity! It’s nice to see you.” Gabriel appeared in a long white coat, carrying a stack of magazines. “Come in, I was tidying up the waiting room. What’s wrong? You look upset.”
Felicity sat on the vinyl sofa and handed him the bag of nuts. So much had happened, and she didn’t know where to start.
“These are for you,” she said. “To say thank you.”
“They look delicious, but why are you giving them to me now?” He turned the bag over. “You’re in St. Moritz for three more days. Did something happen? Do you want to talk about it?”
Felicity told him Katie’s story, and how she was sure Adam had never loved her.
“I appreciate everything you’ve done for me,” she said, folding her hands, “but I don’t need more advice. Adam and I are finished. I was making Adam into something he never was from the beginning.”
“I doubt that,” Gabriel said slowly. “Adam wouldn’t stay with you for six years if he didn’t love you.”
“How do you know?” she wondered. “Maybe we stayed together because I was convenient.”
“Convenient?” he asked.
“I live across Central Park, so he doesn’t have to take the subway to get to my apartment.” She fiddled with a cushion. “I don’t do any of those clingy girl things, like keeping my vitamins at his place or asking him to do my taxes. And we like the same toppings on pizza, so he doesn’t have to order half sausage and half pineapple.”
“I doubt he’s with you because you’re convenient. From what you said, Adam can afford taxis, and he wouldn’t notice if you left your toothbrush in his vanity,” Gabriel responded. “My bathroom cabinet is full of things I never use: earplugs and extra-large Band-Aids.”
“How would you know how Adam feels?” she asked despondently. “You’ve never met him.”
“I know you.” He opened the packet of nuts. “You wouldn’t be i
n love with him if he wasn’t worth it.”
“If you were really in love with someone, would you tell her you wanted to take a break?” She accepted the nut he offered.
“If I was in love, I would wrap my arms around her and tell her that no matter how hard it was, we’d work it out. I’d tell her I couldn’t live without her, and she’s the most important thing in the world.” His eyes were suddenly serious.
There was an odd silence. Felicity stood up and smoothed her slacks.
“I have to go,” she said. “I’ve so enjoyed our walks and your stories, but Raj doesn’t want me to see you again.”
“What do you mean?” Gabriel frowned.
“The blogs are having a field day, and he’s worried the negative press will hurt the collection.”
“That’s ridiculous,” he objected. “We’re just friends.”
“We know that, but the bloggers can be quite ruthless,” she answered. “I can’t jeopardize the fashion show. Raj and I have worked so hard.”
“Of course. I understand.” He nodded. “It’s a shame. I had tickets to the new exhibit at the Segantini Museum tonight. I was going to invite you. Afterward we could listen to caroling in the village and eat Sacher torte and almond nougat at Hotel Hauser.”
She remembered her promise to Raj that there wouldn’t be any more photos of her and Gabriel online.
“I’m sorry, I can’t.” She shook her head. “Raj wants us to watch the bobsled races.”
“I’ll just have to go by myself,” Gabriel said and smiled. “The bobsled races are quite exhilarating. Just don’t get too close to the track. You don’t want to get run over.”
Felicity looked at Gabriel’s brown eyes and something small inside her shifted. She brushed the feeling aside and nodded.
“I certainly don’t,” she agreed. “I won’t have my guardian angel there to protect me.”
“And don’t go outside without a jacket,” he admonished. “St. Moritz is eighteen hundred meters above sea level. You can’t walk around in a sweater and slacks.”
“I have it right here.” She pointed to the jacket folded over her arm.
“I’m sure we’ll run into each other; it’s a small village,” Gabriel offered. “Is it all right if I wave from across the street, or will the bloggers read something into that?”
“It’s perfectly all right.” Her eyes were bright. “I promise I’ll wave back.”
“Good luck then, and thank you for the chocolates,” Gabriel said. “How did you know Brazil nuts were my favorite?”
“I was just lucky.” A smile crossed her face and she turned to the door.
* * *
Felicity climbed the steps of Badrutt’s Palace and entered the lobby. It never failed to thrill her: the giant Christmas tree festooned with ornaments, the women in fur coats and tight ski pants, the men with dark tans and gold watches. In three days it would be New Year’s Eve, and all these people would line the catwalk to view her collection. Katie would appear first in an A-line gown with a marching ermine cape. Crystal would wear iridescent Mikado silk with a skirt stacked like seashells. She could hardy contain herself when she pictured Nell’s dress for the finale. The sweetheart neckline was embroidered with gold stitching and the organza bow was as wide as the runway.
She had so much to be grateful for: Raj’s devotion to the business, Nell’s friendship, and the success of Felicity Grant Bridal. And now the chance to be part of Bergdorf Goodman’s bridal collection! All she needed was a bath and a cup of hot chocolate and she would feel better. Maybe she’d even buy herself a treat: a coffee-table book from the hotel gift shop, or a cashmere scarf she saw in the boutique. It was Christmas, after all; she could afford to buy herself a present.
There was a man standing at the concierge desk wearing a gray overcoat. He had light brown hair, and his black carry-on looked familiar. The man waved at the concierge and Felicity’s heart beat faster.
It couldn’t be Adam! He wouldn’t fly to St. Moritz without telling her. She remembered the latest blog, and her stomach turned over. Perhaps Adam was so angry he’d come to break up with her in person.
“Felicity!” He turned around. “Thank God. Your cell phone didn’t pick up, and there’s no answer on the phone in your suite. This gentleman wouldn’t let me up to your room without your permission.”
“What are you doing here?” she asked. His cologne was familiar and his eyes were the same shade of blue, and for a moment she remembered how much she’d missed him.
“I came to talk to you. And I’d rather not do it in the lobby.” He grimaced. “St. Moritz isn’t the easiest place to get to. I’ve been on two planes and a train and a taxi. Can we go up to your suite and talk in private?”
“Thank you, Gunther,” Felicity said, turning to the concierge. “Everything is fine. Adam is a friend from America.”
* * *
They entered the suite. Adam surveyed the striped drapes and velvet love seats and the balcony with its view of the lake.
“This is quite a place,” Adam said, and whistled. “Don’t tell me Raj paid for all this. You’re living in the lap of luxury.”
“Raj got a discount on the suite, and we’re both working hard,” she answered. “Katie almost had to be sent home because of altitude sickness, and Crystal got in trouble for wanting to do the Cresta Run. Not to mention making sure every photo opportunity is documented,” she said. “We’ve been busy from morning to night.”
“You have been busy.” Adam settled on the sofa. “And extremely well documented. Everyone in New York knows what Felicity Grant is up to in St. Moritz.”
“If you came all this way during the most important week of my life to harp about a few silly blogs, you could have saved yourself the trip,” she said sharply.
“It’s not a few silly blogs. It was in Page Six in the New York Post,” he said. “Anyway, Doug signed with the firm yesterday, so I decided to get on a plane. It’s the only way to find out what’s going on.”
“I told you, nothing is going on,” Felicity replied. “The blogs made it all up.”
“I find that hard to believe. The pictures are everywhere,” Adam responded. “On Christmas Day, all you wanted was to get married; now you’re practically planning a wedding to a complete stranger.”
“Gabriel is just a friend,” she answered. “But you said we should take a break. You even suggested we see other people.”
“I didn’t mean the thing about seeing other people. It popped out of my mouth, and I was too wound up to take it back.” He looked at Felicity. “I came because I didn’t want to lose you. I’ve missed you, Felicity.”
“You can’t miss me. I’ve only been gone for four days.” Felicity sat on the sofa beside him.
“I missed us—we’re an amazing team.” He touched her hand. “I can’t see the future clearly, but I know you’re part of it. I’m jet-lagged and haven’t had a decent meal in twenty-four hours. Why don’t we continue this conversation at dinner? I’ll ask the concierge to recommend a restaurant, and we’ll order a bottle of wine and a couple of steaks.”
Felicity removed her hand and walked to the window. A group of children hurried by carrying a red sled. Gabriel might help her figure out what to do, but she’d promised Raj she wouldn’t see him.
“I’m sorry, I can’t have dinner.” She turned around. “I have plans.”
“What do you mean, you have plans?” Adam demanded. “Tell Raj that I’m here. He can survive an evening without you.”
“I’ve been invited to a private showing at the Segantini Museum,” she said, crossing her fingers behind her back and telling a little white lie. “It’s very important. They might sponsor the collection.”
“Then I’ll come with you,” he offered.
“I already RSVP’d for one. I’m not allowed to bring a guest because the space is tiny,” she said quickly. “Why don’t you relax, and we can meet for drinks later at the King’s Club? It’s one of the hottest nightclubs
in Europe.”
“I guess that will work. It will give me time to take a shower,” Adam said, relenting. “There were no rooms at Badrutt’s Palace. I had to book a room at the Suvretta House above the village.”
Felicity crossed the room and kissed him on the cheek. “You must be tired, and you don’t want to walk in the cold. I’ll tell the valet to call you a taxi.”
* * *
After Adam left, Felicity sank onto the sofa in her suite. In all the scenarios she’d pictured—Adam waiting for her at JFK with a dozen roses, Adam filling her apartment with flickering candles—she’d never expected him to be standing in the lobby of Badrutt’s Palace.
The crystal ornaments on the mantelpiece glowed under the chandelier and the lights on the indoor Christmas tree twinkled red and green and gold. She had dreamed of Adam coming to St. Moritz, but now that he was here she felt all mixed up, like a snow globe that had been shaken too much.
Her phone sat beside her and she dialed Gabriel’s number.
“Felicity,” Gabriel answered. “Why are you calling? Are you feeling all right? You have to be careful with a head injury, sometimes you don’t realize it’s a concussion until days later.”
“I’m fine. I hope I’m not disturbing you,” she faltered. “I wondered if that invitation to the museum opening was still good.”
“My last patient left and I was planning on going,” he concurred. “I never pass up free hors d’oeuvres and vintage wines.”
“Can I join you?” she asked. “Something happened and I’d like to talk to you.”
“What if someone sees us?” he wondered.
“I’ll wear a disguise,” Felicity chuckled. For the first time since Adam had appeared, her spirits lifted. “Look for the woman in the hooded parka and dark sunglasses.”
“Now I’m intrigued. It sounds like a spy movie,” Gabriel answered cheerfully. “I’ll see you at seven p.m.”
Felicity put down the phone and poured a cup of tea. The sound of caroling drifted through the window, and she took a small sip. It was Christmas week in St. Moritz, and she should be happy and excited about the winter collection and her sketches for Camilla Barnes. Instead, she was desperately trying to make everything all right with Adam. All she wanted was to be happy with the man she loved. She put down her teacup and wished for a Christmas miracle.