by Sue Brown
Table of Contents
Blurb
Dedication
Chapter 1—Day 1
Chapter 2—Day 1
Chapter 3—Day 1
Chapter 4—Day 2
Chapter 5—Day 2
Chapter 6—Day 3
Chapter 7—Day 3
Chapter 8—Day 3
Chapter 9—Day 4
Chapter 10—Day 4
Chapter 11—Day 5
Chapter 12—Day 5
Chapter 13—Day 6
Chapter 14—Day 6
Chapter 15—Day 6
Chapter 16—Day 6
Chapter 17—Day 7
Chapter 18—Day 7
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Copyright
Last Place in the Chalet
By Sue Brown
Noel Garrett leaves for his Christmas vacation with an engagement ring in his pocket. But he boards the plane alone and with a broken heart when his boyfriend dumps him in the airport.
His seatmate, Angel Marinelli, takes care of him with gentle determination… whether Noel wants it or not, and Noel doesn’t expect to see Angel again. But when an overbooking leaves Angel without a room and Noel is asked to host him, one night turns into the whole vacation and they settle into the chalet and mix with an eclectic group of guests, including the Wise Guys and a pregnant woman. As they ski and spend every moment together, Noel finds himself falling for Angel, and though his feelings are returned, Noel worries it’s just a rebound romance. It’ll mean taking a leap of faith, but Noel has to make a decision before he hurts Angel, and Christmas is fast approaching.
I owe the entire story to K.C. Wells. This is entirely her fault. I have no shame in using everything she suggested.
Chapter 1—Day 1
vacation day
morning
NOEL GARRETT sat in his car in the parking lot of the airport and stared at his boyfriend of four years. “I don’t understand.”
The snowflakes settling on the windshield couldn’t be as cold as he felt at that moment.
Adam Mitchell pushed a hand through his mop of dirty blond hair and sighed heavily. “I don’t want to go on vacation with you.”
“That’s not what you just said. You said our relationship is over.” Noel hated the way his voice cracked on the last word, but he was reeling at the shock of hearing those words come out of his boyfriend’s mouth just as they were about to get out of the Honda.
“Don’t make this more difficult than it already is,” Adam snapped. His pale blue eyes were flat and cold as he scowled at Noel.
Noel shivered again and wrapped his arms around himself in an effort to keep warm. “We’re on our way to Vail, for our Christmas vacation, Adam. The ski trip we’ve planned for months. You remember that? We’re at the airport and you tell me now?”
“I was gonna tell you earlier,” Adam muttered, refusing to meet his gaze.
“Oh thanks,” Noel said sarcastically. “I suppose I ought to be grateful you didn’t wait until we were going through security, or would you have waited until we got on the plane?”
“I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry?” Noel’s voice cracked again, and he struggled to hold back his grief and fury. “You’re sorry?”
Adam turned his head away and stared out the passenger door window. “Let’s go home. We can talk about it there.”
Noel noticed the fan of barely-there lines spreading out from Adam’s eyes. He’d never noticed them before. He took a deep, shuddering breath and tried to calm his thumping heart. When he felt he could speak, he said, “Why are you dumping me? I think I’ve got a right to know that.”
“It’s difficult to explain.” Adam sounded almost sad, as though his initial anger had drained away to leave no emotion behind.
“Try me,” Noel said flatly.
“I want more from life, No.” Noel grimaced at the shortening of his name under the circumstances. Adam carried on. “You just want to settle down with a house and a dog. It’s boring.”
The dog was a new one on Noel. He’d never mentioned a dog, had he?
“You’re bored?” Noel asked, incredulous.
They were about to take a ski trip because Noel wanted to take him on a romantic vacation to mountains and snow and stunning scenery. He wanted to teach Adam to ski because Noel loved it, and Adam was bored?
“Yes.”
“With me.”
Silence.
“You’re bored with me, or you think I’m boring?”
Still nothing.
Noel swallowed hard. “Do you love me anymore?”
The silence in the car was deafening.
“I—” Adam started, but Noel cut him off.
“You’d better go.”
“What?” Now Adam looked startled.
“Go. Leave. Get out of the car. Go away.” Noel looked away before Adam saw the tears in his eyes.
“What are you going to do?” Adam asked.
“I’m going on my vacation.”
“On your own?” Now Adam sounded shocked.
He had a point. Noel had always said he wasn’t keen on taking vacations by himself. Adam loved traveling alone, but Noel hated solitary travel and preferred to be with friends or his partner.
“Yes, on my own,” Noel insisted. “I’m not missing my vacation.” He’d worked fourteen-hour days for the last month to make sure he could take a whole week off without the management at his advertising company bitching at him. If they had their way, the employees would eat, sleep, and breathe work. Asking for vacation time was like asking for a pay raise—unheard of. But Noel insisted, and he put the extra hours in so the bosses couldn’t complain… much.
“How am I going to get home?” Adam asked.
Noel shrugged. “Get the shuttle. Uber. I don’t care. The car stays here until I get home.”
“That’s not fair. You’re not going to be here. Why shouldn’t I use the car?”
“You dumped me less than five minutes ago, remember? It’s my car and it stays here. You can buy your own.”
Maybe it was petty of Noel, but that’s how he felt. Adam worked a block away from their—Noel’s—apartment. Although Noel walked to work too, they’d decided to keep Noel’s car as it was newer, and Adam had sold his car when he moved in.
Adam glared at Noel, but when Noel said nothing, he got out of the car and slammed the door. Noel pressed the button to open the trunk and waited until Adam had dragged out his suitcase. It was heavy. Noel had lifted it into the trunk and he took grim satisfaction at watching Adam’s unsteady progress in the rearview mirror. As Adam stalked away, Noel watched until tears filled his eyes and he couldn’t see him anymore. The tears ran down his cheeks, and he buried his face in his hands.
He jumped as the rear passenger door opened.
“Forgot my jacket,” Adam snarled.
Noel faced the front, not wanting to give Adam the satisfaction of seeing him in tears. He closed his hand around a small box in his pocket and tightened his grip until the edges cut into his fingers. Then Adam slammed the door and he was alone once more.
NOEL STARED out the window of the plane as he waited for takeoff. His skin was crawling, and he was close to running from the plane, chasing after his boyfriend—ex-boyfriend—to ask him what the hell he’d done wrong. They’d been happy, hadn’t they? It was true Noel had talked about settling down now that they were both in good jobs. He wanted to buy a house rather than rent, and he’d even mentioned the M word once or twice, but Adam had never given the impression he was averse to any of those ideas.
“Sir, you need to put your seat belt on.”
It felt as though Noel were fracturing into a million pieces and no one around him knew or cared. He needed to get off the plane and go hide while he nursed his broken heart.
“Sir?”
Someone shook Noel’s arm. He turned to find a young, blond-haired guy with pale green eyes smiling at him. “Yeah?” His voice was huskier than usual as he tried to speak around the lump in his throat.
“You need to put your seat belt on. We’re going to take off soon.” The man indicated the flight attendant, who was giving him an impatient scowl.
“Oh, sorry.” Noel’s hands shook, and he fumbled the lock.
“Are you all right, sir?” the attendant asked.
“I—”
“Here, let me.” The man reached over and buckled him in as though Noel were a child.
“Thank you,” Noel managed.
“You’re welcome.” The man smiled at him and went back to his phone.
The flight attendant—maybe about Noel’s age—shot him a suspicious look, but walked off to check the rest of the passengers. Noel returned to staring out the window and barely noticed when they took off.
Noel received another nudge when the refreshment trolley arrived. He shook his head. He was tempted to ask for a whiskey, but it was eight in the morning and drinking on an empty stomach was just going to make him sick. His companion asked for a coffee and a bottle of water.
“Which would you like?” the man said, disturbing Noel’s thoughts again.
He hoped it wasn’t going to be like this throughout the flight. He just wanted to be left alone to wallow in his misery. The guy obviously expected an answer, but Noel had forgotten the question.
“What did you say?”
“Coffee or water?”
“I don’t—”
“You need to drink. Which one?” For a man who was twenty if he was a day, he was very insistent.
“I’d rather have a whiskey,” Noel muttered.
“You don’t need any more alcohol.”
Noel stared at him. “Any more?”
“Your hands are shaking already,” the man said.
Noel stared at his hands. They were trembling, and he resisted the temptation to hide them away from the too-knowing eyes.
“I’m not drunk.” Noel gave a harsh laugh. “I wish I were.” He received a skeptical look and then another question.
“Are you ill?”
Noel wished the guy would just leave him alone. He didn’t have the patience for twenty questions. “Not ill. Not drunk.”
“Then—?”
“Dumped, okay? My boyfriend dumped me at the airport.” His throat closed around the painful words and he looked away to avoid the pity in the wide green eyes.
The man squeezed Noel’s forearm. “I’m so sorry.”
“Me too.”
“Here.”
He handed Noel the takeout cup of coffee. “I don’t want—”
“Drink it.” The man almost growled at him.
Noel sipped at it. It was black and bitter and disgusting. Noel liked his coffee half full of creamer and sugar. But the shock of the bitter taste grounded him in a way he hadn’t expected.
The man watched him shrewdly. “Feeling better?”
“Yes.” Noel sighed. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. My name’s Angelo Marinelli. Everyone calls me Angel.”
It was kind of appropriate. With his blond curls and sweet face, he looked angelic.
“Noel Garrett.”
They shook hands awkwardly around the cup of coffee.
“Do you want another one or the water?” Angel proffered the bottle.
Noel shook his head. “I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not, but you will be.”
“How can you know that?” Noel asked bitterly.
“Because you’re hurting now, but it won’t last.”
Angel’s gentle smile eased the hurt in Noel just a fraction.
“You think so?”
“I know so,” Angel said, his tone so confident it drew an involuntary smile from Noel.
“You seem too young to know about broken hearts.”
Angel’s smile turned wry. “It’s the blond curls and the altar-boy appearance, isn’t it?”
Noel nodded because Angel did look like an altar boy, now that he mentioned it. “What are you? Nineteen, twenty?”
“I’m twenty-five.”
“I bet you get carded all the time.”
“Every damn time,” Angel agreed. “What about you?”
Noel frowned, confused at the question. “What about me?”
“How old are you?” Angel clarified.
“Twenty-seven. It was my birthday yesterday.”
“Ah, that’s why you’re called Noel. It makes sense now.”
“Kind of old-fashioned, but my folks are like that.” Noel had hated his name as a kid, but now he didn’t mind. It was who he was. Staid and boring.
Unaware of Noel’s bitter thoughts, Angel smiled at him. “Happy birthday for yesterday.”
Noel gave him a wry smile. “At least Adam waited to dump me until after my birthday.”
Then he felt bad because Angel had been genuine in his birthday wishes.
“You loved him very much?” Angel asked gently.
Noel opened his mouth to snap that of course he loved Adam, but he held back. He had fallen in love—and in lust—with Adam at first sight, but it had mellowed into something else over the years. Something he’d thought stronger than initial love. “I loved him,” he said. “I thought he felt the same.”
Angel studied him for a moment. “Breaking up is shit.”
“Yeah,” Noel agreed. He sat back and finished the last of the cooling cup of coffee.
Conversation died between them, and as Noel returned to staring out the window, his thoughts drifted back to Adam. He was blindsided by what had just happened. He had no idea Adam was so unhappy. He put his hand in his pocket and felt for the small box again. All Noel’s plans for the vacation had come to a screeching halt. What was he going to do now? Unbidden, tears came to his eyes. A tissue was pushed into his hand without a word. He couldn’t speak, not even to say thank you to Angel. He would have broken down completely, and that was too much. Another pat and Angel left him alone.
The rest of the flight went by in silence. Noel stared out the window, his mind a whirl of pain. They landed in brilliant sunshine, and Noel busied himself as they got ready to disembark. Angel vanished with a wave and a cheery farewell, and Noel was relieved to see him go. Angel had been witness to his pain, and that was humiliating, no matter how much he tried to convince himself otherwise.
When Noel switched on his phone to see if Adam had called or texted him, the screen mocked him with its blank stare. Fresh tears threatened to spill, but Noel forced them back. He’d made the decision to come on this vacation, and he was going to enjoy it, even if it killed him.
Around him, passengers juggled skis and suitcases, but Noel and Adam had decided to rent the equipment as this was Adam’s first time skiing. Noel only had a small bag with him, so he didn’t have to go to baggage claim. He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. A week of skiing, drinking, and relaxing. He could do that. He could ignore what was going to face him when he got home. As long as his chaletmates were okay, he could survive the meals and then escape to his room. Maybe he should pick up a bottle of whiskey before he got on the bus.
Liquor purchased, he headed for the parking lot, where he was told there would be a shuttle waiting to take him to the chalet. The bus for The Last Pine was at the end of a r
ow of shuttle buses. A tall bear of a man stood by the open door, clipboard in one hand and his phone to his ear. Noel walked up to him as the man finished his call.
“Hi,” Noel said.
“Welcome.” The man held out his hand, which almost swallowed Noel’s. Noel was six foot in his socks, but this guy easily topped him by six inches. “I’m Don. And you are?”
“Noel Garrett.”
Don scanned his clipboard. “Ah, yeah, and Mr. Mitchell?”
“He’s not coming. It’s just me,” Noel said shortly.
Don frowned, but he must have seen something in Noel’s expression, because he merely nodded. “We’re waiting for two more people.”
Noel climbed aboard. There were three men sitting together in the back seat. Two looked to be in their thirties, and the other one was older, maybe in his fifties. One of the younger men, a skinny guy with the biggest brown eyes Noel had ever seen, smiled at him.
“Hi, I’m Marv. This is Frankie and Goldie.”
Noel wasn’t sure who was Frankie and who was Goldie. He managed a brief smile as he sat down. “I’m Noel.”
He turned to face front, and they seemed to understand he didn’t want to talk, because they resumed their conversation. Noel stared ahead, hearing odd words about finance and Toyotas. He tuned them out, and his thoughts inevitably returned to Adam. Maybe he should call him when they got to the chalet. They needed to talk, even if it was over the phone.
People milled about in the parking lot. He spotted Angel standing by another shuttle bus. Even from this distance, it was easy to see Angel’s unhappy frown and the other people looking angry and miserable. Although Noel couldn’t read lips, he could understand the curse words and clenched fists of a young man standing next to Angel. Noel hesitated, wondering if he should see if Angel needed help, but as he stood up, he was distracted by a woman wearing a purple puffy jacket. Her long glossy black hair tumbled under her shoulders from under a purple beanie as she headed at a slow pace toward Don. She looked tired and fed up as she pulled a wheeled suitcase behind her. Don rushed over to help.
“Can’t see her going down the slopes,” one of the men said behind him.