And it was glorious!

Gray appeared at the party to be there when I gave Molly her gift from me and him—a necklace I’d seen her admiring in Dress It Up. She was delighted and after receiving a hug from Gray that made her get this soft, dreamy look on her face, Gray left us to it. Not without first telling me he’d see me later, with a sensual promise in his beautiful eyes.

The party was a huge success and my appetizers and baked goods went down an absolute treat. Having promised to keep some for Gray, I managed to snag a cupcake, fairy cake, and a couple of brownies before they were all gone. With them secured in a small airtight container in my hands, I waved a final goodbye to Susan and Molly after a tearful cluster of hugs.

I’d given Susan my number and email and asked her to keep me up to date but only if she felt like it. The truth was I was melancholy leaving them because I wanted everything to turn out all right for them, and it was just one of those horrible occasions when it never really would. I knew because I’d been through it. You moved on with your life but it was always just that little bit empty. That was what it was to be human. To keep living, to find happiness, but doing it always being just that little bit sad because loss was inevitable.

I crossed the car park toward the lodge, toward Gray, knowing that I’d lose him eventually. But I didn’t want it to be now, or tomorrow, or ten years from now, or even fifty.

I wanted it to be after a lifetime of happiness together, when its inevitability was natural and right, and we were hopefully holding hands in bed together in our nineties, drifting off peacefully in our sleep.

Hurrying, I almost slipped, and marveled that it was my first almost graceless fall since I’d collided with Gray on the slopes. And oh, what a story to tell our kids! That Mummy took Daddy down on a ski slope, then accidentally kneed him in the junk and thankfully won his heart despite that.

I didn’t know how it would work but I couldn’t wait to tell Gray that it was going to work.

Catching sight of Jeanette at reception, I practically rushed her to ask if she’d seen Gray.

She grinned knowingly at me. Everyone at the lodge knew about our romance. It would have been a miracle if they didn’t, considering we spent almost every available second attached at the hip.

“He told me to tell you he has the infinity pool all to himself, if you want to join him there.”

A tingle awakened between my legs just at the thought. What a treat. The heated jacuzzi pool was small, half-moon shaped, and built into a balcony that jutted out from the lodge over the mountains. When you sat in it and stared out of the edge, you felt like you were floating over the snow.

I had never moved so fast in my life, hurrying back to my room to change into my bikini and robe. Not forgetting the baked goods, I practically sprinted to the spa, which had a closed sign on it, and slipped inside. It was weird being there when it was empty, but Gray had left some lighting on for me, lighting that acted as a guide toward the outdoor area.

The balcony was dimly light and I saw his silhouette in the pool. He had his arms crossed on the ledge, staring thoughtfully out at the mountains. I opened the door, drawing his gaze, and made quick work of slipping out of my robe and slippers and lowering myself into the heat of the pool, out of the freezing cold air. I grabbed the cakes off the ground and bobbed toward him with the container in my hand.

Gray grinned, reaching an arm out to pull me toward him. He relieved me of the container with his other.

“How did you swing this?” I asked.

“Jacob gave me the key. Though he said if we had sex in this pool he’d kill me.”

I burst out laughing, and it was soon muffled in Gray’s long, luxurious kiss. I smiled as we settled at the edge of the pool and he opened the container.

Watching in delight and anticipation as he bit into my frosted cupcake, I leaned closer for his reaction. His gaze flicked to me as he ate and made a ‘yummy’ face. I grinned harder. After he swallowed he said, “Angel, fuck, you can bake.”

“That’s just a cupcake. Wait until you taste my chocolate hazelnut cake.”

His eyes lit at the prospect.

And I continued, my breath puffing in the cold air between us, “And you will. I hope you’ll be tasting my cakes until we’re old and decrepit.”

Gray was about to take another bite of cupcake but stopped. Instead his mouth formed a gorgeous, crooked smile. “You mean that?”

“I mean that. I don’t know how we’re going to do it but we have to find a way.”

“Six months in Montana, six months in Scotland,” he offered immediately. “Best of both worlds.”

Tears of happiness immediately rushed my eyes before I could stop them. “You’d do that?”

“If you’ll do it for me, I’ll do it for you. And it’s not like it’s a hardship, angel. If Scotland’s half as beautiful as you, I’ll be happy.”

I threw my arms around him, knocking the container out of his hand and into the water, but I didn’t care. Kissing the life out of him, tasting cupcake and frosting, I knew I’d never been happier in my whole life. I didn’t think it was possible to be this ecstatic.

His arms closed tight around me and soon our kiss turned to more. His hands were everywhere, cupping and caressing my breasts, sliding between my legs.

“You’re on the pill, right?”

“Right,” I murmured in a sex haze. “But why?”