Emma

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟖

"I said scrub my back." Emma wiggled in the bath, splashing water and bubbles over the side as James' hand playfully slid around her ribcage. "That's not my back."

"Autonomy was never my strong point. Good job I'm not a surgeon." he grinned, glancing out of the bathroom window as his cell phone began to ring in the living room. "Starting to snow again. Hang on let me get that."

Emma heard him answer the phone, greeting one of his friends with enthusiasm. As she lazily soaped her arms, James came back to the bathroom.

"... what you're where? God, that sounds fantastic. Hang on a second, she's right here, I'll just ask her. It's Lukas Ackermann," James explained. "He's in Austria. There's a group of them sharing a chalet in Kitzbuhel and one of the other guys has just been flown home with a smashed-up pelvis. Which is bad news for him, of course, but on the other hand..."

"Good news for you?" guessed Emma. "Or do we call a lucky break? Don't tell me, they've got room for one more and they thought of you." Was that a niggle there in her voice? A little niggly edge?

"Wrong actually. The other guy's wife flew home with him. They've got room for two more and they thought of us." Luckily James hadn't taken offense. Sitting on the edge of the bath he added persuasively. "So what do you think? Can Aaron take care of the things here? It's only for a week. Lukas says the chalet's fantastic, the skiing's superb, they've got a great crowd out there. And it's mixed, not just a horrible gang of boys, drinking nonstop and throwing up in the jacuzzi. Come on," he leaned teasingly over the bath, "we'd have a brilliant time. You could do it with a break."

Emma knew she could, but she also knew she wasn't going to get one. Aaron had already booked a couple of days off in the coming week in order to attend a cousin's wedding in Glasgow.

"I can't." Regretfully, she shook her head. "Aaron is away." It was a shame, it couldn't be helped.

James' face fell. "Okay. Nevermind. Lukas," he returned to the phone, "sorry man, we can't make it. Emma has to work." A pause while he listened to Lukas' voice at the other end, then.

"No, no. Thanks , but I wouldn't feel... it wouldn't be..."

"You could still go," suggested Emma, squeezing bubbles out of the sponge.

James looked at her. Hesitating. She knew how much he wanted to.

"Hang on again, Lukas. Emma's saying something." Moving the phone away from his mouth he said, "Wouldn't you mind?"

"Of course I wouldn't mind. You love skiing. You can't do much here while the weather's like this." She waved at the snow tumbling like confetti past the window. "No golf, no ice cream dates with me. And it's only for a week."

She meant it. The moment of nigglyness earlier had been a Pavlovian reaction, a hangover from her previous relationship. Even when she thought she'd trusted Patrick, some inner instinct had never entirely trusted him. But had been then. Things were different now. This was James, whom she knew she could trust. He was a polar opposite of Patrick.

"You know what you are?" Grinning, James leaned precariously over the bath and gave her a huge kiss. "Gorgeous." The phone in his hand began to cackle and he spoke into it. "No, not you, you're an ugly sod. I'm talking to this beautiful gem of a girl here... yes, I mean Emma. And she's naked. In the bath. Oh yes. And right now I don't know if I even want to leave her here on her own, but she says that if I want to come out to Kitzbuhel, it's fine by her."

Ten minutes later, it was all fixed. James had got himself on a flight from North Caroline to Salzburg, leaving tomorrow lunchtime.

By late afternoon he'd arrive at Chalet Sattelkopf in the heart of Kitzbuhel, for seven days of hard skiing and seven nights of while apres-ski.