But first up, head massage.
I loved spas.
I loved the pampering from the moment you entered. I loved the smell of aromatherapy and chlorine from the pool. I loved the misty condensation in the air from the steam room and sauna.
I loved getting a massage.
I loved that when you were there you didn’t have to think about anything but relaxing.
After handing me a glass of champagne topped with orange juice, a friendly woman named Sarah led me through the reception area to the indoor pool. Tranquil music played softly in the background as she guided me to a reserved lounger by the pool.
“Your therapist is Ariana and she’ll be with you soon,” Sarah said and left me to it.
Instead of planning my life like I’d intended to while I waited for my masseuse, I laid back on my lounger, closed my eyes, and drifted off.
I was here for ten days.
That was plenty of time to plan my life.
For now a day at the spawasmy life plan.
2
By the time I’d made my way back up to my room after my treatments I was more relaxed than I remembered being in a long time. I wasn’t back in my room five minutes when Catie texted to tell me I was meeting her and Kyle for a romantic dinner for three in an hour. When Catie asked me to come with them on this trip, I knew she’d extended the invitation because she was worried about me. She thought I needed a break from life and since she and Kyle never relaxed more than they did on Winterhaven, she thought the place would work wonders for me.
I agreed because why not? But now that I was here, I was concerned about cramping their style and worried Catie and Kyle hadn’t thought about how having me along would interrupt their much-needed alone time.
Before I could text back to tell her I had other plans for the evening she texted again.
We want you there. No excuses. Dinner. An hour. Don’t make me haul my arse up to your fancy suite Xx
I laughed because my friend knew me so well and also because she’d been jokingly grumbling about my suite since I booked it. She and Kyle had a standard room a few floors below me but I knew she didn’t really care I was in a suite. Catie just loved to tease me whenever the opportunity arose.
Wouldn’t dream of it. See you in an hour. Xx
The restaurant in the inn was pretty nice. Catie told me the food was great and that locals booked tables there for special occasions so it was always busy. I was that girl that looked semi-dressed up no matter the event because I adored fashion and high heels. That night I decided on a high-waist forest green pencil skirt and a dark gold silk top with short art deco beaded sleeves that draped delicately over my shoulders; it showed lots of collarbone and a hint of cleavage. When I tucked the top into the skirt the whole ensemble accentuated my curves. I added gold strappy sandals, decided against jewelry, and wore my long auburn hair how I normally wore it: down in beachy waves that almost touched my lower back.
Grabbing the forest green clutch I’d bought with the skirt, I gave myself one more look in the mirror. Pencil skirts were so on trend right now. Usually Italian designers had them in their shows every year but they were on runways all over the globe this year and I for one loved they’d made a big comeback. There was nothing more flattering than a pencil skirt.
Not caring if I was overly dressed up because that was just me, I strode out of my room wondering if I should add “something in fashion” to my list of possible career options. I’d enjoyed shopping for Skylar when she first started working with my brother. Killian had worried I’d force my style onto her whenhe asked me to buy her new clothes but I found I gauged her personal style pretty well and was able to advise her accordingly. Once we helped her gain weight and get healthy again, I took her shopping. Skylar always looked tricked out. She managed to be sexy, alternative rocker girl whether she was in jeans and a tee or a tight black dress. But that was just Skylar. The woman exuded an undeniable amount of charisma. It was one of the reasons the paparazzi and her fans were so obsessed with her.
I couldn’t take credit for that but I could take credit for some of the cute items in her current wardrobe.
Stylist? Hmm. I’d put that on the list even though it sounded incredibly unrealistic. It would be a fun career though. Or maybe I’d get bored.
Och, I didn’t know.
I’d think about it in the morning because it would only stress me out before dinner.
The restaurant was on the same floor as my suite so it didn’t take me long to wander down the corridor to it. When I got there Catie and Kyle still hadn’t arrived so the host led me to the bar, where I slipped onto a stool to wait for them. I gazed around the restaurant. It was contemporary but warm in its use of natural materials and mixed metals. As Catie had already warned me it was packed with people. She and Kyle had booked us a table for dinner every night before our arrival but I wasn’t planning on joining them every night. They needed alone time at some point. And although I could see larger groups dining out together there was a romantic feel about the place. Between the soft lighting and the huge, wide windows at the back of the restaurant that provided a fabulous view over the ski hill, it was definitely a perfect place to be with someone you wanted to flirt with over dinner.
“What can I get you?”
I turned at the male voice and found the bartender, a guy around my age, smiling at me. “Oh. A glass of your house red, please.”
“Well, I’d know that Scottish accent anywhere,” a deep, familiar voice uttered behind me and I turned slightly and felt my stomach dip as the most beautiful man I’d ever seen in my life slid onto the stool next to mine.
Even though I hadn’t seen all of his face this morning I knew who he was.
