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Beau’s mouth dropped open before he started laughing. “Um, I’m going to assume, judging by his gray beard, he died of natural causes. Old age.”
“Ah, that could be,” I said, both of us just being silly now. “Whatever it was, I hope it was over quickly.”
“I hope so, too,” Beau said, looking around at the other animals on the wall. It really was unsettling to me, but then, it was part of the culture here. “We might see some living versions of these guys tomorrow on the hike.”
“Really?” I didn’t see any animals that looked particularly terrifying, but I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about encountering a wild goat either. “Do they bite?”
“Yes. Haven’t you heard of the ferocious goat attacks that take the lives of thousands of Swiss people every year?” He grinned at me and shook his head.
“You never know. I could be the first,” I reminded him.
“True. Maybe the brother of the goat that gave his life for your new hat will show up and try to take you out.”
I stared at him for a long moment. “That was a goat hat?”
Beau burst out laughing. “No, I’m just joking.”
“Oh, thank goodness,” I said, breathing a sigh of relief.
“I think it was a bear.”
Once again, I found myself staring at him. I didn’t want to anger any bears either.
Just then, the waiter came over, and Beau went about settling the bill. I was pretty sure he was just joking about the bear, but I had no idea if bears were common in the mountains of Switzerland. I was going to need to look that up.
After dinner, we headed back to the house, and I could see that Beau still had a lot on his mind. Rather than trying to get him turned on, I put on my pajamas and climbed into bed with him, wrapping my arms around him and kissing him sweetly on the cheek. Whatever it was that was bothering him, I wanted to be there for him. I wanted him to know that I was a soft place for him to fall.
Eventually, he began to snore quietly, and I felt myself beginning to nod off as well. I hoped that tomorrow would be a fun day with nothing too heavy to weigh us down—and no bears.
27
BEAU
My alarm sounded way too early in the morning. Even though it was actually set for nine a.m. local time, to me, it seemed like it should still be the middle of the night. While it was easier for me to adjust to different time zones now than it had been when I first became a world traveler, like Georgia, I had my moments when getting up was painful.
I didn’t have much of a choice but to shut it off and get up this time, though. I was supposed to meet my property manager, Sven, in about an hour, so I needed to get up and get ready. He would be here right on time, too. I never hired people to work for me who weren’t reliable.
Georgia lay against my shoulder, her hair golden in the early morning light. Every time I looked at her, she seemed more beautiful than the last. I wanted to bend down and kiss her, but I also didn’t want to wake her. She looked like a slumbering angel, and even though she’d wanted to come with me, I didn’t see any point in forcing her to when she was so tired. It wasn’t as if I couldn’t handle it myself. She’d slept through the meeting I had with the property manager in Maui, and that had been fine.
Carefully, I slid out from beneath her, doing my best to move slowly enough not to wake her. It took some maneuvering, but I managed to get out of bed. She mumbled something in her sleep and rolled over, quickly drifting back into the land of dreams.
Under the stream of warm water, I felt my muscles relax, but my mind was wide awake now. I went back over the conversation Georgia and I had had the night before at the restaurant. I wasn’t sure why this was so hard for me right now. Perhaps it was the scenery, reminding me of Kaylee. Or maybe it was just that I felt myself becoming so attached to Georgia, and that was frightening because it had been so long since I’d let myself feel this way about anyone. Either way, I needed to get my head on straight, or else I was going to end up going to a dark place, and Georgia didn’t deserve that. She deserved to have an amazing time on her adventure, not to hear me complaining or see me moping around.
After my shower, I got dressed in a pair of pants that would be suitable for our hike afterward and a long-sleeved shirt. I would bring a jacket with me as well, but I knew it would get warm as the day grew on, and I always perspired more when I was walking. I took a moment to put on my hiking boots and then slipped back out into the bedroom.
Georgia was sitting up, a confused look on her face. “Hey,” I said softly. “Did I wake you?”
She shook her head and then wiped at her eyes. “No, I just thought maybe I’d missed the meeting again. Did I?”
“No,” I assured her. “If you wanna go get ready, I’ll fix us some breakfast. I had one of my assistants who lives here buy you some appropriate outfits. They’re hanging in the closet, which is on the other side of the bathroom.”
Her face lit up. “You did that? For me?”
I shrugged. I loved it when I could surprise her by going the extra mile. “I wanted to make sure you were comfortable on our hike.”
“Thank you so much, Beau,” she said, climbing from beneath the covers and stopping to hug me before she darted off to the bathroom.
I couldn’t help but chuckle, glad I’d made her smile. Heading downstairs, I went to the kitchen to make us breakfast, and by the time the eggs were done frying, Georgia was there. She looked adorable in an outfit that would be perfect for hiking. Black joggers and a pink and black long-sleeved top.
