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Russell smiled and nodded. “She did. Why don’t we have dinner one night while we’re here to discuss the specifics? If Gemma didn’t have a function in London for New Year’s Eve, we would join you in New Orleans.”
“Daddy, I’m hungry.”
Elijah patted the little girl’s leg and tilted his head back to look up at her. “We’ll get you something soon, sweetheart. Say hi to Uncle Russell.”
The little girl gave him a shy wave and buried her face in her dad’s hair, making him chuckle. He yearned for a little one of his own, and Gemma did, too. But sometimes he wondered if he put too much pressure on her.
“Hey, Melissa. Are you excited about Christmas?” he asked.
She lifted her head enough to look at him with one eye and nodded. “Mama says I get to help other little kids decorate a Christmas tree. I’m weally excited!”
Russell laughed. “What’s your favorite part about the tree? The star? The lights? Candy canes?”
She sat up straighter and her eyes got big. “I wanna put the star on the tree. And I looooove candy canes. Daddy says they’re bad for my teeth, though.” Her little mouth turned down in the cutest pout he’d ever seen.
Russell grinned. “Come see me and auntie Gem while you’re here. We’ll share a candy cane, and it will be our little secret,” he whispered with a wink.
Elijah and Holly pretended not to hear, and Melissa giggled and put a hand over her mouth.
Holly put a hand on his arm. “Let’s grab that dinner when the others arrive. You said Matthew and Kendall get here in two days?”
Russell nodded, and they agreed to make plans when everyone was settled, and he left the Barretts to go have some fun with Gemma.
But the cabin was quiet when he arrived, and he knew it was empty. Where the hell did she go?
“Gemma?” he called, even though he didn’t expect an answer.
Her phone and purse and jacket were gone, so it looked like she’d left of her own accord, but his heart rate increased as he pulled his own phone out to call her.
She didn’t answer, so he pulled up the tracking app he used to keep tabs on her when they were apart.
She was still on the property. Knowing Gemma, she decided she was hungry or wanted to explore. He followed the dot on his phone until he came back to the main lodge. Inside, it got harder to pinpoint exactly where she was, so he stopped at the front desk.
“Can I help you, Mr. Adler?”
“Have you seen my wife?”
“I directed her to the bar upstairs a few minutes ago.”
Russell frowned but thanked the woman behind the desk and headed for the stairs instead of the elevator.
When he entered the bar, he spotted her right away, and his shoulders relaxed. The brat.
He approached her with a tender smile and slid an arm around her waist, standing next to her barstool. “Treasure, I see you liked your massage so much you offered to buy your therapist a drink?”
Gemma shrugged. “It seemed like that’s what you must have wanted. Because I’m sure you didn’t pay Katie an extra five-hundred dollars just to keep a male from giving me my massage. I assumed it was because you met her and thought we would be friends. And you were so right. Tomorrow is her day off. I thought she could hang out with us. You didn’t have plans, did you?”
Gemma’s voice was sugary sweet, and she winked at Katie before tipping her glass to her lips.
He smiled at the woman and pulled Gemma from her stool. “We can talk about that later, love. Right now, we do have plans, so you should say good night.”
Then he leaned in close and whispered. “Nice try, Treasure. You’re in big trouble.”
Her face flushed a pretty pink as she stepped forward to hug Katie. “It was so nice to meet you. Thanks for helping me get so relaxed to start my vacation.”
“You did not seriously invite a random stranger to hang out with us on our day alone before your sister arrives,” he said when they were out of earshot.
Gemma giggled. “Technically, yes, but she was in on the joke. She’s got plans tomorrow, so you’re in luck. And I don’t understand why I’m the one in trouble. You’re the ninny who went all caveman when you found out my masseuse was a man.”
