“NO ONE RECOGNIZED you in the hospital?” Stefan shifted in his bed as Penelope put a breakfast tray in front of him.
“If they did, no one said anything.” She removed a napkin from the tray, revealing the breakfast she’d prepared for him. A grilled vegetable frittata, oatmeal, a blueberry muffin, and a fruit smoothie with protein powder. The man had a well-stocked kitchen.
Stefan pushed himself to a seated position. He wore green plaid flannel pajama bottoms, but his chest was bare. It was as firm and well-defined as she’d recalled. He was an absolutely beautiful specimen of a man. After pausing a moment to enjoy the view, she handed him a robe. “You’ve got to be hungry.”
“On several levels,” he said, and gave her a kiss. “I’m not surprised that no one recognized you—or mentioned it. A lot of Olympic athletes live and train here. It’s not as glamorous or well-covered as Aspen, so celebrities can visit or live out of the spotlight here.” He named off a couple of Oscar and Grammy award winners who lived normal lives in and around the area.
Penelope chuckled, hugging one of his shirts she’d put on around her. “When we rolled into the hospital, I didn’t exactly look like my cover images.”
He drew his hands over her slicked-back hair and kissed the top of her head. “When I opened my eyes that morning, you were the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen in my life—frozen hair, runny nose, and all.”
“I felt the same way,” she said, laughing with him.
As he ate, she glanced out the window. The storm had cleared and snowfall wasn’t expected again for days. “It’s awfully quiet here.” She was enjoying the seclusion of the cabin.
“People tend to stay in when blizzards are predicted.” Twisting a side of his mouth up in one of his old grins, he added, “I was so dazzled by you I neglected to check the weather. It moved in awfully fast. That can happen here.”
He drank the smoothie and started on the frittata. “Now that there’s been a good early snowfall, if it stays cold the downhill skiers and snowboarders will flood the town soon.”
As he ate ravenously, Penelope watched with satisfaction. He’d slept through lunch and dinner at the hospital, and had hardly touched the plate they’d left. This was his first real meal since their last lunch together on the mountain.
“Now that I’m proven, maybe I can get on as a bodyguard,” she said, teasing him.
He wiggled his fingers. “Not even frostbite. You passed the nature survival test.”
“Thanks to the gear in your backpack. I’ll never ski without one again.” A fresh bandage covered part of his forehead, but other than that, he looked fine. Extremely fine, she thought.
After finishing his breakfast, he pushed it to one side and brought her closer to him. “Now, where did we leave off at lunch? As I recall, we were hurrying back for something important.” He touched his lips to hers, deepening into a warm, loving kiss.
Embracing him, she kissed him back, running her hands over his stubbled jawline. He felt so masculine, so sexy… She released a moan.
He caressed her face, her neck, her shoulders, filling her with desire she’d missed so much. Easing her down beside him, he rose above her, teasing her with delicious flicks of his tongue.
She wanted more—so much more—but she pressed her hand gently against his chest. “This will to have to wait. The doctor warned you against vigorous exercise.”
“It doesn’t have to be that vigorous,” Stefan said, protesting.
Penelope laughed. “That’s not the way I remember it.”
She got up to take the tray back, but Stefan caught her hand and pulled her back to him, peppering her face and lips with kisses.
“I remember what you said up there,” he said, turning serious. “That meant so much to me. Your words sustained me. I don’t know if I could’ve held on without you. Did you really mean what you said?”
“That I love you?” Penelope sucked in her bottom lip in thought. “I don’t think I’ve ever stopped loving you.”
Relief flooded his face, softening the worry lines on his brow. “I feel the same. I’ve been so ashamed of what I did—”
Penelope pressed a finger to his lips to silence him. “Remember what the doctor said. You’re not to get upset.”
He nipped her neck and slid a muscular arm around her. “Telling you that I love you will never upset me. Those are the happiest words I can imagine saying.”
Wrapping her arms around him, she rocked back and forth as waves of happiness swept over her. These were the words she’d longed to hear again. She closed her eyes, reveling in the moment and thankful for the gift of discovery they’d been given.
How differently yesterday might have turned out. But it hadn’t been their time to die. Today was their time to live and love. Today and ever onward, she hoped, for as long as they lived.
Feeling blissful, she left him with a kiss, picked up the tray, and started back to the kitchen. She smiled as she thought of their future together. Decisions would have to be made, but she was confident they could overcome anything now.
As she put the tray down, her phone vibrated on the counter with an incoming call. She’d just plugged it in when they’d arrived home. No one knew the ordeal they’d just survived. She picked up the phone.
“Hi, Elena. Sorry I’ve been out of touch, but you won’t believe what happened.” Penelope went on to tell her about the blizzard and the ensuing catastrophe.
“I’m relieved to hear that,” said Elena. “I was worried when you disappeared, so I called Josh. He told me that Stefan had taken you to Mammoth to de-stress. I know you’re not crazy about Stefan, but I think that was a really good idea. I hope you’re getting some rest.”
“You might say that we called a truce.” She couldn’t contain the happiness in her voice.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that we’re picking up where we left off a number of years ago. I think we’re going to start dating again.”
Elena let out a low whistle. “Congrats, but won’t Kristo be disappointed to hear that.”
“We’re going to have to stay here a few more days until Stefan improves.”
The sound of Elena’s laughter bubbled through the phone. “That sounds like a delicious little love nest.”
“You have no idea. He has the best-stocked kitchen I’ve ever seen in a bachelor pad. And he’s a fabulous cook.”
Elena chuckled again. “That’s not exactly what I was talking about.”
“But that’s exactly what got us in trouble,” Penelope said, laughing with her friend. “So, was there a reason you called?”
Elena hesitated before she spoke. “I really hate to give you bad news.”
“Is everything okay?” Penelope pressed her hand to her chest.
“It seems that you’re trending on social media again.”
Penelope felt the air whoosh from her lungs. “Now what?”
“Do you remember when we were on Kristo’s yacht, and he showed us a game he was working on? It was called Master’s Revenge.”
“You mean the one where he’d pasted my head on his character?”
“That would be the one.”
Penelope shut her eyes and leaned on the counter for support. “Is it out?”
“It’s number one on the gaming chart.”
Penelope felt a sense of dread coursing through her. “Oh no, he didn’t.”
“Oh yes, he did. You’re the star.”
The nerve of him. “He can’t use my likeness without permission, and I sure didn’t give it to him.”
“Looks like that’s what your attorney will have to tell him.”
Penelope sighed. Would her problems ever go away? Still, she had to be realistic. As long as she was in the public eye, it was to be expected. Just not from her friends. That is, she’d once thought of Kristo as a friend. A slightly weird friend, but she’d never thought he meant to harm her. He was more like a yapping puppy dog enthusiastically trying to get attention. “I’ll call Scarlett right away.”
She hung up the phone and banged her fist on the counter.
“Now what?”
Penelope whirled around. “You should be resting.”
“I am resting. But clearly you’re not. Tell me what’s going on.” He crossed the room and enfolded her in his arms.
She’d forgotten how nice it was to be able to share her burdens with someone who cared. Someone who wasn’t on her payroll and just wanted the best for her. Her friends were in that category, of course, but Stefan was different. She remembered when they had been a team. A team for life. Could she hope for that again?
“Kristo launched a new video game.” With a sinking feeling, she remembered what Stefan thought about Kristo.
“The man of the thousand flowers?” Stefan gazed at her with concern. “What does that have to do with you?”
She squirmed in his arms and pulled away. “When Elena and I visited him on his yacht in Denmark he showed us a demo. There was a character in it that looked like me.” She shook her head. “Exactly like me.”
“And this character, is she still in the game?”
“Sounds like it. That’s what Elena called about.”
He shook his head. “I knew something was funny about that guy. You’ve got to call your attorney to start a cease-and-desist action right away.” He paused. “Is it a popular game?”
“At the top of the list.”
“I’d better called Josh about this. That game and the media surrounding it might bring out more crazies lurking around your place. At least you’re not there right now.” He slid his arms around her again. “You don’t have to fight this battle alone anymore. You have your attorney and you have me. And Josh, and the rest of my team, whenever you need them.”
Penelope hugged him. “You have no idea how much this means to me.”
“This is what I do, babe. And I do know how much it means to you.” He slid a finger under her chin. “Personal safety is a psychological need that people have. It’s important for normal people, as well as those who have achieved a degree of notoriety for their work.”
“I never went into modeling with the desire to become famous. I only wanted to do a great job, travel the world, and have fun.”
Stefan waggled his eyebrows. “Aren’t you having fun yet?”
“Not when lunatics are taking shots at me.”
“Then we’ll have to fix that, won’t we?” He nuzzled her neck. “I need to find a way to properly thank you for saving my life, don’t I?”
“Depends on what you have in mind. Don’t forget the doctor’s orders.”
“That doctor never had you around to distract him. Help me build a fire and we can lounge in front of it.”
Penelope brightened at that idea. “We could play Scrabble again. Your choice, English or Danish.”
“If I get a choice, I was thinking more like with or without clothing. The doctor never said we couldn’t do that.”
Stefan ran his hands down the length of her sides and she shivered with delight just thinking about what fun they’d have when he was feeling better.