Her eyes widened a little but he saw something else in them that scared him, making his heart thump—excitement. If she licked her lips again he wouldn’t be responsible for his actions because he was going for it. His breathing accelerated now and he was completely lost in her eyes.

She blinked then her eyes pinched and she looked away as if she was trying to figure something out. “Is that…”

Gio didn’t know what she was talking about at first then he heard it too—music. He focused on it as well. It was Spanish music and it was coming from outside. It got even louder now. Bianca walked to the window that faced the front of the cabin and Gio followed her as it became apparent that the music might actually be live.

Her hands went to her mouth when she reached the window. She spun around and darted past him toward the front door. Gio glanced back at her confused then looked out the window. There was an entire ensemble of mariachis out there. Standing with them—Felix. He held a huge bouquet of flowers. Gio watched until he saw Bianca who now wore her snow boots over her pajama pants fly into his arms. Felix hadn’t been blowing her off again. He’d wanted to surprise her and in a big way.

Gio wasn’t sure what he was expecting but what he felt the moment he saw Felix kiss her, was not it. He swallowed hard, reminding himself maybe this was a good thing. Maybe Felix making such a production to surprise Bianca meant he really did care about her.

The decision was the fastest and easiest one he’d ever made. The short amount of time he’d spend with Bianca was all he needed to know she was special—too special to have her heart torn apart. If Felix didn’t have the sense to see that Gio would make sure he did, even if he had to beat it into him.

CHAPTER 9

Focusing on the excitement of seeing Felix—feeling his arms around her—Bianca pushed aside any nagging feelings of guilt. Curiosity is all it was. She’d been curious about Gio’s comment ever since he first made it on the slopes. The wine had just given her the courage to ask. That’s all it was.

“What happened?” she asked, pulling away from him so she could see his eyes. “I thought you said you wouldn’t make it up tonight.”

“Babe, I was waiting for my driver when I called you.” Felix’s playful smile warmed her. It’s what she loved most about him. She always told him she could totally picture what he looked like as a little boy. Despite his rugged features, he still had such a baby face. “I was this close to just telling you but I knew how disappointed you were about me not making it up yesterday. I wanted to do something special.”

Bianca turned to the mariachis who hadn’t stopped playing. One moment she was smiling so big she nearly laughed, then just like that the feeling was gone and her stomach dropped.

Andy, Felix’s publicist, waved at her from where he stood near the back of the car talking on his phone. She turned back to Felix fighting the scowl that threatened to replace her happy face. “Why is he here?”

“He’ll only be here for a couple of days. Just so you know, the media knows I’m up here and they’re already on their way. In fact there was already one van parked outside the gates when I drove up.” Felix wrapped his arms around her waist and she couldn’t help smiling and touched his lips with her finger. He kissed it then continued, “He’s here to handle the first few exchanges with the media and tomorrow morning I’m scheduled to make an appearance at some local charity thing.”

Bianca couldn’t help feeling disappointed and apparently she was no good at hiding it either. Felix kissed her forehead and then quickly began explaining. “It’s in the morning. I’ll be back before lunch and then we’ll have the rest of the day together. I would’ve said no but Andy thinks it’s best if I voluntarily do photo shoots for all these vultures. Says they’ll be less persistent about getting that first photo of me up here if I offer it up front.”

Bianca shivered. In her haste to get to Felix she’d run out in only her pajamas, barely stopping to put her snow boots on.

“C’mon, let’s go get you a jacket,” Felix said.

She wrapped her arms around his big arm leaning her head against him and for an instant had a flashback of touching and holding Gio’s arms on the slopes when she was first showing him how to stand. Again, she tried shaking the thoughts away until Felix brought them right back. “So, did Gio get the hang of snowboarding?”

“Yes,” she smiled. “He got pretty good actually. He wanted to race.”

Felix laughed. “Aw, shit! Were you guys out there all day?” Gio stood just inside as they walked in making Felix’s smile even bigger. “Hey, brotha!” He pulled away from Bianca to reach out and clap Gio on the shoulder then shook his hand. “Sorry it took me a minute to get here but I hear you had fun on the slopes today.”

Gio glanced at Bianca with a smile. “Yeah, she got me up there. And did she tell you what a badass I was?”

Bianca laughed now. She was glad there was no awkwardness. She didn’t know what she was thinking. These two had been friends for years.

“Yeah, well, just wait ‘til tomorrow. Your ass is gonna be laid up all day. Did you take some aspirin already?”

Gio shook his head. “Not yet.”

“Dude, take some. I’m not shitting you. You’re gonna be hurting bad tomorrow.”

Gio assured him he would. Bianca walked away to grab her heavy jacket, beanie and gloves. She wasn’t sure how long the mariachis would be there, but it was freezing out there.