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First published in Great Britain by HarperImpulse 2014
Copyright © Lorraine Wilson Ltd 2014
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Lorraine Wilson Ltd. asserts the moral right
to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue record for this book is
available from the British Library
This novel is entirely a work of fiction.
The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are
the work of the authorâs imagination. Any resemblance to
actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is
entirely coincidental.
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Ebook Edition © February 2014
ISBN: 9780007558346
Version 2014-10-02
Digital eFirst: Automatically produced by Atomik ePublisher from Easypress.
âSo, whatâs that youâre reading?â
Tashâs voice pierced Sophieâs happy bubble like a razor slashing a party balloon.
âJust a book.â Sophie shifted on her bar stool, inching the Kindle screen away from Tashâs line of sight.
Tash slid onto the cow-skin bar stool next to her and didnât seem to pick up on Sophieâs irritation at being disturbed.
âYouâre early.â Tash swiveled towards her. âWeâre not meeting until eight.â
âI wanted a bit of time alone,â Sophie replied.
Fat chance of that around here, or in the dorm room at Chalet Repos, orâ¦anywhere for that matter.
Privacy was the only luxury in short supply in Verbier.
âMe too, those kids were making a right racket back at the chalet. I wish Scott would make it an adults-only chalet.â Tash grimaced.
Sophie sighed heavily. Time to relinquish her vain hope for a bit of peace and quiet. There was no stopping Tash if sheâd decided she wanted to talk to you. Things were certainlyâ¦difficult back at Chalet Repos, for more than one reason. But it wasnât anything she wanted to talk to Tash about.
âSo, what are you reading Ms. Trent? Why donât you want to tell me?â Tash had grabbed Sophieâs Kindle before Sophie could stop her.
Sophie glared at Tash, who scrolled through the pages on-screen, a delighted smile on her face.
âOoh, itâs a romance. I didnât know you were into these bodice-rippers.â Tashâs cat-like eyes gleamed, reflecting the barâs tea lights. âSo, what page are the dirty bits on?â
âSsh, will you keep it down?â Sophie reached for the Kindle but Tash lifted it above her head. She was only attracting more attention now from the other customers of Bar des Amis, some of them starting the après ski early, while others clearly hadnât made it back to their accommodation to change from their ski gear yet. A hot flush crept up Sophieâs neck and heat radiated from her cheeks.
She automatically cast her eyes down to the floor â the way sheâd always coped whenever she wanted to disappear.
What sheâd give for a trap door right now. Or even just a chance to escape into her book again.
âNathan tenderly stroked the side of Avaâs face. Yet despite the tenderness, his dark eyes blazed with the heat of passion and her skin tingled at his touch. âDo you feel it too?â he asked huskily as their eyes locked,â Tash read aloud in a ridiculously over-the-top acting voice. âThen he reached for her, his mouth was on her lips, tasting her hungrily as his hands slid down to cup herâ¦â
âFor Godâs sake, Tash, will you just shut up?â Sophie spoke fiercely into Tashâs ear, fighting the feelings of humiliation. She knew Tash wasnât deliberately trying to ridicule her but this felt too much like all those horrible times at school for comfort. It felt like Tash had ripped all of Sophieâs clothes off, leaving her exposed for everyone to laugh at her, plump and naked except for her mis-matched underwear.
At last Sophie managed to grab the Kindle back and slumped, mortified, onto her bar stool.
âÃa va?â
Sophie looked up to see who had spoken, afraid sheâd find the owner of the voice laughing at her. Instead she found the dark-grey eyes of Luc Dubois, the owner of Bar des Amis, fixed on her.