Suite Embrace (17 page)

S
unlight glinted off the banks of snow, creating fiery pinpoints of light that made Virina think about the diamond choker that her ex-husband had given her for Christmas one year. It had been an intricate heirloom necklace, designed by a famous Russian jeweler especially for Wilhelm's grandmother. Too bad he'd asked for its return as part of their divorce settlement. Virina had been forced to hand the fabulous piece of jewelry over, but now, she wished that she had fought to keep it. It made such a statement of old money and class and whenever she'd worn it, it had caused quite a stir.

The trail leading from Vista View to the Snow King Suite was deserted, as Virina had hoped it would be when she set out on her early morning walk. Exercise and fresh air were very important to her and she rarely deviated from her routine of power walking for thirty minutes every morning, no matter where she might be or how late she might have been up the night before.

Filling her lungs, she plodded along, her insulated boots making a soft brushing sound with each step she took. She adjusted her blue tinted sunglasses and looked around, realizing why Mark had fallen in love with Scenic Ridge. It was an unspoiled jewel of a place, all right, but far too isolated and provincial for her taste. She had to admit that the party last night had been a nice affair, and for a good cause, too. But other than brief stops by Mariah Carey and a few B-list celebs, whom she did not recognize, no one of any real social status had attended. And after witnessing Mark's unpleasant behavior with the concierge, Virina had had enough. By ten o'clock she was back in her cabin and in bed reading the latest issue of
Vogue
magazine.

When the Snow King Suite came into view, Virina increased her pace. She had a list of things she needed to discuss with Mark and wanted his undivided attention before he got busy with his students.

First, she wanted to know how his meeting with Richard Nobel had gone and if he was as excited about the film as she was. Surely, Mark could see how lucrative such a documentary could be and how much he could profit from it, financially, professionally and socially. She had to get busy raising the funds right away, and that was going to require a quick trip to Los Angeles to visit with those she planned to tap for cash. It might take a few days to get everyone on board, but she knew she could do it if Mark was serious about moving forward.

Secondly, she wanted to know exactly what his intentions were as far as Skylar Webster was concerned. A casual date with a coworker was harmless, but Virina feared that her son was much more serious about Skylar than she had dared to imagine. What she had witnessed last night remained etched into her brain, making her slightly nauseous to think that Mark might actually settle for such a woman. That little affair had to be stopped right away, before it went too far.

When Virina reached the front porch, she climbed the three steps, stamped snow off her boots and knocked hard on the door. She could hear music coming from Mark's CD player, a good sign. He was not still asleep.

 

Mark opened the door, and was not surprised that his mother walked right in, before even saying hello.

“I'm glad you're up,” she told him, moving deeper into the room. She pushed back the hood of her baby blue parka, shook out her hair and began to pull off her gloves. “There are a few things we need to discuss.”

“I just got out of the shower,” Mark muttered, tying his belt and turning up the collar of his thick white robe. He had a towel thrown around his neck and his hair was still dripping water. Clearly, this was not the time for a visit from Mom. “I don't have time to talk now, Mother. I've got to get dressed and over to my office. Our schedule is crazy today and classes have already started.”

“All right, all right. I won't keep you long, but I wanted to talk to you about…” She paused, her blue eyes sweeping the room, as if to make sure they were alone. When her gaze settled on Skylar's burgundy, reverse-cut velvet jacket, the one she had been wearing at the party, Virina stalked over to the sofa and picked it up. “What is this?” she asked, eyes wide and unblinking.

Mark simply stared at her, sending the message that he wasn't about to discuss Skylar or her jacket. He knew Virina was aware of the fact that he and Skylar had gone out on a date and he'd wondered why his mother hadn't brought the subject up when she first arrived at Scenic Ridge. Well, now she had, and he wasn't biting. An argument about his love life was not how he wanted to start his day.

“Answer me, Mark!” Virina snapped, giving the jacket a hard shake. She held it out and away from her body as if the piece of clothing were contaminated. “Please don't tell me
she
spent the night here with you.”

The dramatic screech of Virina's voice made Mark flinch, and he prayed that Skylar was still asleep and not able to hear what was going on. Groaning, he reached out, took Skylar's jacket from his mother and hung it over his arm. “I'm not going to tell you anything. Who spends the night here is none of your business.” Squaring his shoulders, he calmly waited, letting his words sink in.

“Don't be so damn smug about this. You're making a big mistake, Mark. What do you know about this girl? Who is she, really? What does she want?”

Realizing that shutting his mother up without getting into a full discussion was going to be impossible, Mark clinched his fists and plunged in. “I know enough about Skylar to feel fairly sure that our relationship has a future.”

“A future! Oh, please!” Virina shot back. “She probably thinks you're rolling in cash and wants to get her hands on your money.” Virina chuckled sarcastically.

“That's not true. She knows the truth…that I'm not rich. That I spent as fast as I earned when I was skiing professionally and that I earn enough now to live comfortably.”

“Comfortably? Maybe in a place like this, but certainly not in the style you've been accustomed to,” Virina bluntly observed. “And that's why you'd better think twice about settling for a woman with no financial resources. She was on unemployment before her sister gave her a job! You weren't raised to mix with people like that, nor to live an ordinary life, and if you try to change, you'll get bored, frustrated and angry. Then what will happen to this so-called ‘relationship,' huh? It'll crash and burn and you'll be hurt.”

Mark blew air through his lips and shook his head. “God, you really have an imagination, don't you?” He edged closer to Virina, anger darkening his deep green eyes. “I think you'd better leave. I refuse to get into a discussion about finances or my personal affairs. If that's all you came over here to talk about, you can go.” He folded his arms across his chest and clamped his lips together, ending the conversation.

“All right. If you're determined to work at Scenic Ridge and teach skiing to underprivileged youth, I won't complain. Your mission is commendable. However, you don't have to live here. You ought to move out of this isolation and take a suite at the St. Regis Hotel, where more sophisticated people stay. You could easily commute back and forth.”

“I'm happy where I am.”

“No, you're not. You're confused. But I'll let it go, for now. However, you'd better be careful with that girl. Something about her makes me nervous. A tad too sure of herself if you ask me.”

“I didn't ask you, remember?” Mark threw back, his frustration with his mother beginning to rise. All of his life she had done this to him: made him feel as if his decisions had no merit, reminding him that she had all the control. A familiar sense of dread crept over Mark as he studied the determined set of Virina's jaw and the flash of irritation in her ice blue eyes. He couldn't give in to her, and he certainly wasn't going to allow her to push him into saying something that wasn't true. He loved Skylar and he was certain she loved him, too. If there was any hope for them, he'd have to fight to keep Virina from spoiling everything.

“Okay, okay. Don't get snippy,” Virina said, backing down. “But before I leave I need to ask you one more thing.”

“What?”

“Are you going to do the documentary with Richard Nobel?”

“Yes. I am,” Mark answered tersely, carefully omitting the fact that he and Richard had decided to feature Scenic Ridge. “I told Richard that he can start getting some footage of me on the slopes today and we're going to meet later for a long interview. I even pulled out some of my old scrapbooks for him to use for background research.”

“Good. That's all I wanted to hear,” Virina said as she walked to the door. “I have some videos I can give him, too and don't forget to show him all of your medals and trophies, which I assume you still have?”

“Of course. Some are in storage, but the important ones, I have with me.”

“Fine. Now, one more thing. I won't be around tomorrow. I'm flying to Los Angeles.”

“Los Angeles?” Mark queried, surprised. “Why? You just got here yesterday.”

“I know, but I've got to start raising money. It's business that needs to be taken care of right away. I have the jet, remember? So, it's no big deal. And I'll be back before you know it.” Tossing him a dazzling, runway-model smile, she pulled the door open and then turned around. “Don't do anything crazy while I'm gone.”

“Good-bye, Mother,” Mark managed tightly, shutting the door behind her.

During her walk back to her cabin, Virina's mind clicked through the list of people in Los Angeles she planned to tap for the money she needed to finance her son's film. Now that Mark was on board, it would be up to her to make it happen, and she was excited about the future once more. Once she got settled in L. A. she was going to tackle one more thing. She would find out just who Skylar Webster was and why an unemployed girl from Florida would settle for a concierge job in the Colorado mountains. Something about that little scenario simply didn't ring true and she was going to get to the truth.

 

Towel-drying his hair, Mark crossed the great room and headed toward the back of the cabin, wishing Virina luck. He knew her well enough to know that she was not going to take no for an answer once she started with her pitch for money. He shrugged, actually glad she was raising funding for the film. “At least,” he muttered, shrugging, “she'll be out of my way for a while and I won't have to listen to her nagging complaints.”

Entering his bedroom, he found Skylar beginning to stir. He had managed to slip out of bed while she slept and into the shower, with a plan to fix her breakfast before she awakened, but Virina's unexpected visit had ruined that.

Skylar sat up in the middle of the bed, yawned, and rubbed her eyes. “Hey,” she said softly as she wrapped a red quilt around her naked shoulders. Her hair was tousled from sleep, but her eyes were wide and staring straight at Mark. “I wasn't eavesdropping,” she started, “but did I hear voices? Was that your mother?” She tilted her head to one side, waiting for his reply.

“Yes, it was.” Mark tossed his towel onto a side chair and flopped, belly down, onto the bed, his face only inches from Skylar's. Leaning up, he kissed her lightly on the cheek. “But, she's gone. For now, at least.”

“Gee, what'd she want so early?”

“She's leaving. She has to get busy playing producer, raising money for the film that Richard Nobel is going to do on my life.”

“Oh, right,” Skylar said. “That's great. So, your mom is really going to be the producer? Has she done this kind of thing before?”

“No, but she's got connections with rich folks in Los Angeles who will probably come through. Gonna be gone a few days.” No way could he tell Skylar that his mother was also on a mission to break them up, even though there was nothing she could ever say or do to make him give up Skylar. Virina was just going to have to accept the fact that Skylar was the only woman he wanted. And accept Skylar for who she was. After all, she might be Virina's daughter-in-law one day.

“Too bad she's leaving though. She just arrived,” Skylar commented.

“I know, but that's the way she is. Flitting here and there, always on the go. We used to live like gypsies when I was younger and competing. We moved from hotel to hotel, city to city, country to country. Never stayed in one place very long.”

“That must have been hard on you,” Skylar offered, slipping down to snuggle next to Mark.

“It was, at times,” he confessed, pulling her to him. He rested his chin on her shoulder and went on. “Back then, I went along with whatever the plan was. She never consulted me about what came next.”

“How did that make you feel?”

“Disconnected, mainly. I was alone, remember. No father, no brothers or sisters.” He cleared his throat with a nervous cough. “That's why I want to have a big family of my own, one day. Lots of kids who will always have each other, no matter how old they get or where they live. I want to be a grandfather, too, and I plan to spoil my grandchildren terribly. I never had that kind of connection with either my mother or my father's family, and it's something I've always thought about.”

“Having children is
very
important to you, isn't it?” Skylar asked.