Listen to Your Heart (13 page)

“You do that.” Mrs. Glasser looked to her
husband for backup, but he was playing on the floor with their son.

Peter Glasser looked up and rose as
Adrian moved with Wynn-Jones and Morgan toward the door. “Thanks, man,” he
said, giving Adrian a brief, friendly hug. He turned to Morgan. “And thank you,
Morgan. Brandon seems to be a big fan of yours.”

She smiled. “He’s a cute kid.”

Glasser offered his hand to Wynn-Jones
for a quick shake. “You must be pleased to have employees like Morgan here. Not
many hotel employees would give up their break to take a child for ice cream.”
He stopped abruptly, as though considering his own words, then turned to his
son. “Come on Brandon. You and I are going downstairs for some ice cream.”

“But what about the room service?”
Sylvia Glasser’s tone was shrill.

He waved her comment away. “Let them eat
it. Come on, Brandon.”

* * *

“So.” Karen had waited until the manager
was in his office and Adrian was back at the concierge desk. “I see you found
him.”

Morgan nodded. “Asleep in the linen
room.”

Karen glanced over her shoulder.
“Wynn-Jones didn’t look happy.”

Morgan rolled her eyes. “You weren’t
here the day I took Brandon for ice cream, were you? He totally sided with Mrs.
Glasser when she flipped out. Said it was going on my personnel record.”

Karen’s lips tightened into a thin line.
“He’s a real piece of work.” She became brisk and businesslike again. “Okay,
let’s go over the check-ins for tonight.”

Morgan was exhausted by the time her
shift finished and she gladly turned the desk over to the man who worked night
audit. She’d managed to eat some soup on her break, but not much more. Thank
goodness she had the day off tomorrow. She intended to sleep in and then stock
up on supplies for the small kitchen.

“Morgan.”

She’d been hoping he would show up.
They’d both been busy since the incident with Brandon Glasser and she still
hadn’t thanked him for looking after her last night.

“Hi, Adrian.”

Melting snow clung to his hair and he smiled
at her across the lobby, shifting his gloves nervously from one hand to the
other. “I thought maybe you could use a ride home.”

She twisted her scarf around her neck.
“I was hoping you’d offer.”

“Really?” The delight in his voice
warmed her. He took her arm as they went to the elevator. “Shall we stop for
something to eat?”

Suddenly hungry, she checked her watch.
“It’s late, but there might be a drive-thru open. We could take the food back
to the Lodge and eat downstairs.”

“Good idea.” He tucked her carefully
into the passenger seat and they pulled out slowly. At the top of the ramp he
pulled the vehicle over, dug his phone out of his pocket and speed-dialled.

“Yes,” he said. “This is Adrian
Zimmerman.” He waited for a moment. “I’m just outside of the garage entrance,
and it’s slippery here. Would you please have Security put down some de-icing
compound right away?” He listened, then nodded. “Thank you. Good night.”

Morgan scarcely recognized this new
Adrian. He’d been forceful without being bossy, confident without being
demanding.

“So they know who you are?” she asked.

He nodded. “Security had to know, and
the fellow who works night audit was there when I arrived late the first
night.”

She tried to read his expression as he
pulled out. “Is someone in trouble?”

He shot her a quick look. “What? No.” A
smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “There’s been enough blame assigned
already today, wouldn’t you say?” He turned left onto Highway 99. “Security
would have found it on their rounds, but I’d rather be safe than sorry.”

* * *

“How about here?” Adrian chose a table
close to the fake fireplace and deposited their hamburgers, fries and drinks.
Dismayed, Morgan watched him walk to the television. The last thing she wanted
to do was watch a late-night talk show.

“I know there’s a music channel on here
somewhere,” he said, scrolling through the channel guide. “Oh, here it is.”

Soft music filled the room and he
lowered the sound, then walked to the wall beside the fireplace and pressed the
switch.

“When I saw this the first time I
thought it was ridiculous, but it’s really not bad, is it?” Flickering light
cast shadows on his face and she noticed for the first time that he had dark
circles under his eyes.

“Come and eat,” she said, gesturing to
the table. “You look like you’re ready to drop.”

He sank down into the chair beside her,
then removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “I’m not too bad.” He put his
glasses back on and grinned at her. “You’re the one who’s made an amazing
recovery.”

She took a sip of her tea. “That’s what
I wanted to talk to you about.” She gave him a weak smile. “Thank you for
everything you did for me last night. I should have known better than to try to
drink that stuff.”

He took a bite of his hamburger and
chewed thoughtfully before he spoke. “Don’t feel too bad. I hear Tyler could
barely lift his head this morning.” He nudged her food. “Eat up.”

Morgan ate a couple of fries and
followed them with some more tea. “Rob actually apologized today.”

“Really?” His eyes narrowed.

She looked into the distance. “It wasn’t
much as apologies go, but the word ‘sorry’ was in there somewhere.” She lifted
her hamburger, but didn’t eat. “I forced myself to maintain eye contact while
he spoke, and you know what I saw?”

“What?”

“Nothing. There’s an emptiness there,
behind his eyes. I found myself feeling sorry for him.” She nodded to herself
and took a bite. “He’ll probably end up being a lonely old man.”

A smile played around Adrian’s lips and
she found herself wondering what it would be like to kiss him. She looked away
abruptly.

“What?” He touched the back of her hand
and she looked up. Her gaze lingered on his mouth and he smiled again. Was he
reading her thoughts? The idea didn’t disturb her at all.

“Morgan...”

“Adrian...”

They spoke at the same time.

“You go ahead,” he said.

She looked down at her food, suddenly
shy with him. “I just wanted to make sure that you know how much I appreciate everything.
I was a real mess.”

His gaze flickered down to the front of
her blouse. It was her turn to flush. “It was my pleasure,” he said, somewhat
huskily.

They ate for several minutes in comfortable
silence.

“You have the day off tomorrow, don’t
you?” he asked, probing the bottom of the container for the last of the fries.

Morgan nodded. “Yes. I’m looking forward
to it.”

“Would you like to do something?”

She didn’t need to be asked twice. “I’d like
that. Did you have anything in mind?”

“Not really. What about you? There must
be something you’d like to do.” He smiled at her indulgently.

She could get used to being spoiled like
this. “I’d love to take a ride on the Peak-2-Peak. I hear it’s absolutely....”

The blood drained from his face.

“Adrian?” His knuckles were white where
he gripped the edges of the table. “Are you all right?”

He blinked, looked at her and nodded.
“Ya.” He tried to laugh, but no sound came out.

Morgan spoke softly. “It was something
about the Peak-2-Peak, wasn’t it?”

He nodded, but wouldn’t meet her eyes.

“Adrian.” She pried his fingers from the
table and held his hand between both of hers. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

He looked down at their hands and his
expression eased. “I’m afraid of gondolas. Gondolas, chair lifts, anything that
goes up the side of a mountain.” He blew out a long, steady stream of air and
finally raised his eyes to meet hers. “That’s why I don’t ski.”

It made sense...sort of. “I’m sorry I
suggested it. I didn’t know.” She gave his hand a gentle squeeze and released
it. “We could do something else.”

He stared at the fireplace and she could
almost see him making up his mind. He touched the scar high up on his
cheekbone. “No. It’s time I got over my fear. Let’s do it.”

“But...”

“No, I’m sure.” He gave a shaky laugh.
“Let’s do it in the morning, before I lose my nerve.”

She watched him carefully. “This isn’t
some sort of macho guy thing is it? You don’t have to do this, you know.”

“I know.” His eyes softened when he looked
at her. “But it’s something I need to do. And doing it together will make it a
lot easier.”

“Okay then, but it takes separate trips.
I thought we’d go up Blackcomb, across on the Peak 2 Peak to Whistler, and then
back down.”

He looked at her steadily. “I can do
it.”

She was still unsure, but he looked
determined. “Okay. Where shall we meet and what time?”

It was snowing softly when they drove
into the Village the next morning. Fine flakes that appeared more like a heavy
fog than snow.

Adrian paused at the foot of the
Blackcomb gondola. “When it snows like this, it reminds me of my Grandmother’s
lace curtains.” Morgan was surprised when he reached for her hand. In spite of
his nervousness, she felt safe with him.

“Did you spend much time with your
Grandmother?”

“Yes.” They shuffled along in line. “She
lived in one of those houses you see on the postcards, between Klosters and
Davos. I liked visiting her. She made the best hot chocolate.”

“What’s her name?”

He paused. “Promise you won’t laugh.”

“Why would I laugh?”

“Her name is Heidi.”

Morgan laughed.

“See?”

She was grateful when the loader
motioned them forward. Adrian gripped her hand so tightly it almost hurt.

“Sorry,” he said, suddenly realizing
what he’d done. They stepped into the gondola with the others and the door
closed.

He paled as the gondola pulled out and
started to ascend. Morgan was fascinated as the buildings grew smaller in the
valley below. This was a different view from what she’d experienced before and it
seemed pointless to miss it. Adrian tensed every time the gondola went over one
of the towers, and he stood rigidly, eyes straight ahead, but maintained his
composure.

A bump from one of the towers threw her
against him and he looked down at her, his expression unreadable.

“Sorry,” she murmured, but he put an arm
around her and pulled her back against his side. “You’re fine right where you
are,” he said, nuzzling the top of her head.

The rest of the trip seemed to fly by.

By the time they reached the top of
Blackcomb it had stopped snowing. They moved away from the terminal and stood
silently, taking in the magnificent scenery. Riders and skiers were everywhere,
spilling out of the gondolas and lifts in amazing numbers.

“I looked up the Peak 2 Peak last night
on the Internet,” she said after a moment. “Did you know that the towers were
constructed by the Swiss? Also the cable, but for some reason they call it
rope.”

He’d grabbed her hand again and gave it
another squeeze. “Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

She grinned. “Is it working?”

He paused to consider her question.
“Yes, actually. It is.”

“Good.” She watched a group of young
people being herded off to the side with their instructors. “Shall we get it
over with and go over to Whistler? I also learned that it’s sunny there in the
morning.” She turned to face him square on. “Are you okay?

“Let’s do it.”

Morgan managed to snag a bench seat
beside the window. Adrian sat beside her and she took his hand again. “I’m
going to be your guide,” she said, leaning into his warmth.

She’d had a brilliant idea last night,
while doing research on the internet. If she kept up a steady stream of chatter
while they crossed from Blackcomb to Whistler, it might divert him from whatever
trauma had left him terrified of heights. She also hoped that when they got to
the Roundhouse at Whistler and she stopped chattering, her silence would prompt
him to confide in her.

It took only seconds until the gondola
was high above the forest floor. From here, the snow-covered trees appeared
oddly distorted, but Adrian wasn’t looking down. His attention was fixed on the
high alpine, and she could tell that he was enjoying the beauty of their
surroundings.

“The mountains are different here,” he
said after a few seconds. “At home they’re sharper...more rugged.”

“They’re newer,” said Morgan, following
the direction of his gaze. “The Alps are still being formed.”

“That’s true,” he said, smiling down at
her with what could only be described as tenderness. “So what else have you got
for me?”