Page 28 of A Billionaire for Christmas

I AM GRATEFUL FOR THIS LIFE

Molly woke the next morning feeling utterly shattered.

She had not slept a wink. Last night had changed her.

It felt like a new low. The wall of pillows remained intact.

An unmistakable divide, like the old Berlin Wall, high, sturdy and impenetrable.

Having tossed and turned all night, she had made up her mind.

As soon as the path was clear, she was leaving.

She slipped from the sheets and threw on a robe to prepare coffee for them both.

She wouldn’t have his last memory of her as being petty.

As she wandered back into the bedroom with two steaming mugs, the movement woke him.

Molly wondered what effect last night’s emotional exchange, their rather honest and soulful declarations to each other, would have on him.

Hoping to hear an outpouring of regret, she set the coffee down on the bedside table and climbed on the bed, eager to find out.

He opened his eyes, realisation spreading across his face as Molly gave him a hesitant smile. ‘Jesus. That was the best sleep of my entire life.’ Levi rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands. ‘My entire life!’

She waited for more detail.

‘What time is it? I must have slept for nine hours straight. Maybe even ten hours. That was so great.’

Molly glanced at her phone charging by the bed. ‘It’s almost ten o’clock.’

‘What? I’ve never slept that late. Eleven and a half hours!’

What was this? He sounded like an advert for a sleep management programme.

‘Christ. I feel amazing.’ He yawned, stretching his arms out. ‘Eleven and a half hours.’

And the incredible remorse? Tell me more about that.

‘I think I could even have slept for a bit longer.’ Levi ran his hands through his hair and took the mug of coffee from the bedside table.

Molly got the immediate hump but hid it very well. ‘Give me a call next time you’re suffering from insomnia.’ She tried to stop her voice from rising as she slid away from him. ‘I’ll come right round.’

She heard Levi chuckle. ‘If you knew me, you’d know that’s quite the compliment. I’m a notoriously bad sleeper. Usually worse if I have to share a bed.’

The last thing she wanted to hear about was Levi sharing a bed with other women.

‘I can’t believe that happened. I’ve never slept like that. Ever.’ He rubbed the side of his face.

‘Are you always this obsessed with sleep? You know there’s an app you can get to monitor it, if you’re so concerned.’

Molly climbed back on the bed begrudgingly. Last night was the worst experience of her entire life. She knelt facing him.

‘How do you feel?’ he asked.

She could not hide the disappointment she felt. ‘Okay. I guess.’

Levi regarded her intensely. ‘How come you’re working for me? Here in a ski resort? What about the company you said you ran? Or was that a lie?’

Molly swallowed, unsure of how much to disclose. She swept her hair behind her ear. ‘I’m on a break from it. I’m here to seek inspiration. New experiences.’

‘And you’ve got someone managing the company for you while you’re away?

Where are you based? What’s it called? How many staff do you employ?

’ Levi managed between mouthfuls of coffee, sounding as though he’d come directly from the Inland Revenue to dot some i’s and cross some t’s.

‘Isn’t Christmas a busy period for you? I expect you’re quite relieved to be going back to it. ’

And I bet he’s relieved I’ll not be chasing him round the lodge like an excitable puppy , she thought miserably.

Molly was desperate not to pursue this conversation and was saved by yet another ping from Levi’s phone. He glanced at it. ‘It’s Toby.’

‘Oh.’ She knew what was coming next.

‘The path back to the lodge is clear. We’re good to go.’

Good to go.

As in, good to go home.

As in, it’s time to leave.

Game over.

She took a moment to process what he was saying and drew in a deep breath. It was almost as though they were being forced to evaluate their entire days-long relationship in just a few seconds.

‘I guess this is goodbye then. You’ll go back to the lodge for Christmas, and I’ll get myself back to… England.’ She didn’t want to tell him about Le Petit Ange; he might be tempted to look for her. Ask questions she’d rather not answer. If only she’d been honest with him from the start.

Much to Molly’s relief, a sadness swept over his face. ‘I’ll never forget you, Molly Johnson.’

So much had happened in such a short time and in other ways, so little.

‘And I’ll never forget you, Levi LeRoux. Wait. Why do some people call you Angelo? You never did say.’

Levi chuckled. ‘I guess you’ll never find out. I’ll miss you,’ he murmured against her hair as he leaned over to hug her.

Molly had never felt so heartbroken and joyful at the same time. She’d never, ever forget him. ‘I wish things could have been different,’ she gushed.

‘Me too.’ Levi brushed her cheek with his lips, holding her tight one final time. ‘I’d stay in this moment forever if I could.’

* * *

It seemed like seconds later that they were fully dressed and putting on their boots when there was a banging on the door. It was Toby holding two cases.

‘Good news and bad news,’ he announced. ‘The good news is I found your cases, Molly. They were buried up to the handles, but everything should be okay inside.’

Relief flooded her bones. Ava’s precious journal was inside one of the cases.

‘The bad news?’ asked Levi.

‘The pass back to the resort is blocked. We can’t get any staff through, and your mother is screaming holy hell because I made the wrong breakfast this morning.

Apparently, she developed a gluten intolerance yesterday that I should have pre-empted.

And she was planning on micromanaging the catering and outfits for the wedding extravaganza this week, but the wedding coordinator is stuck at the airport with all the fabric samples.

She’s demanding the caterer that she booked, Molly…

comes back to do all the Christmas cooking. She’s furious you let her go.’

Molly took a beat to percolate this information.

‘So…?’ Toby asked Molly.

Molly beamed at the universe interfering yet again with her plans, a ripple of hope blooming in her heart.

She would love an excuse to be near Levi.

No matter what she told him, she had feelings for him.

A lot of feelings. After all, hadn’t they’d both just declared that they’d do anything to prolong their time together?

Molly nudged Levi, who had not yet said a word, wondering how pleased he was finding this fortuitous turn of events.

Levi seemed to be glaring at Toby.

‘So we need Molly to come back to the lodge,’ Toby clarified. ‘With us. Right now.’

Silence.

‘As a matter of urgency,’ Toby pointed out. It was the obvious solution and yet it would appear, from the way Levi was looking at him, it was the very last thing he wanted.

How embarrassing.

‘Erm, under normal circumstances that would have been fine,’ Molly said, wringing her hands together.

‘But unfortunately, Toby, I quit yesterday. So technically, I no longer work for the resort and so…’ She shrugged in lieu of finishing the sentence.

Her cheeks were burning at the silence coming from Levi. He couldn’t be making it more obvious.

‘Can’t you just ask the boss for your job back?’ Toby bobbed his head towards Levi, smiling. ‘I’m sure he’d be able to pull some strings. Please, Molly. We’re desperate.’

Levi had a face of stone.

More silence.

And plenty of it.

The atmosphere was getting more tense by the nanosecond. So much for ‘staying in this moment forever’. Molly fiddled with her sleeves, hanging her head, hoping to hide behind a thick curtain of hair.

Toby’s confused eyes were ping-ponging from Levi to Molly.

‘I tell you what,’ he said, leaving the suitcases at the door.

‘Why don’t I leave you two to work it out?

I’ll get back to the house. Your brother is complaining the sauna isn’t hot enough, and your father is lost without the Wi-Fi for his online golfing tournament.

He’s livid and expecting me to perform some sort of technical miracle.

I have under an hour to recreate the world wide web using a coat hanger and a ball of string.

And your sister is hiding from your mother.

She’s forcing me to tell all sorts of lies. I’m stressed to bits.’

Molly kept her surprise to herself at the casual way Toby was describing the family as they watched him leap onto his snowmobile and scoot off in a cloud of snow.

* * *

‘Are you sure about this?’ asked Levi as he pulled their warm coats from the drying rack. He had been unusually quiet.

‘Yes. I’m sure we can behave like civilised adults around each other. Besides, I have nowhere else to go until the pass to the resort reopens, there are limited supplies here, and your family… who sound delightful, by the way… need a chef.’

‘It’s not that I’m embarrassed by our…’ Levi said, looking the very picture of embarrassment. ‘It’s just that…’

‘I understand,’ said Molly sharply. ‘You’re the boss. I’m your lowly employee. I’m sure I can keep my hands off you for however long it takes to clear the pass.’

‘That’s not what I meant,’ Levi pointed out curtly.

She zipped her jacket up forcefully and spun round to face him. ‘It sounds like you are ashamed of me.’

‘I am not ashamed. I just don’t want to tell everyone about it. And to be honest, I don’t know why you would want to, either. Isn’t it a private thing?’

‘What happened to wishing things were different?’ Tears pricked at her eyes.

Levi reached for her hand. ‘If anything, I think we’d be amazing together. You’re smart, you’re funny, you’re insanely beautiful. I just don’t have time for a relationship. That’s all.’ He stepped in closer. ‘And if I’m honest, I do care about you. I care enough not to hurt you. Okay?’

Molly swallowed. ‘Okay. And while we’re being honest, I care about you too. I care enough to respect your privacy. There’ll be no social media ugly crying reels, no announcements on TikTok and absolutely no mention on the French television network about my many failed attempts to seduce you.’

An unspoken truce was agreed. Levi gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

‘Much appreciated. I’ll just make sure we have everything and lock up.

’ Molly watched as he tidied the board game away, straightened a few books on the coffee table, rearranged the blanket over the armchair and bent to retrieve something off the floor.

Really, was there anything more attractive?

‘What’s this?’

An icy feeling gripped her as she watched him pick up the solicitor’s letter that must have fallen from her pocket.

He unfolded it, along with the photocopied list it accompanied.

‘No. It’s nothing. Don’t read it!’ she yelled. But it was too late.

Levi furrowed his eyebrows. It took him all of two seconds to scan the letter. Then he separated it from the list and read that too, his eyes moving back and forth with increasing incredulity. He pinned her to the spot with a hard, suspicious glare.

‘Jesus, what are you playing at?’ Levi flicked the letters with the back of his hand before throwing them at her.

Molly had no words. How to explain that on paper you were trying to get naked in a hot tub with a billionaire – any billionaire – for money?

‘Am I some sort of game to you? A box to be ticked? Now who’s the one not being honest?’

Molly had no time to reply because as soon as he’d said his piece, he swivelled on his heel and left. He didn’t even give her the chance to explain. At the slamming of the door, she stood staring at it, flabbergasted, devastated, heartbroken.