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      Almost four hectic weeks had passed since the memorable encounter with Luc in Barcelona. Planning any party could be a logistical nightmare, but when the venue was in a challenging location Stacey and her team had to work flat out to make sure that everything was delivered well in advance. She’d barely had a moment to breathe, let alone consider what memories Luc had been left with after their passionate night.

      After the clamour of the city the serene peace of the mountains was nothing short of a dream come true. The air was cool and clean. Crisp white snow crunched underfoot, and the sky was a flawless, cerulean blue. The small village with its backdrop of towering mountains was like the best picture postcard in the world. The slopes were teeming with skiers, all of whom moved to their own sure, rhythmical pattern, while beginners on the nursery slopes made shakier and more uncertain figures. One thing, however, was common to all. Everyone was smiling.

      ‘What a fabulous atmosphere! What a place to hold a party!’ she exclaimed to her companions in the team. ‘We’re going to have the best time ever here. It’s going to be the party of the year.’

      Only the final tweaks remained and Stacey was as certain as she could be that Lucas would love what they had planned. Lucas. She was desperate to see him, and dreading it too. What if he—?

      No. Don’t think that way. Only positive thoughts from now on.

      They had to meet, and she’d take it from there. It wouldn’t be easy with the brand of his lips on her mouth and the memory of his hands on her body, but what was easy? Nothing worth having, that was for sure.

      ‘We’ll make this event something the Da Silva guests never forget, and for all the right reasons,’ she told the team. ‘How beautiful is this?’ she exclaimed, turning full circle. ‘Let’s get settled in, and then we can make a start.’

      The success of any team depended on its leadership. That was something Lady Sarah had drummed into her right at the start, so, whatever Stacey’s personal feelings about Lucas, she had to get on with things for the sake of the team.

      ‘There will be a few more hurdles to cross here than we had in the city,’ Stacey observed later when she and the team were seated around a boardroom table in an office the hotel had made available for them. ‘The weather, for one thing,’ she said, glancing out of the window. The quaint, pitched-roofed buildings had been covered in deep mantles of snow when they’d arrived, but now they were gradually fading out of sight. A drift of snowflakes falling like a veil was growing heavier by the minute, while the flawless blue sky that had so impressed her was rapidly turning to unrelieved grey. ‘I should get out and scout the various locations while I still can,’ she said, drawing the meeting to a close. ‘Take the night off. I’m going to need everyone firing on all cylinders tomorrow.’

      ‘What about you?’ a colleague piped up.

      ‘I’ll rest when I’m reassured about our venues. Until then…?’ She shrugged.

      ‘Keep in touch.’

      ‘I will,’ she promised.

      The village proved to be a fascinating place with its glitter and sparkle, but what struck Stacey more was the resilience of visitors and residents alike as they crowded the pavements in what were undeniably extreme weather conditions.

      Still, everyone was dressed for it, Stacey reasoned, admiring the beautifully decorated shop windows as she strode past in her snow boots and Party Planners padded jacket. She was heading for the gondola station as, not only was there to be a party down here, but a reception higher up the mountain at Luc’s ski lodge, as well as a firework display and a torchlit procession down the mountain. Pausing briefly to adjust her snow goggles, she studied the statue of a miniature couple in one of the windows. Placed outside the model of a typical chalet, both figures were wearing skis and staring up at each other in apparent rapture.

      I should have learned to ski, she mused silently. Too late now. But the gondola would take her where she needed to be. She could just step in and out, no problem.

      Craning her neck when she reached the station, she tried to spot Luc’s eyrie. It was supposed to be the biggest chalet on the mountain. She thought of it as his castle, his fortress, his ivory tower. But she couldn’t see anything as low cloud and the misting of snow had blotted out the upper reaches of the route the gondola would take.

      What if the gondola stopped running? How would they transport the guests?

      There was time, Stacey reasoned. They had a good few days before the party. Surely the weather would have improved by then?

      The hotel manager had told her that Lucas had arrived by helicopter

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