Valeria loved that scenery. Skiing was much more difficult than it looked, but both Arthur and his boys had behaved like professionals. Or rather, like nannies with a lot of patience, because she was going flat on her face every four yards. Finally, after four circuits, Valeria had given up. “Shall we go now?” asked Gilbert in a sympathetic tone. “You go if you want, I'm going to stay a little longer,” Valeria decided. “I want to see the colors of the sunset here; maybe I'll come up with something nice for those uniforms.” She said goodbye to Gilbert on the way to the base of the mountain and adjusted her anorak. She wasn't used to so much cold, but the snow she did like. It was strange to see her reflection in the mountain, it gave her so much peace, so much tranquility in the midst of the maelstrom her life had become lately, that she didn't realize how late it was getting. The cold suddenly became harsher, especially as the wind began to pick up, and Valeria realized, startled,

“I don't want you to leave me...” Valeria pressed her ear to Nick's mouth, but she could barely hear him. “Nick, I'm here... Come on, get up, you have to help me!” The girl tried to lift him, but unless Nick did his part, it would be impossible. “Why did you leave, troublemaker? Where are you? “Nick, I haven't gone anywhere, damn it!” he snarled, pulling on his hands to make him sit up, but he was as heavy as ten bags of bricks. “Yes, you left! You disappeared! What am I going to do if I don't find you again, troublemaker?” He seemed to be asleep, but Valeria remained still as she finally managed to understand what he was talking about. Nick was raving about the months she had been in Europe. Had he really been looking for her? “No honey, I'm back now,” she told him to calm him down. “Come on, aren't you going to give me a hug?” Nick half-opened his eyes, but Valeria doubted he was really conscious. “Do you still want to hug me, troublemaker?” “Of course I do, baby. Come on,

Valeria spent the whole night worried about that note, especially because someone was watching Alice. However, she couldn't scare the little girl by changing her school. She could hardly rest, but she couldn't stay home just feeling afraid, so she put on one of her favorite dresses and went to Bennet Designs. She needed to finalize the details for Gilbert's collection with Nick. Emma greeted her with the same concern as her family had, and almost hit her for the danger she had put herself in. “Is Nick here yet?” Emma wrinkled her nose, but then sighed and nodded. “He's been working since early, very industriously,” she replied. “Is he smiling?” Valeria asked mischievously. “No, not even close.” “Perfect!” laughed the girl. “Thanks, girl. I'll see if I can get as many things done today as I can, because they must be missing me at Sassy Girl by now.” Emma gave her another kiss and another tight hug and left the office to let her work. Unfortunately, her concentration would be sh

Valeria turned around to meet Elliot's furious gaze. “What the hell is this jerk saying, Valeria? What do you mean you're going to marry him? Are you serious? I don't give a damn if you just saved her life! You're not going to marry her!” her brother said, and Valeria stepped between him and Nick, putting a hand on his chest, to prevent him from doing something stupid. “Calm down, Elliot!” she asked him, making him look at her. “Samuel Baxter came to threaten me in the studio today, and Nick helped me.” Elliot frowned. No one had said anything to him about that. “What happened?” he questioned them with a stern look. “He told me he wants custody of Alice. He wants to take her away from me and I won't let him!” his sister assured him. “So Nick took me to see a lawyer from the family court, who happened to be a friend of Dad's.” “Who?” “Connor Sheffield,” Nick said, and Elliot nodded. “Yes, I know him. He's been a friend of the family for years... But what does that have to do wit

The guest house that stood within the grounds of Davies Manor looked like a doll's house, because that was precisely how Valeria had had it prepared. It was perfect to be the home they would share, but the illusion of carrying Valeria through the door evaporated when Nick saw Alice sitting on the porch, looking very aloof. “You didn't tell me he was going to live here, too,” was her greeting, and it was addressed only to her sister. “Is it true that you married him?” Valeria closed her eyes in frustration and went to sit next to her while Nick remained standing. “Who told you, baby?” “I heard it from the girls in the kitchen. Is it true?” Alice insisted. But before Valeria could answer, Nick interrupted her. “Troublemaker, do you think I could talk to Alice for a minute?” The girl looked at him with a frown. “I don't want to.” “I know, but I need to tell you important things, and if you don't listen to them you'll always wonder what they were,” Nick replied. “And you don't lik