A Winter Affair by Minna Howard

she’d take offence. Perhaps she felt intimidated by her, she was after all still settling in, but she should have taken Aurelia’s gesture in good grace. Aurelia meant well, in fact she was a great support to him and the running of Jacaranda.
    It was a difficult job being the host to strangers in his own home, for he saw Jacaranda as his home and business now. Having worked in hospitality in a well-known vineyard in France it had been good training, though nothing like what he experienced day to day at Jacaranda.
    Some of the guests were lovely and had become friends, but he was dreading the people coming for Christmas who were mega-rich, and most likely spoilt, and were very disappointed that they had not been able to stay in one of the new, eye-wateringly expensive chalets down in the village, as they’d been booked up for months in advance, so they must ‘make do’ with Jacaranda. He suspected they would be very challenging.
    Amongst the Christmas guests was a mother-in-law in her early sixties who didn’t ski, which meant she would probably stay in for much of the time and expect lunch, which would add extra work for Eloise. He’d confided his fear to Aurelia, who said she’d be more than happy to provide lunch, but that would be an added expense and he needed to conserve his money to pay for the intensive repairs Jacaranda urgently needed.
    Jacaranda needed to be rewired and to have new plumbing, he could not put it off any longer. These old chalets needed to be able to work with modern devices and he would like to put in another shower room and revamp one or two of the other bathrooms. All this had to be done well and not spoil the overall look of Jacaranda – and all of it needed money. He might have to close the chalet during the summer season while the refurbishments were being done, which would mean losing vital income. There was a lot to consider.
    He did not want to burden his father with his worries, he knew how much he loved Jacaranda, it held so many of his precious memories of his beloved partner, Maddy. Desmond had tried to stay on here without her after she’d died, but it had been too hard and he had moved to Antigua to escape the constant reminders of her loss. He understood, and one of the many reasons he was determined to keep Jacaranda going was because it had been Maddy’s idea to open the chalet for holiday guests to help pay for its upkeep, so Desmond and Lawrence could keep it. He remembered her enthusiasm and how planning the business had lifted her up through her months of illness. Her courage kept him focused on making a success of it in her memory. One day he hoped his father would come back and see just how Maddy’s dream had been realized. But he would not push him; he must come when he felt ready.
    His face was tingling with cold now as he increased his speed, his body agile, taking quick turns, slicing down the mountain, and when he reached the end of the slope, he was surging with life and energy. There were only gentle slopes now down to the gondola, and sadly there was no time for him to go up again. He’d ski down to the chalet through the trees and get back to work. There were a few maintenance jobs to be done, and he must get in the drinks and ensure that the tree and a wreath for the front door were in place in time to greet the guests who would be arriving at Jacaranda for Christmas next week.
    He went slower now, eking out the time before he had to go back. He was still annoyed with Denise – the chef he’d employed for the whole season – flying off with that paunchy grey-haired banker in his private helicopter, leaving him in the lurch. She was a brilliant chef, she’d worked for him before and he’d paid over the odds for her. He hadn’t been impressed when he’d discovered she’d just upped and gone, leaving only a scrappy note in her room by way of explanation, ‘
Sorry gone with