Confessions of a Chalet Girl: by Lorraine Wilson Page B

inside him. But it wasn't like she was his girlfriend
.
    No, but you want her to be … 
    It was true. He wanted Holly more than he could remember wanting anyone. He wanted her to be his, the thought of any of those ski bum instructors getting their hands on her lovely curves wound him up, big time.
    He skied on towards the mountain cantine where the group were stopping for lunch.
    Give her a chance - you don't meet many Holly's in a lifetime.
    The thought popped into his mind, accompanied by a desire so strong it carried him along in its wake, helpless to resist. He'd tell her why complete honesty was so important to him, explain how afraid he’d been when he went back to find her, terrified something terrible had happened, fear gripping at his chest.
    He still liked her. Liked her very much indeed.
    He thought about what he’d planned for the evening as he parked his skis in the rack and walked round to the front of the café where his group sat sunbathing on the red and white striped café deck-chairs, beers in hands.
    ‘Is Holly okay?’ Fake sympathy oozed from Magda’s every pore. This was the real picture of insincerity, not Holly.
    He could trust Holly.
    ‘She’s hurt, but not too badly,’ he replied curtly, staring at Magda and wondering if she knew about what had happened between him and Holly on New Year’s Eve. He’d have thought Magda would be over what happened last year when he’d rejected her advances. After all she’d applied to come back again this season.
    Perhaps Magda wasn’t cool about what’d happened. He sighed, Holly's theory made sense. If he hadn’t been battling with demons today he might have realised earlier it wasn’t that Holly was paranoid but that he was naïve.
    He owed her an apology.

CHAPTER FIVE
    Holly let herself back into Chalet Repos, exhausted but relieved when she remembered Amelia and Sophie were out for the day. Finally she had a bit of space.
    At least the pain in her elbow wasn’t so bad now. She grabbed a glass of water and swallowed a couple of ibuprofen before making herself a sandwich in the chalet kitchen.
    The doctor had said something about her elbow popping out of the ligament or something like that. Her French hadn’t been up to the complex translation. He'd done something hideously painful, charged her the equivalent of her last week’s wages for the privilege and now she had the battle of trying to claim it back from her insurance.
    She couldn’t understand Scott’s belligerence. He seemed pretty cool and laid back about most things, which only made his behaviour all the more puzzling. His snap judgement of her still rankled. Yes she’d been stupid but it wasn’t like she’d done anything criminal or hurt anyone…well, not yet anyway.
    Give me time.
    She was certainly tempted - an image of Magda sprang to mind, smug and laughing with Scott over lunch up at the mountain cantine. No doubt she’d be making jokes about Holly, flirting with him and placing perfectly manicured nails on his thigh as she casually reached across the table for the bread…
    Holly ground her teeth. Why Magda hated her she didn’t know, but her intuition was ringing loud alarm bells. Magda had set her up and she’d walked straight into the trap. She wouldn’t find her such an innocent victim next time round, and if Holly found evidence to support her suspicions then she’d no reservations about ringing Steve to see what he could do with Magda’s Facebook page…
    And if Scott planned to sack her she’d damn well make the most of the chalet today. She hadn’t used the Jacuzzi yet, too worried about groping hands and accidental leg brushes under the water from the city boys who were staying this week and too frantically busy last week.
    Now was the perfect time to unpack her bikini.
    Lying back in the Jacuzzi tub with her eyes closed and the hot water bubbling, easing away tension, she could understand why it was so popular after skiing. The heated water caressed