“This is the best ice cream I’ve ever had,” Ryan proclaimed.

  “I’m glad you like it,” I said. “I’ll let you in on a little secret. This is one of the oldest ice cream shops in the whole city.”

  “Cool!” Lucie and Ryan replied in unison.

  “They use milk from the cows they raise on their own farm, and they make every single flavor from scratch. I think that’s what makes it taste so good.”

  “Are you making this up?” Tia asked with a laugh.

  “Not at all. Why?”

  Tia shrugged. “We just don’t have stuff like that in West Virginia. Or maybe I’ve just never sought it out. Everything is fast-paced and automated and impersonal.”

  I found Tia’s perspective on the world to be fascinating. She had opinions on everything, and she wasn’t afraid to share them. That was what made her so special. On our walk back to the car, she pointed out different murals painted on the sides of buildings, gifting us with her own interpretation of each one. While the kids could not have cared less, I basked in her knowledge and insight, grateful for someone to share this trip with.

  If Tia, Ryan, or Lucie disliked any of the places we visited, they kept it to themselves. The smiles never left our faces for more than a few minutes at a time, except to eat our ice cream. I couldn’t have planned a more perfect afternoon if I’d tried.

  We were all tired out by the time we got back to the car. While I was physically exhausted, I was exhilarated by our successful outing. The more time I spent with Tia, the more time I wanted to spend with her. It didn’t hurt that her son was equally as awesome.

  “So, what was everyone’s favorite thing we did today?” I asked, both because I was curious and because I wanted to keep everyone awake.

  “The lake cruise,” Ryan said. “Definitely the lake cruise.”

  Lucie shot me a thumbs-up in the rearview mirror. “That was my favorite, too. And the last museum we visited. And the carousel.”

  “I loved the art museum,” Tia said, though that had already been made obvious. “I would come back to Geneva just to visit that museum again.”

  “Yeah, that was cool, too,” Lucie agreed.

  “Lucie, you picked almost everything as your favorite,” Ryan exclaimed. “That’s against the rules!” He threw his hands up for dramatic effect.

  “There are no rules. How about you, Daddy?”

  “My favorite thing was spending time with our new friends,” I said. I knew full well how corny it sounded, but it was the truth. I could’ve gone anywhere with Tia and still have had a great time.

  “C’mon. That doesn’t count.”

  “Okay, okay. The art museum was great, too.”

  We rode the rest of the way back in comfortable silence, the kind of silence that’s created when people are comfortable enough around each other that they don’t feel the need to talk just for the sake of making noise. Every so often, I snuck a peek at Tia’s reflection as she looked out the window, clearly taken in by the beautiful city.

  I didn’t want the day to end. We had gone from a simple dinner to quality time on the slopes, to lunch and a trip to the arcade, to an entire day trip together. It felt wrong that we’d progressed so much, and that, after tomorrow, I didn’t know if I’d ever see Tia again.

  The sun was low in the sky by the time we made it back to the resort. I was tempted to keep driving around, just so I could keep staring at Tia’s reflection and enjoying the peaceful quiet that filled the car, but I knew that would just be postponing the inevitable.

  “Thank you for an awesome day,” Tia said as we pulled into the parking lot. “Ryan and I had the best time.”

  “Impossible,” I replied. “Because Lucie and I had the best time.”

  I meant what I said. It had been a long time since I’d seen Lucie so happy, and I couldn’t remember when I’d ever had this much fun. This day had been the perfect balance of culture, excitement, deep conversation, and laughter, and I wouldn’t have changed it for the world. Maybe I would’ve added in a bit more quality time for Tia and me, but there was still time. Tia and Ryan left in the morning, and I had to make their last night in Switzerland as memorable as possible.

  The first thing that popped into my head was the cabin. Not only did I adore our little piece of heaven at the resort, but it was perfectly cozy and intimate. We could light the fireplace, put on a movie, and pop open some juice for Lucie and Ryan and a bottle of wine for Tia and me. All I had to do was get Tia on board.

  It occurred to me that there was a possibility Tia didn’t want to spend her entire last day in Switzerland with Lucie and me, but I couldn’t help it. I wanted to be selfish, to spend as much time as possible with Tia before she left. I figured the worst she could do was say no.

  I put the car in park and turned to face Tia in the passenger seat. “How about you and Ryan come over to our cabin later tonight?” I said. “That way we can spend a bit more time together before you have to go, and Lucie and I can say goodbye to you both.

  “That sounds great,” Tia said. “Ryan might need a little nap first, though.”

  She motioned to the backseat, where Ryan was fast asleep. “Of course. How about you come over around eight?”

  “Perfect. It’s a date.”

  Chapter 14

  Tia

  This was it. Our last night of vacation, our last night with Maxim and Lucie. Despite only knowing them for a few days, I already dreaded the thought of leaving them. I felt so comfortable around Maxim, more comfortable than I’d ever thought possible with someone who came from such a different upbringing.

  Before I had a chance to get over my nerves, Ryan ran up to the cabin and knocked on the door. I couldn’t be 100% sure from the outside, but I was fairly certain the cabin was bigger than my house—and this was just where Maxim came on vacation. I couldn’t even imagine what his actual home looked like.

  Maxim opened the door, looking handsome as ever in a sweater—cashmere, I was guessing—and slacks. How could he look so casual and so put together at the same time?

  “Come on in. Ryan, Lucie’s waiting for you in the living room. She needs help picking out a movie for us to watch.”

  “Awesome,” Ryan chirped, pushing passed Maxim, despite the fact that he had no clue where he was going. He disappeared into the depths of the cabin, and I was left there alone with Maxim.

  “How is it that you look even more beautiful than you did two hours ago?” Maxim said.

  My heart pounded faster in my chest, and I hoped that my cheeks weren’t turning red. I was wearing what was arguably the nicest outfit I owned, an expensive floral print shirt that I’d gotten on sale, black jeans, and wedge booties, but it still paled in comparison to all of the fashionable outfits I’d seen at the resort.

  “Thanks,” I said. “You don’t look so bad yourself.”

  One step inside and I could already tell this was going to be a memorable night. I’d thought my and Ryan’s hotel room was impressive, but this was other-worldly. Like the registration cabin on the slopes, despite being called a cabin, this looked nothing like the sort of cabin I was used to. The door led into a small foyer with a grand chandelier that brightened the open-concept space. The kitchen, family room, and dining room were all visible from the entryway, with beautifully carved marble accents.

  “Nice place you’ve got here.”

  Maxim grinned. “It’s nothing extraordinary, but it does the trick.”

  I couldn’t tell if he was joking since, with his wealth, it could’ve gone either way. I supposed that, to a person of his means, a cabin like this felt more like a guesthouse than the main event. For people like Ryan and me, this resort component was nicer than our house.

  Maxim walked over to the fireplace and put the fire on as our children’s laughter echoed through the halls.

  “Can I help with anything?” I asked.

  “How about snacks?” Maxim said. “And maybe some wine. Help yourself to anything in the cupboard or fridge.”

  I took what he’d said literally and pulled a variety of snack foods from the cupboard like it was my own kitchen. I poured popcorn into one bowl, chocolate malt balls in another, and potato chips in a third. For a healthier option, I grabbed some grapes from the refrigerator and arranged them, along with some cheese and crackers, on a platter I’d found in one of the cabinets.

  “Wow! Look at you. Are you sure you’re not secretly an event planner?”

  You’re right about the secretly being something else, I thought to myself, then I focused my attention back on Maxim. “Is this good?”

  “It’s perfect,” he said. “I couldn’t have done it better myself.” He walked over to the wine fridge I hadn’t noticed. Every single slot, probably forty or fifty, was filled with a different bottle. “White or red?”

  “Red,” I said with a smile.

  “Perfect. I have the perfect red, right from a vineyard a few kilometers from here.”

  “There’s a vineyard near here? You’ve been holding out on me!”

  Maxim laughed as he poured the wine into our glasses. “Maybe next time you’re in town.”

  Next time? Maybe he was just as much in denial about this being a one-time thing as I was. As nice as it sounded for there to be a next time, I knew that there wasn’t.

  Lucie and Ryan skipped in the room, saving me from what could have been an incredibly awkward moment. “We picked a movie!” Lucie announced.

  “Great! Which one?” Maxim asked.

  “It’s a surprise,” Ryan said.

  Their excitement about the movie told us that, no matter how much we might hate it, we were going to pretend that we loved it. Maxim helped me carry the snacks into the family room, where the two connected sofas fit the four of us perfectly.

  It felt like we were a family, as silly as I knew that sounded. It was new territory for Ryan and me to spend time with another single parent and their child at their house. Movie nights were always just the two of us. Here, tonight, it felt right, the four of us. Ryan and Lucie sat beneath a pile of blankets on one couch, and Maxim sat beside me on the other.

  If someone had asked me what the movie was about, I wouldn’t have been able to tell them anything other than the two main characters being twins. I was so caught up in the moment, in this magical experience of feeling like a family for once in my life, that I couldn’t focus long enough to follow along.

  We hadn’t even gotten a third of the way into the movie before both Ryan and Lucie had fallen asleep. “There’s a spare bedroom with an extra bed,” Maxim said quietly, so as not to wake them. “You want to take Ryan in there? I’ll take Lucie to her room.”

  Ryan was out for the count, and it wasn’t easy carrying him to bed, but I just about managed it in the knowledge that, in a couple years’ time, I likely wouldn’t be able to carry him at all. I gently laid him down on the bed in the guest bedroom, which, with its huge bed and big screen TV, looked more to me like a master bedroom. Per our routine, I kissed Ryan’s forehead and wished him sweet dreams. It didn’t matter that he was asleep and couldn’t hear me. It was our ritual, something for just the two of us.

  It wasn’t lost on me that, now that the children were asleep, Maxim and I would be alone for the first time since our rendezvous in the bar. The idea of the two of us sitting beside each other gave me feelings of nervousness and excitement. I had grown to really care about him, but I also didn’t trust myself around him. We were leaving in the morning. There was no use in getting more attached than I already was.

  Back in the family room, Maxim was in the same spot he’d been sitting in, and I took my seat on the couch beside him. We sat without speaking, not because we had nothing to say, but because the silence said more than our words did. The only sound in the room came from the movie, still playing despite the knowledge that neither one of us was watching.

  The tension was thick in the air. I wasn’t a mind reader, but I could read the situation enough to know that all we could think about was each other.

  As we both pretended to watch the movie, Maxim slowly, subtly gravitated closer to me. To reciprocate, I inched closer to him. Soon enough, our bodies were touching. I wasn’t sure what came next.

  “Tia.” My name had never sounded so good coming from his lips.

  “Maxim.”

  “I’ve had an incredible time with you these past few days,” he said. “It’s been absolutely amazing getting to know you.” He reached his hand out and tucked a stray hair behind my ear, his hand just barely grazing my cheek.

  Something was brewing. Something had been brewing, but it felt as though it was finally boiling over. We looked at one another as if our lives depended on it.

  Maxim rested his hand on my thigh and turned to face me more directly, making sure that our bodies stayed close together. He looked right at me as if he could see right through me. His gorgeous, chestnut eyes were perfection, and I simply couldn’t look away. More than anything, I wanted a kiss, and, looking at him, it seemed like maybe he was thinking the same thing.

  I leaned my head ever so slightly toward Maxim, waiting to see what he did next, so flustered I could hardly breathe.

  Just as he moved his head the smallest bit toward mine, the sound of my ringtone through my purse sent us both jumping backward. I tried my best to ignore it, mortified by the interruption. I looked back at Maxim, ready to get lost in the magic of the moment, but my phone continued to ring.

  I reached into my handbag to see what the interruption was, my heart dropping when I recognized the phone number as that of my bank. That couldn’t be good.

  “I’m sorry,” I said to Maxim, hoping he could tell how much it pained me to do this. “I have to take this.” Wanting to keep this conversation as far away from Maxim as possible, I walked quickly down the hallway and stepped into the bathroom. “Hello?”

  “Hello, this is Lisa Zhang at BMV Bank,” a voice said through the phone. “Is this Miss Tia Birchfield?”

  “It is. Is there a problem?”

  “Miss Birchfield, there seems to have been an issue with your mortgage payment this month.” The woman said it so casually, as if a problem with a mortgage payment wasn’t a big deal in the slightest.

  I, on the other hand, was silently panicking.

  My first instinct was to ask why they were calling so late at night, to turn the tables on them so I could have time to think, but I realized that, back in the United States, it was prime business hours.

  “What kind of issue?” I asked, trying to maintain my composure and keep my voice low.

  The woman cleared her throat. “Well, your payment is past due, Miss Birchfield. As this is your second past-due payment in a calendar year, we have to charge an administrative fee with your next payment.”

  “There must be some mistake,” I said. “I’m out of the country right now, but I’m positive I made my payment for this month before I left. Is there a way you can double-check?”

  “I’ll take a look in our database. Please hold.”

  The phone clicked off, and I was met with some static-filled orchestra music.

  I’d paid the bill; I knew I had. I had no doubt that the woman would check her records and be able to see that. Still, I waited with bated breath, my heart pounding fast and hard.

  I hoped that I was speaking quietly enough that Maxim couldn’t hear me down the hall. This was definitely not how I wanted him to find out that I wasn’t as financially well-off as him—or even in the same ballpark.

  “Miss Birchfield?”

  “Yes?”

  “I apologize,” she said. “There seems to have been a clerical error on our part. Your payment was received last Thursday, and I made sure to note that on your account.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

  “You have a nice day.”

  I hung up the phone and tried to calm my nerves down before going back out to Maxim. He couldn’t see me all worked up like this. I splashed some water on my face, took three more long, deep breaths, and retreated back to the family room.

  “Sorry about that,” I said to Maxim. I curled back up against him on the couch, close enough to him to give me goosebumps but not as close as I had been to him before our interruption.

  “No problem at all,” Maxim said. “Is everything all right?”

  “Everything’s fine.”

  I turned my attention to the TV in an effort to create the illusion that I was watching the movie, but all I could think about was that phone call.

  Even though it had been a mistake, the call had still been a jolt back to real life. I couldn’t shake the guilt I felt for having come on this trip in the first place. What had I been thinking? As if the call hadn’t been enough of a scare, I was bound to get home to a whole new pile of bills that needed to be paid. Yet, here I sat, next to a man whose world was vastly different from my own. I’d fallen for a guy who couldn’t even begin to understand my struggles; a man who didn’t have the first clue what my life was really like.

  “Tia, what’s wrong?” Maxim asked.

  I avoided eye contact and said, “Nothing.”

  Maxim placed his hand on my shoulder. “I can tell that something’s wrong. Whatever it is, you can tell me.”

  In that moment, I was tempted to come clean about everything. He was practically begging me to tell him the truth, and he didn’t even know it.

  But what was the sense in that? Ryan and I were leaving in the morning, and I didn’t want to stir up trouble when it was likely I’d never see Maxim after this weekend. Mostly, I didn’t want Maxim to hate me. He’d either be angry at me for lying to him or take pity on me because I didn’t have money, and neither of those sounded like great options. In my mind, it was best to just leave things as they were.

  I had to come up with another answer, an answer that would make sense for PR-executive Tia, that wouldn’t raise any red flags in Maxim’s mind.