Chapter 18

Giselle

The hotel was gorgeous, and I kind of didn’t mind coming once I was here, the event space dressed up nicely and people from my father’s work who I hadn’t seen in ages greeting me with warm smiles, and I just did everything I could trying not to be weird bringing Primrose in.

But Primrose fit in naturally, smiling warmly at people and shaking hands, making small talk with the best of them, and we always talked about each other as friends, but I was feeling further and further from that—and I felt like none of the people there believed it either.

Least of all my father, who came over with a warm smile not long after we’d gotten inside, and I saw him give Primrose the elevator eyes, scoping her out. The look on his face said satisfied.

“Giselle, I’m so glad you could make it today,” he said. “This must be Primrose?”

I stood up taller, gesturing Primrose to him. “Ah… yes. My friend from university, Primrose. Primrose, this is my father.”

Primrose gave him the brightest, cutest little smile as she stuck her hand out for a handshake. “Mister Lawson. It’s so nice to meet you, sir.”

“Please, just David is fine.” He took her hand—he was the kind of weirdly tall that men in business usually were for some reason, six foot two, and Primrose’s hand looked tiny in his. He’d dressed sharply, in a crisp and clean suit, his salt-and-pepper short beard carefully manicured today. “I hear you and Giselle are good friends, but she was evasive on how exactly you even know each other…”

Primrose laughed. “We met on the ice rink… I was in such a sorry state she took pity and helped me not crack my skull, and it’s quite a bonding experience to make sure somebody’s skull stays in one piece.”

“She’s exaggerating,” I said. “Although… not by a lot.”

Primrose laughed, giving me a good-natured push on the shoulder. “You’re supposed to lie and say I’m not too bad.”

My father smiled warmly. He seemed in a better mood now that the event was actually running and we’d made attendance… of course, it helped that Primrose just had a way of getting anyone to like her, I think. “Giselle’s quite the performer on the ice,” he said. “If you’ve ended up with her as a personal teacher, you should consider yourself quite lucky. But I might just be making myself the dad at the sporting event pointing and saying that’s my daughter.”

Primrose shrugged. “I’d do the same thing. I already do the same thing! I go to the rink just to watch her practice, and I’ll point to anyone nearby and say that’s my friend.” She squared her shoulders, standing up straighter. “Mister… David. Do you mind if I get a little bit nosy? I looked up some things about your work while I was snooping things about your daughter, and I ended up down a rabbit hole late at night…”

He laughed warmly. I wondered what it meant that I never got as nice a version of my own father as Primrose, a woman who had just met him, did. “I have to deliver an address to the room in half an hour, but until then, I’m all ears.”

Primrose looked like she’d positively burst from excitement. How she managed to gather this much excitement for these kinds of things… “Have you worked at all your operations outposts? No, let me just get to the chase. Have you worked at the one in Switzerland?”

Oh, Primrose was good. Dad could talk for ages about Switzerland. I knew even before his eyes lit up what we were getting into.

He only left begrudgingly after a solid twenty, twenty-five minutes of rambling, leaving me alone with Primrose, where I nudged her side.

“Great work,” I said, mock-sarcastically. “Now my father’s never going to stop talking to me about you.”

“I got excited. I think it’s cool.”

“It is.” I relaxed into a smile, settling one hand into my pocket. “It’s a beautiful place.”

She turned to square her shoulders with me, her jaw dropping. “You—you’ve been, too?”

“Didn’t know you were such a Switzerland fan.”

She flushed, looking down. “Just… I’ve never really gotten to travel. Getting to go abroad has always been a big dream…”

Oh, god, I just wanted to wrap her up in a big hug and fly her anywhere in the world she wanted. Dammit, I was in deep. “Switzerland’s a good choice,” I said. “Once you make your dream come true, if you do visit Switzerland, I’ll give you some recommendations. Mountain lake skating there in the winter is breathtaking.”

Primrose looked at me like I was speaking the language of angels. “Oh my god, that sounds so romantic. Just… take me with you the next time you go.”

Romantic? Take her with me? Ugh… I swear, she was trying to kill me.

And maybe I could kill her back. Besides, she was cute like this.

I relaxed, sinking into one hip, my hand in my pocket. “Sure. Pull off your first axel and I’ll take you.”

“Uh—” It worked wonders. She stammered without words, her mouth moving, blinking fast, before she flushed suddenly deeply. “You’re… you are joking, right?”

“Nah. It takes a long damn time to learn the axel, though, I’ll have you know. But since you’re serious about wanting to learn… sure. Pull one off and we can go.”

“The—we don’t—you don’t actually have to do that,” she said, blush deepening. “I was just being annoying. You know that, right?”

I raised my eyebrows. “You don’t want to go?”

“No! I mean, I do. I just... um...” She scratched her head. “I still think you’re just messing with me.”

“Up to you to show me if I am. Stick with it long enough to land an axel and I will mean it.”

She laughed nervously, and she folded her arms, giving me what I think was an attempt at a stern look but was just a cute red-faced pout. “I’m never getting off the ice, if that’s the case. I’m going to practice jumping until my legs don’t work anymore.”

I couldn’t help a smile just about bursting over my features. “Remember to give yourself proper recovery time. It’s an important part of growth.”

“What defines the one axel, specifically? If it’s clumsy and off-balance but I still land it, does that count?”

“FSC rules. Just land it and don’t touch the ice with anything but your skates.”

“And I don’t have to be able to do them consistently, just—”

“Just land one.”

“Can we go back now? I want to hit the ice.”

I laughed. I’d really been afraid she’d think I was a sicko for actually inviting her. But apparently I was brave today. “Easy there, tiger. We only just got here. Still got plenty of time here to work that charm of yours on everyone in this room.”

She laughed nervously, scratching the back of her neck. “I don’t know about charm… I just get excited.”

“Nothing more charming than that.”

“Do you speak a Swiss language?”

I cleared my throat. “I speak just enough German to disappoint my father actively instead of passively.”

“You speak German?”

“Just a little… I mean, enough to get by in Swiss Germany. And up to you if you count Swiss German as real German. Residents of one country will fight you whatever your answer is.”

“Oh my god,” she laughed, eyes sparkling. “How do you not have girls just… lining up around the block for you?”

“Er…” I looked away, suddenly much less cool. “Dunno, really. But I haven’t seen the line. Must be somewhere else.”

“Seriously. Dream girl material.” She spun on her heel, saving me before I actually died on the spot. “Well, let’s go talk to more of your friends so we can clear up here and get back to the ice, okay?”

I could work with that.

∞∞∞

Primrose really could make friends with anyone. She was engaged in a conversation with a family friend’s son that looked like they were having the time of their lives when, if someone asked me at gunpoint, I wouldn’t have been able to name one thing they might have had in common to talk about, and I found myself just admiring her from across the room as the event wound down, and it was there that my father spoke from next to me.

“Your friend is quite the extrovert.”

“She’s got a knack for making people like her.” I sipped the coffee out of the little paper cup I had, and I had bad timing, because I choked on it when my father said what I needed him not to.

“If you are dating, you can tell me.”

I cleared my throat hard and managed to swallow the coffee. “We’re not dating. Sorry to… disappoint you?”

He swirled his own coffee cup, looking across the room at her. “She’s charming. And clearly fits in here.”

“You just like her because she wanted to talk about Switzerland,” I deadpanned. He gave me a wry smile out of the corner of his eye.

“And I hear she has an offer to visit, herself.”

So he’d been eavesdropping. I played it cool, shrugging. “I like the place. I know I’ll visit again at some point. Wouldn’t mind taking her with me, especially once we’ve been friends long enough she’s learned an axel.”

“So long as you improve your German.”

“I know. I’m working on it. Where I can.”

He paused, and I already knew what direction he was going just from the awkward tension he had before he voiced it. “Is she… Primrose, I mean. She’s also…?”

I arched an eyebrow at him. “She doesn’t speak much German either. Any, even. I look like I speak German in comparison.”

“You know what I mean.”

“You can say the word gay, Dad.” I shrugged, downing the rest of my coffee. “I don’t know. You could ask her.”

He sighed, and he finished his coffee too, tossing the cup into the trash. “I’m glad you made it. I was starting to wonder if you were turning away from the business.”

I pushed my hands into my pockets, hunching. “I’ve just been all over the place lately… a lot of events going on, a competition coming up soon. You can thank Primrose for helping me work out up from down, honestly.”

He gave me a tired smile. “That’s business. Sometimes you’re swimming, sometimes you’re drowning. You get used to it.”

“Business has been good, though?”

“As sensible as ever.”

“So, up is down, left is right, and cats and dogs live in harmony.”

He laughed, pushing away from the table. “Maybe Primrose can help everyone figure out up from down, if she did for you. Can you come upstate with me Wednesday afternoon to meet Carl Webb?”

I winced. “I’m booked on Wednesday… I have an exam and an elect-board meeting.”

His face drew tighter, that stony edge coming back on. “Hm.”

“I don’t want to miss it, though. Can I video call in?”

He studied me for a minute, and his eyes flicked over to where Primrose had a group with her now, before looking back at me. “That’s fine,” he said. “Three o’clock is good?”

“Perfect, actually. Thanks, Dad.”

It was a minute later that I caught Primrose by the hotel front doors, smiling sweetly at me, the rest of the attendees trickling out around us. I gestured her towards the front doors, and she stepped out with me, her coat flicking in the wind.

“You’ve got a talent,” I laughed.

“It’s not skating, I’ll tell you that.”

“Not yet. I hear you’re going to learn an axel.” I put my hands in my coat pockets, walking her down towards the parking lot, the two of us just a half-step closer together than normal. “For winning people over. My dad loves you.”

“He’s honestly… less scary than I expected?”

“He was in a good mood today. And you hit him where he was weak, talking about Switzerland.” I stopped at my car, opening the passenger side door for her. She didn’t get in straightaway, though—she gave me a quick hug first, squeezing me and then back just as quickly, stepping into the car.

“Thanks so much for letting me come. I had a lot of fun.”

Luckily I had the walk around to my side of the car to form a response and to stop thinking about the scent of her perfume when she hugged me. I climbed into the driver’s seat, shutting the door behind me, and I said, “Thanks for coming. You’re more than welcome to accompany me any other time, too… it’s easier with someone there who makes everyone like her.”

“Please. You’re just being nice.”

“I’m not. My dad said the same thing, and he’s not generous with compliments.”

She ducked her head, tucking her hair back, a shy smile on her lips. “Well… I’m just glad I fit in. It’s nice being here with you. And I’d happily do it again.”

If I… if I didn’t worry about it. If I just let things happen at whatever pace they happened, enjoyed the ride and saw where it went. Could I fall in love with Primrose?

We’d barely known each other for a week. We both had our things. But when I took all of that away and looked at the bare beating heart of it all, there was no denying this felt like once-in-a-lifetime. Like the start of something special.

Time would tell. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hoping for it.

“Still owe you for breakfast,” I said, starting the car. “And I’m starved. Think it’s my turn to cook for you?”

She leaned over the center console, resting her head on my shoulder. “Would you do that? God, that would be so good.”

I would do a lot more than that. But for now… lunch sounded good.