"It's time to go" Rafael announced.

"We should be there at a certain hour or something? Why are you looking at the watch?" Eliana was confused. She thought they were on holidays, she was not in a hurry, still in her pastel pink pajamas with love hearts printed all over them.

"We have around two hours before your scheduled time with an instructor, and we need to get you skis before that" Rafael explained patiently.

He was of course drinking his espresso first thing in the morning. He prepared latte macchiato for Eliana despite his dislike of the amount of soy milk she's adding to her morning beverage, he prepared it just like she liked.

"My instructor?" She asked with confusion.

"Ski instructor, we're going skiing, Eliana" Rafael explained patiently.

"Maybe I'm pro at skiing?" She challenged.

"Are you? That's why you told me you don't have skis?" He asked with amusement.

"Maybe I've lost them or they got stolen? There are a ton of explanations" she said getting on defense.

"That's why you evade answering my question," he said, still poking fun at her.

"Maybe I just don't feel like answering" she pouted.

"Well, if you're a pro no worries, she's offering advanced lessons. I'm looking forward to seeing witnessing your skills" Rafael responded.

Ok, maybe it was the right time to admit that she has never been skiing before.

Nope, she was too proud to do that.

He can suck it.

After drinking coffee and eating fresh mini-croissants for breakfast, Eliana has decided to make use out of her new ski suit. It was white with a few black stripes. It had a wide belt around her waist.

Rafael traditionally opted for an all-black outfit. Of course, he was incredibly handsome no matter what he was wearing, but there was something about seeing him in a winter jacket that made Eliana feel hot.

The moment she saw him coming downstairs, she gasped.

"What?" He asked.

"They're not making tuxedo-styled ski wear?" Eliana taunted, knowing that formal clothing style was Rafael's first choice and Aspen is probably the only place where you can catch him in a jacket and not a long formal coat that was hiding his Armani suit.

"You must think you're hilarious," he said dryly.

"I know I am"

When they left the house, they drove for a few minutes in the black jeep. Eliana could enjoy the first time when Rafael was a driver, usually, he had a chauffeur to get him from one place to another. They ended up at Hamilton sports the ski shop/rental where Eliana had her skis and boots fitted.

"They're so cool," Eliana said, her eyes sparkling when she saw one of the pair of skis with geometric neon green patterns and black background. Maybe she enjoyed how they looked because they gave her Billie Eilish vibes. She immediately thought they will fit her white suit. "I wonder if they're up for rental" she continued and looked at Rafael for confirmation.

"Eliana, you don't need to rent them, you can buy them," Rafael explained.

"But I don't even know if I like skiing"

He raised his eyebrows, "I thought you are a pro" he said, faking shock.

"Ha. Ha," Eliana reacted with sarcasm. "You're being difficult just for the sake of it aren't you?"

"I learned this skill from you," he said with a smirk playing on his lips.

There it is, there's no use to fight Rafael because he always has a snarky comment to hit you back with.

Eliana shook her head and sighed, "Let's just get those damn skis and go"

---------------

Eliana and Rafael arrived at the meeting place a bit late, but the instructor did not dare mention it already knowing there's no reason to start a battle with disgustingly rich clients, he preferred to get a generous tip, thank you very much. He plastered a wide smile on this face, ready to start another wonderful day.

"Hi, I am Danny Richards, it's lovely to meet you," he said greeting the couple that clearly was awaiting him.

"Rafael Vincenti, this is my wife, Eliana" Rafael said.

Rafael was definitely older than Eliana, so Danny diagnosed them as a classic case of a sugar daddy and a gold digger. Gold diggers were Danny's favorite type of girls: easy ones. Danny loved his job because it meant getting naive pretty girls in bed, every year someone different showed up to fall victim to his desire. He was known as a playboy only to the local population and frequent visitors of the resort.

He noted that the couple wasn't alone, they had two bodyguards behind their back which meant they're VIPs even for the Aspen standard and that was something. What was also out of the ordinary were their looks. Usually, it was only the girl that was pretty, and the rich older guy's looks were ranging from ordinary to hideous, but in Rafael and Eliana's case, they were both good-looking.

Prettier the guy the harder it is to score his girl, but Danny appreciated the challenge.

The challenge was worthy of the prize was worth fighting for, and Eliana certainly was. She was a natural beauty, one unorthodox thing he noticed about her was no makeup, her full red lips were very kissable, she was petite, her cheeks were flushed because of the cold. She had big sparkly eyes and beautiful mahogany hair, slightly curly at the ends.

Perfect target.