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"Please tellfor us," he says "Not unless it involves you in a Raquel Welch style fur miniskirt for a weekend"

"Even then you wouldn’t like it," I tease "I believe the wo back in the caverin I don’t bother to take offense We both know that et past "peel back plastic cover and setclose?" He has told me only that he wants to take iving me no clues

"Just around this bend" As the Jeep curves to the right, the trees break for alike a diaht I’ve only been up in the San Bernadino Mountains once, and that hen I came to visit Jamie one Christmas Snow had come early that year, and we rented a car with snow tires andBear In the end, neither of us had actually put on skis, but we’d had a fabulous ti Irish coffee by the fire, and watching all the guys in tight snow pants

A few more curves, and the view of the lake disappears I’m totally turned around, but it’s obvious that Da, though So although I’ve clued in to the general concept of ato a resort, a hotel, a friend’s house, or yet another property that Dalance over a wooden sign indicating a private drive, and Damien turns onto it, then follows an even steeper, even more narrow road The trees are closer on both sides of the Jeep, and in the dark I’ to feel a bit claustrophobic Then we are cresting the rise, and all I see is an Alpine chateau loo pines It is a stunning property, ooden shingles and stone chiive the impression that we haven’t left Bavaria Or perhaps that weturn on the way home and ended up in Switzerland

Daate, then rolls down hisand punches in a code, thereby destroying all illusions that this extravagant place is either a hotel or a bed-and-breakfast or a mountain spa resort

"You own this?"

He eases the Jeep through the sloidening gap in the gate "I wanted a weekend getaway So out of the way"

"Pal a drive?"

"The condo in Palolf course," he says, "and since I’olfer I let my staff reserve time as a perk As for Santa Barbara, it’s an exceptional property, but sometimes aover to squeeze my hand

I squeeze back, amused "You know those co on a map for every town you’ve lived in or where all your Facebook friends are froet one of those for all your properties"

His answering grin is s our way through them, one by one Only a few of my properties have been properly christened"

"Is that so? Well, then Maybe we should start with your Arrowhead property," I say "Maybe we should start tonight"

"I can’t think of a better way to spend the evening Or the rin as I take another look at the e I say we christen these rooms first and then we can move on to other locations That will take us, what? A year?"

"It’s not that big," he says "Only nine thousand square feet"