by Kendall Ryan
“Well, that’s a loaded question…” Her pink lips twitched and a rush of heat crept up her cheeks, sending a surge of blood straight to my manhood.
Awesome.
She’d been here three seconds and I was already half-hard.
It took every ounce of strength I had not to bend down, scoop her in my arms, and find the nearest corner to show her exactly how easy Trevor-the-fuck-up would be to rectify.
Instead, I chuckled at her little joke and righted the crooked knit cap on her head.
“Something we could only do here,” I prompted.
“Well, I don’t know what there is to do in the area,” she hedged, pausing to chew on her bottom lip.
Clearly, she wasn’t in the mental space to make decisions, so I took the reins. “Then let’s find out. There’s a village at the bottom of the hill. I’m sure there’s lots of stuff to do.”
“As long as we’re not skiing, anything sounds good to me,” she said with a shrug.
“Nope, we’re going for a good old-fashioned walk.” I zipped up my coat and then led her back through the doors onto the cobblestone path that led into the ski village. There wasn’t much there, truthfully. Just a few little tourist spots, a spa, and some restaurants, but it was enough to get her mind off things, and that was all we really needed for today. Better yet, it looked like the inside of a snow globe. She’d love the North Pole vibe of it, I was sure.
“You didn’t ask me what happened,” she said quietly as we reached the end of the path and trod over the light smattering that had already recovered the recently shoveled sidewalk.
My gut clenched as I shoved my gloveless hands in my coat pockets. “It’s not my place to press you, Maggie. My job is to be here for you when you’re ready to talk about it.” I slowed to a stop and eyed her questioningly. “Do you want to talk about it?”
She sighed, then glanced at the ski lift in the distance for a long moment before focusing on me again. “I didn’t really want to, but ever since I got on the plane, it’s all I could think about.”
“Then shoot. Maybe talking will make you feel better.” Christ knew it would make me feel better. Or, if not better, at least less tense. I was on edge, wondering exactly how bad things had gotten between them to get to this point after so long.
And, if I was being totally honest, macho bullshit or no, I really needed to find out if I had to kick Trevor’s ass when I got back to town. Because I was not opposed to a good old-fashioned throwdown.
I unclenched my fists and tried to focus on Maggie as she began to talk again.
“See, that’s the thing.” She wrapped her arms around her waist and shook her head slowly. “When I think about it, I don’t feel anything. Like, I’m angry that I wasted my time and that he betrayed me, but as far as losing him? I’m like…numb or something.”
I nodded, trying to wrangle my conflicting emotions. Numb was better than devastated or heartsick. “I can understand that. It must’ve been a shock if it wasn’t something you’d planned to do.”
“Oh, there was no plan. I stopped over there and walked in on him banging his assistant.” She let out a snort. “What a cliché, right? Zero points for originality, Trevor. I have no idea how long it’s been going on for. I wanted to ask but when I saw... Well, they weren’t in a position to be answering questions.”
“Fucking hell,” I muttered through gritted teeth as I let out a deep breath. The urge to take the next plane back to New York and beat him senseless was almost overwhelming but I tamped it down. I needed to be here for Maggie right now. I inhaled deeply, nostrils flaring as my fists balled by my sides. If Trevor cheated on a woman like this?
He already had no sense.
“It’s the lying that bothers me more than anything. If he wants to be with someone else, more power to him. I just don’t know why he’d string me along at the same time.”
I opened my mouth, closed it, then shook my head. “I’m not sure what to say. He didn’t deserve you, and I’m so sorry about how it ended.”
“Don’t be. I was pissed off and confused and my confidence took a serious blow, but I realized almost immediately that I never felt jealous. I wasn’t broken at the thought of him with someone else. I was just…more humiliated than anything.” Her eyes looked suspiciously shiny and I nodded in silence. “Anyway, I drank my way through it. Now I’m here with you, and we are going to have an amazing couple of days. Starting with checking out this adorable antique and crafts shop.”
She pointed to a little hobbit-sized hut I hadn’t noticed before, but I knew immediately it was her style. Advertisements for homemade quilts and candles hung in the frosty windows and I followed her as she practically sprinted toward the entrance.
“Trevor would never go in places like this. He called them granny shops.”
“Then let’s go in. By all means.”
I motioned for her to go inside and all at once we were flooded by the smell of a thousand candles and thick, warm air.
Quilts hung from the walls and little displays of handcrafted soaps and lotions were littered through the rest of the tiny room.
Maggie wandered over to one of the quilts that was made from a soft, fluffy fabric in muted grays, creams, and pink. She ran her fingers over the intricate stitching.
“I wish I could do something like this. It’s incredible,” she murmured.
“Thank you, dear.” A woman who looked like she’d been around for the signing of the Declaration of Independence spoke from behind the counter, and Maggie turned to face her. “You did all this yourself?”
The lady nodded, her white curls springing up and down with the motion. “Yes I did, missy. The arthritis hasn’t gotten me just yet.” She closed one blue eye in a broad wink.
“It’s amazing. Really. You should be very proud.” Maggie grinned at her.
“You know, I bet you could learn to do it, too,” I offered and the kindly old lady nodded.
“Months to learn and a lifetime to master. But you’ll never be cold a night in your life.” She laughed at her own feeble joke and we laughed along with her.
As they continued to talk, I walked back to the quilt and glanced at the price tag. Not cheap by any means, but given our touristy location and the quality of the craftsmanship, it seemed fair. I gathered the quilt in my arms and set it on the counter.
“I’ll take it.”
“Sam, no,” Maggie said. “You already bought my ticket here and I can’t—”
“It’s not for you. It’s for my place. You never have any blankets when you come over and you always love to snuggle under them. It’s about time you had one,” I countered.
Fact was, I’d have gotten her just about anything under the sun to see her smile again.
“But Sam...” Maggie said, but the woman behind the counter waved her off.
“You know, my mother always said to accept a gift with a smile and a hearty thank you,” the old woman interjected.
I raised my eyebrows at Maggie. “See? And you always give me grief when I argue with you about the stuff you get me. Now can you please just—”
“Fine,” she said with a chuckle. She rolled her eyes but grinned all the same. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” I handed the woman my credit card and she swiped it before shoving the whole of my new quilt into a bag.
This could be good and bad. A quilt like this would be a reminder of Maggie to keep in the house. Every time I looked at it, I’d think of the way her eyes had sparkled as she surveyed the neat stitching and fine seams.
Maybe I should make her take it home after all…
“There you go!”
The old woman’s gravelly voice snapped me out of my daydreams and I took the bag gratefully.
“Thank you again,” I said, and she nodded.
“A pleasure. Always nice to see young couples in this village. Especially a pair as perfectly matched as you two.”
Maggie blinked, her eyes widening, but I just smiled
and took her arm.
“Have a great day,” I called back over my shoulder as I led her from the shop and out into the crisp air.
“Okay, good stop. Where to next?” I asked.
Maggie looked at me, dazed, and then shook her head and said, “Uh, I dunno…Italian food maybe? Trevor hated tomatoes. And mozzarella cheese.”
A clear indicator that he was a fucking monster as far as I was concerned, but I held back the commentary, settling on, “Your wish is my command.”
We followed the cobblestones deeper into the little village until we reached a strip of shops and restaurants. We checked out a couple of them from the outside and settled on a bistro tucked in the corner.
When we walked in, the scent of spicy sauce and garlic greeted us and I knew we’d picked the right place. Fires crackled merrily in every corner of the restaurant and we selected our seat near one. We’d just taken off our coats and had settled in when a smiling waitress came over and handed us some menus.
“I’ll never understand that,” Maggie said suddenly.
“What?” I asked, not taking my eyes from the menu.
“Why people always think we’re together. You know, Trevor used to get so mad because one time when we went out with you, some woman made a comment to him about being a third wheel.”
I raised my menu a little higher, careful to hide my grin. “Yeah, it’s weird, huh?”
“It’s just strange to assume. I mean, we could be brother and sister.”
Friend-zoned had been bad enough. And now, just when I thought there was a glimmer of hope…
She thinks of me as her fucking brother? Just kill me now.
A knife twisted in my gut but I kept my voice level. “You think so?”
“Yeah. Maybe. I don’t know, it’s just weird. So what are you thinking of ordering?”
In truth, I hadn’t seen a single word on the menu yet and suddenly felt like the last thing I wanted to do was eat.
“I think we should start with some hot toddies,” I announced, snapping the menu shut. “I ate a late lunch and I’m not that hungry.”
She grinned and closed her menu, tossing it on the table next to mine. “I can definitely hold off on the food and I’ve always wanted to have a hot drink near a snowy ski lodge. Trevor hates snow so…”
I nodded. “You got it then.”
And truthfully, after that brother-sister comment?
Alcohol was the best idea I’d had all day.
Chapter Five
Maggie
Shortly after our drinks arrived, Frick and Frack—AKA Peter and Jeremy—texted and we had them join us at the restaurant.
Together, we all decided to split a couple pizzas and, from there, the conversation fell easily into what sick moves they’d managed to pull off while they were carving through the snow.
Every now and then, Sam would shoot me a sympathetic look, knowing that I had no idea what they were talking about, but in truth, their company was a welcome break. Between what the woman in the shop had said and the lady on the plane’s insinuation, my mind was going a mile a minute and I was beginning to look at Sam in a way I definitely shouldn’t be.
Okay, so, yeah, he was sexy. That was a no-brainer.
I shot him a furtive glance, taking in the corded muscles of his forearms and the lock of dark hair that constantly flopped onto his forehead. And sure, he was sweet and attentive. He looked after me and made sure I always had a fresh drink and that I wasn’t cold or hot. He held the door for me and pulled out my chair when we went to restaurants. Hell, he’d been looking forward to this trip for months and he’d sacrificed an entire day just to make sure I got here safe and didn’t spend my time sulking.
Still, that didn’t mean he had feelings for me. He hadn’t argued when I’d mentioned us being like brother and sister or anything.
No, this whole line of thinking was ludicrous. Sam was a good friend. That was all…wasn’t it?
After all, Trevor had loved me once and he never did any of that.
Admittedly, that wasn’t the best example, but it proved my point all the same. In Sam’s shoes, Trevor never would have missed the chance to hit the slopes with his friends. He hadn’t even skipped the business trip that fell on my twenty-fifth birthday years back.
But Sam was there, my brain supplied helpfully.
Again, not an indication that he had feelings for me. People were just different. Sam was one of the good ones. And if he liked me surely I’d have known by now. He’d have told me or…something.
“Is that your phone?” Sam turned to me and I blinked, only realizing that I’d been so engrossed in my own thoughts that I’d totally zoned out.
“What?” I asked, confused.
“Don’t you hear that vibrating noise? I think it’s your phone.”
I listened hard and then heard the low, gentle hum he was talking about.
“Yep, probably you-know-who again.” I sighed, but fished the phone from my tiny handbag all the same on the off chance it was a family member with an emergency.
It wasn’t Trevor, though. He had called—I had seven new missed messages from him since I’d left for the airport, but I also had three missed calls from my friend Deanna. I hadn’t spoken to her in more than two weeks because she’d been away on a long-awaited safari, but now more than ever I really needed to hear her voice.
“It’s Dee. She must be back from her trip,” I told Sam. “I know the pizza will be here in a minute, but is it cool if I step out for a sec and take this?”
He waved me off. “Go give her a call and make sure she’s good and all. I’ll make sure these jackals don’t eat all the food.”
I clasped my phone a little harder as I made my way onto the fairy-lit patio of the restaurant.
Bracing myself for the cold, I sat on the iron bench against the wall and dialed Dee’s number. It only took a few seconds before the line clicked to life.
“Hey,” I said, trying my best to sound normal. “Everything okay? I saw—”
“What is going on?” she demanded, talking even faster than usual, which was saying something.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I stopped by your place to show you pics of my amazing trip and Trevor was sitting outside your door with a bunch of wilted flowers looking like a sad sack.”
I pinched my nose between thumb and forefinger. “Was he?”
She hummed her confirmation. “He must have had two dozen roses and he wouldn’t say a word about what happened between you guys or where you were, but I figured it wasn’t good.”
“Well, I can tell you that I’m in Colorado,” I said.
There was a sharp intake of breath. “Like with Sam? Isn’t he supposed to be in Colorado right now?”
“Yes, I’m with Sam.”
“I knew it,” she exclaimed, sounding oddly gleeful. “You sly little devil! So you finally opened your frigging eyes and ran away with that sexy beast and Trevor is trying to win you back? How did it happen? Don’t leave a single detail out,” she demanded.
My spinning mind tilted on its axis and I gripped the icy iron bench for support. “Hang on, nobody ran away with anybody,” I said with a forced laugh. “I went to Trevor’s apartment yesterday and found him balls-deep in his assistant.”
“No,” Dee gasped. “That rat bastard. I knew it. I always said—”
“You always said he was a nice guy and a great catch,” I reminded her.
“To your face,” Dee said casually as ever. “Because you weren’t ready to hear anything else. So what, are you, like, heartbroken or—”
I rolled my eyes as I thought through my reply. “I’m getting through. Sam offered to bring me out here to get away from things for a while. I’m hoping by the time I get back, Trevor will have given up because, obviously, there is no way I’m getting back with him.”
“Obviously,” she agreed. “That scum. Oh, I hate men like him. They think they’re so fancy with their offices and their assistan
ts. You’re better off.” The words came out in an angry rush.
“Thanks, I think so too.” In fact, with every hour that passed with me not missing a single thing about him, I realized it more and more.
“But let’s get back to Sam,” Dee pressed.
“What about Sam?” I echoed, my pulse quickening. What had prompted all that crazy nonsense she’d been spewing about us running away?
“Well, you’re there with him, right? So…”
“Dee, don’t be ridiculous,” I snapped, my cheeks heating. “I don’t know why the second I’m single the whole universe thinks I should get together with Sam of all people.”
“The whole universe, huh?” Dee said, and I could hear the smile in her voice. “Tell me, has he been taking good care of you?”
I glanced through the wide glass windows of the patio and caught sight of the pair of massive pizzas being set on our table.
Saved by the dinner bell.
“Look, Dee, I’ve got to go. I’ll call you back the second I’m home so you can fill me in about your trip, okay?”
“Oh, no way, you chicken shit. Don’t think you’re getting off that easy. You guys belong to—”
In a panic, I clicked off. No way was I sticking around to listen to her conspiracy theories. Especially when they made my palms sweat and my heart race.
Instead, I rushed back inside, slipped back into my seat, took a massive hunk of cheesy goodness and slathered it with Parmesan, garlic, and red peppers.
“How is Dee?” Sam asked as he took his own piece.
“Crazy as ever,” I said, and to my eternal gratitude, the conversation ended with that.
For the rest of dinner, I listened quietly while the guys planned their courses for the following day.
I managed two more slices and another toddy before we called it quits and all headed back up to the lodge. The closer I got to that sprawling beacon of light, the better I felt. I was desperate for a few minutes of alone time to reflect and refocus. Nothing like a long, hot bath to get the airplane germs off of me. After everything today? I could use a few minutes away from Sam, too.
It wasn’t that he was bothering me—he never bothered me. It was just that every time I looked at him I heard the voices in my head that seemed suddenly intent on reminding me that he was a man and I was a woman. And that, when I looked at him now, I wasn’t just seeing my friend Sam. I was seeing...well, broad shoulders and striking blue eyes. Shaggy brown hair and a sculpted, toned frame.
