“Power makes people do odd things. But I wouldn’t read too much into it. Politics is very different than business. I doubt he’d stoop so low in business,” he laughed.
“I’d like to think better of my father.” I nodded, spotting the tiny house in front of us where we’d be let off. “But I don’t. I feel like I never understood their motives, and I never wanted to be like them. How horrible does that sound?”
“Remember that apartment building where he evicted everyone?” Austin asked.
Oh, my god! I had totally forgotten about that.
“I remember,” I sighed. “That was horrible. He evicted all of the low-income families because the laws changed, and he could charge more rent if he booted everyone out. He only gave them thirty days notice and most of them had nowhere to go. I remember him talking about how that year alone he’d make an additional quarter million with that move.”
“You’re nothing like them.”
“That’s very sweet of you, but how do you know? A lot has changed since we last saw one another.”
“Your friends are amazing. They care about you tremendously, and no one who has friends like that could be anything like your parents. Birds of a feather…”
My cheeks reddened as I looked away. “I hope you’re right. But enough of that, though. I’m here to be taught how to save a lily and make it down a mountain.”
The ski lift slowed marginally at the last incline, and I felt my board touch the hardened snow as I stood up ready to ride down the little bank with Austin right next to me. But just as I stood up and Austin glided down the slope, my glove stuck on the railing of the lift, not letting me detach. Before I fully understood what was happening, I was holding on for dear life with my body dangling from the lift as it continued to soar through the air and head back down the mountain. I heard Austin yelling at the operator to turn off the lift, but I kept sailing back down the mountain with my board attached to one foot and both hands holding tightly onto the railing. People hollered for me to jump, while others commanded me to hang on. I couldn’t gauge how high or low I was from the mountain so I just hung on until the lift finally sputtered into stillness.
“Lily, let go,” Austin hollered. His voice was coming closer, and I looked down at the snow bank beneath me wondering if he really meant it. “You’re only about six feet up, it just looks worse. The snow bank will cushion your fall.”
Was that a good thing?
The lift swung back and forth and I decided to just go for it. I glared at the man in the booth who didn’t feel a need to turn off the lift before I found myself in this predicament. He was grinning. Of course he was.
I closed my eyes and let go of the lift, and within a second, my butt sank into the snow, and Austin was helping me up and out. Humiliated, horrified, and embarrassed were far too gentle of terms to describe how I was feeling.
Who dangled from a ski lift on a date?
“Are you okay?” Austin asked, breathless from his jog over, lifting me from the pile of snow and placing me in front of him, dusting the snow off my shoulders.
I nodded. “My ego’s bruised more than anything. Or, at least, I hope that’s the case. I usually can make it off the lift. I promise.”
“It was kind of cute. You know, after I realized you weren’t going to die.” Austin’s eyes dipped down to my lips and he laughed softly. I felt a familiar pool of warmth swell through me as I wondered if he was going to kiss me. Did I want him to kiss me?
“Well, the lily is still perfectly intact. I’m impressed,” he said, grinning, as relief spread through me. “Do you want to ride the lift back down and call it a day? I’d totally understand. We could grab lunch.”
“No. I have no intention of riding that thing back down. I’d rather sled down on my snowboard at record speeds. But seriously I’m fine. I promise.”
He helped me back up the mountain and told me to stay put while he went to the booth where the operator was sitting.
It didn’t sound like things were going well for the person inside the shack as Austin went off on him for not stopping the lift sooner. My heart rate finally began to slow down as I watched Austin make his way back to me.
“I’m so sorry that happened. He should’ve cut it the moment it made its way around the corner.” Austin touched my chin and smiled.
“I’m just bummed I lost my drink,” I teased. “So show me your stuff, ski bum.”
We walked over to a clearing, and he strapped himself in and I did the same.
“So stopping is a problem for me,” I revealed to Austin as I stood up ready for my lesson. “And so is turning.”
He started laughing and slid into position in front of me. He held out his two hands and motioned for me to grab on.
“You’re going to go backwards?”
He nodded and began slowly pulling me down the mountain. “Keep your knees bent and your weight equally distributed. Do you feel your back edge digging into the hill?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, so flatten your board so it’s not digging in.”
“Eeek.” My board started gliding down the hill quickly as Austin guided me along the mountain.
“Now dig your back edge in again,” he said.
I came to a slow stop and looked up at him. His gaze sent a flurry of emotions through me, none that I recognized.
“Nice,” he muttered, guiding me along the mountain, giving instructions and helping to avoid collisions.
I’d finally gotten to the point where the nose of my board was pointing directly down the mountain without a wave of fear rushing through me. This was definite progress. By the time I was two-thirds down the mountain, I hadn’t fallen once and I was starving.
“Ready for lunch?” Austin asked, as we made our way toward a ski hut.
“I’m ravenous. This takes a lot more work than just sitting on it and riding it down.” I unstrapped my board, and secured it in the pegs, and Austin did the same.
“This place has great nachos,” he replied, holding the door open for me.
“Awesome.”
We found a table for two, and Austin went to grab our food while I carefully pulled out my flower and placed it on the table. I watched Austin as he stood in line, talking to a couple in front of him, laughing and looking so carefree.
I heard a female squeal and followed the sound to see a petite brunette, wearing a pink plaid snowboard jacket and white pants, jumping up and down. She was waving in Austin’s direction, and I quickly glanced at him to see if there was a connection.
And there was.
A huge grin broke onto his face, and he motioned for the female to walk over to him.
And she did.
She ran over and jumped into his arms as he spun her around, laughing. My stomach knotted, and I looked down at my flower, feeling completely inadequate and pathetic. Not a combination I enjoyed.
I glanced back up at the cozy couple and caught Austin’s look before he turned to order our food. At least, I think it was our food. At this point, I wasn’t sure if he’d forgotten who he was actually here with. As I watched the two wander off toward the drink dispenser, I wondered if I could make a clean getaway, ride my board back down to the village and slip away into our condo.
“Lily,” Austin’s voice took me off guard. “I’d love for you to meet a friend of mine, Stephanie.”
I looked up to see the brunette standing at the edge of the table, her eyes dropping to the lily on the table before meeting my stare. Her gaze turned icy as she offered me her hand.
“I’ve heard so much about you,” she replied, with a phony smile.
Austin brought over two trays of food while Stephanie pulled up a chair to sit at the table. She narrowed her light brown eyes on me as I slid the lily to the edge of the table so nothing happened to it.
“Your friends planned this for you?” she asked. I couldn’t help but stare at her upturned nose as she glared at me. “And you had no idea?”
“Yup.
They came up with this idea all on their own. Thankfully, one of my best friend’s brother clued me in beforehand though.” I reached for some nachos and watched as Austin sat down, not really intervening or seeming to notice how uncomfortable things were as Stephanie continued to stare at me.
“Seems odd that they’d track someone down that you knew all the way back in high school.” Stephanie grabbed an olive off the nachos and tossed it in her mouth before she flashed a smile at Austin. “Did they get tired of you talking endlessly about him or something?”
She giggled and glanced at Austin who was either acting oblivious or actually was oblivious. “I mean he is quite the catch, if someone could get him to settle down.” Stephanie ran her hand along his arm and I cringed.
“I only mentioned him once. My friends are just too sweet for their own good,” I replied. “But yes. He was a very nice person in high school so I’m sure he’s just as caring now.”
“Caring, huh?” Her brows shot up.
“I am a man with many sides,” he replied, his eyes catching mine.
“You seem to be,” I laughed. Turning to Stephanie I asked, “How’d you meet Austin?”
“We met in Montana last year. I was on a ski trip and so was he. As it turned out, we only lived about ten miles away from each other here in Utah.”
“Small world,” I said, eating the nachos quickly and hoping for a way out of here. Things felt very awkward. She seemed to be very possessive and Austin was still completely oblivious. I didn’t want to be caught in the middle of this whole thing.
“Neither of us are relationship-type people.” She eyed me. “So we bonded immediately.”
“Is that so?” I asked Austin.
“Pretty much.” He wiped his mouth with a napkin, but I saw amusement flicker in his eyes, like he was enjoying this far too much.
“Well, that makes three of us,” I said, patting Stephanie’s hand. “Relationships just get in the way of a good time. At least, that’s my motto.”
And it was.
My emotions burned inside of me as I watched Austin become yet another person. This one was far too sure of himself and tricky. I really had been holding onto some foolish notion about what Austin was going to be like, which was completely unlike me. He wasn’t the same person. We weren’t the same people. And watching him unveil yet another side of himself was really tiresome.
“Hey, I’d like a beer. Do either of you want one?” I asked, hopping up.
“I’d love one,” Stephanie said.
“I’ve got some Fireball in my jacket,” Austin laughed. “But a beer might be nice to kick off the rest of the afternoon. My treat.”
He motioned for me to sit down as he stood up and went toward the bar in the far part of the cafeteria. Part of me wanted to follow him and ask all sorts of questions, but the other part of me told me not to care. What did I expect from a guy I’d only seen twice in twenty-four hours since high school? He was a player? So was I. Was this news?
I sat down and eyed Stephanie whose emotions for Austin were getting the best of her, regardless of whatever game she was willing to play with herself.
“I hope you understand what you’re getting yourself into,” she cooed.
“Excuse me?”
“You’ll just be another temporary distraction for him.”
“Are you always this friendly to Austin’s old acquaintances?” I asked, feeling the old Lily settling right in.
“You aren’t just an old acquaintance,” she replied tartly. “And we both know it.”
“If you aren’t into relationships—”
“Don’t go there,” she hissed. “Austin’s a great guy. Amazing. And if he’s not ready for a relationship than neither am I.”
Ready? If he was anything like me, he’d never be ready. I actually felt sorry for her. She was willing to roll the dice on the waiting game.
“You might be waiting a very long time,” I said, taking a sip of iced tea as the realization of everything settled over me.
Her expression remained unchanged, and I felt the power shift between us. I was no longer the one on the other end of the firing squad. I was in self-preservation mode, which I always settled into nicely. It was too uncomfortable being exposed anyway.
“We are only friends with the occasional benefit,” she said sharply.
“It’s not my business.” I held up my hands in defense. “Honestly, whatever you guys have going is seriously none of my business.”
“You’re telling me, you and your friends flew all the way out here, and you have nothing you want to get out of the deal?”
I shook my head and settled into the seat. “I’m content where I’m at.”
Apparently, that only made her angrier. Maybe, she was making my self-revelation into something more, like overconfidence? Relief spread through me when I saw Austin make his way through the crowd. Maybe he would make it stop!
“Thanks,” I said, grabbing the beer from Austin’s tray as Stephanie did the same.
He just nodded and sat down as if he was enjoying the show.
“You want to board down the mountain with us?” I turned my attention to her as she took a sip of the beer. It appeased her, at least marginally.
“I don’t want to interfere,” her voice syrupy.
Austin’s gaze shifted to mine and I smiled. This was turning into a mess. I was completely confused. I wanted to like the guy sitting in front of me. I enjoyed his company. No. I enjoyed his company until Stephanie came into the picture. Now, I couldn’t figure out which Austin was which. I liked the one I knew in high school, and the one who was helping me down the mountain. But this one sitting at the table wasn’t one I was too fond of.
“The more, the merrier,” I lied.
“But you came all the way to Utah to spend time with Austin.”
“Wasn’t a concern a few minutes ago, why let it be one now?” I laughed, grinning at Austin.
“Lily,” a male voice boomed. I turned around and saw Ayden walking toward me. A huge wave of relief went through me until I saw that his date had arrived. Sammie was right behind him as they made their way to our table.
I stood up quickly and gave Ayden a hug as he reintroduced me to Sammie.
“Thank you so much for letting me crash your trip,” she said, her fingers lacing into each other. She looked completely nervous and endearing all while being wrapped in a beautiful model’s body. It was impossible not to instantly like her.
Ayden took a step forward and glanced at the table and then back at me, his expression falling as he looked into my eyes. I saw a twitch along his jaw as he watched Austin and then Stephanie—together.
“Um, this is Austin,” I said, motioning toward Austin. “And this is Ayden, my friend.”
“This is one of the friends that hunted Austin down?” Stephanie looked completely enthralled with Ayden and my stomach knotted.
“Nice to meet you,” Austin replied, barely glancing at Ayden.
“Same. And you are?” Ayden’s gaze was fixed on Stephanie.
“I’m one of Austin’s friends. I just ran into him, and we all decided to have lunch together.”
“Really. A group decision?” Ayden looked at me, knowing I was anything but pleased with Stephanie’s added presence.
But what could I do?
“Are you going up again?” Sammie asked me. I could tell she felt the tension between us all as well. So why was everyone else clueing into this predicament other than Austin. “You could ride along with us.”
I nodded. “You know, that sounds like a wonderful idea. You don’t mind if I’m a third wheel?”
“You’re not a third wheel,” Sammie replied, giving me a hug.
Stephanie sat with a smug expression on her lips as Austin stared at me, completely bewildered.
“Have fun,” I said, grabbing the lily and tucking it back into my jacket. “And I’ll be sure to report back about the condition of the flower.”
I turned around
and started through the restaurant with Ayden and Sammie when I heard Austin’s voice calling after me.
“You don’t have to go to him,” Ayden said, his voice low.
Sammie glanced up at Ayden and then back at me. “It’s true,” she replied. “What he pulled seems pretty shitty.”
I glanced behind me and saw Austin sitting there by himself. Stephanie was nowhere to be seen, and suddenly I felt like I was back in high school. Maybe I wasn’t the only one stuck in life.
He held up a hand and gave a slight wave and apologetic smile, and I stopped. What was I doing?
“Guys, go ahead. I don’t want to ruin your fun and I’d like to hear what he has to say,” I replied, not looking at Ayden.
Sammie gave me a sympathetic smile, which made me feel completely pathetic as I turned and walked back toward Austin.
I pulled out the chair and sat down, staring at Stephanie’s empty seat. “So where’d your friend go?”
“I asked her to take off, and I’m so sorry for being such an ass,” he replied.
“Okay, so are you now reverting back to the Austin from this morning because the new one you just showed wore me out.”
“I deserve that. I know.”
“You deserve more than that.”
“True.”
“What is your deal?” I asked, pulling out the flower and placing it on the table.
“I don’t do relationships.”
“Yeah, I think your girlfriend-non-girlfriend sent that message loud and clear. And if you’ll remember, I don’t either.”
He reached his hand across the table and grabbed mine. “Listen. No more tricks like that. No more games. I promise what you see is what you’ll get. I don’t know what came over me. And honestly, she is just a friend. There’s nothing romantic with her.”
“Keep telling yourself that,” I replied.
“I don’t have feelings for her.”
Was that supposed to make me feel better? Instead, it made me feel sorry for her.
“Just like I told her, it’s none of my business. Your relationships are none of my business. If you run into any more friends on the mountain, you don’t have to chase them away. I may not choose to spend my vacation hanging out with strangers, but I really don’t care. You’ve lowered my expectations tremendously during lunch today, which is exactly what I needed.”
Beyond Reason (Beyond Love Series #3) Page 13
