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“Because you aren’t sure if this will last.”

Avery looked at him with an odd look on her face. “Why would I think it wouldn’t last? Are you worried I’m going to bail?”

Theo tried to ignore the way his heart was pounding, but he couldn’t. It was hard, being vulnerable, although it was easier with Avery than it had ever been with anyone else. That didn’t mean he liked it, though. “No, I just—I’ve never dated my best friend before, you know?”

“Aside from last month?” she asked with a wry grin.

Theo chuckled reluctantly. “Okay, I’ve never openly dated my best friend, for real, before. How’s that?”

“Far more accurate,” she agreed.

Theo wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back down with him. “If we’re not meeting them for a few hours, I can think of a better way to pass the time than arguing about semantics.”

Avery kissed him while grinning. “I dunno, I think bickering could be kind of fun, if this is the result.”

Theo chuckled. Their friends might end up having to wait for them anyway.

Chapter Forty-Four

Avery

Avery had sort of hoped her friends would react to her and Theo showing up together the way they had at Grace’s party all those weeks ago—with unbridled joy and excitement. But she probably should have guessed they wouldn’t, after the wringer she and Theo had put them through.

Tommy noticed them first as they approached the ticket and rental counter. He and the girls were already dressed and ready, although Grace was fiddling with something on her boot. Avery saw Tommy nudge Harper, who must have said something to Grace because her head whipped up. She stood slowly, and Avery could tell they were holding a quick conference as she and Theo approached.

“Hey, guys,” Avery said, feeling shyer than she ever had around them. Even the other day at Itasca Perk hadn’t felt like this—like she was introducing herself all over again to them. Hell, she didn’t even remember meeting them the first time, since all of them were barely out of diapers back then.

“Hey,” their friends replied, equally wary.

Harper crossed her arms and took the lead. “What’s the deal with you guys, then?”

Avery grabbed Theo’s hand. “We’re together.”

Their friends exchanged a look. “And you guys talked?” Harper asked.

“About everything,” Avery confirmed. “We’re good. And yes, he knows about my parents,” she added, when Harper started to lift an eyebrow.

“Good,” Harper said, and then softened. “Any word from them?”

“It’s only been twenty-four hours,” Avery shrugged. “It might take up to thirty-six for one of them to fully snap.”

Tommy snorted. “Dark, but unfortunately, probably accurate. And for what it’s worth, my money is on your mom.”

“Kelly is fairly . . . brittle,” Grace said diplomatically. “I don’t think it will take much for her to break. But guys, I did not pay actual honest-to-God money to rent these skis for us to stand around talking about old people, so either you guys need to get your butts in gear and get some skis or we’re leaving you in our dust.”

“Noted,” Avery laughed, and pulled Theo behind her into the rental cabin. They usually got dragged out to the cross-country trails once a winter by Harper, for whom this was the one sport she unabashedly loved. She dreamed of skiing the Birkebeiner, a thirty-some-mile ski race out in Wisconsin, one day. The rest of them didn’t like it nearly that much, but it was a nice way to spend an afternoon, Avery would admit.

Back outside, everyone was waiting impatiently while she and Theo got ready. Harper was in the midst of telling another story about her roommate, who was now working on a blanket that was “very pretty but also the size of the Titanic.” But Harper had gotten her out drinking one Saturday night, which she considered a massive success, as Nicole was “a hilarious drunk.”

Half a mile into the course, they stopped for some water and for Tommy to catch his breath, which let Avery catch them all up on the conclusion of the Savannah and Naomi situation: They were dating now, and Naomi had thanked Avery for her assistance. Then Grace tried to tally up all the sapphic-inclined women around Avery, which, if they included her aunts, was quite a lot. A little while later, Tommy filled them in on his newest crush—a boy who lived upstairs in his dorm, and as he was from Fargo was considered a townie, “but, like, a hot townie.” Grace, who lived in the next dorm over, confirmed this assessment for everyone.

The whole way, Theo was by her side, and that, more than anything, made Avery feel like this was the perfect start. The sun was a pale yellow reflecting off the white snow, the trees black outlines against the sky, a blue so faint it was nearly white. The air was crisp and cold, and the snow sluiced and crunched under her skis as they went.

It was a beautiful, perfect day. And after all that time, all those years of friendship, she finally had it—a best friend and partner, all wrapped up in one.

Epilogue

Theo