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“Because it will help Olivia be certain I’m not interested in Charlie.”
“Why would that help?”
“Because, if Charlie and Derek are together all the time, Charlie and I won’t have any time alone together.”
“I see.” He nodded a few times before shaking his head. “No, I don’t see. Why can’t you and Charlie just not spend time alone together? Why does Derek have to be involved at all?”
“We can do that, of course. We can purposefully not spend time together, but if she’s with Derek, she won’t be an enticement.”
“So let me get this straight... You are madly in love with Olivia. And you’re going to prove it to her by pushing Charlie into a relationship with another man so she won’t tempt you anymore. Does that about cover it?”
“It doesn’t sound right when you say it.”
“Buddy, you are one messed up dude.”
“Brad, you’re my best friend. You have to help me—I don’t have anyone else.”
“Josh, I’ll try. But I suspect my wife may be working against you. She’s purposefully left me out of things, but I’ve overheard some stuff. If she catches me, I’ll have to stop. I’m not risking my wife’s wrath for your scheming.”
“But it’s not scheming. It’s a matter of life and death.”
“Yeah buddy, I know you’re desperate. You’ve never asked for my help with anything before—that’s the only reason I’m doing it. I’m just saying I’ll have to be subtle.”
“Thanks man,” Josh sighed with relief. “I’ll have Jace all afternoon, so I’m going to try to ski alone with Olivia this morning. Here’s my plan. We’ll all start off together on this run,” he pointed to the trail map he pulled from his pocket. “But then I’m going to talk her into hanging back with me while I adjust my boots. And when we get to this point, you guys take any route to the left, and we’ll go over to the Mountaintop Express. We’ll stay on this mountain the whole morning and then meet you guys at the bottom for lunch.”
“You got it. Although, it may not work if the girls pull out their cell phones to find each other. But I’ll give it my best shot.”
“GRACE, YOU’VE GOT TO help me ski alone with Derek this morning,” said Olivia.
“Get Hannah and Claire to help you,” said Grace. “They’re dying to get in on the action.”
“Good idea.” Olivia bounded downstairs to find her younger sisters at the breakfast table. “Good morning. I like your sweater,” she told Hannah.
Hannah smirked at Claire. “Either she wants help or she wants to borrow my sweater.” She turned back to Olivia. “Which do you want?”
“I’m insulted,” Olivia huffed. “I was planning to offer you a chance to get in on the conspiracy. But if you’re not interested...”
“No,” said Hannah. “We’re interested. What can we do?”
“I’m not entirely sure. You’ll have to think on your feet. You need to distract Josh and help me get Derek by himself. Josh will have Jace all afternoon. So with any luck, I should be able to spend the entire day with Derek.”
“But I feel bad for Charlie,” said Claire. “After all, Derek’s her boyfriend.”
“Yes, but it’s for her own good,” said Olivia. “She belongs with Josh, even if she doesn’t realize it yet.”
“What if Derek prefers Charlie instead of you?” Hannah asked. “You know, he came on this trip to be with her.”
“Yes, but we made eye contact last night, and it was sizzling. I’m telling you, we’ve got sparks. Anyway, the important thing is to keep him away from Charlie so she’ll be available for Josh.”
“I don’t know. I had a lot of fun being in Grace’s wedding. I was looking forward to being in yours next month,” Hannah teased.
“Not happening,” said Olivia. “But if you help me, you can be in Charlie’s wedding.”
“Charlie’s wedding?” said a voice behind Olivia. “What on earth are you talking about?” asked Spencer emerging through the breakfast room door.
“You know... even Charlie’s going to get married eventually,” Olivia covered quickly.
“Okay, but why were you asking for Hannah’s help?”
