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I laugh, pulling back. “I know. This is crazy. I’m just passing through on my way to Berkeley.”
“Berkeley?” Claire’s face lights up. “Girl, that’s amazing. You were always so talented and smart—”
Devin coughs, interrupting her gushing praise, and she glances over her shoulder.
“And who’s this?” Claire hip-checks me, fluffing out her long waves as she eyes my road trip buddy across the table.
“Oh, um.” I lamely gesture. “This is Devin, a friend of the family. I’m driving him to Cal State Monterey Bay.”
“Hi, Devin.” She all but purrs, extending her hand, and he takes it with a cool smile. “I’m Claire. Nova and I go way back.”
“For real,” I say. “We met when I was, what? Ten?”
“Something like that. Anders will be so happy to see you.” Claire scans the open lodge. “He’s around here somewhere. We just got done eating.”
I look around, seeing no one familiar. “Well, how is your family? Do you like Montana State?”
“School is great, and the family is good. Sierra got married a few months ago, so she’s off with her new husband, ignoring her little sister. Rude.”
“The nerve.” I laugh.
“Right?” She nudges my side. “Oh, there he is!”
As I follow Claire’s line of sight, a boy I’ve grown up beside is no longer the scrawny kid I made snowmen and snowboarded with but a tall, muscular dirty blond heading our way.
Straight, white teeth beam behind a charismatic smile. “Nova Pratt.”
“Anders Danielson.” What the crap? He’shot. We’re friends on social media, but with dating Logan, I missed following Anders’ posts. How does a year and a half change someone so drastically? He’s always been cute—not really my type and two years older—but somehow, he went off to college and went from average to gorgeous.
Bending, he hoists me off the ground and into his arms. I can’t help the giggle from bubbling past my lips. The guy had to have grown like three inches since the last time I saw him, my feet dangling far above the ground.
“This is a fun surprise.”
“I told you he’d be happy to see you,” Claire murmurs.
“Why wouldn’t I be? It’s like getting the old gang back together.”
My hands rest on his shoulders as he lowers me to my feet. “I can’t believe you two are home when I just happen to be here.”
“Must be fate.”
“Hey, there’s a live band playing downtown tonight.” Claire pushes her brother back as she weaves her arm through mine. “Some little indie band from Washington named Timber Main. We should all hang out. Emma and Mikenna are home from school, too. They’ll be so excited to see you.”
The gangisback together. Before last year I can’t recall a winter spent without seeing Claire, Anders, Emma, and Mikenna. Permanent residents of Whitefish, they’re fixtures on the mountain, though they live in town and not at the resort.
Devin pushes away from the table and stands. “Let’s do it.”
My gaze swings to him as he tucks his hands in his pockets. “You want to?”
“Yeah, why not? Beats going back and watching more movies at your house.”
Let’s dig the rejection sting in a little deeper. What is his problem? Did my conversation with Logan set him off, or was it waking up curled around me? News flash, Hawthorne, it was a nap, not a marriage proposal.
“Perfect.” I turn back to the siblings, and Anders’ head tilts, scrutinizing Devin.
Right. “Anders, Devin. Devin, Claire’s big brother, Anders. Devin’s riding cross country with me to California. We’re both going to school there.”
Devin steps forward, holding out his hand, and they do a little dude handshake. “Hey, man.”
