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“Your brother lives locally?” Tracy asks.
“Yep, my whole family is here. They have been for a long time,” I answer, wondering if Ethan mentioned to them who my family is. “My family owns Holden Winter Gear,” I add, not trying to make myself sound more important than I really am. I’m still just the girl who works in the office at the Badger Creek Lodge.
“Ah, that explains it,” Brandon says, smiling. “Ethan might have mentioned that.”
“He did?” Tracy questions, her nose wrinkled up.
“Not in so many words,” he mutters, the smile still present.
I don’t know how to respond as Brandon looks at Tracy, this moment passing between them as if they know something I don’t. I can only wonder if Ethan has been talking about me in ways that are beyond just business, and I honestly hope he has been.
“The next step would be to set up tastings,” I say with Brandon cutting me off.
“Tastings? Like eating food? No one told me we would get to sample food. I’m in!”
Tracy just shakes her head, and all I can do is laugh.
After my day is done, I head over to the ski lodge to meet Max. It’s been a few weeks since we got together and did some skiing. I tend to see him when he’s on a break and stops by my office, but we haven’t had much time to hang out together.
I pull on my ski gear that I leave in the staff locker room, grabbing my skis from the storage area, I find Elissa behind the desk, closing out for the night.
“How’d the day go?” I ask her.
“Fucking busy. I need to get someone in here and out on the slopes too. I can’t keep borrowing Peter to pay Paul.”
“One of my receptionists is interested in the park crew job,” I tell her, despite it feeling like it’s a bad idea.
“Does she have experience?”
“No,” I say, shaking my head. “And I know you don’t want to train anyone.”
“I don’t, but I might have to,” Elissa admits. “Send me her name and I’ll interview her. Maybe I can have her start in the ski lodge.”
“Yeah, maybe. Did you send me those interview dates?” I ask her, remembering that when I was feeling like shit, she had mentioned me sitting in on interviews.
“Not yet, but I will,” she says. “Max is already out on the mountain,” Elissa adds, pointing toward where Max and I usually meet.
“Thanks.”
I head out the door, putting on my skis when I hit the snow, and skiing over to where Max is standing.
“Hey!” I call out and he turns to look at me. “Race you?”
And before I can make it to him, he yells out, “One, two, three, go!”
He’s always been a damn cheater.
He beats me to the bottom, but not by nearly as much as he should have, given he gave himself a head start.
“One of these days I’m going to beat you and that head start will mean nothing,” I jab, both of us catching the lift as it comes by.
“Hasn’t happened yet,” Max says. “How was your day?”
“Fine. How about yours?”
“Same as always. Stupid people on skis, doing stupid shit.” He shrugs.
“You ever wish you just worked for Mom and Dad?” I ask, my question coming out suddenly.
