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Xander wore a red Wilde Resort ski jacket that made him easily visible on the slopes. He held his hand out to me. “I don’t remember all of Kylie’s friends’ names.”
Shaking his hand, I said, “I don’t remember you wanting to hang out with your little sister back then.”
Xander shuddered. “Definitely not. Barbies and bows were not my thing.”
Kylie smacked him in the chest. “They weren’t my thing either. Which you’d have known if you’d bothered to spend any time with me.”
Xander shook his head. “I had three brothers. I was hardly going to hang out with my little sister.”
Kylie moved out of his arms, placing her hands on her hips. “What was I supposed to do? I didn’t have any sisters.”
Xander winked at me, and I could see why the locals thought the Wilde brothers were the ultimate bachelors. “That’s what you had friends for. What are you ladies up for tonight? The bar, the club? We have a game room-slash-bar-slash-grill too.”
“Wow. That’s more than I remembered when your parents ran the place.” I remember there being a fast-food-type option and a family-style dinner service.
Everything had been renovated since then. It had this warm, cozy lodge feeling with couches and chairs spread throughout the lobby.
“We’ve upgraded. My oldest brother, Oliver, is in charge of the numbers. I guess you could say he’s the CEO, and then Eli is in charge of hotel management, and I’m all about sports and recreation. Killian helps when he’s in town.”
“He’s not around much. He’s always traveling between competitions and endorsement deals. He’s quite the celebrity, I guess,” Kylie said.
“I’m happy to be back, and I’m impressed with what you’ve done with the place.”
“I can give you a tour.” Xander grabbed my hand and placed it in the crook of his arm while we walked through the lobby.
There was a fancier sit-down restaurant on one side and a more casual bar and grill with foosball and pool tables and wall-to-wall windows with a mountain view. Standing in front of the windows, I said, “I didn’t realize how much I missed the mountains when I lived in South Carolina.”
“You can’t get the mountains out of your soul, you know?” Xander said.
I didn’t know Kylie’s brothers well. I was aware of their love of danger and sports. They certainly lived up to their last name.
Xander checked his phone. “Someone needs to talk to me about scheduling for tomorrow. You guys okay?”
Kylie nodded. “We’re going to head to the club next.”
“I’ll talk to Eli about keeping an eye out,” Xander said as he backed away from us.
“I don’t need my big brothers protecting me,” Kylie called after him.
Xander narrowed his eyes. “In that outfit you do.”
Kylie wore a short black dress, perfectly acceptable club wear, but I could see why her brother would take issue with it. Kylie linked her arm with mine. “He’d go out with a girl dressed like this, but it’s not okay for me.”
“We can go somewhere else if you want.” I didn’t realize her brothers were still so overprotective of her. The boys in high school were afraid to ask her out. Frankly, I was surprised Kylie returned home to live, even if it was for a short while. She’d always wanted to escape her family and the resort.
She shrugged. “That’s my brothers, but I love them.”
I heard the affection in her voice. “Is that why you came back? You missed them?”
“Something like that.” Kylie had been working for a hotel in France. “I’d need alcohol to talk about it.”
“Do your brothers know what happened?”
Her face was grim, and she shook her head. “Absolutely not. They’d go ballistic.”
“Are you okay? Did someone hurt you?” Kylie was strong, but she had a heart of gold under it. Someone could easily take advantage of her.
“I wouldn’t let anyone do that. Don’t worry.” She patted my arm, but the worry for her didn’t dissipate. “I’m just happy we’re living in the same town again.”
