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She stopped walking and sighed, then turned to face me. “Zach and I used to date, but we’re just friends now.”
“Okay. I was just surprised to find out you were hanging out with your ex on my own instead of hearing it from you.”
“I know, and I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t want to have this conversation over text. Zach and I were highschool sweethearts, and throughout college. We broke up when I left to get my MBA and when I came back, we tried to rekindle it, but it just wasn’t there. We don’t want the same things. It… just ran its course, I guess. I haven’t seen him as anything more than a friend in over a year.”
I nodded, accepting her answer despite the sliver of worry that lived in my gut.
Even so, it still felt important to tell her how I felt. “Look, I know we’re not anywhere close to something serious yet. But before we can get there, we have to be on the same page with what we want. And I still don’t know enough to say that we are.”
“You’re right,” she agreed. “This is all pretty new to me, too. I have a lot of balls up in the air, not the least of which is taking over Aspen Ridge. My dad would not be happy to find out there’s something going on between us—he’s got some pretty old-school ideas about getting involved with employees.”
I couldn’t help but bristle at the words. It wasn’t fair; I knew that as the boss’s daughter, she had every reason to see me as an employee… but I’d imagined us more like co-workers. On a similar footing, at least. Calling me an employee was akin to saying we were nowhere near the same level.
“…But,” she added, setting a small hand on my bicep and drawing my gaze to her face, “I like you, Jake. I have since that first night. I know we had our disagreements at first, but I feel like we’ve just been growing closer together. I don’t know for sure where it’s going right now, but I know I want to keep going and see where we end up.”
My heart thudded in my chest, pleasure curling through my body to hear her say it. “Me too,” I admitted with a sigh. “I like you. Obviously, my kids love you. I’ve never seen them take to someone so fast. And I know it’s complicated with JJ. I don’t want to make things harder for you. I just… if we’re going to do this, let’s do it together. Okay?”
“Yessir, Captain Wright,” she teased with a coy smile. “There’s a lot I still don’t know about you. Seems like we have some sharing to do soon.”
My lips curled into a smile of their own volition. “Seems like we do. But we’d better catch up to those kids or they’ll tear the barn down before we can stop them. Complete heathens, I’m warning you.”
“Nah, I don’t buy it.” Ellie shook her head. “They’re great kids, and even if they weren’t, Rachel would put them in their place. She spends all day domesticating animals. She can definitely keep them from any major destruction.”
We shared a laugh and finished our walk to the barn.
* * *
“How was your weekend, JJ?”
We were sitting in his office, going over the list of requirements. I’d boiled it down from his original, nebulous ideas of how Ellie needed to ‘improve’ in order to take over. Over all, he seemed rather pleased with her progress, and we’d moved on to other topics.
“Oh, it was fine. The usual. Izzy and I had that golf tournament, you know.”
“Yeah, she mentioned it. She said she was the reason your team lost.”
JJ chuckled. “That she was. My girl, hopeless at golf. Well, maybe Zach can teach her a thing or two before next year.”
Even though I knew who he was referring to, I feigned ignorance. “Zach?”
“Zach Grafton, his father owns Snowshoe Ridge Resort. He and Ellie started dating in high school.”
“Ah, I see. So they’re still close?”
“Well, I haven’t heard her mention him in a while, so I think they had a falling out. I pulled a few strings to get us on the same team for the tournament. Seemed to work out. They were thick as thieves by the time we were done.” He leaned back in his seat with a satisfied air.
“That was generous of you,” I commented carefully. “To take an interest in their falling out.”
“Well, we always knew they would end up together. Even when Isabelle broke it off—she broke up with him before her MBA program, if you believe it—I knew they’d get back together. They always seem to find their way back to each other.”
“I’m sure it helps that you’re there to lend a hand,” I hinted, as calmly as I was able.
“A father does what he can to ensure his baby girl’s happiness,” he winked smugly.
“And you think she’s happy with him?”
“I mean, I know they’ve had their disagreements. But yeah, I think they make each other happy. They grew up in the same circumstance, children destined to inherit ski resorts from their parents. It has a lot of moving parts, this job. No one understands that better than Zach, and she needs someone who can be her partner. That’s hard to find around here.”
“A shared history definitely helps,” I agreed. “But high school romances don’t always work out. My ex wife was my high school sweetheart.”
