AllFreeNovel
Share Us
And I guess he did, too.
Sighing, I put the Jeep in gear and started heading for Tessa’s.
While I lived in one of the new condos on Peak 9, just outside of downtown and convenient for work or skiing, Tessa preferred to live away from town. She had a duplex about ten minutes up the mountain on the opposite side from the ski hill, the other half of which she rented out to vacationers in the winter. I wouldn’t call her style shabby chic so much as ‘lived-in mountain’. Clean, comfortable, and worn in just the right way. Her place was my home away from home, and the parking space to the right of her truck practically had my name on it.
Before I’d even put the Jeep in park and turned the key, Tessa was already standing in the doorway with a bottle of wine in one hand and vodka in the other. She clearly hadn’t done much today, since her long dark hair was wild and she was wearing plaid pajama bottoms with a long-sleeved top that said ‘Go away, I’m hibernating’ inside the silhouette of a bear. It coordinated nicely with her slippers that were topped with fluffy bear heads.
“Pick your poison, babe. I have everything we need for bloody marys, or if you want mimosas, I have some OJ.”
“Sparkly stuff, straight up,” I cracked a weak smile, and she wrapped both arms around my shoulders for a hug, the bottles clinking together.
“You got it, babe.”
I followed Tessa into her house, immediately warmed by the golden wood paneling and crackling fire in the grate. My place had a gas fireplace, which was clean and convenient, but Tessa always insisted a ‘real’ fire needed actual wood. And to be fair, she used that fireplace a lot. She even split her own wood out back, providing it for the duplex renters as well.
Tessa and I were both modern mountain women, just cut from very different cloth. My place was cool and sleek with homey mountain touches, and Tessa’s was like a modern, cozy log cabin. All the latest and best of everything, but that distinctive mountain charm that was so integral to Aspen Ridge. I really wasn’t sure which I liked better.
By the time I’d slipped off my boots and settled into the worn leather couch by the fire, Tessa was already headed my way with two large stemmed glasses of bubbling wine.
I raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me, ma’am, but that is not a proper pour for sparkling wine,” I teased as I accepted the glass, filled to the brim.
“Pah,” Tessa snorted, settling into the seat next to me and pulling a thick, furry blanket over our legs. “I know this is not a five-ounce pour kind of story and I don’t want to get up every five seconds. It’s my day off. Sue me. Besides, there are no rules in my house, you know that.” She took a long sip from her glass and smacked her lips. “Ah, so good. I got the entire bottle into these two glasses. Whoever decided that sparkling wine should be served in those tiny test tubes was not a bartender.”
A half-hearted chuckled escaped my lips. “Funny, I thought it was more about how long it takes the bubbles to run out, or the wine to warm up.”
“Well then, I guess you’d better drink up, babe, so it doesn’t get warm.” Tessa clinked her glass to mine and we both took a sip, then she looked at me expectantly. “Alright, hit me with it.”
Sighing, I launched into the story. Starting with the gala, then Jake’s text, and then our falling out this morning. Tessa listened intently with wide eyes, sipping her rosé and occasionally muttering in sympathy. By the time I was finished, our glasses were more than half empty, and I was feeling somewhat warm and definitely more relaxed.
“So… that’s it?” She asked, her head tilted. “Like, you’re just done?”
I shrugged. “I guess so. What am I supposed to do, Tessa? He can’t expect me to drop all my responsibilities and become a stay at home mom. Aspen Ridge is my life—the people who work there, hell the entire town depends on me. I’m still stuck in this limbo, trying to prove to my dad that I’m ready to take over. I have obligations, and to be honest it’s not fair for Jake to act like a jealous boyfriend just because some photos surface of Zach and me at an event. I attend a lot of events, and the same people go to all of them. Zach and I have history. I can’t change that.” I took another sip.
“I mean, I could be wrong, but it sounds to me like he was more upset that he found out after the fact. Maybe he doesn’t handle surprises well.”
“That’s not my fault,” I sniffed, defensive. “My dad was supposed to go with me. I didn’t find out until the last minute that he was bailing. You know how it is. I have to roll with the punches on this stuff. And it’s not fair of him to expect me to run everything past him when we aren’t even officially dating. Weren’t, weren’t officially dating,” I amended. “I never had this issue with Zach—he didn’t take anything personally. Everything with us just worked so easily.” I sighed again. “I dunno. Maybe I just don’t know how relationships are supposed to work. With Zach, there was never drama or hurt feelings. He always treated me well, always understood when something came up.”
Tessa snorted. “I think you’re looking on the past with rosé-colored glasses, babe.”
“What? No, I’m not.”
“You and Zach didn’t fight much, but I wouldn’t say there was no drama or hurt feelings.”
I leveled a glare at my best friend. “And you know my relationship better than I do? Please, enlighten me.”
“Well, first off, if you’re going to make this comparison, you need to acknowledge that Zach never had to contend with the same situation Jake is. Meaning there was no ex showing up that you didn’t tell him about. I’d imagine Zach might have gotten jealous, too. Plus, everyone in this town—including your dear old dad—loves Zach and ships you two like crazy. You’re practically local royalty, as far as the town is concerned.”
I had to give her that one. “Fair,” I sniffed.
“Second, there were plenty of hurt feelings with Zach, just never his.”
“What? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Sure you do. Zach blew you off plenty for things resort-related. You guys would have plans, and then he’d text you last minute and say something came up and you’d act like you were fine because it was work, but you weren’t fine. You just sucked it up because he used the work excuse, but I don’t remember you blowing him off nearly as much.”
My first instinct was to argue back that she was wrong, but then the memories crept in. One time I’d planned a romantic picnic on the mountain; Zach was supposed to meet me so we could watch the sunset and I’d had it all set out with candles and the whole nine yards. He texted me when he was already twenty minutes late that he got caught up with the investors and he wouldn’t make it. I’d called Tessa on the verge of tears and she came instead. More of those moments, both big and small, came back to me as I thought it over.
“You’re right,” I admitted finally. “But like you said, I always understood. Work has to come first, when all those people are depending on you. So I understand when Zach has to deal with things that come up, and at least he would understand that on my end, too.”
