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“Oo . . . a ski town. Are we going to go skiing?”
“We could, but I like to ice skate, or there is a tubing park. My brother will probably ski though, so you can go with him.”
Any nerve that was filtering through my body seemed to drain as Elliot’s thumb kept pressure on my hand. Almost as if that one pressure point was the release of all the tension. The ease of talking to him came naturally, and damn . . . I loved the feeling of his hand in mine.
“I’ll go if you go. I can ice skate too.” Elliot smiled.That smile.“Park City, Utah. When do we leave?”
“In two weeks,” I said softly, my eyes meeting his.
“Oh wow. Two weeks?”
“That's too soon, isn't it?” I pulled my hand away and hid it back under the table. His fingers dropped to the table but stayed in place.
“Here’s your lemonades.” Jordan came up and placed the two drinks in front of us.
“Thank you,” Elliot mused, gently moving his hand to grab the straws Jordan placed on the counter.
“Your burgers will be right up,” Jordan said, his voice not as enthusiastic as it was the first time. Thankfully, this time, his eyes didn’t land on me.
“No—” Elliot tapped the straw on the counter and slipped it into his drink. “Two weeks isn’t too soon. Gives me plenty of time to prepare the team and the band, get some things in order with Clay. You said it was a three-week adventure?”
I nodded, “Yes, three weeks with my family.”
“Tell me about them.”
“Who?”
He let out a small laugh. “Your family.”
“Well . . .there’s my mom and dad, two brothers, and sister. My nieces and nephews will be there too.”
“So, I call them mom, dad, brothers, and sisters?”
“Don’t be a jerk . . . no. Mr. and Mrs. Gaines for my parents, unless they tell you otherwise. My brother, Holden, is the oldest. His wife Carrie and their three kids will be there. So will my sister, Jillian, and her husband, Will, and their twins. And then there’s my brother Harrison, he’s not married but he will be there.” I listed them off on my fingers, totaling the ten bodies not including my parents.
“Holden, Jillian, Harrison. I like the H and J theme your parents went with.”
“Believe it or not I don't think it was intentional.”
He cocked an eyebrow and took a long swig of his lemonade, his lips still smirked even with the straw between his lips.
“What? I really don’t think it was. It goes, Holden, Jilly, me, and then Harrison.” I chuckled, surprised the sound left my lips. “My mom always said if it was intentional, I would be an H name and Harrison would be a J name.”
Taking a quick glance around the restaurant, I caught sight of Jordan. He stood behind the bar top, waiting for some plates to run to various tables, but his eyes were fixed on us.
“Our waiter is watching us,” I whispered.
“I know,” Elliot whispers back.
“Is that why you grabbed my hand?”
“Just playing the part.”
I lifted my chin. “Getting into character?”
He nodded. “Holden, Jillian, and Harrison. Mr. and Mrs. Gaines. What else? Tell me about Park City.”
I roll my lips between my teeth. “My family rents out these cabins in Deer Valley—three total. My parents, Harrison, and I normally stay in the big one, and then Holden and Jilly each get their own for their families. Jilly normally takes the small one withthe loft because her kids are still little—they can share a blow-up mattress—but I’ll be honest they mainly sleep with my parents in the big cabin.”
