AllFreeNovel
Share Us
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE ¦ FOUND FAMILY
?
Mia
The crew have spent the best part of a week trying to encourage me to ski. Why on earth would I fly along the white stuff on thin sticks? I value my life more than that. I hadn't brought the right clothes anyway, and I'd found my spot all week, sitting in the warmth drinking hot chocolate with the best whipped cream my tongue has ever had the delight of dancing with.
I have a big window, right next to a log fire, to watch my friends zip up and down the hill, fall over, laugh about it, and get back up again. Why go down and come back up? Isn't it just a waste of time? We almost thought this holiday wasn't going to go as planned when one of the lead managers caught sight of Austin’s cast. He'd been told, well,cautioned,not to snowboard with his arm. I'm surprised they let him ski at all, but he has a charm that I'm well aware of. And so far, the day before we leave, he hasn't broken more bones.
I now know what life with Austin will be like. He's overbearing, opinionated, and messy, add in the mind-blowing sex, and my life could be pretty nice... it doesn’t hurt that he’ssexy as fuck. He knows what he's doing when he knocks on the window and throws that wink my way.
It scares me, thinking about any kind of future with him.
I know I have my secrets. I also know there's something lingering underneath the happy family thing going on with Austin, too. Does he think of Matt when he's around the snow? I wish I could read him as easily as he reads me because it makes completely falling in love with him harder.
I've already fallen, but I’m holding onto the edge with my fingernails. The fear is keeping me from fully letting go.
"Hey!"
I jump and turn to see Nova hobbling towards me. I look at her, my expression no doubt telling. She's holding a hot chocolate as she joins me. "Are you stopping for the day?"
She nods, taking cream from the top of the hot chocolate on her finger and sucking it. "I don't want a sore ass on the flight home."
That explains the hobble. I recognize the lie, and I let her have it. This is Nova, she will cave and come out with the real reason soon enough.
"How's the book?" she asks, trying to keep her tone light, and failing.
I frown down at the book and look at her. "Good."
We sit in a silence that is tinged with awkward. "Nova?" I break it first.
"Mia?"
I keep eye contact.
Nova grimaces. "Just so you know, I don't like bringing this to the table, but everyone else got out of it."
I sigh, hardly surprised that this odd mix of friends, this family, had something to ask me and they’d played a game to see who would come and talk to me. "How?"
"Rock, paper, scissors."
I roll my eyes.Charming."And you lost to ask me what exactly?" I hold my breath.
"About your dreams."
The breath rushes out as my mind scrambles with the truth...or a lie…
"They're getting worse."
"How do you know?" I snap. There's no point in denying it if everyone is talking about them.
"You murmur more, you’re scared and tense, you hold it in your body, even though I don’t think you know it."
Well, that’s quite the observation. “What has he said?"
Nova sighs. "He's just worried about you. We all are."
"And he thought he'd talk to the entire crew before coming to me?"
