“I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’treallysee something with you.” He exhaled the admission, as though he’d been holding his breath to make it.
Her throat tightened. “I see it, too. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.”
Then he smiled and it brought a light to his blue eyes. “Good.”
With that, he hopped out of the truck and hustled around to open her door before she’d completely finished taking off her seatbelt. Because…of course he did.
Inside, the house was warm and sunlit, a sweep of south-facing windows flooding the living room with winter brightness.The space was open—furniture arranged with clear, generous paths.
From the entry, she noticed a low, rolling coffee table in the living room with rounded corners, and space for a chair she imagined wheeled into place.
“Elise!” Cameron called. “Home!”
“I heard the truck.” The clear voice came from the hallway. “I also saw the text that said ‘bringing a friend,’ so I got all beautiful.”
She rolled out of the hallway with ease, propelling the chair with quick, practiced hands..
Nicole’s first thought was that Elise Hale was bright, like sunshine and candlelight. Her golden hair was pulled into a loose half-knot with wispy, wavy strands framing a chiseled face. She had greenish-hazel eyes that had been carefully made up, a delicate pendant glinting at her throat.
She looked athletically strong through her shoulders and arms, with textbook posture. In fact, from the hips up she looked fully healthy, as though the chair was an extension of her rather than a limitation.
She grinned and leveled curious eyes on Nicole. “Oh, Camelot. You weren’t kidding when you said gorgeous brunette. Hello, stunner.”
Nicole laughed, warmth blooming. “Hi. I’m Nicole.”
“Oh, I know who you are. I’m Elise,” she said, offering a hand, then laughing and opening her arms. “Please, who are we kidding? Girls hug.”
Nicole leaned down and hugged her, and Elise squeezed back with surprising strength.
“Okay, you pass,” Elise decreed. “You smell like pine and sunshine. Very on-brand, big bro.”
Cameron rolled his eyes and kissed the top of her head. “Be nice, E.”
“I am always nice,” Elise said cheerfully. “Selective about it, but nice.”
Nicole glanced around, taking in the four stockings hung on a mantle, each embroidered with a name—Elise, Cameron, Nancy, andJim. There was a poinsettia on the piano, and a tree laden with mismatched family ornaments.
“Starving,” Cameron announced. “Soup and grilled cheese work?”
“Yes,” they said in unison, which made Elise wiggle her brows like this was proof of destiny.
While he headed into a kitchen just around the corner, Elise spun her chair and led Nicole into the living room.
“What I’m really starving for?” Elise said, gesturing toward the sofa. “Girl talk. Tell me all the things, Nicole. Where do you work? Why do you like my brother? And what is your skin care routine because, girl, you are glowing. Or would that have to do with question number two?”
Nicole laughed again, shocked at how this young woman could put someone at ease. It was a gift, really.
“Let me see. I run a ski rental and equipment sales business at Snowberry Lodge just outside of Park City. My mom’s family has owned it forever.”
She nodded. “Cool, cool.”
“And I like your brother because he persuaded me to ski down a mountain again after nineteen years of steadfastly refusing because of an accident. And I wash my?—”
“Hold up, Nicky.” She raised her hand. “An accident? Are you my people?”
Nicole laughed again, but her smile faded. “I guess I am,” she said. “But I didn’t get hurt.”
“Nicole almost died,” Cameron corrected, calling from the kitchen where he was obviously listening to every word. “Fell in a tree well head first as a nine-year-old.”
