It should have been me.
A tear slipped down my cheek.
“Aimee?”
This time I let Orion touch me, and I found myself collapsed against his chest, his arms tight around me as he held me. I buried my face in his chest as silent tears poured. There was no energy left in me for ragged gasping sobs, or anything more than my pain and hurt just quietly slipping down my cheeks.
He leaned back and I let him, albeit a bit reluctantly.
“Ignore everything they said. Erase it from your mind. They don’t know you, they knownothingabout you.”
“You say that like it’s easy,” I managed to croak out.
My voice was thick with sadness and hurt. My nose stuffed, muddling my words.
I could taste the salt of tears on my lips as they continued to track down my cheeks. I wiped at them with the cuff of my sleeves, and ran it under my dripping nose—peak attraction right there.
“It’s not. People are fucking assholes—and unless they were there—their words do not matter. They’re just selfish people who find perverse enjoyment in hurting others.”
I wiped at my cheeks again as Orion looked at me so pointedly—making sure I actually heard his words.
I nodded.
Not fully believing him, but wanting to—wanting to desperately. He tucked me against his side, arm tight across my shoulders and held out a hand to Lukas.
“Thanks for having security come get me.”
“Be glad this place has a discretion clause in their contracts. They violated them the minute they shoved the phone in her face. The Lodge values the privacy of their guests.”
Orion let out a harsh laugh, “You sound a bit like a walking advert for this place.”
“I spend quite a bit of time here throughout the year—it’s hard to find a better training facility in the U.S.”
I could feel the confusion in my brother’s body language. “Lukas, right?” He asked.
I looked at Lukas, who nodded.
“No shit. Lukas Fraiser. You skied for Willow Creek in New York right?”
Now it was Lukas who looked confused, and then he looked at me with a grin forming on his face.
“Aimee, you didn’t tell me that you had ties to Willow Creek University.”
I gaped at him, incredulous. “How would I even know to ask that question? Besides, you’re the one who knows everything about me.”
He laughed, and I found myself grinning ever so slightly.
I had a feeling he did that on purpose. I tensed when I heard more gravel crunching, but it was just an older couple walking by. Lukas raised his hand in a wave, and they smiled and continued on. I squinted up at the sky—blue with the occasional cloud floating by. Birds chirped and fluttered around the trees, as a cool light breeze wove through the branches.
Orion and Lukas did that hand clasp, back smack thing guys do, and I got pulled along for the ride.
“You were on the team right?” Lukas asked.
“Yeah, but during my sophomore year I blew out my knee and just like that, my skiing career was over.”
“Oh yeah, that was…that wasn’t pretty.”
Orion laughed. “It was pretty bad, but I have no complaints. Freaking small world, man. I can’t believe you’re here. We’ll have to get together and catch up.”
