“Yep.”
Jake was a few steps in front of them and shouted up. “And I get my own room this time.”
Alex frowned in confusion. “I thought you were in with Ri?”
“I am, but he always ends up kipping with you. I don’t know why you even pretend to want your own rooms.” Jake looked from Alex to Riley, then back again. “In fact, I don’t know why you pretend not to—”
“Jake.” Nick walked over to them, two mugs in hand. “Here’s your coffee. Why don’t you go and see if Abi and Dylan need a hand?”
Now Alex definitely thought he was missing something. He watched as Jake rolled his eyes and sauntered over to where Abi was buttering rolls and Dylan stirred soup. The pair of them seemed to have it covered, and Jake just leaned against the worktop, watching them.
Alex stopped on the bottom step and turned to face Riley. “We don’t always end up together, do we?”
“No.” Riley gave him a small smile and walked past him to take the other mug from Nick. “Not always.”
Alex watched him head over to the large corner sofa, sit, and turn on the TV. Despite Riley’s insistence that there was nothing wrong between them, Alex knew something had changed. A subtle shift in their relationship that left him feeling a little off-kilter, but he didn’t know why. Riley still laughed, still smiled as easily as before, but….
Alex shook his head. Maybe he was imagining it? They’d been friends for so long; he couldn’t see anything happening now that would ever change that. Riley was as close to him as his sister, maybe more so since there were certain things one should never share with a sister.
That thought alone made him cringe, and he must have pulled a face, because when he glanced up, Nick was frowning at him.
“What’s wrong?” Nick handed him the coffee he’d left on the worktop. “Drink this before it gets cold.”
“Thanks.” Alex took the mug with a smile. “And nothing’s wrong, just a weird thought, that’s all.”
Nick nodded and then went to sit at the dining table in the corner. For lack of anything better to do, Alex followed. The table was fairly large, rectangular, with eight chairs. It sat next to one of the floor-to-ceiling picture windows.
Alex took the seat next to Nick, looking out over the rest of the lodges with the mountains in the background—a view he’d never get tired of, no matter how many times they came up here.
“Hey,” Nick whispered, drawing Alex’s attention. “You and Riley okay now?”
Alex sighed. Now that they seemed back to normal—well, sort of—he wished he’d not said anything. It kind of felt as though he’d gone behind Riley’s back. But in his defence, he’d been worried about him, about them.
He kept his voice equally quiet. “Yeah, I think so.”
Nick arched an eyebrow and glanced over his shoulder in the direction of the sofa and Riley. “Youthinkso?”
Biting his lip, Alex hesitated. Should he say anything? Nick had been friends with both him and Riley since school, and always refused to get involved in their arguments, never taking sides, but he’d always listen. “Yeah, I mean, we went out last Wednesday for a drink, cleared the air from whatever was up his arse. Seems all right now.”
“You don’t sound convinced.”
“No, I am. I just….” How to put it into words without sounding clingy? “I think there’s something bothering him that he doesn’t want me to know about. Maybe.” He sighed and ran a hand over his hair. The fact there was nothing to grab hold of irritated him for once. “I don’t know. I’m probably just seeing shit that isn’t there. Riley can get a little weird at Christmas if he’s single, you know what a big softy he is.”
Nick grinned at that. “Yeah, I know.” He finished off his coffee and slumped back in his chair, fingers tapping on the edge of the table. Alex got the impression he was debating saying something, and he waited for him to make up his mind. “I think you’re right.”
“About what?”
“Heisa big softy. Maybe you should keep a close eye on him, make sure he’s okay.”
With that, Nick stood, patted Alex on the shoulder, and left him alone at the table.
What the fuck was that supposed to mean? Alex always kept an eye on Riley. Always. He didn’t need Nick to tell him to do that. A flare of irritation swept through him, and it took more effort than usual to push it away. God, what was wrong with him today? These were his friends, for fuck’s sake; he shouldn’t be getting pissed off because they were concerned about Riley.
No wonder they all teased him and Ri about being an old married couple. Jesus.
“Food’s ready.”
Abi’s declaration snapped him out of whatever weird funk he’d slipped into, and Alex stood to help bring everything to the table.
