I swallowed a lump, still to this day feeling the sting of it. Lilah leaned her head on my shoulder and squeezed me tight.
Atlas continued. “Some of the days that followed were touch and go, I thought possibly your darkest point. But whenyou realized you couldn’t slide down a mountain fast enough anymore, that’s when you really hit the bottom. You wandered through life lost. None of us could reach you, and I wasn’t sure you’d ever find your way through it. Eventually you did, and my God, you bought a whole freaking mountain. Who does that? Holden.” He guffawed, pointed at me, and the room laughed with him.
“You’re one crazy man, taking on a project of this size. I worried you’d gotten in over your head, but look at this place. I’m awed man, totally wowed by what you’ve done here. And now, I see the way you look at the woman in your lap there.” He pointed again at me.
Lilah and I shared smiling eyes. I kissed her lips, and whispers and whoops came up from the employees. Good. Let them all know I claim her as mine.
“I’m happy for you, Holden. To close out my speech, I just have a simple message. You used to race down the mountain, and fly. But now, at this stage of your life, I hope you’ll take things slower, one day at a time, and enjoy it each step of the way, because I think you’ve finally figured out what matters in your life. To Holden,” Atlas finished and held up his beer.
“To Holden!” the room echoed, bursting with more cheers and clapping. Lilah got off my lap so my brothers could hug me, one-by-one.
Landon stepped up next, guitar already in hand. “This one’s for the guy who thought buying a mountain was a good idea.” He paused, grinning. “And the woman who tamed him.”
Kiss her! rang out from the crowd. I obliged, no hesitation.
Landon’s guitar hushed the room—the song a slow, aching love ballad. Lilah melted against me, fingers laced with mine.
Family. Community. Her. Everything I needed was right here.
This lodge rebuilt my life after the accident, after Dad, after everything fell apart. And now, with Lilah here, I didn’t feel like I was chasing something anymore.
I was standing still—in the best way.
Later,after the celebration ended, Lilah and I sat wrapped together on my balcony, blankets pulled tight against the cold, to watch fireworks lighting Steele Valley below.
“It feels unreal being together like this.” She snuggled closer into me.
“It feels right,” I said, tightening my hold on her. “Welcome to our mountain.”
She tilted her head. “Have you named it yet?”
“Yeah.” I brushed a kiss to her temple. “I decided to name it Frosty Peak because of you. And this—” I gestured in a full circle to the glowing sky above, the lodge alive around us, and the valley below. “—is exactly where I want to be.”
We’d found happiness for now. But I could see our future stretching far and bright. Eventually, if things went well and I figured they might, we’d have a happily ever after, too.
Because this mountain was ours now, forever.
Keep readingthe epilogue on the next page: One Year Later.
EPILOGUE ONE YEAR LATER
LILAH
By the timethe West private jet touched down on St. Barts, I’d already shed my coat—and most of my stress.
It turned out celebrating New Year’s Day, plus Holden’s birthday, on a beach instead of in a blizzard was exactly what my winter-and-work-ravaged soul needed.
“Come on, Frosty. I need sun, surf, and sand immediately,” Holden knocked on the bathroom door after we’d unpacked in our villa.
I stepped out wearing only a new red bikini, rewarded instantly by his low whistle.
“Damn,” he murmured. “Maybe I should revise your nickname tohot stuff.” He pulled me into his arms, nuzzling my neck.
“Nope. I like our names. Frosty and Mr. Snowman. They fit.”
“Agreed.” He took my hand. “Let’s hit the beach before I change my mind and tie you to the bed.”
He tugged me through the patio doors and down toward the shoreline. Warm air wrapped around us, salt and flowers mixing in the breeze.
