“How couldyou kick him out like that?” I shout at Levi, my voice cracking from my frustration.
My hands are shaking as I pull the blanket tighter around my naked body, as if holding onto it could somehow anchor me.
Levi runs a hand through his hair, jaw tight, and scoffs. “Maisy, how could you!? I told you how it felt for me when you two broke up—how it was like losing both of you. And you both just…you lied to my face! You both reassured me that nothing was happening, when really you two were fooling around behind my back. I gave you two the benefit of the doubt, but I should’ve trusted my gut.”
“Levi, it wasn’t like that,” I say. “Sterling and I…we didn’t plan this, and we didn’t lie to hurt you. Yes, we weren’t completely honest about what was happening when you weren’t around, but it was because we were trying so hard to ignore how we felt. Sterling tried so hard to push me away.”
“Yeah, it sure looked that way when I walked in on you two butt ass naked on the fucking floor,” he scoffs. “I rushed over here because both of your phones went straight to voicemail andI wanted to make sure the blizzard hadn’t, oh I don’t know,killedyou both. But I honestly wish I’d just stayed away.”
I internally curse my phone for dying in the middle of the night. I could’ve prevented Levi from walking in on us like this if it’d just had enough charge to take his call.
“I know it seems like he and I betrayed you?—”
“Because you did,” he interrupts, but I keep going.
“But, like I said, we tried so hard to fight it. It just got to this point where we realized that it wasn’t fair to keep doing that—to him, or to me. I can’t pretend anymore that I don’t care. I love him. I never stopped loving him. And I never should’ve let him go.”
His fists clench at his sides, but I see the hurt in his eyes from being kept in the dark, along with fear for me. I realize that he’s just being my protective older brother who just wants to keep me safe.
“I know I broke your trust,” I whisper. “And I’m sorry. I wish I could’ve handled this better.”
Levi exhales, jaw tightening as he studies me. I hold his gaze, willing him to see that I’m telling the truth—that this isn’t reckless. He finally exhales, running a hand over his face, shaking his head.
“Hurry up and get dressed,” he mutters.
I blink at him, confused. “Where are we rushing off to?”
He rolls his eyes. “You have a boyfriend to chase, don’t you?” He smirks.
I give him a small smile but shake my head. “No, Sterling is right. We need some time apart. If we rush back into this with any sliver of doubt, it’s not going to work.”
Levi studies me for a long beat, his hands sinking into his pockets. Finally, he nods once. “Alright,” he says, already moving toward the door. “But when you’re ready to go after him, call me first. I want to make him sweat a little.”
I roll my eyes, tugging the blanket tighter around me. “You’re impossible.”
He laughs as he shuts the door behind him, the chalet falling quiet around me. For a moment I just stand there, breathing in the silence, letting the ache settle in my chest. Then I drift back toward my room, every step heavy.
When I push the door open, I stop short. A small velvet box waits on the centre of my bed. My lips part, hands trembling, as I pick it up. I lift the lid and find the glass ornament from the Winter Festival—two skis crossed together, catching the light. The gift is so Sterling that it makes me laugh through the tears burning my eyes.
I press the box to my chest, letting the sob come anyway. But this time, beneath the ache, there’s a knowing. He still loves me. And I know that I love him enough to chase him down. I don’t need to wait. I race to plug my dead phone into the charger, changing while I desperately wait for it to turn on so that I can call Levi to come back.
When the screen lights up, I call him right away.
“Maisy, is everything okay?”
“Get back here,” I say breathlessly. “I need help packing.”
“What?” he asks, confused. “Where the hell are you going now?”
“I’m moving.” I stand up straighter now and smile. “To Saltwater Springs.”
“Jesus fucking ch—” He stops short, taking a deep breath. “Alright, I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
TWENTY-FIVE
STERLING
I pushopen the shop door, my boots scuffing the worn floorboards as the familiar scent of old wax, salt, and sawdust washes over me like a long-lost friend. The place feels smaller somehow, as if time itself tightened the walls while I was gone, but the racks are just as I left them—a crooked army of boards leaning against the walls, each one a different curve. My fingers trail along their rails as I pass, and I can’t hold back my grin.
