“Bullshit.”
I snort over the sip I just took. “You can’t call bullshit. It’s the truth.”
“I don’t believe you.” Lily flips her long blonde hair behind her shoulders. It used to match my own. Until I decided enough was enough and got over my heartbreak by dying my hair dark brown. “I don’t even know Logan, and I have feelings on this. It’s a big deal.”
This is one of the reasons I love Lily. She’s been there for me since the day I met her. When you meet someone and you’re a blubbering mess and they still love you? It’s hard not to become friends for life.
“Anything has to be better than here, right?”
As much as I love Copper Mountain, I need a break. It’s hard to get back into the swing of things when the race that nearly cost me my career is shoved in my face on a daily basis.
“Do you need some company? Maybe I can head up there with you?”
I pull Lily in for a hug. “I promise, I’ll be okay.”
“You’re really going to leave me?” she huffs out.
“Only for a few weeks. You saw my run yesterday.”
“You kicked ass. If I didn’t love you so much, I’d hate you.”
“And when you see me in a few more weeks, I’ll be even better.”
“You’ll be the one to beat. I know it.”
Sometimes it can be hard being around other athletes. You never know if you’re going to be competing for the same spot in a race. As much as it’s an individual sport, it’s also a team sport. And sometimes it’s hard to get on board when someone does better than you.
Thankfully, Lily and I don’t race in the same events. We’re each other’s loudest cheerleaders on the mountain.
I have a feeling I’m going to need a lot of her cheering on over these next few weeks.
Because what if I run into Logan?
He didn’t just break my heart all those years ago. He decimated it. One day he was there, and the next I was on a plane to Switzerland getting sympathetic looks from the flight attendants because I couldn’t stop crying.
My heart hitches in my chest thinking about those days. I can’t go back to that. It took a long time to feel whole again. To feel like the pieces of me were taped back together.
It’ll be fine.
Ever since he left me, I’ve kept my heart under lock and key. I’ve given it to no one. Self-preservation and all that.
I’ll be able to handle a few weeks in Jackson. No press. No recorders shoved in my face.
Because with a clear head, I’ll be able to focus on my final goal. On why I’m there.
A gold medal.
Logan Winchester and everything else will be forgotten.
ChapterThree
AUDREY
“Do you need anything else before landing? We should be on the ground shortly.”
“No, thank you.” I pass off my empty cup to the flight attendant and pull up the window shade.
The farmland is barren beneath the plane, but snow blankets the mountains. The closer we get to landing, the further my heart jumps into my throat.
