+ Excerpt +

Everything was changing. I didn't have a good feeling about it.

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I leaned an elbow on the bar, nursing my lukewarm beer. On the dance floor, Eli was dancing with Scarlett. When the door opened to the ballroom, Oliver walked in with his new girlfriend, Carolina. Both my brothers were happy because they'd recently met the loves of their lives.

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Now Eli and Scarlett were living together in his penthouse apartment, and Oliver moved Carolina from Maine to Colorado and into one of the family's condos in the lodge. I still rented an apartment above a little shop in town that smelled like fresh donuts every morning.

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My brothers were settling down, and I had no way of knowing what that meant for me.

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The music notes drifted off, and Eli led Scarlett in my direction. I straightened, checking to make sure my tie wasn’t askew. No matter what I looked like, he'd probably have something to say about my attire or my performance. I couldn't do anything right when it came to my family. According to my brothers, I was immature, irresponsible, and didn't take anything seriously.

Eli stopped in front of me. "It's almost time for the ball to drop. We're going outside."

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Everything inside me tightened. I was by myself despite the few women who'd stopped by to talk. I didn't want to watch everyone else kiss their significant other at midnight, but my presence was required apparently. "Be right out."

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Scarlett smiled, but Eli's expression was stoic.

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The crowd filtered outside and onto the large deck that showcased views of the mountain. Tonight, there would be fireworks, and no one wanted to miss them. I just wanted to go home and sleep.

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I drank the last drops of beer, slammed the bottle on the counter, then followed the tail end of the guests heading outside. I found a spot at the end of the railing where I'd have a good view of the fireworks, but with any luck, I could slip out before the show was over.

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I heard someone counting and others joining in. Usually, I would have talked up a girl all night, and it would have been a no-brainer to kiss her, but tonight, I wasn't interested. I had a certain reputation of being a ladies' man. But I hadn't taken a woman home in a long time. Not that anyone would believe me.

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There was a murmur as someone tried to make their way through the crowd. I was interested only because I wanted to make sure that whoever it was wouldn't impede my pending escape.

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When the crowd parted, a blond woman appeared, her gaze intent on me. My stomach dipped. "Tori Clark?”

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Tori grinned as she wrapped her arms around me, and I was able to exhale for the first time all night. "The one and only."

I held her to me. "What are you doing here?"

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"I'm home for the holiday, silly," she said into my chest.

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"Ten. Nine. Eight."

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Tori looked up at me.

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"Kissing at midnight is good luck," I said.

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"Seven. Six. Five."

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"If you're in a relationship," she pointed out.

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We were not. She'd been my best friend since we were kids, and I'd crushed on her since I was a teenager.

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"Four. Three. Two. One." Cheers erupted through the crowd.

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I kissed her on the cheek, because how could I not? My best friend was home, and she was in my arms. There was a roaring in my ears, drowning out the crowd noise and the start of the fireworks.

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"You never said you were coming home."

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Tori pulled back and gave me a look. "You haven't exactly been open to communication lately."

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Ever since she’d started dating a surgeon, I distanced myself from her. I didn't want to hear about how happy she was, or that they were getting engaged soon. I looked over her head, wondering why her boyfriend wasn't the one kissing her at midnight. "Where's your boyfriend?"

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Tori looked away from me. "He's working."

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In other words, her boyfriend was still in New York, and he'd let her travel home for the holidays without him.

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Feeling someone's gaze on me, I looked up to find Eli watching me from where he stood next to Oliver and Carolina.

I lowered my gaze to Tori. "What are you doing here?"

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"I wanted to see you while I was home." I heard the hurt in her voice, but I couldn't bring myself to apologize. "Things haven't been the same between us."

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"What did you expect? You went off to school and never came back." Not like she promised she would.

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She blinked. "I texted. I visited. But you're always busy. I miss our friendship."

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I rubbed the pain in my chest. "I miss it too."

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"You want to get a drink and talk?"

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"Sure." I led her over to the side of the deck, away from the curious looks from my brothers, where a fire was roaring in the hearth. "I'll be right back."

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My mouth was dry. I asked the bartender for popcorn and two drinks. Then I carried them through the crowd, who had mostly reconvened inside to dance to the live band and drink. My brothers weren't around. I assumed they'd both retreated to their respective rooms for alone time with their women.

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Outside, I set the tray on the coffee table in front of the couch. I grabbed a throw blanket and draped it over our laps before handing her the glass.

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"You look good," Tori said to me.

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"You do too." She'd always looked good. She was beautiful, not that I'd ever tell her that. She was my friend. My best friend. And friends didn't notice how attractive they were, not when they valued their friendship.

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Tori was the one person who believed in me, and I wouldn't do anything to mess up that connection. Not for an inconvenient crush. I'd gone this long without acting on it; I wouldn't do anything to mess up our friendship now.

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"What have you been up to?" Tori asked.

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No one asked about me. Not really. Everyone knew I worked at the resort. Nothing had ever changed in that regard, and it wouldn't. "I work here."

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She looked at me like she cared what I had to say, as if working at my family's resort was some kind of accomplishment. They let me work here because it was expected.

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"Are you happy?"

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That question hit me in the gut. No one ever asked me that. They just assumed I was. "I don't know."

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She laughed softly, and the sound wrapped around my heart, conjuring all kinds of childhood memories, like hiding in the lodge from my brothers while playing hide-and-seek. She always had trouble being quiet. She'd start giggling and wouldn't be able to stop. "You're working on your family's resort. That's what you always wanted to do."

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"True." According to my brothers, I didn't have ambition to do anything else. It was just expected that I continue organizing the ski lessons and other outdoor activities. "How about you? You enjoying living in New York?"

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Her shoulders dropped. "To be honest, I'm a little tired of the city. It's noisy and big. I feel lost sometimes."

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"Things with the boyfriend are good though?" I asked, even though I didn't want to know the details.

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"You mean Hugh?" At my nod, she added, "We're fine."

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Fine wasn't great. But I refused to be interested in what that meant. Even if Tori wasn't happy with Hugh, she wasn't going to break up with him to go out with me. She didn't even know I harbored this crush on her.

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"Do you remember that pact we had when we were kids?"

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I shook my head even as my mind ran through the details of that day. We'd been seventeen and worried about what we'd do with our lives. To be fair, Tori was more worried about it than I had been. Her dad was a doctor who owned a practice in town. He expected her to return and run it with him. My family didn't expect much from me, so I kind of went along with the flow. But that day, Tori had felt the pressure.

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We'd skied on the one trail that flattened through the woods. It was one of Tori's favorites because it wasn't a straight slope. We wandered off the path to a tree where I had helped Tori carve in our initials. "You said if we're not married by the time we're thirty, we'd marry each other."