Page 8 of It’s Me, but Different
“You have a twin? Just like us!”
“Exactly,” I nod. “Though Ivy and I don't look as much alike physically as you two do.”
“And do they all know how to ski?”
“All of them. Though I was always the best,” I add with a wink. “But don't tell my sisters I told you that. I also have a niece a little older than you two.”
“Mom told us you went to the Olympics and won a medal,” Ana Sofia comments once we descend again.
“Do you have it here?” Theo asks. “Can we see it?”
“Of course, I'll show it to you,” I promise, feeling a stab of pain as I remember that same medal was what cost me losing their mother. “It's stored in my sister Harper's office.”
“And you were Mom's instructor in college,” the girl continues, making an almost perfect turn while talking. “She told us you were the best skier she's ever known.”
“She said that?”
“Yes,” Ana Sofia nods. “She said she's never seen anyone move in the snow like you. Like you were a shadow on the mountain.”
Despite my ski goggles, I have to look away so they don't notice my eyes have gotten wet. Esme said that same phrase the night we made love for the first time, while tracing circles around my nipples with her fingertips.
Chapter 5
Sloane
“Could we talk about something other than Esme Torres?” I growl, slamming my hand on the table.
River's lasagna, normally my weakness, gets stuck in my throat ever since they started talking about her. I've even lost my appetite.
Thursday family dinners are a tradition that not even the worst snowstorms have managed to interrupt. But tonight, it feels more like torture.
“I'm just saying,” Ivy continues, “it's curious how the universe works. Eleven years later, your great college love shows up at Silver Peaks, widowed and with two adorable kids.”
“The universe had nothing to do with it; it was those two,” I protest, pointing toward River and Anika, who have to stop drinking to keep from choking on their laughter.
“As I recall, she was the only person you brought home during your college years,” Harper adds.
“Why are you all suddenly so interested in her?”
“Honey, you just have to see how you look at her,” River interrupts. “You look like an abandoned puppy every time you see her, even from a distance. We're just worried about our sister.”
“You're idiots,” I growl.
“It's been eleven years, and you're still drooling over her,” she insists.
“How are the lessons going with her kids?” Julie asks, offering me a dignified exit from the previous conversation.
Naturally, I grab the opportunity like a drowning person grabs a life preserver.
“Very well. Ana Sofia has a natural talent for skiing, almost instinctive. She reminds me of…” I stop, aware of the trap I was about to fall into.
“Of Esme?” Anika completes with a smile while reaching for River's hand with hers.
I just sigh, defeated.
“Yes, of Esme. She learned to ski with amazing ease. And her daughter is the same. Theo, on the other hand, is more analytical. He's scared, but it's just because he thinks everything through before acting.”
“Sounds like Harper,” River jokes. “I remember when Dad took us to that black diamond slope in Switzerland for the first time. She was terrified, but refused to admit it.She ended up going down with her eyes practically closed. I never saw anyone ski so stiffly and live to tell about it.”