Page 124 of Make-Believe Match

Mustering some energy, I took a shower, got dressed, braided my hair, and went over to the lodge. Letting myself into my grandfather’s old office, I sat at his desk, opened my laptop, and started researching the process for hiring a business partner.

A couple hours had gone by when my phone rang, and I saw that it was Luke DeVries, the chief lift operations manager.

“Hey Luke.”

“Hey Lexi, sorry to bother you, but we’re having an issue with the arrival station of the Northland lift. Got a minute to go up there?”

“Sure. Is the lift running now?”

“Yeah. No issues at the point of departure. I’ll meet you there.”

“Sounds good. I’ll be there in five.”

I bundled up in my coat and hat, tugging on my mittens as I walked over to the lift station at the base of the mountain. It was one of the older ones, so it didn’t surprise me that there might be an issue with it, but hopefully we could get it sorted out by the time we opened tomorrow morning. Thanksgiving weekend was popular for hikers.

Daylight was fading behind the mountain, and the air was chilly. A few dry snowflakes drifted down from the pewter sky. Luke saw me and waved. “Ready?”

“Ready!”

He and I caught one of the cars going up. As we ascended the slope, I thought about Devlin’s fear of riding the chairlift, how I’d never been able to convince him to ride it up to the top so I could show him the place that was so special to me.

Then again, maybe he wouldn’t have cared.

“How was your Thanksgiving?” Luke asked.

“Low key. Yours?”

“Great. We hosted this year.” He started telling me all about who’d come to his house, what they’d served, how they’d cooked the turkey, the seating arrangements, and the football they’d watched. He talked so much I didn’t even get a chance to ask him what was wrong with the lift.

At the top, we unloaded easily, and I looked around to see what could be wrong. “Seems okay to me,” I said. “Where’s the issue?”

“Right here,” said a familiar voice from behind me.

I spun around and gasped. Devlin had come out from the station house and was walking toward me. Quickly I looked back at Luke, who was already jumping on a car to ride back down.

“Lift will keep running,” he called with a wave. “I’ll wait at the bottom. Take your time.”

Turning my attention back to Devlin, I watched him come closer as the butterflies awakened in my stomach and flew madly about. “Devlin? What is this?”

“This is a lot of things.” He was close enough for me to see the blue of his eyes, which appeared indigo in the twilight. “This is I’m sorry. This is I love you. This is I want you to be my wife.”

My knees buckled, and Devlin grabbed me by the arms to keep me upright. “Sorry,” I said, leaning into him. “But can you say all that again? Starting from the beginning? And maybe go slower this time? Elaborate a bit?”

“Sure.” A grin overtook his face. “I’m sorry for not realizing sooner that staying here is what I want—not just for one year or five years, but as long as you’re here and you want me by your side. If that’s forever, then I’ll stay forever.”

“Oh my God,” I croaked. “Do you mean it?”

“Yes. I want to stay—if that will make you happy. Because I love you.”

“I love you too,” I said breathlessly. “I don’t know how it happened.”

He shrugged. “We’ve got good chemistry. All the sex didn’t hurt, either.”

I laughed. “No, it didn’t.”

“So you’re okay with this? You forgive me for thinking I could walk away?”

“Of course I do.” I tapped his chest with my mittened hand. “But say the thing about wanting me to be your wife again.”