Page 53 of Make-Believe Match

I put a hand on her lower back and eased her forward. “I don’t ski.”

“Why not?”

“I just don’t like it that much.” Which was true, but I was leaving out the part about being afraid of heights.

“Do you snowboard?”

“Nope.”

She went silent, and we boarded the plane. I was hoping she’d drop it, but after tucking her bag beneath the seat in front of her, she looked at me. “I can’t believe I didn’t know this about you.”

“It’s not that big a deal.”

“Devlin, I’m a ski instructor. We’re about to take over a ski resort. You don’t think it was worth mentioning to me that you don’t even enjoy the sport?”

I shrugged, buckling my seatbelt. “What does it matter? You don’t need me on the mountain. You need me in the office.”

“I guess.” She sat back and buckled in. After staring out the window for a few minutes, she turned to me again. “What don’t you like about it?”

“I don’t know.” I brushed some nonexistent dust off my pants. “The cold?”

“You wear warm clothing.”

“It’s expensive.”

“You don’t have to fly to the Alps for a five-star luxury vacation. There are plenty of affordable places to ski.”

“It’s repetitive,” I said. “Ride up, ski down. Ride up, ski down. I get bored.”

She grew animated. “How can you get bored? I mean, skiing turns a mountain into a wonderland! The scenery is so beautiful, the air is so fresh. There’s nothing like the sound of the wind in the trees, or leaving trails in fresh snow, or that sense of accomplishment when you conquer a run you thought was beyond you. And if you get too chilly, you go in and sit by the fire to warm up. You drink something hot and get back out there.”

I shrugged. “I guess we just feel differently. There’s no need to take it personally, Lexi.”

“I guess.” But she looked so sad about it, I almost admitted the truth.

Instead, I decided to change the subject. “So whose family should we tell first?”

She exhaled. “Gosh. I don’t know. Everything hinges on Gran, so we really need her to believe us. Should we tell yours first? Use it as a sort of dress rehearsal?”

“We could.” I thought for a moment. “Today is Wednesday. My brother Xander is opening a bar in Cherry Tree Harbor this Friday night, and I don’t want to take anything away from that. Think we could attend the event but wait until Saturday to make the announcement?”

“Sure,” she said. “And then Gran on Sunday?”

I nodded. “That works.”

“And Tabitha.” She wrinkled up her face. “My mean cousin.”

“Tabitha is mean?”

“She’sdifficult,” said Lexi, forming the word slowly. “But she hasn’t had it easy. Her dad abandoned her and her mom when she was young, and her mom remarried right away. Had more kids. I think she was ignored a lot. Always wanted attention, so she’d act like a brat.”

“She had it easier thanyou,” I pointed out. “And I betyouweren’t a brat.”

“No, I wasn’t a brat.” Her grin turned a little wicked. “But since I was a better, faster skier, I’d get back at her by beating her down the mountain all the time. She couldn’t keep up. I’d wait for her at the bottom of the slope, pretending to be asleep.”

I elbowed her. “Nowwho’s mean?”

“Listen, Tabitha doesn’t need your sympathy. She grew up gorgeous and never lacks for attention.”