Page 28

ALEX

“ I think you’re wearing my tie,” Oscar says as he stares at me across the elevator.

“It’s too early for the whiskey-lounge tasting,” I say as I meet Kellan in the lobby, festive music seeping from hidden speakers all around us.

Tinsel twinkles, and oversized glass baubles hang from the ceiling, complementing the grand chandelier. It’s like a winter wonderland, and the lingering scent of apple and cinnamon from strategically placed diffusers only amplifies the holiday atmosphere.

“I didn’t think we’d be so lost without our work schedule,” I add with a dry chuckle.

“Truth be told, I was ready to do a whole presentation over Zoom just to pass the time until that tasting,” Kellan says.

“You hate Zoom presentations.”

“Exactly. Should we hit the slopes?” Kellan asks.

“I’m in,” I say. “Unless Makayla’s awake.”

“We shouldn’t leave Oscar out if she is,” he reminds me. “Besides, we have to take advantage of the slopes while we’re here.”

We head back to the suite to change. Makayla’s door is still closed, so I can’t tell whether she’s asleep or already out. I check my phone and don’t see any messages from her, but that doesn’t clarify much, either.

We change at lightning speed, then haul ass down the hallway to the elevator.

Melanie’s presence at the resort grates on me. Last night I was too wrapped up in Makayla to even think about her. But now, it hits different.

“Have you heard from Bryan and Callie yet?” I ask my brother.

“No, but I think they planned to grab breakfast with Melanie,” Kellan mutters, scanning the lobby. “I don’t see her anywhere…”

“I feel like we’re dodging the boogeyman.”

“We sort of are.”

It isn’t until we’ve gone through the patio doors and hiked halfway up to the chair lift that I begin to relax. Once we’re on top of the mountain, it won’t matter what’s happening down in the lodge.

Since Makayla’s not with us, we can head over to a more advanced run. We catch the first available chairlift and have plenty of time to hash out everything we left unsaid last night.

“Do you think we might have a future with Makayla?” I ask. “Her connection with Oscar is undeniable at this point. And I’m starting to feel like she’s after more than just a good time.”

“I’d like that option,” Kellan admits. “She’s something else. And she keeps exceeding any and all of my expectations.”

I chuckle softly, nostalgia unfurling as a blanket of white snow and thick evergreen pines scrolls beneath our dangling skis. “Do you remember when she snuck into Bryan’s backseat that one time, and we drove halfway to the asylum before we realized she was there?”

My brother smiles. “The haunted asylum. One of our many Mystery Van adventures.”

“Boy, were we reckless and way too adventurous for our own good.”

“It was clean fun, if you think about it. Other guys our age were balls-deep in coeds and cocaine. We were touring the state, looking for haunted spots to explore. What did Makayla call us? Oh, right. The Nerdy Chads.”

“She always found a way to tag along, that brave, equally reckless girl…”

“Bryan wanted to take her back home, but you convinced him to let her come with us,” Kellan recalls. “I think Oscar was more afraid of that place than she was. Pretty sure that was the year he officially stopped celebrating Halloween.”

I pause to study our surroundings for a moment. We’re suspended high above the ground. The ski slopes carve a zigzag path up the mountain, bordered on each side by a quiet, ancient forest. The view is breathtaking, giving my mind room to wander. Lately, my thoughts keep drifting toward the future.

“So, a future with Kay,” Kellan says, circling back to my original question.

I know my life is forever entwined with my brothers, but maybe it’s time to bring a partner into our orbit. A woman meant for the three of us. The idea has never felt crazy to me.

“I just feel this intense connection to her, and the sex only amplifies it,” I say. “I want her on a deeper level, and I know I’m not the only one.”

“You’re not. But… slow down,” Kellan says. “Makayla is incredible—beautiful, funny, bold, enthusiastic—and, yes, we have history with her, but we’ve only just reconnected. It’s way too early to jump the gun.”

“I don’t want you to make sense,” I say, exhaling sharply. “Maybe I’m not explaining it right—it sounds logical in my head.”

“No, I get it. I feel the same way.”

“Feel,” I echo, tasting the word. “Yeah—feel. It feels right, Kel.”

I’ve never felt this way about any woman we’ve shared—or any I’ve dated solo.

“I’m not saying you’re wrong, just that we need to tap the brakes,” he says.

“Remember back in high school when I dated a few girls on my own?” I ask. He nods. “Makayla was always the one I wanted to know better, but because she was Bryan’s little sister, I never made a move.”

“We all dated separately at one point or another.”

“You’re not hearing me—it’s like fate,” I insist. “We orbited each other for years, then drifted apart. Now we’ve crossed paths again—older, wiser.”

Kellan smiles broadly. “Or so we like to tell ourselves.”

“Fair enough. Even so—after all these years, that can’t be a coincidence.”

“Of course it’s not a coincidence,” Kellan scoffs. “Her brother is getting married.”

I draw a deep breath, realizing he’s not ready to follow me down this rabbit hole. Maybe he’s scared—maybe just cautious. Either way, it’s too soon for him.

“Speaking of Bryan, do we know when he’s going to propose?” I ask, veering off topic.

“He didn’t give me any specifics,” Kellan admits. “I hope he’s planning something soon, though. It would help to have at least one secret off our plates.”

“Right?” I agree. “That dinner last night was horrible.”

He lets out a dry chuckle. “We can agree it wasn’t Bryan’s secret proposal that made dinner so awful.”

“Melanie is going to be a problem if we’re not careful.”

“Don’t I know it…”

The chair lift reaches the top and drops us off. We ski over to the start of the slope and gaze down at the lodge in the distance below. This is the moment where I put everything out of my mind and focus solely on making it down smoothly and in one piece.

“See you at the bottom,” I call, then push off.

He shouts something, but I can’t hear him.

The rush of the wind in my ears is exhilarating.

I allow myself to concentrate only on the physical exertion, carefully measuring my breaths.

By the time I reach the bottom, my body’s humming.

Sweat trickles down my back and dots my forehead, my blood pumping faster.

“Great run,” Kellan says, pulling to a stop right beside me. “Gotta be more careful on that sharp turn by the red jutting rock, though.”

“The red-marked one halfway down?”

“Yes. It’s a widow-maker if you can’t control your skis on a tight detour.”

“Agreed. Go again?” I suggest.

We queue for the next chair and hop on as soon as the bench swings around. As the chairlift crawls skyward, a fresh perspective settles over me. I don’t care that we’ve only recently reconnected with Makayla. I’m positive that she’s the right person for me, and for my brothers.

“I know you think I’m jumping the gun,” I begin, “but I really think we might have a future with Makayla.” Before Kellan can hit the brakes on me again, I lay out my argument for marriage and family.

“When we first realized one woman could be the key to our happiness, none of us thought it would last. Realistically, how could three brothers and one wife ever pass as a nuclear family? But this one feels different. It’s not just a fun time or a fun few weeks; I really want to make things work with her. ”

“I hear you,” Kellan says solemnly, “but there’s more than just the four of us to consider.

We’re forgetting about Bryan. Their uncle, too.

How are we going to explain our relationship to them, especially to Bryan?

He knows we’ve taken a woman to bed between the three of us.

He knows we do it for fun. Not for anything serious.

Do you really think he’ll believe us when we tell him that we have serious intentions with his little sister? It’s a pipe dream.”

“He can’t be that obtuse, Kel. Come on, man—he’s known us for so long.

He knows we follow through on every promise we make.

He could always depend on us. Kay, too. She’d be happier and safer with us, anyway, not with some stranger.

We would provide for her. We’d support her in everything that she sets out to do.

I can’t believe he’d see things as so cut-and-dried. ”

Kellan shakes his head reluctantly. “I just think you’re holding onto a dream.

I can see the benefits, but I doubt her brother will.

And in the absence of their parents… I’m sorry, Bryan’s blessing does matter.

Maybe we just see where this thing is going, and we don’t worry about making it official just yet. ”

“For how long do we keep it on the down-low, then? I don’t want Makayla looking at us and seeing no future together. A woman like her is rare to come by, Kel. Any man would be lucky to have her attention.”

Kellan doesn’t have a response. Maybe he’s happy with the way things are going, but I want that sort-of-official confirmation, provided only by Bryan’s blessing, that our quartet is in it for the long haul. I would shout it from the rooftops if polyamory wasn’t so frowned upon, truth be told.

“To be fair, getting Bryan’s blessing at some point in the future doesn’t sound as daunting as it would’ve been if their parents were still alive,” Kellan muses, then pinches the bridge of his nose. “God, that sounded awful.”

“Don’t worry, I know what you mean,” I say with a chuckle, glancing out at the wintry landscape. “Remember Makayla’s high school graduation? Bryan helped her throw that big party…”

My brother nods. “I remember her dress.”

“Her commencement gown—white, one of her class colors.” I can almost see that version of her in my mind’s eye. “The boys wore green, and the girls wore white.”

Slowly, I slide back into the memory.

One of the straps of her dress had come loose and was hanging over her shoulder. I remember wanting to reach out and set it back on course but denying myself that pleasure. We weren’t an item at that point, and I was so much older than her. I was worried she would take it the wrong way.

“Is this anything like your graduation?” she asked me, unscrewing the top of a large bottle of Coke. I snuck my cup onto the counter and she poured me a glass too.

I didn’t know what to say at that point. She spent so much time following us around, I kind of took her for granted. But standing in the kitchen that afternoon, I was struck by her beauty.

Pulling myself into the present, I give Kellan a smile. “Even then, I knew I could fall hard for her.”

The chair lift reaches the top and we hop off.

“I’m just saying, brother… be careful. Let’s not get carried away,” he says.

“And I’m saying we’re not like other men. We’re built differently. Societal norms don’t apply to us, and we certainly don’t fall head-over-heels for every woman we share. That’s why I’m telling you—without a shadow of doubt—Makayla is different.”

“Maybe I don’t like hearing you talk this much sense,” Kellan grumbles.

We approach the top of the slope again, having nothing more to say on the subject. We’re about to start our descent when someone calls out to us. A familiar voice makes my stomach sink, and when I turn, it knots with repulsion.

Melanie glides closer—close enough that my first instinct is to raise a hand to keep her away.

“What do you want?” Kellan snaps.

“Hello to you, too,” Melanie says, as though we’re the rude ones. “Figured I’d get a few runs in since Callie’s off getting her nails done and Makayla’s MIA.”

“You need to stay away from Makayla,” I say. “Keep your bullshit to yourself.”

“Ah, so you don’t want me telling her what you did to me?” Melanie says sweetly.

Her smile doesn’t falter—proof of how easily she lies and how much she enjoys turning our lives into hell. It’s all a joke to her.

“We didn’t do anything to you that you didn’t consent to,” Kellan snarls. “And the fact that you told a judge we forced you is unforgivable.”

“Maybe for you,” Melanie says, flicking her hair. “But I’m trying to move past it. We’re all here together, so why not make the best of it?”

“You’re not fooling us,” I say. “Whatever you’re planning, don’t. It won’t end well for you.”

“Is that a threat?”

“It’s a promise,” I reply.

Melanie’s pout is theatrical. “You’re no fun. I do have something planned, but I guarantee that you’ll enjoy it if you just give it a chance.”

“Last I checked, your idea of fun involved lying to the police and suing us for something we didn’t do, Melanie,” I warn. “Stay away from Makayla. I won’t say it again.”

She glides closer on her poles. Her ski suit is shamelessly tight, and her cherry-red lips gleam with fresh gloss. Everything about Melanie screams premeditation. To any other man she’d be bait—attractive, sensual—the whole nine yards with every twist of her hips.

To my brothers and me, she is purely a source of disgust.

“Be careful,” Melanie says, shooting Kellan a look to be sure he hears her, too. “I don’t respond well to threats—or promises.”

I clamp my mouth shut. I have to remember that not only is she a bitch, but she’s also litigious. One wrong word could land me in the middle of another lawsuit, and this one might not go away so easily. Deep breaths.

Melanie smiles, having made her point. She pulls the ski goggles down over her eyes and flips her hair again. Skiing away from us, she drops deftly over the edge of the slope to begin her descent.

For a while her body kept us warm and sated. It was fun—until she twisted it into a nightmare.

I glance at Kellan; the same mix of frustration and mistrust clouds his face. “Give her a few seconds,” I say.

“No rush whatsoever.”

“Give her a minute, then.”

“And hope she misses that tight turn.”

I chuckle dryly. “That’s morbid as hell, Kellan.”

“She’s trouble, Alex. The worst kind.”

“I know…”

I push off, letting the wind scour my thoughts clean as I carve down the slope.