Page 18 of Ski You Later (Alpine Glow #1)

“KILL THEM, MAKE THEM DIE,” Aurora’s voice pierces the air as she screams. Her agile body leaping onto the kitchen counter as Xander follows suit. The pair start to fight over the limited amount of counter space as they continue to yell in a panicked voice.

Neither Landon nor Rhys shows an outward reaction. Instead, they both watch the spiders with a calm curiosity.

I couldn’t be more different than them, as a paralyzing fear courses through my whole body. While I may be an animal lover, I draw the line with one of Canada’s native spiders. They might be smaller than the size of my palm, but they’re still much bigger than I’m comfortable with.

Someone calls my name, but my gaze stays trained on the fattest of the two, its beady eyes landing on me as it shoots in my direction. Fear courses through me and seems to glue my feet to the floor. Its quick scuttling suddenly puts it a foot away from me, and all I can do is brace myself.

As if appearing out of nowhere, Roman releases a string of curses as he lightly knocks the spider off its path.

His arm wraps around my waist in the same motion, and then I’m pressing against his chest as my feet go out from under me.

Both of Roman’s arms are banded around me as he steps onto one of the chairs.

I’m fairly certain spiders can climb chairs, but Roman hasn’t set me down yet, so I should be safe for the moment.

“You know wolf spiders can climb chairs,” I mumble into his chest. Peeking up at him, I see a smile break free from the death glare he is sending his brothers.

Finally breaking his gaze away from the boys, he peers down at me and raises one of his eyebrows. “How is that supposed to help?” He questions me with a hint of laughter in his voice .

“I just thought you would want to stay well informed,” I quip back.

“Maybe I should just drop you then. Survival of the fittest and all that.”

I let out a fake gasp, looking at him indignantly. “You wouldn’t dare, Huxley.”

He leans even closer to me, that clean smell filling my senses and putting me at ease. He opens his mouth and shuts it just as quickly when another scream pierces the air. We both whip our gazes towards the kitchen, where a multitude of events are occurring.

One of the spiders must have started climbing up the kitchen counter due to the fact that Aurora decided to shove Xander off.

Xander screams inhumanly as he scrambles on the ground, and Rhys has a huge smile on his face.

Then there’s Landon, holding one of the spiders in his hands as he watches the scene in disbelief.

I tap Roman on the bicep, waiting until he notices me, and then I point towards the kitchen. The other spider didn’t fall for Xander as the bait as I watch its long legs cresting the kitchen counter.

Roman’s mouth drops open in surprise, and I can’t help but stifle my own laugh. Aurora follows the direction I’m pointing, ripping her vocal cords as she shrieks, and volleys herself off the counter .

She promptly tackles a freshly standing Xander back to the ground, and both of them scream as they lose sight of the spider yet again.

We all sit at the table. Roman on one side, with Xander and Landon on the other. Aurora and I both share the head of the table as we wait eagerly for the events to unfold.

Landon had cleaned up the mess, capturing and placing both spiders in the backyard. Aurora and Xander were breathing heavily but became relieved as soon as the wolf spiders vacated the premises.

I would be lying if I said that I didn’t like the way Roman kept his arms around me as he stepped off the chair. He scanned the ground before finally placing my feet back on the floor with his.

I couldn’t resist myself as I placed my hand on his forearm, giving it a small squeeze before I walked over to Aurora. The second the chaos was over; Rhys didn’t say a word to anyone as he left the room.

Now, we all have a plate of spaghetti in front of us and are ready to hear the story behind the box.

“Why did you have a box full of spiders if you are afraid of them?” Roman sounds exhausted as he questions his brothers .

“I didn’t know I was afraid of them,” Xander says simply. “But let me tell you, when that box fell open, I was petrified.” He laughs as if he said something funny, but Roman only stares at them both with venom. Landon quickly takes over, attempting to placate his older brother.

“Well, you see, we were on a walk and spotted them both on the side of a tree. Which was weird because it’s winter and they aren’t usually around,” Landon explains.

He motions with his hands as he talks, as if it helps us understand his logic.

“They were breathtaking as they started to make a web on the side of that tree. Xander and I were both mesmerized by the pair of them and we took them so they didn’t die in the cold. ”

Roman’s face has never looked so annoyed, the vein in his temple popping out slightly. “But why were they in a box,” he grits out.

“To keep as pets,” Xander answers immediately as if it were obvious.

I giggle at their interaction, both younger brothers showing no fear as Roman looks as if he’s about to strangle them. “Why would you do it today?” He asks, running his hands through his already messy hair .

“Well, what were we supposed to do? Leave the box in our room?” Xander asks this as if it’s an insane idea.

“Yes!” Roman’s hand flies in front of him as he yells at his brothers.

“No, Roman. They could’ve escaped,” Xander states seriously. Turning his head to both of us and shooting a wink our way.

“Xander. I’m sitting right in front of you,” Roman deadpans.

“Ah shit, I used my wrong eye,” Xander whines. Turning to face Landon, who’s doing his best to hold back his laughter.

Roman seems to dismiss both his brothers, turning fully to face Aurora and I. “I’m so sorry. There’s no way I would’ve invited you over if I knew this would happen.” While he speaks to us both, his gaze stays trained on me.

I’m about to dismiss his apology, but Aurora gets there first. “Roman, you need to chill. This was the funniest thing that’s happened in so long. It was awesome,” she states. Reclining back in her chair, as she crosses her arms .

He looks at her in surprise, as if she’s grown a second head. “Aren’t you upset?” The sheer surprise in his voice almost makes me cackle.

“No,” Aurora says with just as much confusion in her tone. “It’s not a big deal,” she states as she turns her attention back to her food.

I face Roman with a knowing smile, showing him that I’m not remotely upset. His mood seems to lighten after that, with everyone eating their food and making casual small talk.

It takes twenty minutes for the plates to empty and the flow of conversation to reach its natural end. We all stare at one another, waiting for the main purpose of this dinner to commence.

Thankfully Xander has the shortest attention span and cuts through the growing silence. “So, like, what’s even going on with you two?” He uses his spoon to gesture between Roman and I, and Landon nods along in the back.

I give Roman a quizzical look but go back to facing his brothers. “Has Roman not told you anything?” My lips purse a little as I think about the fact that Roman hasn’t uttered a word of this, not even to the people closest to him .

Xander lifts his brows as he looks confused. “No? Told us what?”

“They don’t need to know anything. Don’t feel pressured to tell them, Langley.” Roman glares at his brothers as he talks, but his words still make my heart melt. If Roman’s going to help me, there’s no need for him to hide the whole thing from his family.

With a glance at Aurora, we have a quick mental conversation as she nods in agreement. While I could’ve never imagined sharing my life with Landon and Xander of all people, it just seems like the right thing to do.

I tell them the key points of everything. Family drama, ex-boyfriend drama and then the two combined. Their facial expressions make the whole story worth it, shock and outrage only growing as I keep talking.

When I finish with everything, I tell them how Roman agreed to fake date me in exchange for help warming up to the rest of the team.

Landon side eyes his brother at the last part, but Xander’s eyes are wide as he covers his mouth with both hands.

“NO,” Xander yells in my face as soon as I’m done .

This causes a full laugh to break from Aurora’s chest as Landon punches him. “Sorry, I’m just shocked,” Xander amends as he rubs his arm.

“How does no one know about this? Surely, if we tell the board, we can get her kicked off the team?” Landon looks confused and then faces Roman for confirmation, the latter sending a small nod to his brother.

My anxiety spikes as he nods, and I almost fall out of my chair as I turn towards Roman.

“No. No, that can’t happen. That’s exactly what I didn’t want to happen.

” Turning to everyone at the table, I look them in the eyes as I continue.

“You will tell no one, I don’t want anyone knowing about the relationship I have with Jasmine. Alright?”

I get three reluctant nods from the guys and settle back into my chair. “Now, if we can all just pretend that Roman and I have been dating for the past month, everything will be fine,” I say as I try to believe the words myself.

“So, when is this wedding?” Landon asks with a puzzled expression.

“It’s April eighteenth, so in about three months,” Aurora pipes in .

“After that, are you guys just going to have a fake breakup? Won’t that look suspicious?” Landon seems to be suppressing a smile for some reason. But he actually raises a good point, and I realize that I haven’t thought that through.

“She doesn’t need to worry about that. I’ll sort it out.” Roman’s first words in this conversation are definitive as he pushes his chair back and gets up from the table.

His brothers sense his shift in mood, and Landon quickly changes our conversation. Landon starts to ask about our ski season, but not before I catch the glance Xander sends to Roman.

He watches Roman with a keen eye, a devilish smile playing on his lips. Xander raises his eyebrows toward Roman, and I turn to face my fake boyfriend. Roman’s sending Xander a death glare, his face full of malice as he points a threatening finger at his brother.

Roman senses my gaze then, as he drops the look entirely and faces me with a small smile.

Aurora’s talking with Landon in the background, but when I face Xander, all I see is an excited smile taking over his face.