“I am.”
I get out of the car, and he pulls me into a big hug, squeezing me and lifting my feet off the ground.
“Funny. It doesn’t look like you’re in Scottsdale.”
He ruffles my hair, which he knows I hate. “I’ve got it under control. Don’t worry.”
“Well, that just makes me more worried.” I scan his bare torso. “You’re missing a shirt.”
“Spilled beer on it.” Laughing, he looks from me to Stella and back again. “Why didn’t you two tell me you were coming?”
“We texted you this morning after we were done with classes,” Stella says.
“I was already here. We came up last night.” He pats his front and back jeans pockets. “I have no idea where I left my phone.”
“Typical,” I tease.
He pulls me in for another hug. “This is rad. We can all hang out. How long are you staying?”
“Just the weekend. There is a good chance of snow. We thought we’d ski and hang out for a few days before going home.” An excited smile tips up the corners of Stella’s lips.
“And we thought the party would be at Mom and Dad’s, since you’re supposed to be housesitting,” I chime in. “We can’t all stay here. There isn’t enough room.”
“Sure, there is.” My brother waves off my concern.
It’s a rustic, two-bedroom cabin that’s been in our family for three generations. Our great-grandparents bought the land when there was nothing else around. They built a summer getaway house to escape the brutal temperatures in June and July. The temperatures in northern Arizona are way cooler than just a few hours south, and this is where they’d come on weekends or time off from work.
That was before someone decided to build a ski resort half a mile away. It made the property worth a lot more, but it also meant that a dozen more cabins popped up all around. Most are rentals or vacation homes, but there are a few people that live here year-round.
We came here a lot as kids during the summer. And as we’ve gotten older, Felix, Stella, and I like to come up here in the winter with friends to ski or just hang out. During the winterbreak, it’s packed with high school and college students. But it’s been a few years since we’ve all been here together.
“Where are we all going to sleep?”
“We’ll figure it out.” Felix throws an arm around each of our shoulders. “Come meet some people.”
Laughing, I shrug out of his hold. “I’ll be right there. I’m just gonna grab some of our stuff.”
Stella goes with Felix, and I walk behind the Jeep to get our things. I know my sister well enough to know she won’t want to change our plans for the weekend, even if it means sharing the small cabin with our brother and his friends.
She will spend most of her time at the resort anyway, so it’s not that big of an inconvenience, but my plans of enjoying the quiet and reading by the fireplace seem far-fetched now.
Plus, Stella and I might be twins, but when the three of us hang out together, she and Felix usually team up against me. They’re both a lot more extroverted than I am, and deciding what to do quickly becomes two against one. It’s the only reason I’ve gone skydiving or been to a dance club. It’s not all bad. Sometimes they pull me out of my comfort zone, and I’m thankful, but other times, I end up anxious and sweaty. The dance club falls into the latter column.
I leave the suitcase in the back of the Jeep to get later, but grab two of the paper bags filled with food for the weekend. Some of it needs to go in the fridge—assuming it isn’t already full of beer.
I’m wrangling a third bag, so I can get it all in one trip, when a familiar deep voice cuts through my thoughts.
“Hold up. Let me get that.”
Teddy invades my space before I’ve had time to prepare for him. And where Teddy is concerned, I need time to prepare. His hand brushes mine as he takes the last bag from me, sending goosebumps all the way to my toes. I breathe in the scent of hissoap, mixed with the winter wonderland around us, and it’s just about the most heavenly thing I’ve ever smelled.
“Thanks,” I mumble as I take him in.
Theo Radford. Star running back of the Valley University football team, my brother’s best friend, impossibly nice guy, and my secret crush.
It’s silly, really. He’s ridiculously handsome and, of course, super popular, and I’m just me. One of Felix’s little sisters. The shy one, the one people overlook.
He’s big and burly like a teddy bear, which is why everyone calls him Teddy. He’s one of the few people that never makes me feel like the “other” twin. I like that about him. I like a lot of things about him.