Page 41 of The Route to You

Kyle scoffed. “I do not kiss my friends at the bottom of runs.”

Dean winked at Sloan. “You could. Might improve your mood.”

Sloan rolled her eyes. “Please don’t encourage him.”

Kyle didn’t glance at her, his lips puckering at Dean. “Didn’t realize you missed me that much, Dean.”

Francesca put her arms around Dean possessively. “You get your own man, Kyle Winnick. This one is all mine,” she said with mock outrage.

They all laughed and Dean and Francesca rode the lift back up, tangled together like it was a perfectly reasonable place for casual affection. Kyle stood beside Sloan with his board hooked under one arm.

He looked . . . relaxed.

Not the careful, controlled version of him from the cabin. Not the tense, jaw-set version from the car.

This Kyle was all loose lines and easy confidence, cheeks pink from the cold, hair escaping his helmet in messy, wet curls. He reminded Sloan of the boy she once loved. A boy who loved life. Loved me.

But that was ancient history, no matter how unsettled it made her feel.

“You good?” he asked, noticing her watching him as they climbed aboard the lift.

She looked away quickly, squinting like it was the sun that made her unable to face him. “Fine.”

He smirked. “You say that like you’re daring the universe to challenge you.”

“The universe and I are not on speaking terms. Besides. I thought I wasn’t allowed to blame things on the universe.”

“True. But I meant more like . . . you having fun?”

Now she smiled for real. “I can’t fake that. I’m a miserable bitch when I’m not.”

“Ah, a creature who loves her comfort.” He poked her in the ribs. “So, you haven’t changed that much.”

They pushed off again at the top. This run was steeper, with a small terrain park off to the side—jumps, rails, things Sloan had always avoided because she preferred her bones unbroken.

Dean immediately angled toward it.

Francesca pointed at him. “If you break something, I am not massaging you tonight.”

Dean called back, “Worth it,” then took off.

Kyle hesitated for half a second and followed him.

Something tightened in Sloan’s chest as she surveyed the dangerous terrain. “Oh no.”

Francesca smiled, watching them with a grin that betrayed the fact that she found them far more entertaining than alarming. “They do this.”

“Does he usually survive?” Sloan asked.

“Mostly.”

Not comforting.

She had to give Evan that. While he loved skiing, he never pushed the envelope too far. Maybe because he was just as invested in not breaking bones as Sloan was. Casts didn’t make for great photo ops.

Sloan and Francesca stayed on the main run, carving down in long, clean turns. Sloan was just starting to relax again when she heard Dean whoop . . . and then Kyle’s laugh, loud and reckless.

She looked over.