Page 85 of Head Over Skis

I guess I’ll have to wait and see.

Epilogue

The slamming of a car door makes me jolt, my paint brush making an ugly mark on the canvas in front of me.

‘Shit,’ I mutter, dropping the brush into the murky glass to my left and inspecting the damage.

I quickly dab at the mistake with a wet cloth, movements precise so I don’t mess with any more of the still-drying paint. Thankfully it doesn’t look too bad once I’ve pulled my hand away, because I don’t have time to fix it now. It’s my tenth commission this week of the same painting, and it’s by far my most popular. The other nine are lined up in the hallway, wrapped up in an excessive amount of bubble wrap and nearly blocking the entrance to the treehouse. More car doors slam shut and Daisy starts barking at the door.

‘Wait a minute, girl,’ I call as I untie my apron.

Her tail is wagging as she waits for me to open the front door to release her and go greet our guests. Once everything is put away safely, I go over and give her a good scratch behind the ears.

Once the last week of the holiday ended, and it became clear I wasn’t going back to London anytime soon, Rory asked if I would mind him bringing Daisy here. When he was on his own, he felt like it would be too difficult to properly look after her here, so most of the time she lived with Kevin’s family back in London. They’d kindly taken her in when Rory had fully taken on managing the resort, but now with the two of us here and my schedule meaning I spend a lot of time at the treehouse, we’ve made it work.

‘Ready?’ I ask her, my hand hovering on the door handle. She paws at the wood, and I push it open as a voice calls my name from the bottom of the spiral staircase.

‘There’s my little snow princess!’ Tilly drops the handle of her suitcase and abandons it with David as she runs up the stairs to meet me. ‘I’ve missed you so much!’

‘I’ve missed you too,’ I echo back, squeezing her in a tight hug.

She takes in the view from the first-floor balcony and whistles. ‘I can’t blame you though when you have a view like this.’

‘I don’t know, the view from your place wasn’t bad. I only saw men peeing in that alleyway a couple of times.’

Tilly mimes being sick next to me, her whole body shivering at the memory. ‘Oh god, I can’t wait to move out.’

I’d almost forgotten she is moving out in only a few weeks. When I was in London last month for Christmas, nothing had been finalised yet. Little did I know it would be the last time I’d visit her one-bed flat in Elephant and Castle. Next time when I come and visit, it’ll be to ogle the new flat that she’s sharing with the guy currently attempting to drag her suitcase, and his own, up the stairs.

‘Hey, David, need a hand there?’

‘Nope,’ he huffs, refusing my assistance as he lifts the suitcase up the final few steps. ‘But I would like to know what’s in this thing which makes it so darn heavy.’

‘I didn’t ask you to carry it for me,’ Tilly says, standing with her arms crossed.

‘A simple thank you would do,’ he replies.

She bats her eyelashes and nods towards the door. ‘I’ll thank you once you’ve finished carrying it to the bedroom. No praise for a job half-done.’

He sighs, muttering complaints, but the smirk on his face betrays the fact he enjoys the fact their sarcastic back-and-forths are back. He squats down so he can cradle the suitcase in his arms, and I point him in the direction of the room I’ve set up for the two of them.

‘Glad nothing’s really changed between you two.’

‘Nope. Only now when we bicker it’s usually without our clothes on,’ she says, winking as she walks away from me, and I cover my ears like that’ll take back the fact she’s already said it.

‘Ew, okay I do not need that image in my head.’ As happy as I am for them, I do not want to imagine my two best friends getting it on, especially when it’s likely going to be happening in the room that shares a wall with mine for the next week.

I turn back to the door as two of my other best friends climb the stairs, not running quite as quickly as Tilly, but still taking them two at a time as they rush to greet me. Meghan reaches me first, and once her feet are both on flat ground, I wrap my arms around her.

Then I immediately pull her back, giving her room to hold her hand between us, palm facing her chest.

‘It’s even more gorgeous in person! Lucas!’ I release her for a second, only so I can pat Lucas on the back for picking such a stunner of a ring. ‘I didn’t know you had such good style.’

‘Well, her mum may have helped,’ he admits, and I can’t blame him for getting advice from a literal fashion icon for a ring for her daughter. I pull them both in for a crowded hug.

‘I’m so glad you could both make it,’ I say, knowing they’re in the midst of wedding planning following their engagement that came only a few months ago.

‘Of course! It’s tradition now.’