Summit (Ricochet Ridge #4)

Chapter 1

Talon

Pushover. People Pleaser. Soft.

These words get thrown at me often, and I absolutely hate them. Is it such a crime to have an empathetic heart? To be the change you want to see in the world?

“How many more chances are you going to give her, Tal?” my sister Eloise asks as she refills her water glass from the dispenser in my fridge, while our brother Lukas crosses his arms over his chest, waiting for my answer.

Eloise, Lukas, and I all live in penthouse apartments close to Central Park. We actually wanted to live in the same building, but our parents vetoed our request for the safety of our company, stating all their eggs couldn’t literally be placed in the same basket.

But the three of us are usually together anyway.

“I don’t know. She’s not so bad,” I reply.

Eloise props a hand on her hip and gives me a ‘yeah, right’ look.

“Not so bad?” our brother chimes in. “Tal, she literally bought herself an engagement ring so the rumors would start.”

Okay, I wasn’t a huge fan of that.

“I know, but fuck,” I whine, running a hand through my hair while waving my other at my brother. “You have Annie, and you,” I motion toward Eloise, “are happier alone. I’m just lonely. Neither of you has any idea how hard it is to find someone who loves you for you and not for your net worth.”

It’s harsh, but true.

Eloise doesn’t know because she isn’t looking for love, and Annie and Lukas were best friends, totally inseparable as kids, way before trust funds and social expectations were impressed upon them.

They’ve just genuinely enjoyed each other’s company their entire lives.

None of us were shocked when they said they were dating, nor when they announced their engagement.

Thankfully, Annie’s parents are good friends of ours, and they run in the same social and financial circles, meaning there was no objection to the relationship.

Eloise, on the other hand, well, we don’t go into details, but my delightful sister is more of the hit-it-and-quit-it type. She enjoys passionate flings. She also likes going home alone and doing whatever the fuck she pleases without answering to anyone.

There’s still pressure for marriage and children, but with the birth of Annie and Lukas’s third child, our parents have backed off slightly. Plus, they’re still counting on my future children to carry on our name and our company alongside Luke’s.

“You will find someone, Tal. You’re still young,” Lukas answers.

“I’m thirty-two,” I grumble.

It’s not old, but it’s not exactly young, either.

Eloise laughs. “You may be thirty-two, but you look twenty-two,” she says, playfully slapping my clean-shaven face.

“Great. So, I’ll just pick up a sorority girl for the next charity gala. I’m sure Mom and Dad would really appreciate that.”

Lukas lets out a bark of laughter. “Ohmygod, please do it. But when that backfires, Annie has a great group of friends. A couple of them are single. I could see if any of them are interested?” Lukas offers. “At least you’d know they weren’t just after a payday.”

“Could we get back on track here?” Eloise says.

“I’ve forgotten what track that is,” I admit.

“You need to break up with Dahlia. I know you want to find forever, but trust me, Tal, she isn’t it.”

I can’t even argue. I know Eloise is right, but Dahlia checks so many boxes.

She’s local, comes from a high-society family, has a decent amount of her own money, and she’s hot.

Of course, she does dip more than one toe into the tabloid scene, and she thrives on drama, which is not my thing at all.

She falls asleep at the theater, can’t name a single original actor from Hamilton, and would rather hit the spa than the slopes, but relationships are about compromise, right?

Unfortunately, even the sex is run-of-the-mill, and ever since she pulled that stunt with the ring, I’m concerned she may take it even farther by trying to get pregnant, which has me pulling out, despite wearing a condom the occasional times we actually end up being intimate.

I can’t tell you the last time I actually finished with, in, or even on my partner, for fear of getting slapped with a paternity test nine months later.

Money makes people crazy.

“Dahlia,” I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Right.”

Lukas sits up a little straighter, uncrosses his legs, and plants his elbows on his knees.

“Tal, Mom and Dad are sending you to our newest property in a couple weeks, right?”

“Yeah. I’m totally excited,” I say honestly, ready for a change of scenery, certain the mountain air and a few ski runs on fresh powder are exactly what the doctor ordered.

Our family wealth comes from owning a real estate dynasty.

The Devereaux name is on everything from theme parks to Caribbean spa resorts to sports complexes.

Our newest acquisition is a ski resort in Ricochet Ridge, Montana.

As an avid lover of the mountains and the sport of skiing, my parents assigned this property to my portfolio, putting me in charge of all the rebranding.

“That’s your clean break. You’ll be out there for six months, yeah?

” I nod. “Great. Break up with her before you leave and then get the hell out of Dodge. Use that frigid fucking air you love so much to clear your head. Hell, don’t even tell anyone outside of work your real name.

Maybe you can make some connections before the money comes into play. ”

“You want me to lie to someone to get them to sleep with me?” I ask, my brows shooting to my hairline.

Eloise snorts. “God, you’re so cute, Tal.”

Oh yeah, ‘cute,’ that’s the other word I fucking hate.

I throw a pillow at my sister, who is now sitting on the other end of the couch from me.

Lukas scoffs. “It sounds so deceitful when you say it like that. Don’t blatantly lie about who you are, you weirdo.

Just don’t divulge your whole backstory on the first date.

And if you do happen to find someone you like, then yes, tell them who you are before you sleep with them.

Jesus, why do I even have to explain this to you? ”

“You’re the one who said, ‘don’t even tell anyone outside of work your real name!’” I yell, clearly offended. I love my siblings, but being the youngest sucks sometimes, and that doesn’t change no matter how old I get because they get older, too.

Eloise giggles. It’s a wonderful sound when a thirty-five-year-old woman giggles with joy. “He’s right,” she says to Lukas. “You did say that.”

“You always take his side,” Lukas pouts as he looks at his watch. “Shit. I gotta go. See you guys at Mom and Dad’s for dinner on Thursday.”

Eloise rolls her eyes. “See you tomorrow morning for the board meeting, dumbass.”

Lukas rinses his cup and puts it in my dishwasher. “Hey, is that any way to talk to your favorite brother?”

“I have never once called Talon a dumbass,” Eloise says, throwing me a wink.

“Oh, right. That was me,” Lukas fires back. “Bye, El. Bye, dumbass.”

“Dick,” I mutter with a grin at his retreating back.

“I should get going, too,” Eloise says, standing and stretching her arms overhead. “I have three people to fire tomorrow before the meeting. I’ll need my beauty sleep.”

“Fire? Can’t you at least wait until after the new year? Christmas is in like six weeks!” I say in outrage.

“Yes, dear brother, and these dipshits have been skimming funds from our nonprofits. So, tell me. Do they really deserve to keep their jobs through the holidays…the time of year when the majority of our donations are made?”

I sigh in defeat because I didn’t have any idea that was happening.

“No. Christ, why do people have to be so shitty?”

I know for a fact that every position in our company pays a living wage.

I know our top-level managers make enough to fly on private jets and own multiple homes.

If there’s one thing my parents do well in business, it’s command respect for their fair business practices.

Everyone wants to work at a Devereaux property because we don’t just buy a building and slap our name on it.

We invest—our time, our money, ourselves.

Which is why my parents are sending me to Ricochet Ridge.

This is our first ski resort, and there’s much to learn.

They take a very heavy boots-on-the-ground approach, and I’ll be learning everything from the food/beverage service to housekeeping to equipment rentals, etc.

Only once you understand something can you seek to improve it.

Eloise slips into her coat.

“I’m not sure,” she says, answering my rhetorical question. “It’s easy to be overcome by greed.”

“I guess,” I murmur, knowing it’s true, but also that it’s shitty.

I wrap my sister in a hug and show her out, telling her I’ll grab the coffee for tomorrow’s meeting, and then she’s gone.

As I think back over the conversation from the evening, an interesting idea jumps out at me.

Don’t tell anyone outside of work your real name.

What if I didn’t tell anyone at work my real name either? Upper-level management aside, because I’ll need their help, what if I could take a look around, truly get a sense for what the employees like and dislike, without them being worried about kissing my ass?

Suddenly enthralled by this idea, I pull my laptop out and begin firing off emails, the first of which is to Dahlia, because my siblings are right: she’s not the one.

None of them seem to be.

The three women I dated before Dahlia were no better, leading me to feel that maybe the partnership and friendship with a spouse I crave so much isn’t meant for me.