Wild Promises (The Wilde Brothers #4)

Chapter 3

3

XANDER

I 'd heard that Tori had moved home. The gossip mill was churning out theories, but the prevailing story was that she broken up with her surgeon boyfriend and came home to nurse her heartbreak. The reasons for their breakup were varied, and I wouldn't believe any of them until I talked to her. Tori always wanted to come home, and I was secretly pleased that she had.

I knew I'd run into her at some point, but I wasn't in a hurry. When we’d last spent time together, she'd brought up the marriage pact. We were inching ever closer to our thirtieth birthdays in November. Would she bring it up again?

Did she want to get married? It was a silly kids' pinky promise, not something to commit my life to. But I couldn't completely dismiss the idea. Especially not when I was sitting in a conference room with my brothers, and they wanted to know what my current goal was for the business. The problem was, I didn't have one.

I shifted in my chair. "I figured we'd keep offering the lessons in the winter and the usual outdoor excursions the rest of the year. You know, hiking, zip-lining.

"The opening day for the cabins is this weekend. What can we offer our new guests that's different and unique?" Eli asked, looking from me to Oliver.

"I'm not sure where I come into this." I was a ski instructor, not the manager or some marketing expert. Those were Eli's and Oliver's jobs while Killian was traveling around the world snowboarding. "You talked about opening a spa."

"We can't have another large expense like that right after building the cabins," Oliver griped, and Eli shot him a disgruntled look.

Eli inclined his head in deference to Oliver. "We want to build a spa, but that might have to wait a year or two. We were thinking of something?—"

"Less expensive," Oliver interjected.

Eli was the guy with the ideas, and Oliver was the money guy who shot him down at every turn. For me, it meant a lot of uncomfortable business meetings. Especially when I didn't have an opinion.

I crossed my arms over my chest, not used to being the center of these business discussions. "What do you need from me?"

Eli's brow furrowed. "You said you wanted to be more involved in the business, and we'd like to hear your ideas."

I did say that, but I wasn't sure I had anything to contribute. "I think we've expanded all we can with the hiking and zip lines in the warmer months.”

"If you want to take on more responsibility, this is your chance," Oliver added.

My stomach twisted because I had no idea what more I could offer. That's why I stayed out of these conversations. Eli had all these amazing ideas, and Oliver was good at the finance aspect. I was the athlete, and around my brothers, I felt dumb. Not that I'd ever admit that to them.

Oliver dropped his head into his hands. He was usually so even-keeled. He never got upset at anything we did unless it was spending the resort’s money. Since he'd met Carolina, he was happier than I'd ever seen him. I liked her too, especially because she was amazing with my nephew, Joey. "I'm a little tired of you giving your ski lessons to the snow bunnies, and generally having a good time, but never taking any ownership of the business."

I swung my gaze to Eli, hoping he'd have my back, but his brow was furrowed, as if this conversation was painful for him. "He's right. You don't take anything seriously."

"I take my job seriously. And I give ski lessons to everyone, not just women." I hated that they called the women that talked to me snow bunnies. I was nice to everyone. I couldn't help that my version of nice was mistaken for flirting.

Eli's expression was grim. "Oliver's right. We need you to step up."

"Or what?" I unfolded my arms and leaned my elbows on the table.

Eli cleared his throat. "Maybe this isn't the right position for you."

I leaned back as if he'd pushed me. "You'll let me go? I'm a Wilde."

"That doesn't give you a free pass. We can find anyone to give ski lessons," Oliver said quietly.

I rose to my feet, frustration surging through me. "The guests take ski lessons because I encourage them to, because I'm a good teacher. You have no idea how much it matters that I'm the one in charge of the outdoor activities."

Oliver gave me a pointed look. "Killian could do it, and you know it."

"The fuck he could. Killian is a good athlete, but he has the personality of the snowboard he rides. He's not a good teacher." I'd seen the way he interacted with people. He was short on words, and if someone misinterpreted him, even the media, he never corrected them. He didn't care what anyone thought of him.

"High-school kids could do the job," Eli added.

"Now I know you're just being jerks for no reason." My jaw tightened to the point I thought I might crack a tooth.

Eli leaned back as if he didn't have a care in the world, and he probably didn't because he'd just moved into a huge house that he'd built with his beautiful fianceé, Scarlett. "We've been talking about this for a while. Mom and Dad tasked us with carrying on the business, and we’d like you to contribute more."

My heart was racing because this place was the only one where I'd ever worked, and I assumed it would continue.

Oliver shook his head. " Mom and Dad are enjoying their retirement. They don't need to know what's going on here."

"I wasn't going to do that. I'm not a child."

Oliver raised a brow, and I wanted to smack the patronizing look off his face.

"Why do you think I'm not invested in the business?" I asked evenly.

Eli gestured around us. "You don't have any opinions on anything around here."

"That's your job. I handle the outdoors activities." That was the way it had always been. I wasn't sure why anything needed to change now. I wasn't good at school, so there was no way I could talk numbers like Oliver did, and I hadn't gone to school for business to talk about marketing like Eli.

Oliver threw his hands in the air. "You don't seem committed to the business, to your job, to anything really."

Eli nodded. "You go through women like—I don't know what."

"I don't go through women." It just looked like I did. I talked to them. Made them feel like what they had to say was important, but I rarely took any of them home. My brothers didn't know what was really going on in my personal life. Everyone just assumed they knew me or guys like me. I was sick of being judged for something that wasn't even true. I turned to walk out, pissed at my brothers, the world, everyone.

"This is what we're talking about. When things get tough you just walk away." Eli's voice stopped me in my tracks.

Oliver frowned. "When we need you, you're not there."

That hurt because I didn't like that they felt as if they couldn't depend on me. "Tell me what you need me to do."

"That's the thing. You should already know what needs to be done. Especially if you were more involved in the business side of things."

My head throbbed from this conversation.

"You can't commit to anything or anyone. You float on the surface, not really doing anything meaningful," Oliver said bitterly.

"I've been talking to Tori." That was a lie because I hadn't talked to her since New Year's Eve, but they didn't have to know that.

"Oh?" Oliver asked.

"We've always been friends. You know that." Except for the last few years, when I couldn't bear to hear about her surgeon boyfriend. I was worried that she'd marry him and stay in New York. But now she was back, and I felt like I had a chance at something, but I wasn't sure what. If my brothers didn't think I was worthy of working as a ski instructor in the family business, what would Tori think of me? I always fell short. I had nothing to offer anyone, much less her.

"Is there something else going on between you and Tori?" Eli asked, and I sensed that if I could prove I was committed to someone, that they'd let up on this ridiculous crusade for me to do something amazing in the business.

I blew out a breath. "There's always been something there. At least for me. But I've never told her. I didn't want to hold her back."

Oliver shook his head. "That's messed up but at the same time mature."

"I'm not immature." I was irritated that my brothers would forever see me as their younger brother who couldn't handle any responsibility. They'd been tasked with a lot as the eldest. It had given me freedom to relax, and I could see now that it had caused a chasm between me and my oldest brothers. One that Killian didn't have to worry about because he was never home and didn't have any involvement in the family business. Although I was sure that my brothers appreciated the notoriety his snowboarding success gave the resort.

When Eli and Oliver leveled me with a look, I threw my hands in the air. "I don't know what you want from me."

"We want you to commit to something. Anything. Show us that you're in the game. That you care if the family business is successful."

"I care." The implication that I didn't hurt. A stabbing pain shot through my chest.

Oliver leaned forward. "I have to say, I like Tori for you."

Eli chuckled. "She's a doctor, for God's sake. She's hardworking and disciplined."

"If you're saying she's too good for me, then you'd be right," I couldn't help but add. This was the reason why I'd always held back telling Tori I liked her. The threat of rejection was high.

"Don't sell yourself short," Oliver said.

"You've spent the last ten minutes telling me I don't measure up. I'm going to prove to you that you're wrong." I turned and walked out of the room, a fire in my gut.

They seemed surprised by my interest in Tori and that I'd held back on telling her how I felt over the years. If they knew, the stories of me hooking up with lots of women were wrong, that my failure to commit was really just not finding anyone who could measure up to Tori, then they'd have to roll back everything they said about me.

But that reputation had been good to me. No one expected much of the guy who was easygoing and charming. I flew under the radar, but now my brothers wanted me to step up. The only problem was that I didn't know how. How did you prove that you were smart when you hadn't gone to school and you'd never had any good business ideas?

I was good with people. I had a way with them. I could coax a five-year-old who was fearful of falling to go down a slope. I could convince a stuffy business man that skiing was the sport he had to learn if he wanted to advance in his field. But convincing my brothers I was worthy was an impossible feat. I had no idea what they wanted from me.

I was a ski instructor at my family's resort, and now I was being told I was easily replaceable. It hurt. But there had to be a way to show my brothers that I brought something unique to the family's business. But what?

The one perfect thing in my life had always been Tori Clark. Now she was back, and I was convinced she was the key to my dilemma. She'd brought up the marriage pact. Now I had to gauge how serious she was because there was nothing that screamed commitment quite like marriage.

I pulled out my phone and scrolled to her name. The last message was her reaching out to me. I'd resisted because I couldn't bare to hear how perfect her life was or how she was never planning to return to Telluride.

My fingers hovered over the keys unsure what to say. Should I invite her out to dinner, drinks? Would she even be interested in a night out in Telluride? It had to pale in comparison to New York City.

Then I remembered our favorite thing to do together—skiing.

Xander: I heard you're home.

Lame. I couldn't believe I hit send on that piece of literary genius. Wasn't I the one who was known for my charm? Surely, I could do better than that.

Tori: I am.

Emotions tore through me. Was she okay? Did she go through a messy breakup? Was the move temporary or permanent?

Xander: You want to do a little nighttime skiing?

It was our special thing. I never took another woman skiing at night unless it was a group thing and I was getting paid to do it. I'd only ever been alone with Tori. The night was usually quiet, and the time felt sacred. I'd thought many times about kissing her when we'd gone off the beaten path and were hidden from any stray skiers. But I never had. Because I knew the truth. Tori was destined for greater things than me or this small town.

So I had no idea what it meant that she was back. I'd heard that she was working with her father, but that didn't mean she was taking over his practice or planning to stay. If her surgeon boyfriend snapped his fingers, she might go running back.

Tori: I'd love that.

Warmth filled my chest.

Xander: You need gear?

Tori: I'll dig out my old stuff.

Shock reverberated through my body.

Xander: You haven't been skiing since you left?

Tori: I didn't have time, and it didn't seem right.

She'd learned how to ski with me and my brothers. But when we were teenagers, we went by ourselves. It was almost intimate, at least for me. I'm guessing she hadn't felt the same because I never saw a spark of interest in her eyes.

Xander: Friday night? Meet you in our usual place.

Tori: Looking forward to it.

I skied for the athleticism of it but also for time to myself. There was something about being out in nature. But nothing could compare to my evenings on the mountain with Tori. They had a magical quality to them, or at least my memory of them did. I was curious to see if being with her as an adult held the same allure.

I had a couple of nights to prepare for our evening together, and I wanted to make it special. I dug out some lights, took them to one of our spots we went to when we wanted to be alone, and got to work.

I'd convince Tori that she'd done the right thing by coming home and that she shouldn't leave. She didn't belong in New York. I just had to convince her of that. And I couldn't lose sight of my brother's ultimatum. I needed to figure out a way to be an integral part of the family business before I was kicked to the side.