Chapter 9 Zoe
ZOE
The front desk staff asked me to join them in the restaurant for a late dinner after their shift, but I politely declined.
As I headed back to the hideaway, I could admit that it was mostly because I didn’t want to see Kai.
I was still angry at him, but over the course of the afternoon, I’d realized that I was mad at myself more.
I’d taken my eyes off the prize. I wasn’t here to meet men.
I was here to work hard and secure my future.
So it didn’t matter that Kai was hot. Or that he’d made me laugh. Or that—oh crap, he was standing right there.
My stomach dropped as I skidded to a halt just inside the room. He was in the tiny kitchenette, and he closed the half-size fridge door as he straightened up with a bottle of beer in his hand.
Shit. Why wasn’t he at the restaurant with the other staff?
My first instinct was to slink past him and retreat to my bedroom. That had been the whole point of avoiding the restaurant—so I didn’t have to face being snubbed by him again.
But instead, anger bubbled up inside me, hot and sharp. I marched over.
He was still wearing that vivid blue sweater that matched his eyes, paired with jeans. His feet were bare.
“What the hell is your problem?” I demanded.
His eyebrows shot up practically to the ceiling. “Pardon?”
“You have a lot of nerve ignoring me today after what happened yesterday.”
He looked taken aback for a moment, then held up his hands. “Wait a second—”
“Listen, you arrogant jerk—”
“Wait. Just wait—please.”
The ‘please’ caught me off guard, but I wasn’t ready to back down. “Like I’m really going to do anything you tell me to.”
“Fair enough.” He studied me for a moment. “Let me just ask you this. Are you going to slap me?”
“I should.”
“I’d prefer you didn’t.” He set down the beer bottle and reached into his back pocket, pulling out his phone. “Please let me show you something.”
I crossed my arms. “I’ve seen what you have to offer, and I’m not interested anymore.”
His mouth quirked upward at that. He opened his phone, flipped through it, then turned the screen toward me.
I gawked.
The photo on the screen showed two of him standing side by side. One was grinning. The other wasn’t.
“What the hell?” My jaw dropped. “Are you trying to say it wasn’t you, it was your evil twin?”
He blinked twice, looking genuinely surprised. “Well, yes, actually.”
“Nice try, but that’s obviously Photoshopped. Or AI.”
He raked a hand through his hair. “I usually have this whole spiel I use to explain. I didn’t expect you to guess it.”
I stared at him. “Come on. You don’t really have an evil twin.”
“I assure you that I do.” He frowned slightly. “Though I’m not sure that ‘evil’ is quite the word I’d use. Anyway, I’m Landon. The person you presumably had an encounter with yesterday is my twin, Kai.”
He held out his hand, but I was too confused to shake it.
So instead, he handed me the beer he’d been holding, and I accepted it automatically. He turned back to the fridge and got another one for himself.
I couldn’t quite take it in. How could there be two men that looked that good?
I stared at the photo, even enlarging it with my fingers, trying to find evidence that it was faked.
But the more I looked, the more convinced I became that it wasn’t.
I stepped back, really looking at him this time, searching for differences.
I couldn’t find any. Except maybe that his hair was a little less spiky.
“I’m sorry,” I said, handing him back his phone.
He waved off my apology. “No need. This isn’t the first time it’s happened. And at least you didn’t slap me.”
“Someone’s slapped you before?”
He nodded grimly. Then he gestured toward the seating area in front of the fireplace. “Want to sit down, drink, and take turns complaining about my irresponsible sibling?”
I gave a half smile. “I’ve actually got one of those, too.”
“A twin?”
“No. A younger sister.”
We settled onto the leather sofa in front of the fire. There were blankets in a basket nearby, and Landon grabbed one and handed it to me before swinging his feet up onto the coffee table, crossing his ankles.
I noticed his long legs. Even his bare feet were kind of sexy—not gross like some men’s.
We drank in silence for a moment. The fire crackled, filling the quiet with warmth.
“So, you just have one sister?” Landon asked.
“Yes. She’s twenty. I’m twenty-two, but I feel ten years older than her sometimes.”
“I know what you mean. I’m about thirty minutes older than Kai, but sometimes it feels like ten years separate us as well.”
“So you’re very different?”
He looked contemplative, staring into the fire. “We used to be the same. We used to be... well, I’ve never understood the phrase ‘thick as thieves,’ but it probably fits.”
At the mention of the word ‘thick,’ my eyes flicked to his muscular thigh before I could stop myself.
But then I raised my gaze and gave a little smile.
“I don’t know what it means either, but maybe you could say ‘thick as twins’?
But that doesn’t sound right either.” The initial sounds needed to be the same. “Twisted as twins?”
He laughed, the low sound seeming to have surprised him for some reason. “That works.”
We drank a little more. I found it surprisingly comfortable to sit next to him. He wasn’t like Kai. He wasn’t waiting for one wrong word so he could tease, embarrass, or flirt with me. I barely knew Landon, but he somehow felt safe.
“So what are you here for?” he asked. “Are you a chef like Asher?”
“God, no.” I couldn’t cook to save my life, and I sure as hell wouldn’t want to work with Asher.
“But you are a student, right? You look about his age.”
“How old are you?”
“We’re twenty-six.” He grimaced. “Sorry. It’s a twin thing to slip up and say ‘we.’”
I grinned. “I won’t tell your brother you told me his age.”
He smiled back, and I felt something warm unfurl in my chest.
“I’m a senior,” I said. “Hospitality major. I’m doing a management internship for winter break.”
He looked impressed. “I’ve never known this place to take on any intern except Ash.”
“I kind of talked my way into it,” I admitted.
“Good for you.” He said it simply, like he genuinely admired that. It was such a contrast to Asher, who’d said earlier that I’d only gotten the internship by being pushy.
“Are you a ski instructor too?” I asked.
I already knew he had to ski—his muscles were exactly the same as Kai’s. Flat abs. Thick biceps. Powerful thighs.
“Sort of,” he said. “I’ll give a few lessons here and there, but I’m mainly the ski patrol.”
That wasn’t a term I was familiar with. “What does that mean?”
“It’s a bit different here than at bigger resorts, but my job is to keep people safe on the mountain.
In the mornings, I do safety checks—inspect the trails, set hazard markers if there’s ice or debris.
During the day, whether I teach lessons or not, I’m on call if anyone gets injured.
Late afternoon, I do a patrol sweep to make sure no one’s stranded, write up any first-aid reports, and oversee equipment maintenance. ”
Wow. That was impressive—far more impressive than just lifting a newbie onto a chair lift. “Sounds like a big job.”
He gave me a modest smile. “Sometimes. But out here, well, this isn’t exactly the Alps.”
I latched onto that. “You’ve skied in the Alps?”
“Yes. Most beautiful mountains anywhere.”
I thought of something. “Were you skiing yesterday? I saw someone go by really fast while he—I mean, your brother—was teaching me.”
“Yeah, that was me.”
I remembered how incredible he’d looked, flying down that advanced slope, moving like he was part of the mountain itself.
He set down his empty beer bottle and stood. “Want another?”
I glanced at my bottle—still half full. But he was already heading to the fridge, so I nodded.
He came back with two, handing me one. It was thoughtful of him. I couldn’t imagine Kai fetching me a drink, and Asher would probably try to break the bottle over my head.
Out of the corner of my eye, I studied Landon. “How can I tell you two apart?”
He thought about it for a moment, a wry smile flashing across his face. But then it vanished, and he shrugged.
“Come on, there must be something different about you,” I insisted.
He studied me and then cocked his head to the side. “Well, for one thing, if I slept with you, I wouldn’t ignore you the next day.”
His low, rumbly declaration sent heat through me, but then indignation took over. “I didn’t sleep with him.” The words came out too fast, too defensive, and I immediately regretted blurting that out to Landon when he’d been nothing but kind.
“I didn’t... we just...” I trailed off.
Now he was probably going to look at me with pity, like I was some lovesick girl making a big deal over nothing. I half expected him to say something like, if you didn’t sleep with him, what’s the big deal?
But he didn’t say that. Instead, he patted my hand gently.
“I apologize on behalf of whatever he did. The way you looked at me earlier when you thought I was him—before you came to the conclusion he was ignoring you—well, let’s just say that if someone looked at me that way, I wouldn’t blow them off. ”
I stared at him, confused. I wanted to tell him it didn’t mean anything yesterday. That I hadn’t fallen for Kai.
But sitting here with Landon, I was half-convinced I was falling for him instead. He was Kai’s opposite in all the ways that mattered. He was clearly kind, thoughtful, gentle, but he still the same incredible appearance that had gotten me into trouble yesterday.
“I... I wouldn’t...” I couldn’t finish the thought.
Landon just waited, giving me space to say what I needed to.
But then there was noise from the door. Kai and Asher came in together, laughing, joking around like old friends.
My first reaction was frustration at the interruption. Then anger at the real Kai. But then I got distracted watching the way he and Asher were talking. It was easy and relaxed. I’d never seen Asher act like that. Around me, he always seemed to have a stick up his ass.
Asher spotted us first. “The gang’s all here,” he said dryly, his demeanor changing all at once.
Kai’s eyes gleamed when he greeted me. “Hey!”
He dropped onto the sofa on my other side, then leaned across me to pluck his Landon’s beer out of his hand. He drained it in one long pull, then set the empty bottle on the coffee table and squeezed my thigh.
“There you are, gorgeous. Ready for another workout?”
I jerked away from his touch. Landon immediately scooted over, giving me space to move away from Kai. But instead, I stood up.
“That’s a hard no,” I said. Turning to Landon, I said goodnight, making it pretty obvious I was only talking to him, not the other two.
Asher and Kai exchanged a look before I could turn away. Then when I was almost to the hallway, I heard Kai ask, “What’d I do?”
I didn’t bother to answer.
And I was grateful when Landon didn’t either.