Chapter 32
CHAPTER 32
ARLAND
T he night after the opening, Brian and I had decided to host a special party at the Chalet just for our families and closest friends. It was our way of thanking them for always supporting us—and for apologizing about how absent we’d been for the last few months.
Our weekend so far had been crazy but great. All of the events had gone down without a hitch. The athletes had loved our slopes and the guests had all raved about the facilities. The reviews that had been posted online had been positive, with barely a sign of a complaint, and whatever glitches we’d needed to iron out with the staff had been handled.
All of our lodges were currently occupied, and we even had a waiting list of people hoping to be contacted about cancellations over the festive period. Insofar as opening weekends went, Everwood Chalet had exceeded all expectations and tonight was the night we acknowledged the people who had stood by us in making it happen.
My whole family was here, as was Brian’s. Gregory was here with his family as well, even his kids tagging along since apparently the Chalet was cool enough to be seen at. I’d gotten quite a kick out of that news.
The only blight on what was otherwise shaping up to be an awesome, intimate, and relaxing evening was that Smith and Lisa had made an appearance. Probably upon my mother’s insistence, but here they were. They’d been behaving themselves so far. I could only hope Lisa didn’t find a way to turn our family dinner into a spectacle.
Having taken up residence at the bar, they kept to themselves while Brian and I mingled with everyone else. Honestly, I still didn’t have much patience with Brian and Mariam’s parents, but at least they hadn’t upset her again yet, which was probably the best I could’ve hoped for.
In fact, overall, the evening was progressing much better than I’d anticipated, and I smiled as I introduced Mariam to my mother. Mom knew this was the girl I’d been telling her about, but she’d assured me she wouldn’t let on.
She’d asked if we had told Brian or their parents about our relationship yet, and as soon as I’d said no, she’d promised they wouldn’t find out from her. My sister had made the same promise and so had my brothers.
All except for Smith, but he hadn’t even bothered to ask if the girl I’d told them about was still in my life. It had been a long time since I’d expected him to give a damn, though.
As my mother extended her hand toward Mariam, she shot her a beautiful, approving smile. “It’s lovely to finally meet you, my dear. We’ve heard so much about you that I feel like I know you.”
Mariam’s cheeks flushed as she gently clasped my mother’s hand between her own. “It’s lovely to meet you too, Mrs. Stone. I feel the same way.”
Her gaze swept across Mom’s features and Mom studied her in turn, but they seemed to like each other just fine. Mom simply seemed like she was afraid of saying too much and I knew Mariam had been worried about my mom thinking she was too young for me.
Which she was, but we’d moved past that.
Mom released Mariam’s hand and waved her into a seat beside her as she resumed her own. “Sit with me for a moment. I’d love to get to know you in person rather than through all the stories we’ve been hearing.”
Mariam smiled, but her gaze slid to mine as if she was checking to see if it was okay with me. I gave her an encouraging nod. “You girls have fun. Just don’t say too many embarrassing things about me, Mother.”
Mom chuckled. “Never, my darling boy. I was only going to show her one dozen pictures of you naked as a child and tell three embarrassing stories. That’s not too much, is it?”
Mariam laughed as she sat down, her eyes flicking back up to mine. “I think we’re going to be just fine here. Don’t worry. I won’t share the stories with anyone else.”
I pretended to be worried, sighing as I shot my mom a meaningful look. “ One dozen pictures and three stories. No more.”
She winked at me. “You got it.”
Wishing I could’ve kissed Mariam before I left them to it, I turned and found myself faced with Brian and his parents. Mr. and Mrs. Walker had been staying with us all weekend, but I hadn’t seen much of them. It seemed like they preferred to keep to themselves, having their meals alone and going for long walks as a couple.
After the incident at the dinner the night before the opening, they’d been polite enough whenever I had run into them, but I definitely understood everything Brian and Mariam had told me now that I’d been around them myself.
They loved their kids, but they were the focal points of each other’s existence. They valued their marriage above all else and they didn’t understand people like me, who had chosen divorce over fighting to fix the relationship.
Not that fighting would’ve changed anything in my case, considering that my ex had married my brother so soon after, but I doubt that made any difference to them. They certainly seemed to be the type who believed there was nothing that couldn’t be fixed in a marriage. That was a good thing for them, though. They sure seemed to be happy and in love even after all the years they’d spent together.
That made it pretty difficult to stay pissed at them, which Mariam had also pointed out to me a few times. Mrs. Walker smiled at me as Mr. Walker reached out to shake my hand. “We just wanted to congratulate you boys on a job very well done. It looks like this place is going to be a resounding success.”
“Thank you,” I said, smacking my palm into his for a brief handshake. “We’re very pleased with how things are looking at the moment. None of it would’ve been possible without both of your children. You should be proud.”
Mrs. Walker leaned into her husband, but her gaze was on mine. “We are proud. Thank you, Arland. Despite the cold, we’ve also enjoyed our stay very much. I’m sure you’ll be seeing us again soon.”
Brian chuckled and slung a shoulder over his stepmother’s shoulders. “You’re always welcome, but just call ahead. It doesn’t look like we’re going to have lodges available at all times.”
Mr. Walker glanced at him. “Surely, we could stay with you until one becomes available.”
My friend’s eyes widened slightly, but then he nodded and took a step away from them, hands sliding into his pockets. He shrugged. “Of course. Yeah. We’re just, uh, we’re probably going to be pretty busy around here for a while. It’ll take a few months before I’ll be able to take much time off to show you around town or take you out.”
I would’ve laughed at his very obvious attempt at backtracking, but my amusement died a fiery death when I saw Smith and Lisa approaching us. Her gaze was roaming around the private dining room in the restaurant where we were hosting the dinner as if she was trying her best to find something to complain about.
I had no doubt she would come up with something by the time they reached us. At her side, Smith seemed like his usual pompous, asshole-ish self. His nose was in the air, his eyes slightly narrowed as they met mine.
“Brother,” he said curtly as they joined us. “I suppose congratulations are in order. I heard you guys made quite a splash this weekend.”
“We like to think so,” Brian said, grinning as he reached out to shake Smith’s hand. When my brother didn’t offer his, Brian sighed and withdrew, but he smiled again when Mariam suddenly appeared at his side. “Mimi, have you met Smith and Lisa? Arland’s brother and his wife?”
Mariam blanched, blinking rapidly before she recovered and shook her head. “No, I don’t believe I have. Thank you both for coming this evening.”
As soon as Mariam’s words drew Lisa’s attention to her, my trashy ex-wife finally seemed to choose what she was going to complain about this evening. Just my luck, that thing turned out to be my new girlfriend.
The moment I saw her looking Mariam over from head to toe, I knew it was coming, but given our present company, I couldn’t exactly drag Mariam away before Lisa had the chance to say anything.
In fact, the Walkers were still being introduced to them by Brian when she made her move. Her eyes had barely moved back to Mariam’s when she blurted out, “So Arland, is this the mistress we’ve heard so much about?”
Fuck .
Where she’d heard that I had anything going on with a woman at all, I didn’t know, but it had to have been from Smith. The only explanation was that he’d gone home after our sibling game night and told her everything I’d said.
Brian and his parents fell into an immediate, stunned silence, and while my heart started pounding, I knew I had to play this off. “You were the one with a side piece, Lisa. Not me. There are no mistresses when you have no wife.”
With her gaze fixed firmly on mine, she sniffed, taking Smith’s arm and pulling him even closer to her side. “Good. We can’t have a Stone running around with a teenager. It would be scandalous to our family name. We have a reputation to uphold.”
“A reputation that came crashing down as soon as you came into the family,” I said without skipping a beat. “The second time, that is.”
As always, Smith stepped in when he sensed that his wife was about to create an even bigger scene than she already had. No doubt my mother had caught his eye and wordlessly reminded him that we were the most elite family in Sun Valley.
There were always eyes on us and the walls everywhere had ears—even here, in a restaurant belonging to me. My brother slid an arm gracefully around her waist and inclined his chin at the rest of us.
“Well, I think that’s our cue,” he said mildly. “Enjoy your evening, everyone. We’re just going to take a little walk.”
He guided her to the door, head bent close to hers and his mouth moving. My heart constricted at the shocked look on Mariam’s face, her mouth slightly agape and her gaze shimmering with disbelief. Her parents and her brother seemed to be stunned speechless themselves, and I sighed, flashing them all an apologetic smile and hoping I could still do some damage control.
“Please forgive my sister-in-law. She tends to forget that she was the one who was unfaithful in our marriage and she truly enjoys thinking she’s got the upper hand.”
Mr. and Mrs. Walker both frowned and exchanged a glance. I wasn’t sure what it meant, but neither of them said anything as Brian took a step forward. Clearly thrown off, he looked between Mariam and me, suspicion etched into every line on his features.
“Is there something going on between you two?” he asked.
“Lisa and I?” I said, subtly moving forward to put Mariam just half an inch behind me. I knew her brother would never hurt her but I couldn’t quite quell the instinct to put my body between them. To protect her. “God, no. She’s the worst. She’s just insanely jealous every time there’s something good in my life, like the Chalet.”
Brian gritted his teeth. “I meant between you and my sister , not you and your ex.”
Shit.
“No, of course not,” I said, knowing that I couldn’t hesitate for even a moment. “You know how crazy Lisa gets whenever she thinks she’s somehow ‘ losing’ our divorce. That’s all it was about.”
“Are you sure?” he asked, eyes blazing with fury as they locked on mine. “She seemed pretty confident to me this time.”
While it was right on the tip of my tongue to tell him the truth, I couldn’t do it without speaking to Mariam first. She still didn’t want her family to know about us and I could never betray her trust like that.
“I would never be with her, Brian,” I said evenly, although the lie tore my insides apart. “Even if she wasn’t your sister, she’s twenty-eight. What would we even say to each other? Relax, man. Lisa was just being Lisa. You have nothing to worry about. I would never even dream about touching someone that much younger.”