Chapter 6
SIX
MAISY
The ski lift creaks beneath us while it carries me and Sterling down the mountain, the cold air nipping at my cheeks.
I hug the safety bar a little tighter than I want Sterling to notice, because I hate being this high.
There’s just too much empty air between me and the ground for it to feel safe.
It never bothered me during my skiing career, but after the accident, being this high up is anxiety inducing.
“So, Saltwater Springs. That’s where you ran off to, right?” I blurt out in an attempt to distract myself.
Sterling tips his head, one eyebrow raised. “Ran off? That’s a dramatic way to put it.”
“Well, you did vanish. One day you were here, the next you’re suddenly this mysterious surf-town guy. What’s it like there?”
He leans back, playing it cool, eyes shifting back to the dark trees below. “It’s sunny and laid-back, and there are waves instead of snow. So a very different vibe from here.”
“Mm.” I study him from the corner of my eye. “And that’s what you wanted? Something different than what you had here?”
He nods and a sudden ache hits my chest at his admission. But I still want to know more.
“And what do you even do there all day? Just hang out on the beach and catch waves?”
“Sometimes.” A little smirk tugs at his mouth. “Other times I shape boards for their local surf team.”
“I bet you get plenty of girls,” I say, instantly regretting how bothered I sound.
That earns me a sidelong, amused glance. “Why, jealous?”
Heat prickles at my neck, but I scoff. “Please. I just mean that it’s a surf town. I can picture it now. Half-naked, tanned tourists everywhere. You probably don’t even have to try and get girls, they just come flocking to you.”
Sterling chuckles under his breath, low and maddening. “It’s not as glamorous as you’re imagining, Maisy.”
I hug the bar tighter, rolling my eyes. “Right. I’m sure it’s a real struggle. Poor Sterling, forced to live in a sunny paradise with an endless amount of girls and amazing weather.”
His smile fades, voice dipping cooler. “You make it sound like I left just to chase a vacation.”
“Didn’t you?” The words come out harsher than I mean them to, and I know I’m being unreasonable, but I can’t help myself. “You didn’t exactly fight to stay.”
His jaw tightens, eyes cutting to me. “Funny. I remember you being the one who walked away first.”
Silence slams down between us and my stomach begins to knot, part regret, part stubborn pride.
I grip the bar tighter, refusing to meet his eyes because we both know he’s not wrong.
I was the one that ended things between us.
I was the one that walked away. But I’d be lying if I said a part of me hadn’t wished he would chase after me back then, and fight harder to keep what we had.
Suddenly, the chair jolts and everything goes still, my stomach dropping to my ass. “No, no, no, no, no.”
Sterling groans beside me. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
The silence is deafening. There are no gears turning, and no hum of machinery. Just the haunting sound of the wind howling through the trees below. My fingers ache from how hard I’m gripping the bar now.
“They fix this kind of thing, like, right away, right?”
“Usually, if there’s someone still working the ski lift,” he says, too calm. “Stop worrying. They’ll get it moving again in a few minutes.”
“W-what if it’s hours?” My voice pitches higher. “What if they shut it down and forgot we’re out here? We’ll freeze. We’ll starve. We’ll—”
“Maisy.” He turns toward me, voice firm enough to cut through my panic. “Breathe.”
I suck in a shaky breath, but the lift sways and I freeze again. My legs already feel numb, and my heart is slamming against my ribs like it’s trying to beat its way out.
Sterling sighs as he rips off one glove and digs in his jacket pocket. “Alright, hold on. I’ll call Levi and tell him we’re stuck.”
Hope surges in my chest until I see the look on his face when he stares down at his phone.
“Please tell me it’s ringing,” I whisper.
He shows me the screen and there’s no call…because there’s no service.
My hands shake. “Oh my God. We’re going to be stuck up here all night. We’re probably going to freeze to death for real.”
“Maisy, stop.” His tone is infuriatingly steady. “You’re moving too much, and you’re going to rock the lift and send us both plunging to our deaths.”
I freeze instantly, gripping the bar with all my strength. “Why would you even say that?” I hiss through chattering teeth, not because I’m cold but because of the adrenaline coursing through my body.
“Because it’s true.” His mouth quirks, like he’s trying not to laugh at my horror. “So quit squirming, sit still, and practice your breathing.”
I glare at him, but it’s hard to hold onto anger when my heart’s racing this fast. My chest feels tight, like there’s no room for air, and I’m certain I’m about to have a full-blown meltdown.
Sterling must notice because he nudges my knee with his. “Hey, don’t spiral. Levi will realize we never made it down, and I’m sure he’ll send someone back to the lift tower to run a loop. Worst case, we’re just waiting an hour or so.”
“An hour?” I squeak.
He grins now. “Better than all night, right?”
I groan and press my forehead to the back of my gloved hands. “I hate you,” I mutter.
The chair rocks again with the wind, and I swear my soul leaves my body.
“This is it,” I mutter again, gripping the bar tighter. “This is how I die. Frozen solid on a ski lift with my ex-boyfriend, of all people. They’ll find my body months from now, icicles hanging from my nose.”
Sterling chuckles under his breath. “Wow. Dramatic.” He gives me a slow applause. “And what do you mean ‘of all people?’ I’m probably the best person for you to be stranded with.”
I snap my head toward him. “And why’s that?”
He shrugs, but I don’t miss the smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth. “I can help keep you warm.”
“How?” I ask, arching a brow as I finally turn my head to look at him.
He looks at me now, his eyes sparkling with the suggestion he isn’t saying out loud, and I press my thighs tighter together to stop the dull needy ache that’s building in my core. I can’t let him know that my body still wants him. So I do what I do best. I shut it down.
“First of all, ew. Second of all, we’re dangling hundreds of feet in the air on what’s basically a metal lawn chair strung up by a glorified clothesline!”
“It’s not a clothesline, Maisy.” His lips twitch like he’s fighting a smile. “It's a steel cable. Made to hold, I don’t know, way more weight than your five-foot-nothing frame is putting on it.”
“Five-foot-three,” I bite back.
“Sure.” He smirks. “On a good day and in boots.”
I jab him in the side with my elbow, and to my horror, the chair sways again. I let out a squeak, gripping his arm like my life depends on it.
Sterling’s laugh rings out, warm and rich in the freezing air. “Okay, okay. Stop moving before you actually do send us crashing.”
“I hate you,” I say again, glaring at him as I rip my hands away from him, but my heart is hammering too hard for me to really mean it.
His voice grows soft. “No, you don’t.”
Something in my chest twists and I open my mouth to fire back, but the words get stuck in my throat, forcing the silence to press in again.
I risk a glance at him, noticing how close he’s sitting, heat radiating from his body even through all the layers between us. His dark eyes catch mine again, and suddenly it feels like the whole world has narrowed to just us in this chair.
“You’re still the worst,” I whisper, noticing how softly I say it.
His lips curve, but it’s not quite a smile. “So I’ve been told.”
The air between us grows charged, and my breath fogs in front of me. For a fleeting, terrifying moment, I forget all about the lift. His gaze pins me in place, the only thing I can focus on as the silence stretches. My pulse is pounding so loud that I swear he must hear it.
The lift creaks again, swaying with the wind, and it breaks whatever spell we were under. I look away, shivering as I feel the cold creep in. Sterling notices, and without a word, he digs into his pocket and pulls out two hand warmers. He cracks them, shakes them, then holds them out toward me.
“Here. Put these in your gloves.”
I fumble, pulling my gloves off with my teeth so I can grab the warmers and stuff them inside, but somehow both gloves slip and plunge for the snowy mountain below us. We both watch as they tumble in slow motion, bouncing once against the metal bar before plummeting into the snowy darkness below.
“Shit.” My voice is loud in the silence. “That was my favorite pair.”
For a moment, neither of us say anything. We’re both staring down at the spot where my gloves disappeared.
Sterling sighs, then, to my surprise, he yanks his own gloves off and stuffs the warmers inside. Before I can protest, he’s shoving them onto my hands.
“Sterling—”
“Don’t start.” His tone is final as he tugs the second one snug around my wrist and my hands explode in warmth.
“But your hands will freeze—”
“I’ll be fine.” He cuts me off again, his jaw tight, eyes turned away, scanning the darkness surrounding us like the cold doesn’t even bother him. His bare hands disappear into his jacket pockets.
I stare at him, at the stubborn set of his shoulders, at the way he pretends this isn’t costing him anything, and my throat feels tight.
“Sterling…” I whisper, softer this time.
He finally looks at me, and the weight of his gaze nearly knocks the air from my lungs. His eyes are searching, and too familiar. It’s too much, but I don’t want it to stop.
The space between us shrinks without either of us moving, and my breath clouds the air, mingling with his. The chair creaks again, swaying, but neither of us looks away this time.
It would be so easy—too easy—to lean in and close that tiny gap. I can almost remember how his lips felt on mine. His gaze drops, just for a heartbeat, to my mouth, and my pulse trips as I realize he’s probably thinking the same thing.
Sterling starts to lean in, and I’m prepared for it, but the lift jolts back to life and jerks us forward with a loud groan. I gasp, grabbing the safety bar to steady myself, and the spell shatters once more.
Sterling clears his throat, turning his face away as if nothing happened. “Told you it wouldn’t be all night.”
But my heart’s still pounding, and I can’t convince myself it’s not because of him.
The chair eases into the docking bay at the bottom, the lights of the resort glowing warm against the dark mountains. My legs feel shaky when my boots hit the ground, but I keep my chin up, refusing to let Sterling see.
Of course, Levi’s already waiting. Leaning casually on his board, grinning at us.
“Well, well.” His eyes jump from me to Sterling and back again. “Thought you two got eaten by a yeti or something. I’m surprised Maisy didn’t scream the whole mountain down when the lift stopped.”
My jaw drops. “Did you stop it on purpose?”
He doesn’t say anything but the devilish smirk on his face is answer enough. “Did you two get some good bonding time in?” Levi asks, stepping between me and Sterling and resting his arms on our shoulders as we start walking. “Are you two finally friends again?”
Friends.
“I don’t know that we can ever be friends,” Sterling mutters under his breath, loud enough for me to hear, and it hurts to hear.
“Of course you can.” Levi laughs, clapping Sterling on the shoulder. “Anyway, you’re both coming to Lodge Night. No excuses. Everyone’s heading down to the staff lounge for dinner and drinks. It’ll be super chill.”
I open my mouth to decline, but Levi barrels on. “Sterling, you’ll love it too. It’s a good crew. You’ve been gone too long, man.”
Sterling looks like he’s about to say no too, so I cut in first because I know how much my brother wants his best friend to come. “We’ll be there.”
Sterling shoots me a side-eye glare, but Levi nods in approval. “Perfect. Go get changed and meet me in the staff lounge. Maisy knows where it is.”
He releases us and walks off toward the lodge, leaving me and Sterling in the quiet.
Sterling exhales through his nose, clearly annoyed. “Is there a reason you accepted the invite on my behalf?”
“Someone had to,” I say, brushing past him toward the parking lot where my truck is. “You were about to chicken out.”