Page 97 of Staying Selfless

From the inside of a heated car, of course.

Eli slows down his speed to a crawl as we drive into the circle of cabins. This place is stunning and such a great find in the middle of nowhere. We haven’t seen another building or car for a good twenty minutes, but the scenery is breathtaking.

The lane of quaint wooden houses is punctuated by a gorgeous building standing alone at the end. It’s quite large and almost entirely made of glass windows. I would assume that’s where the ceremony and reception will be held, seeing as the other twenty smaller cabins are for the guests to stay in all weekend.

No one is outside, but there are a few parked cars in front of different cabins, indicating that some of the guests are already here. We skipped out on our Thursday classes today to be here for the family ski day tomorrow. Not that Eli can go, but Marc and Ali want to.

And a Friday afternoon alone in a cabin with my boyfriend in this winter wonderland sounds perfect.

“Marc, which cabin are we?” Eli asks his brother in the backseat.

Marc pulls out his phone, sifting through his texts. “Thirteen.”

A sly smile forms on my lips as I keep my gaze out the window, and my boyfriend squeezes my hand in his at the sound of our number.

Eli pulls up in front of cabin thirteen, parking next to his dad’s car in the driveway, swiftly opening his door with the rest of us to hop out.

“Wait,” I urge him as the cold Wisconsin air hits me.

Eli slumps back into his seat, knowing I’m not going to let him get out of the truck without his crutches.

Ali hands me them through her door before I bring them over to Eli. He’s sitting in the driver’s seat, giving me a pointed glance but also having a hard time holding back his amused smile.

I don’t give a shit if he’s annoyed that I’m watching him like a hawk. Eli needs to be back on the ice for playoffs, and the only way he has a remote chance of that happening is if he keeps his weight off his ankle this weekend, allowing it to heal.

“You’re stricter on me than my team doctors.”

“Damn straight.” I lean in, placing my lips on his.

He awkwardly gets out of the car, keeping his weight off his ankle as he leans on his crutches. As Marc and Ali unload their things from the bed of the truck, Eli hobbles over to do the same.

“I got it.” I grab his bag and mine, including his suit and my dress, swinging them over my shoulder. “Please go put your ankle up,” I beg, nodding towards the front door.

“I feel useless.”

“You’re not useless. You’re just injured. I’ll let you carry all my shit again once you’re healed.”

Eli’s lips slide in a half-smile before heading into the cabin as I follow behind. I drop our bags by the door as Mary wraps me up in a hug, quickly bypassing her two sons. I can’t help but laugh when I look over her shoulder while we embrace, seeing Marc and Eli roll their eyes at the lack of attention they get now that I’m a part of their family.

“Hey there, Ali,” Mary says after our hug.

“Hey, Mary,” Ali nervously responds.

Mary opens her arms, wrapping my little New Yorker up as Marc, Eli, and my shoulders all drop, releasing the unacknowledged tension we were holding.

Mary and Ali stand at the same height, their deep-colored hair intertwining as they hug, and I seriously can’t believe that Marc hasn’t picked up on their similarities.

Finally, Mary gives both her boys a kiss on the cheek.

“Where’s dad?” Marc asks as we follow his mom into the kitchen.

“He’s helping your uncle Drew unload some things into the ceremony space.”

I make my way into the living room a few feet away, leaving everyone else in the kitchen as I continue to listen to their conversation.

“Did you guys see it?” Mary asks.

“Yeah, it was that big building at the end of the lane, right?” I hear Ali say. “That place is huge.”

---