Page 51 of Alpha Theo

“Alright, kid,” I murmur, putting the Jeep in park and looking over at her. She’s effortlessly beautiful in a simple white t-shirt, a tight pair of jeans, and her chuck taylor sneakers. “You can open them now.”

Brooke blinks her eyes open behind her glasses, looking around. I watch as she takes in her surroundings then whips her head around to face me, her jaw going slack.

She looks…pissed.

Brooke slaps my chest with the back of her hand. “Thelodge?! What did I just say about taking me to a hotel?!”

“What?” I laugh, shaking my head. “No, no, we’re not going in the lodge… will you just trust me?”

Brooke blows out a breath, eyeing me suspiciously.

I reach over to unbuckle her seatbelt. “C’mon. I think you’re gonna like it.”

She heaves a sigh, opening her door and climbing out of the Jeep. I do the same, stepping onto the sidewalk and beckoning for her to follow.

I shove my hands in my pockets as we walk side by side around the front of the lodge, toward the ski area.

Fuck, I hope Quinn’s friend came through. This whole plan could fall apart if they dropped the ball.

“What are we doing here, Theo?” Brooke asks cautiously.

I hold my breath as we turn the corner, release it when I see the movement of the ski-lift. All the friend had to do was come here and turn on the lift for me, and they delivered. The little metal benches descend on one side, twirl around at the bottom, ascend on the other.

I point to the lift, glancing down at Brooke and waggling my eyebrows. “We’re going for a ride.”

Her blue eyes widen, taking in the ski-lift, then fly up to meet mine.

“Hold on…” she takes a step backwards. “You’re kidding, right?”

I grin, shaking my head.

Brooke points at the ski-lift. “I can’t get on that… thing!”

“Why not?” I laugh.

She stares at me incredulously. “Because look at it! It looks dangerous!” She folds her arms across her chest, furrowing her brow. “Nope, no way. I’m not getting on that rickety thing.”

I roll my eyes. “C’mon, kid. It’s perfectly safe. And you can’t see the view from the top if you don’t ride up.”

She shakes her head again, looking apprehensively to the ski-lift.

Well this certainly isn’t going as planned.

I blow out a breath, bringing a hand up behind my head and pinching the base of my neck. “You gotta get out of your comfort zone. Live a little, have some fun now and then.”

Those big blue eyes lock on mine again. In her gaze, I can see that she wants to give in, let go- she’s just holding herself back.

“I promise I won’t let you fall.”

Brooke sighs, wringing her hands in front of her. An excruciatingly long pause stretches between us as she looks nervously from me to the ski-lift before she mumbles “okay”.

My eyebrows shoot up. “Yeah?”

She swallows hard, nodding. “Yeah. I’ll try it.”

I flash her a smile, starting for the ski-lift, waving for her to follow me.

Hesitantly, she does.

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