Page 7 of Worth the Fall

Bella was a smart cookie and had a good head for business. She seemed much more mature than other kids her age, who were still flailing around, trying to figure out what to even do with their lives.

“I’m so excited. I already have four ideas. One for each spirit.”

“What about the real estate company?” I asked, making her smile drop just a tad.

She’d told me once that she wanted to open her own real estate company when she was older, and I remembered telling her to start now instead of waiting.

“I just started studying to get my license. The good thing is, I can do both. Real estate and bartend. It’s not like people are knocking down my door to buy houses from me anyway.”

“Well, when I’m ready to buy something, I’m coming to you,” I announced, and her smile turned full mega.

“You’d do that?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“Because everyone says I’m just a kid and I have no business selling something I don’t know anything about.”

“Gotta start somewhere. How can you learn if you never get to do it?” Lana asked matter-of-factly, and I nodded my head, agreeing wholeheartedly.

“Thanks, you guys.”

“Of course. Now, make us something yummy that won’t give us a headache. We’re too old for hangovers,” Lana shouted, and Bella clapped her hands together with excitement and got to work.

Three hours later,I was stumbling into the Sugar Mountain Resort, fumbling around relentlessly for my key card, which was somewhere on my body, but I just couldn’t figure out where. Lana had told Bella not to give us a headache, and to be honest, I didn’t currently have one, but I definitely might later. We should have told her to not get us absolutely shit-faced.

Maybe that was a big ask. I was supposed to be celebrating after all.

Pulling the credit card–looking thing from my back pocket, I gave myself a mental high five. “Found you, little sucker.”

Right then, I came crashing into a tall, hard wall of... I wasn’t sure what exactly until I looked up. Thomas fucking O’Grady was staring at me like I had two heads.

Shit.Did I have two heads? Grasping for my face, I felt around. “Phew. Only one.”

His lips turned downward as he stared at me. “Only one what?”

“Huh?” I looked at him, his crisp blue eyes judging me. Hard.

“I only have one head, thank you very much.”

“Most people do.”

This man’s voice was like velvet, all smooth and deadly. Wait, was velvet deadly? I supposed it could be if used properly.

I poked at his chest, trying my best to move him. “You’re in my way.” I tried to walk around him, but my feet currently hated me and refused to obey orders.

“You ran into me.”

“No kidding. You’re like granite. That hurt, by the way. Maybe soften up a little, so when a lady runs into you, it will be more welcoming. Like a soft, fluffy pillow,” I said with a grin before poking his hard-as-a-rock chest again. “Ow.”

“Do you need help getting to your room?” he asked.

For a moment, I thought that Thomas O’Grady was being chivalrous.To me.

“Definitely.”

“Yeah?” he asked.

“We can go rock climbing. Or I can.”

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