Page 56 of Gracefully Yours

“It’s okay.” She gives me a small smile. “I like this.” Her voice drops, even though none of our friends are around. “And I’m glad it’s just the two of us. No pretending.” The rest of our friends had already gone up, the girls each promising to go on a few runs before they retreated to the lodge for their inevitable book discussion.

“Me too,” I agreed. “Now, want to head up the lift?”

She nodded, and the words flickered through my head.

No pretending.If only.

CHAPTER13

Charlotte

After four times down the bunny hill, I was more than happy to sink into a chair in the lodge.

Gabbi was sitting there with her camera, looking at some photos she’d snapped. I admired her tenacity, because there was no way I could hold anything while also learning to ski. Absolutely not.

Dance helped me stay fit and strong, so I had no trouble with balancing on the skis or catching my breath. Still, I definitely underestimated just how much energy it would be, even with Daniel by my side to pick me up when I fell. Which, thankfully, had only happened twice so far, and neither was my fault. The first time, someone nearly run into me, and I’d had to hold Daniel back, so he didn’t go off on them for mowing me down. The second, well—I blamed that one on the tree.

So, I was perfectly content to get a hot chocolate and curl up with a new book.

“How was it?” Noelle asked, cheeks rosy as she plopped right next to the fireplace in the main lodge, her ski clothes abandoned in a pile on the neighboring chair.

I busied myself by unwrapping my scarf from my neck, dropping it, my wet coat, and gloves onto a chair. “Good.” I looked at my fake fiancé.

“You sure you don’t want to go down one more time?” Daniel asked me, shaking out his dark hair that was stuck to his forehead from the helmet. I didn’t know why I had the urge to reach out and touch it, and then I realized Icould.Because everyone else thought I was his fiancé, right? So it didn’t matter if I played with his hair, pushing it out of his eyes.

So I did.

“I think I’m just going to hang out in the lodge for a little while.” I mumbled, enjoying how soft his hair was. What conditioner did he use to get his hair like that? I was so focused on combing it back that I barely noticed when Daniel cleared his throat.

“Darling.” My eyes connected with his. “I think it’s good now.”

“Oh.” I looked away awkwardly. “Right.”

He grabbed my hand and kissed it before I let it drop into my lap, awkwardly fumbling with the zipper of my long-sleeved thermal shirt.

“Have fun,” I said, wondering if I should give him a kiss on the cheek. Or the lips. What was the proper protocol here, anyway? Would my friends think it was weird if I didn’t kiss him?

Thankfully, Daniel didn’t leave me questioning for too long, leaning over to kiss my forehead before heading back out into the snow.

“So?” Noelle asked, raising an eyebrow. “Did you like it?”

“It was… fun,” I finally admitted, sinking into the big lounger next to her, glad to be inside and out of the freezing cold. It felt like my nose was going to be permanently pink if I spent any more time out there on the slopes. “I’m getting the hang of it, that’s for sure.”

“Anyone see Ang?” Gabbi asked, popping her head up from her camera before tucking it into her bag.

“I think her and Benjamin were doing one more before she was going to come in and join us, too. Something about him talking her into it…”

“I can only imagine,” I said with a snort. Those two were constantly bickering, but it was obvious how much they cared for each other. Daniel might have teased me occasionally, but there was nothing like that between us. I wondered if it would ever be like that for us, the non-stop flirting and inability to stop touching each other that our friends all seemed to have.

Even if it wasn’t, I thought it would be okay.

I had only read twenty pages when Angelina arrived at the lodge, looking stylish in her ski outfit. While I felt like an oversized toddler in all pink, Angelina looked like a bad-ass. We were practically opposites—the tallest and the smallest, the boldest and theshyest, but I’d always been grateful for her friendship.

And that she didn’t think it was weird that I was friends with—and now marrying—her brother. Even if she didn’t know it was all fake.

“I’m here!” She announced with a flourish, happily pulling off her own damp outer layer and piling it onto a chair next to me. “How’s everyone faring?”

I nodded. “Good.” The other girls echoed my sentiments.

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