Page 65 of Wild Nights

"That sounds great. Thanks, Oliver."

I tried not to think too hard about the fact that I hadn't gotten Oliver out of my head all summer and fall. Now it was winter, and I was only falling harder for him. Every shared moment, every kind gesture, and I fell more. I didn't want to think about what would happen when the snow stopped.

After dinner, we got the sleds out, and sure enough, they lit up with LED lights the brothers had added to them. It was just the three of us. Marcus claimed he had more cookies to bake for guests that were coming in after Christmas. I think he wanted to leave us alone. I got the impression he sensed something was going on between us.

We certainly had a familiarity that we shouldn't have. I should have been more careful, but I couldn't help it. I wanted to be relaxed around him and his son.

Music blared from a speaker on the back of the lodge. Joey was singing and dancing to a song while we carried the sleds up the hill. I couldn't believe I was out in this weather again. At home, I would have been tucked in my house, enjoying it from the warmth of my couch. But Joey forced us to get out and enjoy it, really live life.

He was a blessing. Oliver might not have liked the circumstances behind his birth, or his mother, but I could see what a great addition he was to the Wilde family, and I was positive Oliver wouldn't want to have it any other way, even if he wasn't fond of Joey's mother.

Oliver had a great family life here, and I wouldn't do anything to disrupt it. If he didn't want me to be part of it, I'd stick to our agreement and go home. But I wasn't sure I could continue to see him once every few months. My heart was involved now. I couldn't just pretend this was a fling. It had become so much more.

We sledded down the hill, dancing and singing to the music. I took a few videos of Oliver and Joey going down together on the same sled. And when they reached the bottom, Oliver grabbed my hand. "Come on. You're going down with me this time."

"I'll take video." Joey pulled off his glove, and I handed him my phone, showing him how to take video.

We walked up the hill, Oliver dragging the larger two-person sled behind him. "You know he just wants to play with your phone.

"I don't care. I took that video for him. I thought he would get a kick out of the lights."

"That's sweet of you to think about him."

"How can you not? He gets so much happiness out of everything. Did you see his face when he was sprinkling the cookies? Pure joy."

Oliver nodded. "He does have a lot of energy, and he sees things in ways that we don't. He keeps me young."

"It's been great spending time with you guys. I hope I haven't intruded on any time you wanted to have with him yourself."

We'd reached the top of the hill. Oliver turned so that he faced me. "We're always alone. Yeah, we have a big family, but at the end of the day, it's just him and me. It was nice spending today with you."

Joey waved at us. "I'm ready."

"I think we're being summoned."

"Let's go," Oliver got on the sled first, and I sat between his legs. He surrounded me with his warmth and asked into my ear. "You ready?"

I nodded, my heart in my throat because I was fairly sure I'd just lost mine to him and Joey. Would I always want what I couldn't have? The family? Oliver and Joey? A place here with the Wildes?

I was destined to travel around the country, helping other people organize conferences. I'd never be planning important events in my life. Only for other people. Before I could truly feel sorry for myself, Oliver pushed off, and we were flying down the mountain. Then we were airborne, and Oliver pressed his arm around my middle, holding me tight to him. I knew I wouldn't fall off. He would always catch me.

When we slid to a stop, Joey was waving the phone. "That was epic. You were so fast."

He showed us the video, and I sent them to Oliver's phone so he'd have these memories. Then we continued to ride down the hill until our feet were cold and our noses numb.

We kicked the snow off our boots and clothes before going inside to the changing area. Once our gear and snow pants were put away, Oliver said, "I'm going to send Joey up for a bath to warm him up. Do you want to do that movie fort thing you were talking about earlier?".

Joey's eyes widened. "Movie fort?"

I smiled, pleased Oliver had remembered my suggestion. "Yeah, it's where you make a blanket fort, then watch a holiday movie until you fall asleep."

"Can we do that?" Joey turned to Oliver.

"How often do we get snowed in? We should enjoy it," Oliver said with a smile, taking off Joey's hat and ruffling his damp hair.

Oliver tucked a keycard into my hand. "We're in a condo on the top floor. You have to use this keycard to get the elevator to take you to the floor. I'll send you the room number."

"Are you sure you're okay with me joining you guys?" I asked him, prepared to spend the night alone. I hadn't expected to get any more time with them. But I was surprised how much I wanted to be with them.

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