Page 2 of Finding Love on the Slopes

“I remember the epic fights between you two growing up like it was yesterday. One of you always trying to show the other one up. Poor Gabe was constantly breaking you up at the boy’s home,” Fernando added, retrieving a glass of iced water from a small side table and taking a sip. “I know Julio just got back, and we are trying to make up for lost time, but Hannah will have our hides if you two start bickering. Heaven help us all if you get into a wrestling match.”

“You two were like fighting dogs when you first met,” Gabe piped in, leaning forward, eyes focused on the white ball as his cue stick made contact, and smiled as two balls fell into pockets. “There were a few times I worried being twice your size wasn’t going to be enough to pull you apart. You were out for blood. Now that Julio is black-ops and all, I’m not sure I would want to even try. But I can still take you down, Rique.”

“This is the first time in over four years that all the BBC brothers are in the same place. I don’t want anything to jeopardize that. Understood?” Fernando may have been the smallest and youngest brother, but he could have been the poster image of “small but mighty.” There was steel in his tone. He would have made an excellent general.

“We outgrew that years ago. You don’t have to worry about Rique and me, guys. We are just as tight now as we were beforeI enlisted,” Julio reassured, pouring a glass of water from the pitcher on the bar.

Enrique raised his hands in mock surrender, and Anthony chuckled. “Good call. Arriving an hour late and starting an argument within five minutes would not have gone over well with Hannah.”

“Between Hannah threatening to poison me and Gabriel implying he is still big enough to give me an old-fashioned pounding, how could I win?”

Gabriel turned to eye Enrique, and Fernando quickly scored behind him. “I am. You would do well to remember that,” he said, but Enrique just grinned with a roll of his eyes.

“Hate to break it to you, bro, but I’m only two inches shorter than your 6’5”. It may have taken me a while to grow, but when I did, I almost caught up. And these muscles may not be barrels like yours, but they get the job done. Julio isn’t the only one who learned new fighting skills over the years.” Pride echoed in Enriques’s voice at his increased stature.

Gabriel nodded. “You did. Congratulations, but I still outweigh you by close to a hundred pounds.” Flexing his arms, he finished, “And not even your thigh is bigger than these guns.”

Chuckling, Enrique admitted, “You got me there, big guy. You are a mountain, but I am a stream, and water can cut through even the strongest rocks. Don’t underestimate the smaller man as being weak.”

“Never,” Gabriel agreed, nudging Fernando on the shoulder.

“I won’t even try to engage in this battle of heights,” Fernando said, placing the pool stick on the table before grabbing his jacket off the back of a chair. Gabriel did the same, signifying the end of their game. “I know I am the shortest, and I don’t appreciate the size shaming going on here.”

“5’11” isn’t short. If you looked at the research, I think you would find it is an average height for an American male,” Anthony argued.

“Dinner’s ready,” Hannah called, signaling the men to head to the dining room.

Enrique instantly felt bad, having forgotten to tell the men about the fifteen-minute time frame. No matter how old he got, he was always letting someone down.

Chapter Two

As they entered, they saw Hannah unloading a rolling cart laden with a variety of serving dishes and food items. “Hannah, you have been busy in the kitchen since I got here, and now you are preparing the table. Don’t tell me Anthony is a Scrooge counting all his coins and not paying for you to have staff?” Julio asked, obviously annoyed with this brother.

Meanwhile, Anthony ignored the dig and placed the last two serving trays in the center of the table before taking a seat beside his wife. He knew how protective his brothers were of Hannah and didn’t take offense. On the contrary, it warmed his heart how they defended her, even from him.

“Ah yes, we didn’t have staff when you were home last. Well, with this new, much larger home, we do have a few now. I give them the day off every New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day so we can enjoy our time together as a family without any prying eyes or ears. You boys can let yourself loose without any worries,”she explained. “And every other Thanksgiving and Christmas, we leave town, so they have those holidays off as well. We want them to have time to spend with their families, too.”

Enrique disagreed with this philosophy. If you have the money to save yourself time and energy, you should use it. Paying the staff overtime seemed a wiser course of action, in his opinion, but he kept his thoughts to himself, knowing they wouldn’t be overly popular amongst his soft-hearted family.

Anthony said the blessing over the food, and everyone filled their plates before digging in. The food was delicious, as always. Conversation flowed; this time, Hannah added commentary and asked questions. Anthony sat at the head of the table and regaled them with stories of his little girls, ever the proud papa.

Enrique lived just two hours away from Anthony in the city, so he saw his nieces every few months, but even he couldn’t get over how much they were growing. The oldest was about to turn four, and the youngest was turning two. Time really did fly.

As the meal concluded, each man helped clear the table, stacking their dishes in the waiting dish bin and carrying serving dishes to the kitchen. Within ten minutes, the table was cleared, and Hannah was setting out the much-anticipated dessert.

“Before we start on dessert, Hannah and I have some news to share,” Anthony announced, reclaiming his seat at the head of the table. He reached over and gently took his wife’s hand in his. “You go first. Your news is most important,” he said, looking at her with a tender smile.

She gave a little bounce in her seat and sighed, “Finally! I thought I was going to burst.” Looking around the table at each of the men she adored, her face glowing with happiness, she declared, “We’re having another baby!”

“What! That’s amazing!” Fernando shouted, rounding the table to give Hannah a hug.

“Congratulations,” Julio added more sedately, hugging her from his seat beside her.

“Boy or girl?” Enrique asked and squeezed her hand from across the table.

“We are going to let this one be a surprise,” she answered with a slight lift of her shoulders.

“When are you due?” Gabriel asked, leaning down to hug her as well.

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