Page 4 of Finding Love on the Slopes

“You know me, guys,” he said. “I’m all about having fun. But the true spirit of the pact has always been about how fulfilling it can in some way make us better. So, I gave my pact proposal a great deal of thought. We are all incredibly successful, and I think each of us is grateful for how much we have been blessed, but I also feel like we are letting the scars from the past continue to hold us back to some degree. I have been reading up on PTSD and overcoming trauma recently, and I think we all would benefit from looking at our fears head-on and working to overcome them. We are not broken, abandoned little boys anymore, surviving on the scraps and handouts of others. Weneed to put those sad children to rest once and for all. With that said, I challenge each of my Bad Boy brothers to face their greatest fear and go on an epic adventure while doing it before next New Year’s Eve.”

Surprise registered on each man’s face. This was clearly not what anyone had expected from fun-loving Julio. Enrique shifted uncomfortably and rolled his shoulders to relieve the tension pulling his neck tight. He enjoyed a good adventure. They were important for keeping him feeling young and provided a good incentive to stay in shape. His calendar reflected at least two each year for that very reason.

But Julio’s pact had panic racing through Enrique. He had a deeply rooted fear of heights and falling. He made sure all of his adventures included no heights that were above his eye level or any risk of falling farther than his body height. Even when he socialized, he declined rooftop events because they often had glass walls that made him extremely uncomfortable. When such events couldn’t be avoided, he made sure to stay away from the edges of the space.

As his brothers continued to converse around him, the edges of his reality blurred, a terrifying memory from his childhood coursing through his brain. He closed his eyes briefly, willing it to go away. It passed as quickly as it came, but it was enough to make his palms clammy with sweat and his heart race painfully. He hated that it was one of the few things from his past that he couldn’t get over or move past... control. The tiniest thought of falling and his anxiety skyrocketed.

“Rique?” Julio called, shifting everyone’s attention from himself to his brother. “You haven’t said anything.”

Enrique stiffened his spine and adjusted his feet beneath him while his well-practiced mask of indifference quickly slipped into place on his face before any of them could notice his discomfort. However, he missed the quirk of Anthony’s brow and Hannah’s look of concern.

“Nothing to say. You know I always honor the brotherhood pacts, and I love a little danger. Bring it on!”

“Not necessarily danger,” Hannah cringed. She was speaking to all of them now. “If Julio’s pact becomes dangerous for any of you, I suggest you abort the adventure immediately. This is supposed to help you grow, not get injured. I want all of my boys back home healthy and whole next year. Do you hear me?”

“Yes, ma’am,” echoed around the room.

Enrique grinned. Hannah was in the position of their older, well only, sister but had also filled the role of mother figure to them as well. She was empathetic and compassionate, allowed her emotions to be shown, and gave them unconditional love, but she was also not afraid to lay down the law when it was needed to keep her boys in line. It had been necessary as they were developing, transitioning from the bad boys they had learned to be into the respectable men they were today. Even as grown men, when the age gap between them was less significant, no one would dare cross her, as Enrique’s burning mouth continued to remind him.

“You don’t have to worry, honey. The boys will be careful, and there won’t be any significant danger,” Anthony assured, wrapping his arm around her and caressing her arm to calm her while he gave his brothers a knowing look. “Now, for my proposed pact. We have all reached heights of success that no one in our childhoods could have imagined, least of all us. We have faced the challenges presented to us and overcome every obstacle in our way. Now is the time to enjoy the fruits of our labor and embrace our new lives. I challenge the brotherhood to abandon their lone wolf ways that may have been necessary while paving the way for success but are now no longer needed. By this time next year, let there be no single man among us.”

Gabriel chuckled, “And what exactly does that mean?”

“It means you all have till this time next year to drop yourPlayboygames and find a good woman you can settle down and build a family with.”

Fernando groaned, and Enrique rubbed his forehead.

“Look,” Fernando said. “I really admire the life you and Hannah have built together, but come on, this is not something we can make happen in a year, pact or no pact.”

“And, we’re just having a little fun. None of us are actually ‘Playboys’. We all have very good reputations even if we land in the tabloids with sketchy headlines from time to time,” Gabriel added, obviously feeling a little called out by his big brother.

“I think it’s about time for thefunphase to have passed, Gabe,” Anthony countered with an easy grin on his lips. “You’re all in your thirties. Some of you are getting very close to forty,”he added, looking pointedly at Julio, who was giving him the stare-down as if measuring him for his casket. “If this isn’t the right time to find a life partner, then I don’t know when else will be.”

Julio took a deep breath and shrugged. “Honestly, I’ve been thinking about it myself. The whole player thing gets tiring at some point. Now that I am out of the Marines and life is my oyster once more, the future is looking very bright.”

“I would also like to point out the amount of wasted time and resources you boys are shelling out on all these different women who you know deep down you are not going to end up with,” Hannah said, leaning into her husband. “Each of you knows the importance of efficiency in your given fields. Your current romantic entanglements are not efficient. Just because you’re all billionaires doesn’t mean you can’t find time in your busy schedules to locate and woo the right women for you. You need to make it a priority just like you did every other goal that got you where you are today.”

Gabriel laughed, but it didn’t reflect genuine mirth. “Well, it’s not like these amazing women are just lying around somewhere waiting for us to propose, Han. In our lines of work and with the status and reputations we’ve all built for ourselves, we rarely come across a woman who’s interested in anything other than our money, and they never seem to be the one who lights a spark. You and Anthony go a long way back before there was money and fame. It’s not going to be the same for the rest of us.”

“He’s right,” Enrique agreed, propping his arms on the back of the couch, taking weight off his suddenly weary bones. “You and Anthony were in love with each other before you even realized it. You had years together as friends, and your love grew over time.”

Hannah blushed, and Anthony shrugged.

“I still think it’s doable,” he said. “You have the entire year. I firmly believe that the right woman is out there for each of you, but you have to be open to the idea. Work for it like you work for everything else important in your life. Actively seek her out. And when you find her, put the effort in to show her who you are and what you have to offer as a man, not just a billionaire.”

“You know what?” Fernando laughed, slipping his phone out of his pocket. “I could start looking for her right now. ‘Hey Siri, find me the perfect woman that will make all my dreams come true.’ Oh wait, you can’t do that? What? Hey Enrique, maybe you can write a program to help with the search?”

The men laughed, and Anthony shoved him lightly on the arm as he chuckled as well.

“It’s a pact,” Julio said, his voice still rumbling from laughter. “And once it’s a pact, we are all in. It’s what the Bad Boys Club does. Cheers!”

The champagne glasses were lifted into the air, gently tapping each other, before being sipped by each family member to show the deal was sealed and each person was committed to fulfilling the proposed pacts within the next 365 days.

“I thought we left that name behind,” Fernando blurted out after swallowing his drink.

“Just you,” Gabriel laughed. “Come on, it’s way better than your last suggestion of Beloved Brothers Circle. We’re not an old man church fellowship group.”

“Oh no, that wasn’t his most recent idea,” Anthony interjected as he pushed a button that started to raise a large flat-screen television from its hiding place inside a cabinet. “His suggestion of the Benevolent Billionaires Collective was shut down so fast not many of you heard about it.”

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