Page 66 of Wild Promises

Xander: Killian's coming home for Thanksgiving.

"Killian's going to be home for Thanksgiving. Weren't you close with him?" I asked, texting out a quick message to tell him I was excited for him.

Her eyes were wary. "We trained together for a bit. That's all."

Noelle didn't date much in school and seemingly had no interest in boys. I never thought much about it because I was so focused on studying. "I need to get this stuff home and arranged before Xander arrives, but I want to hear about your love life the next time we get together."

Noelle's expression softened. "Honestly, there's not much to talk about. But what's this I hear about you and Xander dating?"

"Where are you parked?"

Noelle pointed in the direction of my apartment.

"Let's walk and talk. Don't share this with anyone, but we were supposed to be pretending to be together to prove to our families that I was committed to staying here in Telluride and for him to show that he was serious about his job."

Noelle's eyes widened. "Wow. That's a lot. Especially since I always got the sense that you two liked each other."

"I don't know about that. I've always enjoyed being around him. But I didn't think he went for girls like me. He liked the cheerleader types." And I was a nerd in school.

Noelle's expression was thoughtful. "I do remember that about him. He has a reputation for not taking anything seriously."

"He said that his reputation isn't deserved. When he dates, he looks for women who reside outside of Telluride, and he's been looking for someone who could be a friend first."

Noelle's eyes widened. "Because he always valued his friendship with you."

"Exactly." I desperately needed to share what I was feeling with someone. "Things got real last night."

Noelle stopped in front of a small sedan with a rusted bumper. "You slept with him?"

I nodded. "It was amazing, but afterward, he got weird. He disappeared into the bathroom and didn't want to cuddle at first. This morning, I thought we'd reconnected, but he brought up our fake arrangement again. I don't know what to think. I was hoping we were past all of that."

"You think he'd have sex with you to maintain the facade of a fake relationship?" Noelle's tone was incredulous.

I sighed. "I don't know what to think. Maybe it's easier for him to think of it as fake? It's a barrier, and then he doesn't have to deal with his feelings?"

"I don't know Xander that well. But I ran into him the other day when I was decorating the tree at the lodge. I had Christopher with me, and I thought he was going to berate me for working with my brother, but instead, he offered him free ski lessons."

"He did?" Why hadn't Xander mentioned that to me.

"He said it was because we worked for the lodge. I was worried that he was giving us a handout, but he said that's how the Wilde family does business, and the Richards are family to them."

"That's really nice of him." Noelle was sensitive to those who looked down on her mom or how she was raising the kids. But it sounded like the gesture was well-meaning. "Your mom worked for the lodge for a long time."

"The Wildes have always been good to her. Do you know that Xander's parents let her stay on at the lodge as a consultant?"

"I didn't know that."

Noelle nodded. "Mom is always surprised when Mrs. Wilde, and now Eli, would set up a meeting to discuss the management of the inn. It's usually more about staffing and the cleaningservice, but Mom feels so good when she gets off those calls, like what she has to say is valuable."

"Her knowledge is valuable. She worked there for a long time and ran a cleaning business on the side."

"I thought it was really thoughtful of him when we don't know each other that well."

Noelle had been close to Killian back then. I didn't remember her bonding with the other brothers. She was so focused on training. She hoped to get a scholarship to snowboard, but then her mother's back had gone out, and everything had changed for her. I hated that she didn't get to pursue her dreams like I had. "Thanks for telling me about that."

"Christopher was so excited. I didn't have the heart to tell him no."

"It's a great opportunity for him, and the Wildes are a generous family." They certainly take care of their employees.

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