Page 50 of Wild Desire

I checked to make sure that Noelle wasn't anywhere near me when I typed out another message.

Killian: You didn't miss anything.

Xander: Where's Oliver? He needs to see this.

Oliver: You know I don't like long text chains.

Eli: You don't like any messages.

Oliver: Thanks for reminding me how much I hate them. Can you take me off this one?

Xander: No can do, brother. If I have to suffer…

Eli: You love it, Xan.

Xander: Eh. I love when Tori tries to get my attention more. Speaking of, I gotta go. A better offer just came up.

Oliver: Seriously? You boys woke me up for this?

Eli: We all know it was Joey that woke you up, not us.

I was more than a little jealous that Xander was in a relationship. That he didn't have to navigate a crush on his roommate anymore. He'd figured his situation out.

Oliver: I just read through the messages. Tell me when we're going to Cal's.

Killian: Will do. Thank you.

I'd taken my brothers for granted over the years. But they'd really stepped up when I needed them: giving me a place to stay, finding me an amazing assistant, and now helping me with a sticky situation.

Noelle plated the eggs. "What are you smiling about?"

"How lucky I am to have my family surrounding me."

Noelle smiled. "You have a great family."

"When I was injured, I was devastated, but coming home hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be."

Noelle frowned as she moved to sit next to me. "Was it just being sidelined from the sport you love? Or was it something else?"

"I think I was scared of the unknown. I didn't know who I was without snowboarding. I've been doing it as long as I can remember. My life is kind of set out for me. But now, I can see how things could be different."

"Do you like it?"

I smiled again. "Yeah, I do like the slower pace. My life isn't ruled by wins and losses, numbers and placements. I have goals in physical therapy, but otherwise, I have downtime. I'm learning more about you, and I get to spend more time with my family. It's been nice."

"I'm glad for you then. Maybe this was what you needed."

I nodded. "Yeah, I think that's it. I needed a change of pace."

Noelle smiled. "Then when you go back to training, you'll be refreshed and ready to go."

I wasn't so sure about that anymore. I wasn't as eager to get back to work. I kind of liked living here in the condo with Noelle. It was like we were in our own little world, and I wasn't ready to leave.

We ate breakfast. Then Noelle suggested we go outside for a bit to enjoy the outdoors. I couldn't walk far with my crutches, but it was nice to get outside.

We eventually made our way to the back patio in front of one of the fireplaces. Not many people were here this time of the day, so we had the space to ourselves.

"When I'm better, I'm taking you up there." I nodded toward the slope where we could see dots of skiers flying down the mountain in a zigzag pattern."

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