Page 101 of Against All Odds

“Say yes,” Juno suggested. “Say you’ll move in and make Daddy stop stressing out about whether this was a good way toproposeto you.”

“Juno,” I remonstrated as Sable laughed.

Finally, she looked at me, her face softening. “Yes.”

“Yes?” I echoed, relief flooding through me.

“Yes,” she repeated, her voice strongernow. “I’ll move in.”

Juno let out a whoop, jumping out of her chair and running around the table to hug Sable. “Yes!”

Sable hugged her back, laughing as Juno practically tackled her. I watched them, my chest tight with emotions.

This was what I wanted. This was what I’d been waiting for.

CHAPTER 36

sable

“You’ve got this,” Heath encouraged me.

“I don’t think I got this,” I muttered.

The mountain loomed before me, its powdery white slopes stretching endlessly into the horizon. It wasn’t one of the biggest or steepest runs—Heath had made sure of that—but it was definitely not the bunny hill, either. I stood at the top, my skis awkwardly clinging to my boots, and my stomach twisted into knots as I stared down the slope. He’d been teaching me how to ski for four months now, and I felt like I was ready to take on a more daring slope.

“Come on, Bambi, you need to show everyone what a good teacher I am.”

“It’s always about you, isn’t it?” I groaned. “Can we retire that nickname already?” I didn’t want him to do that, not at all. I loved that he called me Bambi.

“Never.” He leaned closer. “But if you nail this, Imight consider giving you a promotion to something cooler. Like Mountain Goat.”

“Christ!” I gave him an incredulous look.

“Hey, goats climb mountains,” Juno chimed in from behind me, adjusting her goggles. “They’re badass.”

“You’ve got this, Sable!” Natasha called out from where she stood with Casey and Mackenna, a little farther down the hill. They were all bundled up in ski gear, clapping and cheering like I was about to take off for the Winter Olympics.

Ben stood off to the side, leaning on his ski poles with a quiet, calm presence. “Don’t think about the fall.” His deep voice carried over the snow. “Think about the ride.”

“Great advice, Ben,” I mumbled, trying to keep my knees from buckling.

“Do you want me to give you a little push?” Juno asked mischievously.

“Don’t you dare.” I held onto my ski poles like a lifeline.

“Don’t worry, Bambi. You can do this. Just lean into the turns and trust yourself. I’ll be right with you the whole time.”

I took a deep breath, feeling the cold air sting my lungs.Trust yourself, I thought.

Easier said than done.

When I finally started sliding forward, it was more of an awkward shuffle than anything else. The skis felt like foreign objects strapped to my feet, and I half-expected to faceplant before I even got going. But then gravity took over, and I started moving faster.

“Okay, okay, okay,” I murmured under my breath, my knees wobbling as the slope grew steeper.

“Bend your knees!” Heath called from beside me.

“Relax your shoulders!” Natasha added.

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