Page 21 of Release Me

“Where’d you get that sweater?” I ask Alex, trying to keep the shock out of my voice. I never told Alex or Delaney that I had dinner with Ethan, knowing both would never let me live it down.

“Found it in your laundry basket when I was doing laundry the other day. Figured it was Max’s,” Alex replies, never looking up from the coffee he’s currently making.

“Where’d you get that sweater?” Delaney now asks, emerging from the bedroom and walking to greet Alex in the kitchen.

“Is there a fucking echo in here?” Alex quips, causing Delaney to stop and glare at him.

“What are you talking about? I just asked you where you got the sweater,” she shoots back, swatting him on the ass now as she walks by to grab a mug from the cabinet.

“Yeah, and Zoey literally asked me the same thing like a second ago. Are my clothes that shitty that you notice when I wear something different?” Alex questions, pretending to sound insulted.

“So where’s the sweater from?” Delaney prompts, realizing no one has answered the million dollar question.

“I think it’s Max’s,” Alex now says, and I wait, letting his words play out in my head, wondering if I should just let them both believe it’s my brother’s sweater and not my incredibly gorgeous boss’s. And anyway, why is this fucking sweater such a hot topic? It’s just a sweater.

“Is it Max’s?” Delaney now asks me, and I swear this sweater is like someone dropped a million dollars on our porch and we’re trying to figure out where it came from.

I hate to lie to Delaney. That’s just a shitty thing to do given she’s my best friend. We don’t lie to each other, if anything, we tell each other everything.

When Delaney’s life in Vermont fell apart, I was the first person she came to, the first person she unloaded her biggest secret on. And I was the one who helped her through it all. Coming back to Badger Creek was not something she wanted to do, but she needed it.

“It’s Ethan’s,” I blurt out, my face growing hot with my admission. I have no idea why this feels like a sensitive subject. It shouldn’t. I’m an adult, he’s an adult. If we want to have dinner together, it shouldn’t be the talk of Badger Creek, yet it will be.

They both instantly stop what they’re doing, their heads whipping up to look at me as Delaney’s mouth drops open, forming the cutest little shocked expression.

I cover my face with my hands, muttering through my fingers, “Why are you two looking at me like that?”

“The better question is why do you have Ethan Morrison’s sweater and why are you embarrassed by this?” Delaney hits back, laughing a little as she and Alex carry on about the sweater and who it belongs to.

“Is it creepy that I’m wearing it?” Alex now asks and I pull my hands from my face, my cheeks still hot with my admittance. “I’ve always been able to admit when a guy is good looking, and Ethan Morrison is that. Maybe some of his success and good looks will rub off on me.”

Alex is such a shithead, arrogant and cheeky, but I know that’s what Delaney loves about him. It was one of the things I told her to view as a positive when she was certain she hated him.

“Babe, you’re already hot, but we need to get back to why Zoey has his sweater,” Delaney says, waggling her eyebrows as she makes her way over to me. “Tell me, Zo, what’s Ethan Morrison’s sweater doing in our house?” She looks out the sliding glass door to our hot tub that sits on the patio. “Might there have been some action had here?”

“As far as I know, you and Alex are the only ones doing it in our hot tub,” I reply, wrinkling up my nose in disgust. “Yes, I’m aware of what happens in that hot tub and yes, I’m grossed out by it.”

“Stop changing the subject, you cheeky bitch!” Delaney squeals, swatting at me as she motions to Alex to take off the sweater. “You want your boss to see you wearing his sweater while you’re at work?” she now asks Alex, and he quickly slips it off over his head.

“I had dinner with him the other night and it got cool out so he gave me his sweater,” I admit, again wanting to cover my face, but I shouldn’t. I should be proud of myself for forging a friendship with my boss, someone who can help me advance my career, someone who understands what I have to offer when it comes to the Badger Creek brand.

I think this like I’m trying to convince myself this is all about work and not about how I get butterflies in my stomach every time I’m in the same room with him. I haven’t felt like this about a guy since I was in high school and the idea of making out was something I thrived on. I learned quickly though that most were in it for my money and there wasn’t a bigger turn-off than that.

But with Ethan, it’s different. We have a lot in common and I’m working to build his brand and help him be successful. The money end of it doesn’t get in the way for either of us. Maybe that’s what makes this easy.

“Oh my god, why didn’t you tell me?” Delaney yells out and I have to say, the look on Alex’s face tells me he’s equally as insulted by my secret-keeping.

“I don’t know. It wasn’t really a thing. After I taught him how to ski, he invited me back to his house for dinner. I didn’t want to be rude.” I shrug, trying to keep things casual, but I know they’re anything but casual.

“Hang on, you did decide to teach him to ski? It feels like you’ve got a lot to tell me,” Delaney says, grabbing her coffee and settling herself in a chair. “Join me,” she jokes, fanning a hand out to the chair next to her. “I think it’s about to be story time.”

I laugh, walking toward the kitchen to grab a mug just as Alex interrupts Delaney and me. “Wait, you mean to tell me that Ethan Morrison, owner of one of the most popular ski resorts in Tahoe, doesn’t know how to ski?”

“That’s what you got from this conversation, Alex?” Delaney quips, rolling her eyes. “There’s way more here to unpack than just that.”

“It’s weird that he doesn’t know how to ski. But I gotta get to work. You two have fun talking about hot Ethan Morrison and Del, fill me in later.”

He comes over, leaning down to kiss Delaney, whispering something to her that makes her giggle. It makes my heart happy to see her happy and also maybe a little jealous. I’d love to have what they have, and that’s when my thoughts wander to what it would be like to call Ethan my boyfriend. To come home to him at night, to share a bed with him, to wake up next to him and feel his warm body wrapped around mine.

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