Feeling foolish but annoyed by his condescending tone, I didn’t offer thanks. Instead, I felt a little petulant. “I said I’m sorry.”

“Get your ass off the slopes and sign up for an instructor.” He jerked his chin, indicating behind me where the chair lift was. I noted that he had a very strong jawline. With stubble. Nice lips, too. “I’m all booked today but they’ll slide you in if I get a cancellation. Just ask for Grayson King.”

“No, thank you, Mr. King,” I replied. “Sorry again.” I turned to leave, throwing the scowling woman an apologetic smile.

“No thank you?”

I glanced back over my shoulder at his tone.

He sounded annoyed.

Very annoyed.

Oh no.

“No thank you?” he repeated. “You’re seriously going to come back out here without instruction?”

“No. I have no intention of coming back out here at all.” I threw an arm out to indicate the expanse of the slopes and my skis slid again. “Ah!” I righted myself, this time not sliding. My heart pounded in my ears. “Oh thank Christ! Aye, okay. Right. I’m heading in before I or someone else suffers serious injury.”

“Yeah, you do that.”

He still sounded irritated.

Dear God, how many times did I need to apologize? “I will!” I threw back over my shoulder, letting him know that now he was annoying me. “Apparently apologies aren’t enough,” I muttered under my breath. “Didn’t even want to come on this stupid slope and then I fall but does anyone ask if I’m okay? No. Where’s the bloody spa when you need it?”

“Try not to take anyone else out.” If I wasn’t mistaken he now sounded as though he were amused.

Now he was laughing at me? My cheeks burned. Him being angry was much better than him laughing at me.

I dug my poles into the snow and hoofed it further up the slope. The distance allowed me some bravery. “You better remember to nurse your manhood, Mr. King!” I reminded him about his recent painful injury.

“You nursing it for me sounds better!”

My lips parted on a huff and I looked back over my shoulder in outrage.

Even from a distance I could see him grinning at me.

“There are children in the vicinity!”

“You’re the one that mentioned it!”

Dammit, I was. Muttering under my breath again I made my way back up the slope to the chairlift and looked anywhere but at Grayson King.

Well, this trip was going super well so far.

“Hey, sweetheart.” My big brother’s voice was a welcome sound as I sat on the end of my bed and stared out over the miraculous vista.

I was independently wealthy and I hated why.

It did mean, however, being able to afford a stunning suite on the top floor of the Snow Ghost Lodge. My hotel suite not only had a huge four poster bed, a sitting area with a gas fire, and a massive, luxurious bathroom with a roll-top bath tub, it had floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out over the valley. I could see the town of Cunningham Falls and the lake from here.

Just wow.

Between that and Killian’s voice in my ear I was feeling much, much better than I had been an hour ago.

“You’re home then?” I said.

“Safe and sound. Skylar’s crashed out or I’d let you say hi.”

“No, let her sleep.” I would have liked to say hello but I knew for a fact that my brother’s girlfriend needed rest. The last two years of her life had been crazy, the last few months even more so, and the last week, intense.

Skylar Finch used to be the lead singer of a hugely successful pop-rock band called Tellurian. Skylar became tabloid fodder pretty quickly, mostly because of an on-again off-again relationship she had with her guitarist. She’d hated the fame and she’d hated their toxic relationship. To hide her unhappiness from her mum—the person she loved best in the whole world—because she felt she owed her mum for all the sacrifices she’d made for Skylar, she’d pushed her away. And then her mum and stepdad were victims of a highly publicized burglary that ended in their murder. Skylar left the band and disappeared off the map. Until Killian, my big brother and label executive, found her in our home city of Glasgow. She was busking and homeless. We helped her get her life back together. Because of our own less than idyllic upbringing, Killian was pretty closed off emotionally. At that point the only person he let in was me. So when I saw him and Skylar falling for each other, I was worried he was going to royally screw it up.

He almost did.

But my big brother loves Skylar Finch. And I mean he loves her in a way I didn’t know existed outside of movies and romance novels. And she loves him with the same intensity. I adore that for Sky because she’s special and she deserves happiness after everything she’s been through. But I love it for Killian more.

When the paparazzi found Skylar a few months ago things were crazy! But they settled down somewhat and the three of us had a lovely Christmas together. And then Killian and I accompanied Skylar to Los Angeles to see her ex-bandmates and tie up some professional and financial stuff. We’d then stood by her side when she returned to her hometown of Billings in Montana so she could visit her mum’s grave.

It had been a tough and extremely emotional time but I was glad we could be there for her.