Page 99 of Stuck with Me

“Thanks to you.”

We share a smile. But less than a minute of skating with her, I’m falling backward and landing on my ass against the hard ice. Rosie has enough brains to let go of my hands so I don’t pull her down with me. While I don’t mind the idea of having her fall on top of me, I don’t want her hurting her wrist again.

She crouches next to me, and her face is flushed with amusement. “You okay?”

“I’m fine,” I grunt, flipping over to my hands and knees and shakily pulling myself upright. “But I’m calling it quits for the day.”

“Oh c’mon, you just gonna quit?”

“I’d rather sit on the side and enjoy the view.” I give her a half-hearted smile and shuffle my feet inside the skates.

I feel her eyes on my back, but I don’t turn around until I’ve safely reached the edge where the snow is. I take big steps in the skates and drop down slowly on the log, anxious to take these things off.

Rosie joins the rest of them on the ice. They skate for a while longer while I take some pictures and videos. I tell myself they’re for Amelia. But I’m a pathetic loser and will punish myself by drowning in the content when I’m back home and missing Rosie.

CHAPTER28

Rosie

Typically, New Year’s Eve is for French toast, ice skating, Drunk Jenga, and sparklers. But this year, I get to cram in: Decide the fate of the cabin with my nemesis turned lover.

After Nico overheard my conversation with Cammie my stomach has been twisted in knots. I don’t regret saying it, but I do regret that he heard it. Because if I think of him as a “hiccup”, it will be much easier to get over him.

Allowing myself to think of him as anything more will only cause me more pain in the end. When he wants to force me to pay him for my half of the cabin. When he leaves and goes back to Texas. And I never see him again.

After ice skating, I shower and get warm again, dressing in a fuzzy blue sweater, leggings, and a pair of slouchy cabin socks. Jones is already bugging us to play Drunk Jenga. But the conversation between Nico and I is looming, and we can’t prolong it anymore. Nico flies out of Denver tomorrow afternoon. Dean has already agreed to drive him to the airport.

I find Nico in Gigi’s room, standing in front of the large window and gazing at the stunning view of the snow-covered forest. The sun is setting, causing the ground and trees to glitter in a gold hue.

I stand in the open doorway, and knock.

He swivels his head, and his dark eyes soften.

“I’m ready now…to have our talk,” I say, and chew on my lip.

His brows lift. “You sure?”

I hesitate but concede with a nod as I shuffle into the room, tugging the sleeves of my sweater over my hands.

He exhales a shaky breath. “I guess we should’ve just taken care of this early on. Before we got to know each other. Before any feelings or emotions clouded our judgement.”

“I didn’t mean it when I said you were a hiccup,” I blurt.

It’s quiet in the space between us.

He crosses his arms and leans against the window. “I get it, Rosie. It’s fine,” he mutters, his tone scratchy.

“No, it’s not fine. I like you, Nico. In a different lifetime, maybe the two of us would’ve worked. I don’t know.” I hunch a shoulder.

“But not in this lifetime? Because you don’t want to settle down, and I’m not a unicorn?”

Shit. Of course he heard mine and Cammie’s entire conversation.

I exhale and give a little shake of my head. “What do you want from me? This—” I gesture in the space between us — “was supposed to be aonce-to-get-it-out-of-our-systems. It wasn’t supposed to be more.”

“Look at our grandparents. That’s all they were supposed to be. A summer fling. And then they fell in love.”

“And look what happened to them,” I force out.

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