Love Fast

I’m not often nervous, but showing my three best friends around the Colorado Club is as close as it gets.

“Now that’s what I call a money shot,” Fisher says as we come down the stairs into Blossom. “You’re just above the trees.”

“Right,” I say. “That was the plan. So we get the view into the valley.”

“It’s really beautiful, Byron,” Worth says.

I push my hands into my pockets.

“Not so much the mountain-man look,” Fisher says, nodding at my jeans and flannel shirt. “Are those… steel-toed boots?”

I shrug. “You want me to put on a Tom Ford suit?”

None of us are in suits. Worth, Fisher, and Jack are wearing what they’d normally wear on the weekend in New York. We’re not dressed so differently.

“I guess we’re not in Kansas anymore,” Jack says. “This is Star Falls, Colorado.”

“I’m impressed you remembered,” I say. “I didn’t think your brain would retain anything outside the 212 area code.”

“Oh don’t worry,” he says. “As soon as I reach thirty thousand feet, I will have forgotten all about this trip.”

I chuckle. “Should we eat? You can give me your honest opinion on the food.”

We slide into one of the pink booths overlooking the valley, and a sense of pride rushes through me. I like showing my friends what I’ve built here. It’s so different from when I was growing up. The farm wasn’t a place I brought my friends. It was a place to work. A place that felt like home until it wasn’t.

“I’m guessing it’s not going to be as good as the wings we had at Grizzly’s.”

“They were heaven on a plate,” Jack says. “Almost worth living outside of Manhattan for.”

“We can try all the restaurants. This one is fine dining.”

“As long as we can go back to Grizzly’s tonight,” Fisher says. “I wonder if we can take some wings back to New York with us.”

“What about you?” Worth says from opposite me. “You think you’ll come back with us?”

I grin, sliding my hand over my stubble. “Not tomorrow. Not until after this place is open and settled.”

“Do you miss New York?” Jack asks.

Before I can answer, I see Rosey out of the corner of my eye, coming toward us.

Whenever we’ve seen each other at the Club, we’ve always given each other a small smile and carried on with whatever we’re doing. But I know that’s not how my friends roll.

Fisher is out of his seat as soon as he spots her.

Rosey’s eyes widen in shock before her gaze flits to me. I smile, trying to be reassuring, but I’m not sure if she sees it because Fisher envelops her in a hug.

“The pool hustler herself. Good to see you.”

Jack and Worth both stand and pull Rosey into a hug. I can see some members of staff behind us at the service station watching. We’re going to have to figure out an explanation. Rosey and the guys exchange greetings and promises to see each other later, Rosey says she has somewhere to be, and I push down my disappointment at her not being able to stay.

I stay seated and offer a wave, then chastise myself. Am I being a dick by pretending not to be happy to see her? Should I have hugged her? Kissed her cheek like Jack did?

“See you later, Rosey,” Fisher calls as he slides back into our booth next to me.noveldrama

“Does she play a part in you being here?” Worth asks.

The question throws me for a loop. “What? I’ve known her for five minutes.”

“I knew the first moment I laid eyes on Sophia,” Worth says.

“Leo would probably say the same about Jules,” adds Jack.

“Hardly,” I scoff. “It took him years to realize what was right under his nose.”

“Not really,” Jack says. “You know he came home talking about Mystique that night after the party, saying how he might have met the love of his life.”

“So you’re asking if I’ve fallen in love with Rosey?” I mean to sound like it’s the most ridiculous question anyone’s ever asked me. But it doesn’t.

My three friends all look at me, waiting for an answer.

“She’s not looking to get into a relationship. And neither am I. We don’t see… whatever it is we’re doing as… It’s just not like that.”

Words are coming out of my mouth, but I’m not really saying anything.

They all stay silent. Waiting.

“I like her, okay? I’m not denying it.” Rosey has a way of making everything feel like it’s going to work out. I don’t know how she does it. “She’s got a lot of shit to work out.”

“Have you got shit to work out?” Worth asks. “Where was your family’s ranch in relation to this building?”

I sigh. “It was a farm. An apple farm. It was down in the valley. It was demolished a long time before I came back.”

“And building this is healing?” Fisher asks.

“A members-only resort is a really good business idea,” I say, my voice a little guarded.

“Right,” Worth says. “And you could have done it anywhere in the US. But you bought back the land your father gambled away and have built your kingdom in exactly the same spot.”

I let his words settle.

“So sue me,” I say. I don’t understand why this is a problem for any of them.

“I’m asking whether or not it’s helped. I’m your friend, Byron. It’s not a criticism. I want to know if you feel better. If you’ve laid ghosts to rest. If you’re ready for your future.”

I lower my defenses. Worth isn’t trying to hurt me. I know he isn’t. But he’s telling me truths I’ve been avoiding. I could have built the Colorado Club anywhere. But I settled on Star Falls.

“I think it’s only now that I’m righting some of the wrongs in my brain,” I say. “I avoided going into town for a long time. Last time I was here, my father’s gambling habit was the center of all the gossip, and I hated the place for it. Now I see it a little differently.”

“Differently how?” Jack asks.

“I think the people of Star Falls care about each other. I think they must have been horrified when the farm was repossessed. They weren’t being malicious. Not most of them anyway. I labelled myself as Mack Miller’s son as much as they did. I was running from something I couldn’t get away from. I’m always going to be his son.”

Fisher pats me on the back in a silent show of support. “So a place you’ve been running from has welcomed you back with open arms.”

“And I’m back older and wiser.”

“Are you back for good?” Jack asks.

I shake my head. “I don’t know,” I confess. All I can think about is what Rosey’s plans are. Where does she see herself this time next year? Is she going to want to spend her life at the Colorado Club? We’ve never talked about her future. Only about her past. But I want to know. I want to know everything about her. At first I thought I had to resist her, but now I’m craving more and more of her. She’s not a woman I want to resist anymore.

Since I’m not ready to get into all of that with the guys—at least not yet—I tell them, “I’ll always need to spend chunks of the year here unless I sell the place.”

The guys exchange looks.

“It’s a damn good job we submitted our membership applications, then, isn’t it?” Jack says.

“What?” I ask. “You guys didn’t need to do that.”

“We absolutely did,” Worth says.

“You had me at private powder,” Jack says. “Even if it’s not Courchevel.”

“My sisters will probably want to come, so it’s a place we can spend time together. I’m looking forward to it,” Worth says.

I don’t know what I did to deserve friends like this, but I know I’ll never take these guys for granted.

“After I gave all that input into the recording studio here, there’s no way I’m not bringing artists out here,” Fisher says. “This is going to be the new Abbey Road. Except the view is better. I have an artist lined up, actually. She wants guaranteed privacy. This is the perfect spot.”

“As long as she resists the call of the chicken wings at Grizzly’s,” Worth reminds him.

“Fuck,” he replies. “My plans are in tatters. She’ll have to break cover.”

“I’m going to finance a delivery service between here and Grizzly’s,” I say, before making a note on my phone.

“That place should be nationwide,” Jack says.

“Maybe I’ll have a chat with them,” Worth says.

I chuckle. “If there’s a business opportunity there, I’m claiming it. This is my town.” For the first time in a long time, I can say that about Star Falls, and feel good about it. My town. It has a nice ring to it.