“Is it perfect? Or is it just available?”

Her disbelief irritated me. “It’s a level up from where I was before. It’s a pay raise. And I’d get to live in New York freaking City. It’s a dream.”

Mattie chewed on her bottom lip. I could see the flash of disappointment in her eyes. She’d always been the one that dreamed of a fairy tale ending—the one where the girl rode off into the sunset with Prince Charming. I’d been the one who dreamed of a career—of moving up the corporate ladder. I wanted the first word that people thought of when they met me to be successful or ambitious.

Mattie would give anything to see my love story unfold before her eyes. She wanted me to settle down with someone, like she had. She imagined a future where our families lived nearby, or at the very least, shared an annual tradition of taking trips together. But that wasn’t the life I envisioned for myself. Marriage was never something I’d considered, let alone dreamed about.

“You’re right, sorry. It sounds like an amazing opportunity,” she finally said.

“It is,” I insisted, ignoring the pit that had started to hollow itself inside my stomach.

“Oh look, it’s Giles about to drop in.” She pointed excitedly as her husband pushed forward onto the course. The whole crowd erupted in cheers. He was a bit of a town celebrity given the fact that he’d done this professionally for so many years before moving back.

Giles hit the first jump and threw a back flip like it was nothing. He landed and grinded along a pipe with ease before popping off. The crowd whistled their approval.

“Damn!” I nudged Mattie. “Did you know your husband was this good?”

She shot me a smile before turning back toward the mountain, beaming as she watched him. “Go Giles!”

I joined in her cheering as he made quick, effortless work of the rest of the course. When he got to the bottom, he stopped, spraying the slushy snow.

Mattie and I clapped and cheered along with everyone else. He unstrapped and walked over to us, tugging the bandana that covered his face down so he could walk straight to Mattie and kiss her.

“Nice one,” she said, beaming up at him.

“Love you,” he said back, pressing his forehead to hers.

Something inside me splintered a little watching them together. That was a new feeling. I typically loved being a fly on the wall, able to witness how absurdly in love these two were. But something about watching them now made me feel a little despondent.

“Oliver’s going.” Mattie caught my attention and tilted her head to the course.

I lifted my gaze to watch as Oliver waved at the crowd, lifting his arms a few times in order to pump everyone up. It worked. He tipped his board forward and dropped into the course.

He hit the first jump and my jaw nearly hit the floor when he spun in a full three-hundred-sixty-degree turn. The crowd ate it up as he moved onto one of the rails. He landed on it, but jumped off halfway, getting air and grabbing the edge of his board in the process.