He wasn’t polite enough to just nod and let her have the lie. Instead he called her out on it. “Or you were thinking of Ashley,” he said with a gentle directness that nearly broke her.

She paused a moment to swallow hard. “I guess I just wanted to say good-bye,” she finally said.

His expression tightened a little at this. “You were going to free-climb the face?”

“No. I’m not in any sort of climbing shape,” she said. “Nor used to the altitude either. I was just going to hike to the top. But as it turns out, I’m not in shape for that either.”

He studied her a long moment. “I’m surprised.”

She wasn’t sure how to take that. “I’ve been stress eating and not exercising like I should—”

“No,” he said. “I meant I’m surprised you’re back. When you left, you vowed to never return.”

Oh. That. “Things change,” she parried softly. Back then she’d lived for the outdoors, suffering through school and work, counting the minutes until she could escape. In the winter she’d been required to be on the ski team for the resort her father managed—not as fun as it might seem. In fact, it’d been brutally competitive and incredibly demanding, to the point that she’d had no life.

But in the off-season, she’d been free.

So she’d hiked and had discovered her first real joy—being alone on the mountain. She’d quickly gotten bored with the trails and had begun challenging herself with rock climbing instead, using no ropes just her fingers, toes, and wits, until there’d been no place on or near Cedar Ridge that she hadn’t explored, including the aptly named Dead Man’s Cliff.

Looking back on it now, it was a miracle that she’d lived to tell the tale. But she hadn’t been the only one enjoying her solitude.

She’d often come across Aidan out there. In fact, if anyone had known that terrain better than she did, it was him. After that night at the summer festival, she’d thought that maybe they’d explore the mountain together.

And then each other.

But then Ashley had claimed him first, and he was the one thing Lily had hoped to never compete with her sister for. Especially after she’d died.

Aidan was watching her from those dark glasses, thoughts hidden, though she had the feeling her own thoughts were as clear to him as crystal. “Tell me about the resort,” she said, before he could ask her any questions.

He shrugged. “Not much to tell. Gray took over the management. It took a few years, but he runs a good ship and we turned it around.”

“We?” she asked.

He smiled grimly. “Turns out we Kincaids are good at pulling ourselves out of the gutter. We’re like cats, nine lives and all that.”