Christy knew that if she’d had a sister, she wouldn’t have let that happen.

And yet Alix was, in every way that mattered, her sister. And there were issues between them Christy had chosen to ignore. Instead of speaking up, she’d let her resentment fester and slowly erode the bonds of friendship. She’d blamed Alix, but she was also to blame because she hadn’t been honest. She’d never told Alix how she felt. She should have done it right away. She should have cleared the air years ago, but she hadn’t, and now she had a choice. She could do what she’d always done, what her mother had done, and bury it. Or she could say what she felt. Speak her mind.

Brave, she told herself.

Feeling slightly sick, she walked quickly to the spa. She canceled their treatments with profuse apologies and then followed Alix’s footsteps down to the lake.

She walked slowly, and not only because the snow was deeper than she’d thought. She wasn’t in a hurry to reach Alix. She was dreading the conversation.

The trail was empty. For a few moments it felt as if she was alone in this snowy wilderness, and then she saw a peep of color and spotted Alix, standing by the edge of the lake, shoulders hunched against the bitter cold, staring across the ice.

Christy trudged through the snow toward her.

“Hey.”

Alix didn’t turn, even when Christy walked right up to her.

She touched Alix gently on the arm. “I know I’ve hurt your feelings.”

“I’m fine.”

Christy recognized that fierce tone. She’d heard it countless times when Alix had talked about her parents. She’d never before heard her use it about their friendship. It was protective. Armor. Alix only used it when she was deeply hurt and upset.

“I know you’re not fine.”

“Yeah, well.” Alix gave a careless shrug. “My problem and I’ll handle it. Don’t worry about it.”

“I am worried about it. I care about you. I... We need to talk, Alix.”

“I thought you didn’t want to talk.” She was cool and unapproachable, something Christy had witnessed many times over the years but never directed toward herself. And she knew that if she left it like this, those defensive layers would toughen, and it would become harder to break through. Their friendship would fade, or crumble, perhaps until there was nothing left but an impersonal card at Christmas. Or worse. It could be like Robyn and Elizabeth.

The thought of that pushed her forward.

“I wasn’t ready to talk about Robyn, that’s true. She told me some personal stuff. I haven’t even processed it yet.”

“Sure. Whatever.” Another barrier went up, and Christy felt a pressure in her chest. An emotion close to panic engulfed her. The urge to apologize, smooth and bury the issue had never been stronger.

“We need to talk about us. About our friendship. You’re my oldest friend, Alix. You’re like a sister to me.”

“Good to know.”

It was like chipping away at ice.