Cabin might not be the most accurate word for the place my dad owned in Vail, Colorado. It wasn't right in Vail, but further up in the mountains. Close enough to get to when we wanted something, but far enough away that we needed to use a car or snowmobile to get there. We owned several acres of woods, including a few private ski runs Dad had made when he'd first bought the place. As for the building itself, it was two stories with five bedrooms on each floor. There was also a kitchen and living room on the first floor. While the rooms weren't large, they were big enough that sharing wasn't a big deal. While we called it a cabin, it was actually a decent-sized house.

When I pulled up to the house, I was glad it was so big. Suzette had said she was bringing some friends, I'd thought one or two. She'd brought six. I recognized Matt, Suzette's boyfriend. I thought he was kind of a douche, but at least he wasn't a total jackass like the last one.

The petite brunette next to Suzette was Abby, her roommate. I'd met her once when I'd visited Suzette on campus. She was sweet and quiet, balancing my talkative and sometimes too-blunt sister.

“Rylan!” Suzette threw herself in my arms as soon as I got out of the car. I hugged her back, really glad to see her. Our parents weren't exactly affectionate, but Suzette more than made up for it.

“Hey, Suze.” I ruffled her hair. It was the same dark brown as mine, but our eyes were different colors. Hers were hazel like her mother's. Mine were blue-violet. Still, people told us we looked alike.

“I'm so glad you came.” She linked her arm through mine and pulled me across the snow toward the group of people who were still standing next to a pair of cars. “Inside for introductions!”

I smiled as everyone moved to obey. My sister may have been the youngest of the group, but it was clear who was the dominating force. Yet another thing we had in common.

“Where's your luggage?” she asked as she picked up her bag from the back of her car.

“Don't have any.” I patted my laptop. “This is pretty much all I walked out of the apartment with.”

Her eyes grew wide. “Wow. You weren't kidding. You wanna talk about it?”

“Absolutely not,” I said. “I don't want to think about it at all.”

To my surprise, she grinned at me. “I was hoping you'd say that.”

I gave her a puzzled look, but she didn't explain. I didn't ask. She'd share soon enough.

When we stepped into the living room, pounding the snow from our boots, the rest of the group was already there.

“Rylan, you know Matt and Abby.”

I nodded at them both and they nodded back.

“That's Don.” She pointed toward the other guy. He was easily three or four inches taller than me, which was saying something. But despite his bulk, the way he looked at Abby told me he was more of a teddy bear than a grizzly. “He's Abby's boyfriend. Pre-med.”

“Nice to meet you.” I raised my hand in greeting before the next person spoke.

“I'm Denise, Don's cousin.” She was taller than Suzette, putting her at nearly six feet, but where my sister was slender, Denise had some serious curves. Her light brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail and the look in her dark eyes was one I'd seen many times before.

“And those two are Misty and Kristy,” Suzette said. “They're my and Abby’s suite-mates.”

Misty and Kristy looked enough alike to have been sisters. Identical strawberry blond curls and similar facial features. One's eyes were blue, the other's green, but close enough. As I looked at the winter coats covering what appeared to be petite figures, I couldn't help but wonder if they were similar in body build too.

“Suzette's told us all about her big brother.” One of the girls – the blue-eyed one was Misty, I thought – ran her eyes over me and I knew I wasn't mistaking the innuendo.

“Nice of you to join us,” Kristy said equally flirtatious.

“Let's get settled in,” Suzette said, a big grin on her face. “Matt and I are taking my room.”

She glanced at me and I shrugged. She was past the age of consent and her parents knew she was coming here with her boyfriend. They weren't stupid enough to think they wouldn't be sharing a room. If they didn't care, it wasn't any of my business.

“Mine's on the first floor,” I said. “Break up the upstairs however you want, but make sure whoever's in the main room on the second floor doesn't mess it up.”

“Our dad's really particular,” Suzette explained. She grinned at Abby and Don. “Probably shouldn't put you two in there. If you break the bed, Dad will be seriously pissed.”

“Suze!” Abby flushed, but she didn't look entirely displeased with the thought.

“And on that note,” I said and started for the hallway. As I heard Suzette handing out the rest of the room assignments, I could feel eyes on me as I walked away. I wondered which of the girls it was. I wasn't about to act on anything, not with my sister's friends, but after Lara's rejection, the admiration didn't exactly hurt my ego.

I put my laptop on the table next to my bed and went to my closet. I quickly changed out of the dress clothes I'd been wearing and into a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt.

“Ry.” Suzette knocked on the door.

“Come in.” I tossed my dirty clothes into a basket.

She opened the door, but didn't come in. She leaned against the doorframe, her expression serious. “I know you said you don't want to talk about it–”

“And I don't.” My tone was mild, but I hoped she'd get the message.

“That's why I think it was so good you came with us.” She glanced over her shoulder. “The girls, they think you're hot.”

I rolled my eyes. “Seriously, Suze?”

She held up her hands in a gesture of surrender. “Hear me out.”

Knowing her, I didn't have much of a choice, so I decided not to waste my time arguing. I twirled my finger for her to continue.

“They're not looking for a relationship, and I'm pretty sure they wouldn't mind helping you get over yours.”

“Didn't you once tell me that if you caught me hooking up with any of your friends you'd castrate me?” I reminded her with a smile.

“I may have said that.” She grinned. “But this is different.”

“How so?”

“Because I said that when I didn't want you seducing some poor innocent girl and then not call her the next day.”

“Would I do that?” I asked, all innocence.

She raised an eyebrow. “Do you really want me to answer that?”

I laughed.

“I know that's not you,” she said, her tone sobering. “But I didn't want to have to deal with the heartbreak if someone misunderstood your intentions.” She jerked her head back toward the living room. “But those three, they won't misunderstand because they're not looking for anything beyond a good time.”

I sighed. “You might think that, Suze, but you'd be surprised how many women who say they don't want a relationship change their mind when it comes to money.”

“You're probably going to be pissed, but the girls and I already talked about that.”

“Excuse me?”

She held up a finger, telling me to wait. “When you said you'd come, I had a frank talk with my friends. Trust me on this. If you want to hook up with any of them this weekend, they'd be game and I don't mind.” She winked at me. “Think of it as your own personal Vegas. What happens here, stays here.”

I shook my head as she walked away. Sure, her friends were hot, but I wasn't going to act on what she'd said. I was here to forget about the shit storm my love life had become. Drink, sleep, maybe ski.

First, drink.

I waited until I heard Suze and her friends head out to ski before I left my room. A couple of beers sounded pretty good right about now. In fact, I wouldn't have said no to something a bit stronger.