When the storm finally cleared, it was light out again, and a Jeep was sent out to bring them back to the Lodge, where a doctor was waiting for Maddy.

After being seen by the doctor, Maddy had a neat bandage on her sprained-but-not-broken ankle. Once the swelling went down, she would be back to normal. Though she’d be in flats for a few weeks, which she wasn’t happy about, but she’d survive.

She spent most of the morning after the woods incident in her room, resting. Her body was achy—though she wasn’t sure how much of that was from the fall and how much of it was from the mind-blowing, shuddery-in-the-best-way sex she’d had with Carter in the cabin. By the time afternoon rolled around, she was finally ready to join everyone back in the lodge’s main room. And finally ready to face Carter.

They had a lot to talk about. She had no idea where they’d find the time or privacy, with all their coworkers running around, but it needed to happen.

She slowly made her way down from her room, still a little unsteady on her bandaged foot. She was starving, and she knew everyone would be gathering for lunch soon. She’d just gotten to the lobby when she spotted Carter. She couldn’t stop the silly smile from spreading across her face when their eyes met. The second he saw her, he walked right over.

“Hi,” Maddy said, trying not to feel self-conscious or needy. That was the last thing she wanted to project.

“I was just looking for you,” Carter said. “How you are you feeling?”

“Better,” she said, wiggling her foot.

“Listen,” he began. “I really want to talk, but I just got a call from the hospital. They need a new round of blood tests from me immediately. So I have to go into the city early.”

“I understand,” Maddy said, trying hard not to feel disappointed, since the man was getting blood tests so he could donate a kidney to his sister. She couldn’t be upset about anything related to that. “Have a safe drive back.”

She had to clench her hands to stop from reaching out and touching him. She wanted to kiss him—it felt strange not to, which was something she didn’t even want to examine. They’d spent one night together. She needed to slow her roll majorly. He might not even be interested in anything beyond what they had in the groundskeeper’s cabin. And if that was the case, she had to be okay with that.

“I really want to talk,” he said, lowering his voice. “About everything. I promise you, this is not me ditching you or that conversation. Will you call me when you’re back in the city?”

She smiled, feeling relieved. “Yeah. Of course.”

He looked like he wanted to say something else, but then one of coordinators was calling his name. “That’s my car,” he said.

“I’ll call you,” Maddy said. “Good luck with the blood tests.”

“Thanks, Maddy. I…” He hesitated again, looking around. And then he bent down, brushing a quick kiss across her cheek. It was such an innocent touch, sweet, but for some reason, it made her feel like she was burning up. “I’ll see you later,” he said, making it sound like a promise.

She watched him go, unable to stop herself from touching her cheek.

“Maddy?”

She turned and saw Dr. Kemp walking up to her from the den. “We’re all gathered,” she smiled, holding out her arm. “Will join us?”

“Coming!” Maddy said, taking her arm and trying not to lean too hard on her, since she was a good six inches shorter. But she was grateful for Renee’s help down the stairs. She hadn’t wanted to take the pain pills the doctor had offered her because they made her all foggy, so her ankle was still throbbing.

The women of Pure Pleasure were gathered in the lodge’s den, finger foods and drinks arranged on the large wagon-wheel coffee table they sat around. “There she is!” Zoe said. “We were wondering where you got to.”

“How’s your ankle?” Nat added, looking concerned.

“Much better,” Maddy assured them, coming to sit down next to her. “I’m still so embarrassed I caused such a fuss.”

“Oh, please. It was a good excuse to get some fresh hair after all the drinking the night before,” Renee said, waving off her apology. The other women agreed, laughing.

“I wouldn’t have left the lodge otherwise!” Ana joked.

“Okay, let’s begin. Today is our girl-talk day,” Renee explained, gesturing around the room. “Anything you want off-limits, just say. This is a safe space. We’re here for each other.”

“That sounds great,” Maddy said, leaning back as the women around her began to chat.

“Anyone else’s sex life suffering because of the move?” asked Daisy, the head of IT.

“Oh thank God someone said it,” said Rhea with a laugh. “I’ve been so stressed. It’s hard to get in the mood. I need some alone time.”

“Nothing like good old-fashioned bathtub jets,” Zoe joked.

“Now that’s the kind of toy we should get into,” Daisy said. “Water-jet based!”

“That’s not such a a crazy idea,” Zoe said, whipping out her tablet and making a note. “I’m going to take it up with Carter. I’ll bring you in, okay, Daisy?”

“Cool,” Daisy smiled. And the volume rose as the women eased into chatty camaraderie in the oak-beamed room, chiming in with tips and ideas, personal and professional, from the placement of a certain nub on a new toy to the bakery that produced the finest baguettes in town.

When Maddy got up to get another drink, she ran into Renee at the table.

“How are you doing, Maddy?” Renee asked. “Are you liking our group?”

“Feeling better, thanks. And yes, I really am liking this job,” Maddy said, smiling. “And such a friendly bunch!”

“I’m glad,” Renee said. “I want us to be friends. I have a lot of ideas about outreach we could do, and how it might tie into social media campaigns.”

“That sounds great,” Maddy said. “I’ve been looking into revising the company Instagram. An engaging way to give customers an inside look into company culture… into what you and Carter and Nat have built already. I think it would be a great platform to bring in a different kind of consumer and spread a more targeted message about who we are as a company.”

“Yes, our social media presence needs a serious update,” Renee nodded. “I’m excited to hear your ideas.”

“Well, I was just thinking, if you’d be interested, how about doing a sex advice column on YouTube? We don’t even have a channel now, and that could go a big way to tap into a new market for us. With your skills and credentials, plus how telegenic you are? I bet you’d be a hit.”

“Oh, you’re so sweet,” Renee said, looking skeptical. “I’m not sure how I’d be on camera, honestly. I’ve never thought of it before.”

“Well, let’s not stress about it. Why don’t you and I set up a few brainstorming sessions?” Maddy suggested. “We’ll come up with some ideas for where we want to take it, direction and setting… maybe put a rough pilot script, and we’ll do a few test runs. See if it’s something that you’d like to do.”

“It’s a deal,” Renee said, handing Maddy a cup of punch, raising her own, and laughing as they clinked their them together. “I’m so glad you’ve joined the team,” she said. “You’re bringing a fresh energy to the company. And frankly, I haven’t seen Carter this happy in a long time.”

There was a knowing look in the doctor’s eyes, and Maddy could feel her cheeks getting pink. She respected Renee’s intelligence—the woman was a psychologist, after all—enough not to deny it or lie or confirm the unspoken question there. So instead, she just said, “Carter’s a really great guy. He deserves to be happy.”

“Very true,” Renee said.

“Hey, Dr. Kemp, come settle this for us,” Zoe called. “The clitoris has how many nerve endings?”

Renee turned toward the women. “Around eight thousand,” she said, as she and Maddy rejoined the women. “But it doesn’t stop there. Technically, that little bundle spreads feeling to fifteen thousand other nerve endings.”

“And it’s the only part of the body purely designed for pleasure,” Nat said, laughing at her corny joke.

Maddy lost herself in the ebb and flow of the conversation among the women, loving the female energy and spirit that emanated from the group. They were honest and funny, and it had been a long time since she’d felt so accepted. Like she could say anything and she wouldn’t be judged.

She was safe here, she realized, among these women, these friends and coworkers. And with each anecdote, each joke, each bit of truth they shared with her, she felt the wound that David had left in her confidence heal a bit more.

It was like being given a gift, this female friendship.

And she was so grateful for it.