Sam
I sat in the lobby, watching droves of people in their snowsuits and ski goggles head out onto the slopes.
According to her text, Maggie ought to be here any minute, and even though my friends had headed back out after lunch like two hours ago, I wanted to make sure I was here for her when she arrived.
For what felt like the millionth time, I checked my watch and then glanced at the concierge, who had been eyeing me up and down for the past half hour. Averting my gaze, I leaned closer to the fire, warming my hands as another horde of people bustled past me with skis and snowboards in hand.
In truth, I still didn’t know what I’d say or do when Maggie got here. I couldn’t exactly pump her for information about whatever happened with Trevor. I was sure it would be a sore subject, and I needed to be aware of that. I also couldn’t bring her attention to the one thing that had been on my mind since we’d gotten off the phone last night.
This was the first time in all the years I’d known her that she was actually single.
Sure, I’d had my stints of monogamy, but for Maggie? This was huge.
And the last thing I wanted to hear her say was how much she wanted to stay single for a long, long time. Imagining her with Trevor was one thing, but the thought of Maggie out with various Tinder dates sowing her oats and stocking up on all the screaming orgasms Trevor had neglected to deliver over the past many months made my gut clench.
I knew the things people said after breakups. That now would be the perfect time to find herself and figure out who she was without a man in her life. That this was a chance to start fresh.
But it wasn’t. Not in my eyes.
This was her chance to realize what I’d known since the first moment I’d laid eyes on her.
We belonged together.
The only question was how to get her to see that.
Selfish prick.
I couldn’t exactly swoop in the second she arrived, heartbroken after years of wasting her time on a jackass who never appreciated her. Still, a girl like Maggie would not stay single for long.
It was the world’s most fucked catch twenty-two.
Groaning, I leaned back in my chair and scrubbed a hand over my face. Maybe my best option was to just be a good friend right now. To be there for the person who meant more to me than anyone else. Then, from there, I’d just have to let the chips fall where they may and hope to God they fell my way.
I glanced at the clock above the concierge’s head and he sneered at me, but before I could do anything else, I caught sight of movement out of the corner of my eye and every cell in my body snapped to attention.
Maggie was bustling through the wooden doors with a massive duffel bag in hand and I rushed toward her.
“Hey,” I said.
She grinned, but I could see the pallor of her skin and the brittleness of that smile. Shit, maybe she was more broken up about Trevor than I’d imagined.
“Hey, what are you doing here?” she asked breathlessly. “I thought you’d be on the slopes already.”
“Nah, I wanted to kick back for a while and relax first. Here, I’ll have the concierge send this up for you.”
She didn’t argue as I grabbed the bag from her shoulder, but she did eye me warily. “What gives? I told you not to wait for me. I could’ve just grabbed my room key from the front desk, you know.”
“And then you would have done what, exactly?” I asked, raising a brow at her.
She glanced around the empty lobby, apparently speechless.
“Exactly. You’d have gone up to the room, climbed into the bed, and either hit the mini-bar, the vending machine, or both and missed the perfect slope day. No, I’m not going to let you wallow. I already know you don’t want to ski, so we’ll find something else to do.” I gave the bag to the concierge and he carried it off without a word.
“Why can’t we just take it up?” she asked.
“He’ll take care of it. We’ll worry about getting you settled in later. We’re going to hit the ground running.” I clapped my hands together in anticipation. “Tell me, what’s something fun you never got to do with Trevor?”
“Well, that’s a loaded question…” Her pink lips twitched and a rush of heat crept up her cheeks, sending a surge of blood straight to my manhood.
Awesome.
She’d been here three seconds and I was already half-hard.
It took every ounce of strength I had not to bend down, scoop her in my arms, and find the nearest corner to show her exactly how easy Trevor-the-fuck-up would be to rectify.
Instead, I chuckled at her little joke and righted the crooked knit cap on her head.
“Something we could only do here,” I prompted.
“Well, I don’t know what there is to do in the area,” she hedged, pausing to chew on her bottom lip.
Clearly, she wasn’t in the mental space to make decisions, so I took the reins. “Then let’s find out. There’s a village at the bottom of the hill. I’m sure there’s lots of stuff to do.”
“As long as we’re not skiing, anything sounds good to me,” she said with a shrug.
“Nope, we’re going for a good old-fashioned walk.” I zipped up my coat and then led her back through the doors onto the cobblestone path that led into the ski village. There wasn’t much there, truthfully. Just a few little tourist spots, a spa, and some restaurants, but it was enough to get her mind off things, and that was all we really needed for today. Better yet, it looked like the inside of a snow globe. She’d love the North Pole vibe of it, I was sure.
“You didn’t ask me what happened,” she said quietly as we reached the end of the path and trod over the light smattering that had already recovered the recently shoveled sidewalk.
My gut clenched as I shoved my gloveless hands in my coat pockets. “It’s not my place to press you, Maggie. My job is to be here for you when you’re ready to talk about it.” I slowed to a stop and eyed her questioningly. “Do you want to talk about it?”
She sighed, then glanced at the ski lift in the distance for a long moment before focusing on me again. “I didn’t really want to, but ever since I got on the plane, it’s all I could think about.”
“Then shoot. Maybe talking will make you feel better.” Christ knew it would make me feel better. Or, if not better, at least less tense. I was on edge, wondering exactly how bad things had gotten between them to get to this point after so long.
And, if I was being totally honest, macho bullshit or no, I really needed to find out if I had to kick Trevor’s ass when I got back to town. Because I was not opposed to a good old-fashioned throwdown.
I unclenched my fists and tried to focus on Maggie as she began to talk again.
“See, that’s the thing.” She wrapped her arms around her waist and shook her head slowly. “When I think about it, I don’t feel anything. Like, I’m angry that I wasted my time and that he betrayed me, but as far as losing him? I’m like…numb or something.”
I nodded, trying to wrangle my conflicting emotions. Numb was better than devastated or heartsick. “I can understand that. It must’ve been a shock if it wasn’t something you’d planned to do.”
“Oh, there was no plan. I stopped over there and walked in on him banging his assistant.” She let out a snort. “What a cliché, right? Zero points for originality, Trevor. I have no idea how long it’s been going on for. I wanted to ask but when I saw... Well, they weren’t in a position to be answering questions.”
“Fucking hell,” I muttered through gritted teeth as I let out a deep breath. The urge to take the next plane back to New York and beat him senseless was almost overwhelming but I tamped it down. I needed to be here for Maggie right now. I inhaled deeply, nostrils flaring as my fists balled by my sides. If Trevor cheated on a woman like this?
He already had no sense.
“It’s the lying that bothers me more than anything. If he wants to be with someone else, more power to him. I just don’t know why he’d string me along at the same time.”
I opened my mouth, closed it, then shook my head. “I’m not sure what to say. He didn’t deserve you, and I’m so sorry about how it ended.”
“Don’t be. I was pissed off and confused and my confidence took a serious blow, but I realized almost immediately that I never felt jealous. I wasn’t broken at the thought of him with someone else. I was just…more humiliated than anything.” Her eyes looked suspiciously shiny and I nodded in silence. “Anyway, I drank my way through it. Now I’m here with you, and we are going to have an amazing couple of days. Starting with checking out this adorable antique and crafts shop.”
She pointed to a little hobbit-sized hut I hadn’t noticed before, but I knew immediately it was her style. Advertisements for homemade quilts and candles hung in the frosty windows and I followed her as she practically sprinted toward the entrance.
“Trevor would never go in places like this. He called them granny shops.”
“Then let’s go in. By all means.”
I motioned for her to go inside and all at once we were flooded by the smell of a thousand candles and thick, warm air.
Quilts hung from the walls and little displays of handcrafted soaps and lotions were littered through the rest of the tiny room.
Maggie wandered over to one of the quilts that was made from a soft, fluffy fabric in muted grays, creams, and pink. She ran her fingers over the intricate stitching.
“I wish I could do something like this. It’s incredible,” she murmured.
“Thank you, dear.” A woman who looked like she’d been around for the signing of the Declaration of Independence spoke from behind the counter, and Maggie turned to face her. “You did all this yourself?”
The lady nodded, her white curls springing up and down with the motion. “Yes I did, missy. The arthritis hasn’t gotten me just yet.” She closed one blue eye in a broad wink.
“It’s amazing. Really. You should be very proud.” Maggie grinned at her.
“You know, I bet you could learn to do it, too,” I offered and the kindly old lady nodded.
“Months to learn and a lifetime to master. But you’ll never be cold a night in your life.” She laughed at her own feeble joke and we laughed along with her.
As they continued to talk, I walked back to the quilt and glanced at the price tag. Not cheap by any means, but given our touristy location and the quality of the craftsmanship, it seemed fair. I gathered the quilt in my arms and set it on the counter.
“I’ll take it.”
“Sam, no,” Maggie said. “You already bought my ticket here and I can’t—”
“It’s not for you. It’s for my place. You never have any blankets when you come over and you always love to snuggle under them. It’s about time you had one,” I countered.
Fact was, I’d have gotten her just about anything under the sun to see her smile again.
“But Sam...” Maggie said, but the woman behind the counter waved her off.
“You know, my mother always said to accept a gift with a smile and a hearty thank you,” the old woman interjected.
I raised my eyebrows at Maggie. “See? And you always give me grief when I argue with you about the stuff you get me. Now can you please just—”
“Fine,” she said with a chuckle. She rolled her eyes but grinned all the same. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” I handed the woman my credit card and she swiped it before shoving the whole of my new quilt into a bag.
This could be good and bad. A quilt like this would be a reminder of Maggie to keep in the house. Every time I looked at it, I’d think of the way her eyes had sparkled as she surveyed the neat stitching and fine seams.
Maybe I should make her take it home after all…
“There you go!”
The old woman’s gravelly voice snapped me out of my daydreams and I took the bag gratefully.
“Thank you again,” I said, and she nodded.
“A pleasure. Always nice to see young couples in this village. Especially a pair as perfectly matched as you two.”
Maggie blinked, her eyes widening, but I just smiled and took her arm.
“Have a great day,” I called back over my shoulder as I led her from the shop and out into the crisp air.
“Okay, good stop. Where to next?” I asked.
Maggie looked at me, dazed, and then shook her head and said, “Uh, I dunno…Italian food maybe? Trevor hated tomatoes. And mozzarella cheese.”
A clear indicator that he was a fucking monster as far as I was concerned, but I held back the commentary, settling on, “Your wish is my command.”
We followed the cobblestones deeper into the little village until we reached a strip of shops and restaurants. We checked out a couple of them from the outside and settled on a bistro tucked in the corner.
When we walked in, the scent of spicy sauce and garlic greeted us and I knew we’d picked the right place. Fires crackled merrily in every corner of the restaurant and we selected our seat near one. We’d just taken off our coats and had settled in when a smiling waitress came over and handed us some menus.
“I’ll never understand that,” Maggie said suddenly.
“What?” I asked, not taking my eyes from the menu.
“Why people always think we’re together. You know, Trevor used to get so mad because one time when we went out with you, some woman made a comment to him about being a third wheel.”
I raised my menu a little higher, careful to hide my grin. “Yeah, it’s weird, huh?”
“It’s just strange to assume. I mean, we could be brother and sister.”
Friend-zoned had been bad enough. And now, just when I thought there was a glimmer of hope…
She thinks of me as her fucking brother? Just kill me now.
A knife twisted in my gut but I kept my voice level. “You think so?”
“Yeah. Maybe. I don’t know, it’s just weird. So what are you thinking of ordering?”
In truth, I hadn’t seen a single word on the menu yet and suddenly felt like the last thing I wanted to do was eat.
“I think we should start with some hot toddies,” I announced, snapping the menu shut. “I ate a late lunch and I’m not that hungry.”
She grinned and closed her menu, tossing it on the table next to mine. “I can definitely hold off on the food and I’ve always wanted to have a hot drink near a snowy ski lodge. Trevor hates snow so…”
I nodded. “You got it then.”
And truthfully, after that brother-sister comment?
Alcohol was the best idea I’d had all day.