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Not that I had any intention of dating Snow.
I hardly knew her, for one. And two, she was a guest.
I straightened myself back up and reminded myself to keep some distance there.
It was hard though.
The club was on the other side of the resort and we still had a few minutes to go, so I decided to change the subject.
“Are you liking your stay here?”
“I am loving it,” she said. “This place is so beautiful. I love how you guys made it look like something out of a fairytale, but with an adult touch. It’s very unique.”
I nodded. I hoped she would keep talking. Her voice was nice.
“And the weather has been perfect so far,” she continued. No mention of Hunter or her troubles. No mention of Sean or Reed either, for that matter, but I didn’t dare bring it up. Her business was her business, and I was happy to hear that even with Hunter being an asshole, she was still able to enjoy herself.
“You know, I always wanted to travel, but I was never able to. Even now, I’m not that far from home,” she said with a little laugh. “You would think if I wanted to be a travel writer so badly, I might have traveled a bit further away, somewhere that actually required an airplane even.”
“Why didn’t you?”
She shrugged and looked off into the distance. From where we were standing, there was a great view of the mountains and the lake not far from us. She stopped walking and we stayed there, at the lookout spot, for a few moments in silence.
“I guess it’s because I’m scared,” she said.
“Scared of what?”
“Scared of what’s out there, I suppose. My dad kept me on a pretty short leash and I had very little freedom growing up. It was like being locked in a dungeon, at times,” she said with a laugh. “He tried to make me fearful of the world, and maybe it worked a bit, but I’ve been getting out more and more, realizing that the world is a lot less scary than he made it out to be.”
I didn’t know how to respond, and Snow didn’t seem to want a response. “I’m sorry” sounded cliche, and she didn’t give the impression that she was a woman who would want my pity. Besides, she was now smiling wide as she took in the beauty around her.
“This is like dipping my toes into the water a bit. It’s a safe distance from home, but yet completely outside of my comfort zone. I’m experiencing new things, I have freedom here, but I’m also safe here. Especially with you acting as security, Gage. I mean, no one is going to want to butt heads with you.”
She was now staring at me, her eyes moving over my body and taking me in. I knew I was a big guy, bigger than most. Part of it was genetics, but part of it was the effort I had put into myself. My dad had too often made me feel weak growing up, and I made sure no one would ever use those words against me again.
“I try,” was the best I could say. “I mean, I try to keep people safe.”
“Well I bet you do a pretty damned good job of it,” she said.
A lump formed in my throat, and I felt all the blood drain south again as I stared down at Snow.
She bit her lower lip, and it seemed like she was beckoning me to kiss her. I caught myself inching closer but placed a hand on the tree next to us, stopping myself before getting too close.
She stopped as well, and her smile wavered a bit. Without saying a word it became clear that I had rejected her, at least in her eyes, and I hated that. I didn’t want her to think she wasn’t pretty enough or interesting enough.
“Snow, I have a rule—”
“I know, I know, you all have rules,” she said with a dry laugh and a playful roll of her eyes. “I’ve heard it from every single one of you, it seems.”
“Yes, but I really am strict about it. I don’t have any interest in dating or hooking up with the guests, it feels unethical to me.”
“I understand, and I respect that,” she said, as her her smile mostly returned.
“Good, because I don’t want you to think there’s anything wrong with you or that you’ve done something wrong… I just have issues.”
Issues. To put it mildly.
“I appreciate you being so open and honest with me, Gage,” she said, looping her arm through mine again. “Ready to head to the icebreaker? I think we’re running a bit late.”
