“Whatever, my turn to ask a question,” I said after he finally ceased laughing. “Will you teach me to snowboard?”
“Not after that story.” He smirked. “You sound like a liability.”
I scowled and shoved him in the shoulder. “Hey, I’m an excellent athlete.”
He shook his head and laughed again. “Doesn’t seem like it.”
My lip tugging upward. Despite the embarrassing story, I felt accomplished for making Giles laugh.
“I like this version of you better,” I admitted.
His laughter eased and his eyebrows shot up. “What version?”
“This version.” I waved up and down at him. “The one that’s nice to me and can actually hold a conversation. Not the grumpy one that was always annoyed with me. I could do without seeing that version of you again.”
Sighing, he shifted his gaze to his feet. I worried for a moment that I had offended him.
“I’m sorry again about that,” he muttered. “I know I’ve been a dick. It was hard for me to accept you coming here and working at the lodge. I know that isn’t an excuse...”
“Why?” I asked.
He sighed and stared at the floor. “It’s just.” He hesitated before continuing. “My whole life, I’ve had to see this area get redeveloped. Big corporations come in and take over. They drive the locals out to replace them with tourists who will make the town more profitable. Our town has always felt relatively immune to all that, but lately, things have changed. Like the ski resort, for instance. It was family-owned until they sold it a few years back.”
He paused, and I urged him to continue with my eyes.
“When Bev told me she was looking to hire outside help, I might have freaked out a little. That lodge was my childhood. It’s attached to so many memories I have of my parents. I couldn’t stand the thought of some profit-hungry suits stepping in and ruining everything.”
“I understand where you’re coming from, but I can assure you I’m hardly a profit-hungry suit. And my company is just a small firm whose owner has a passion for hospitality. We do our best to automate work and improve the guest experience without sacrificing the character of the original space.” I snuck a peak at Giles to find him staring at me intently. “You would know all this if you bothered to listen to the pitch I prepared.”
He grimaced at the reminder of his rudeness. “Touché. Man, I was a dick, wasn’t I?”
“A massive one.”
“Well, I hope you can forgive me, Mattie.”
The hair on the back of my neck bristled at the sound of my name on his lips. I took another sip of my drink to hide my smile.
At that moment, the door from the kitchen to the yard slammed closed, and I jerked back in surprise. For a moment, I had completely forgotten we were at a party with other guests.
The girl that just barged in looked familiar and I realized why. It was the girl I had seen Giles arguing with earlier.
Julia.
I looked from her to him and saw that he was no longer smiling. He looked down at his drink as she looked between the two of us. I could see hurt in her eyes, and my heart ached for her. I knew our situations weren’t identical, but I still related to that awful feeling of seeing the guy you loved with someone else. Instinctively, I took a step away from Giles, not wanting her to get the wrong idea.
Julia opened her mouth to say something but then snapped it shut.
“Hey,” I said, trying to break the ice. “I’m Mattie. I just started at the ski lodge last week.”
“Julia.” She didn’t even bother to look at me.
Okay, this was clearly not going to be the start of a budding friendship. I glanced out the window and waited for the awkward silence to end.
“Real nice,” Julia hissed before storming toward the front door.
Giles groaned and pushed off of the counter. He started to follow Julia before spinning back toward me.
“Sorry about that. She’s just hurt.”
