“That’s the worst you can say about the guy?”
“He thinks I’m uptight.”
“Youareuptight,” Mattie said easily.
I frowned. “Not all the time.”
Mattie sighed. “Look, I can’t force you to stop freaking out about finding a new job, but can you at least have a little fun while you’re at it.” She gestured at the door Oliver had walked out of. “He’s cute. He’s clearly flirting with you. The best way to make him think you’re not uptight is to show him.”
I blew on my coffee before taking another tentative sip, stewing over her words. The truth was, Ididthink Oliver was cute. And Ididenjoy our kiss…a lot, in fact.
But even if I wanted Oliver to see me as more than some neurotic city girl, I realized that would be impossible. Because as the days here stretched on, I’d become abundantly aware that there wasn’t more to me than that.
FIVE
Frankie
The harsh blueglow of my laptop screen reflected in my tired eyes as I scanned the qualifications of yet another job listing. Spending all this time hunched over a computer, absorbing all this artificial light would surely cause long-term damage, but I wasn’t about to let that slow me down.
I had arrived in Key Ridge exactly one week ago, and I’d already applied to at least fifteen jobs. Unfortunately, the market was a bit underwhelming. There had been quite a few rounds of layoffs in my industry last year. That, mixed with a lackluster economy, meant there were plenty of qualified candidates and not a lot of open positions.
Pickings were slim, but I still hadn’t expected it to be quite this lean. It didn’t help that the job listing site had a banner across each job posting letting me know the exact number of applicants that had already applied. The one I had just submitted for saidover one thousand. Confidence could only get me so far, and even I knew that was a longshot. Landing a job I was qualified for felt a lot like buying lottery tickets and hoping for a miracle.
“Knock. Knock.”
I tore my headphones out of my ears and found Mattie hovering at the bottom of the basement stairs.
“You know it’s not knocking if you’re already in the room,” I said.
“Still in a bad mood?” she asked.
Mattie had been busy working at the lodge for the past two days, so I’d hardly seen her. Apparently, even though it was toward the end of the season, they had gotten record snow this year and it would be bustling for the next few weeks until closing day.
“I’m not in a bad mood,” I insisted before throwing my head back against the plush couch. “It just feels so hopeless. I’m sure there are people with a decade more experience than I have applying to these jobs. I’ll never find something.”
Mattie had the nerve to chuckle. “Considering you’ve been unemployed for all of thirty seconds, I think you should try being a little more optimistic than that.”
“It’s hopeless.” I tipped sideways, collapsing onto a pillow nestled against the sofa.
Mattie came over and sat next to me before gently patting my back. “You’ve hardly left this cave in days. I think what you really need is a break.”
“I can’t slow down.”
Mattie shook my shoulders. “Come on. Come to dinner with me. It’s wine and cheese night at Marie’s. Giles said he would meet me after he wraps up on the ski hill.”
Marie’s was the restaurant inside the lodge owned by Giles and his family, where Mattie had held their intimate rehearsal dinner. And now that they were married, I supposed Mattie owned it too.
“Fine,” I huffed, taking my laptop off my flannel-clad legs and standing up to stretch.
“And you can’t wear that,” she said, taking in the pajamas I’d never bothered to change out of.
“I’m unemployed, not a slob,” I said defensively. Did she really think I was so far gone I’d forgotten how to put on a pair of jeans and run a brush through my hair?
A phone ringing caught her attention and she pulled hers out. “It’s Mom,” she said.
“Don’t answer?—”
“Hello,” she said, pressing the speaker button and holding it between the two of us. I glared down at her. Telling my parents about the abrupt change my life had taken was not on my priority list today. They’d stress and worry and ask me a million questions.
