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“Is everyone spread out around the resort for the party?” I asked quietly as we headed toward my room.

“All of the party guests are either inside the main building on level one or outside in our cabin suites.”

“Cabin suites? I haven’t seen those yet.”

“I’ll show you. They’re quite nice, and they’re spread out on the property. They make you feel like you’re in the woods in a cabin, but still part of the action.”

We came to a stop at room 101, and Tristen pointed to the card reader by the door handle.

“Just tap the key, and it’ll unlock,” he instructed. I thought it was kind of funny that he thought he had to explain how to use a hotel room key card to me.

I unlocked the door and stepped inside the warmly lit room with Tristen behind me. My duffel bag was already in the room and sitting on the bench at the foot of the bed. The room was damn nice. All the furniture was made of dark woods, and nearing the sliding patio door was an oversized navy couch with a coffee table in front of it and a side table with one of those lamps with a stained-glass shade.

“Hey, this looks familiar,” I said as I walked toward one of the bags I had put together.

“Everyone who attends gets a bag,” Tristen said.

I turned to look at Tristen and immediately felt an attraction to him. Like a dangerous attraction. I wasn't easily attracted to a guy, but Tristen and Joel both had drastically changed my personal law of attraction.

I opened my mouth just a bit to help quiet my breathing so it wouldn’t sound like I was panting or breathing loudly. But everything about him at the moment spoke to me. More like, it screamed at me. His left arm was propped up on the wall, and his arm was stretched across his chest with his hand resting against his shoulder, revealing his muscular forearm. When I realized I had been staring at his toned arms, I snapped my eyes up to his. His blue eyes had instantly locked onto mine, and we stared at one another until there was a knock on the door.

I swallowed hard and took a step back toward the coffee table and looked down at the bag as Tristen turned to answer the door.

“This should be Joel,” he said while I tried to regain focus. Though, now there would be both of them. Tristen alone was dangerous. I was going to have to really restrain myself from not looking at them anywhere but in the eyes.

“Hey,” Tristen said as he let Joel in. Tristen said something to Joel under his breath, but I couldn’t make out what it was exactly.

“How’s everything going?” Joel asked as he stepped into the living room. He wore black pants and a white long-sleeved button-down shirt that hugged his biceps.

What the fuck am I doing? Stop staring at him!

“Good, thanks. The room is great.” I pointed to the black Equinox bag for a lack of knowing what else to do. “I was just telling Tristen that I was surprised to see one of these bags in here.”

I glanced at Tristen, and his intense gaze held mine for a few seconds until I pried them away and stared at his biceps. He was in a black short-sleeved button-down shirt and had more skin visible. His arms were tan, and I wondered if his chest and torso were equally tan.

Stop staring at him!

I swallowed hard and dragged my eyes away from Tristen and forced them on Joel’s eyes.

“I told him everyone gets a bag,” Tristen calmly repeated.

“Yes, everyone. We like to ensure that all our guests are comfortable and have some things to help make for an enjoyable weekend,” Joel explained. I nodded and looked in the bag, even though I knew what was in it since I'd put it together.

The most subtle movement of Joel looking at his watch caught my eye, and I immediately looked at him. Fuck, I’ve got to get a grip. I was acting like a puppy excitedly waiting to see if Joel or Tristen were going to throw a ball for me to chase.

“If you have a few minutes, I’ll show you where you’ll be set up for the fair preview tonight,” Joel offered.

“Yeah, that sounds good.” I pointed to my bag with my sketchbook and supplies. “Should I bring my stuff?”

“You can leave it here for now. Tonight you’ll mostly be talking to guests and making appointments with them for the weekend,” Joel said.

My door clicked closed behind us once we stepped into the hall, and Tristen said he needed to get ready for this evening. He separated from us once we arrived in the lobby, leaving Joel and me to check out my spot. I thought this would be a good opportunity to talk to Joel about the deposit.

“I received a $7,000 deposit today. That’s an awful lot,” I said as we strolled toward the booths and tables that were set up.

“It’s for your time to help bring something new to our events.”

“Thank you, but just being invited for the chance to sell some sketches is enough.”