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“No way.” I giggled. “That’s ridiculous.”
He laughed too, his white teeth gleaming. “Now you see it, don’t you? Now my chin is a butt to you.”
“No, it’s the best chin ever.”
He moved my fingers to his mouth and kissed them, one by one, before moving to my lips, taking them softly between his own. The tip of his tongue met mine for the briefest of moments before he backed away. “We should go in.”
“Yes, we should.”
He traced his thumb under my bottom lip, wiping away the smear of gloss I felt certain was there. “I’ve smudged you.”
Reluctantly, I turned away and pulled down the shade to reapply my lipstick, but there was no mirror. He looked sheepish. “This car is so ancient.”
“Never mind that,” I said, pulling out my compact and quickly swiping my mouth with my favorite plummy color. “Let’s do this.”
He jumped out to open my door. The sweetest gesture. I loved it. Rare these days, whether because men were afraid to offend the modern, independent woman or were too preoccupied with themselves, I wasn’t sure. All I knew is that it felt nice to have a man behave chivalrously.
We held hands as we crossed the parking lot to the main entrance. The palm of his hand was dry and comforting. Darby is solid and strong,I thought to myself.
Built in the second decade of the twentieth century, the outside of the lodge had not changed much in a hundred years. The architecture was that of the American lodges of that time period, with logs, river rock, and wide beams, dramatic as opposed to quaint and elegant like my inn. There was room for both, right? Or was my little inn always going to be second place to this monolith?
The lobby had high ceilings and windows that looked out to the ski mountain and had been remodeled not long ago. They’d done a good job at keeping the vintage feel while updating with modern touches, like gas fireplaces, shiny hardwood floors, and white wainscoting and trim. Still holding hands, we made our way across the lobby, past the enormous river rock fireplace to the formal dining room. Arianna and Rob had already sat at a table by the window when we arrived at the host’s lectern. She greeted me with a friendly hello and asked about how business was going. This was a small town. All of us in the tourist industry knew one another.
Darby let go of my hand when we got to the table. Rob Wright stood to greet us, holding out his hand to shake Darby’s and then mine. When we were all seated, I looked over at Arianna. She was staring at Darby with what looked like love in her eyes. Was it possible she still had feelings for him? If so, what did that mean? Why would she marry someone else?
I thought of Annabelle. She’d loved two men. Was it possible that Arianna did too? And if she did, where did that leave me? I did not wish to share him with anyone, especially her.
15
DARBY
The first thing I thought when I greeted my former friend and ex-girlfriend? They seemed a little plastic. I half expected them to reveal themselves as wax versions of their previous selves. How had I never noticed how much makeup Arianna wore? All that toner and blending she used to do had seemed normal to me. Compared to Jamie, who seemed fresh and natural, Arianna looked like an evil doll in a horror film. Also, her lips seemed bigger than they once were. Puffed up like one of those fish. What had she stuck in them to make them do that?
“It’s so good to see you.” Arianna gave me one of her best fake smiles, the one she perfected for selfies, with her chin jutted outward and her mouth not quite up over her teeth. God forbid any gum would show above her teeth. How had she perfected that smile? In front of the mirror? Countless selfies until she landed on the right one?
“You as well.” I turned to Rob. His jaw was clenched and his gaze darted around, obviously looking for our server. He wanted a drink. I didn’t blame him. It’s not every day one comes face-to-face with the friend you betrayed.
My nerves had my thoughts jumping around with no logical sense. I must focus. Present my best self, or at least the one I wanted her to see.
“How are you, Rob?” I asked. “It’s been a while.”
His gaze was directed a little to my right, over my shoulder, avoiding eye contact. “Yes, it sure has been a minute. I’m good. Business is good. We bought a competitor recently. Got to crush them one way or the other, right?”
“Tell me about your little company,” Jamie said.
I hid a smile behind my hand. Jamie knew his company wasn’t little. She wanted to take him down a notch.
I might love her.
“You haven’t heard of my company?” Rob asked. “Do you live under a rock here in Colorado?” He aimed for a droll tone, I thought, but didn’t quite make it. His natural nastiness was evident despite the way he’d attempted to mold into someone charming over the years. At school, he’d always been the guy who controlled through fear. We were always worried about what he would say in front of whoever one of the rest of us wanted to impress. It was always something that would cut us down, make us look ridiculous and him glib and cool.
I might hate him.
“I’ve heard of it only recently,” Jamie said, smiling brightly, as if she hadn’t picked up on his disrespect. “I looked you up in preparation for our dinner tonight.”
“I’m in the story business,” Rob said as if he hadn’t heard Jamie. “In the form of video games. Have you ever playedLoader? Or heard of it? That’s my baby. We’ve expanded into other games, of course. One has to in this market. Young people always want better and faster, right?”
“I don’t spend time playing games,” Jamie said. “Nor do my friends, apparently, because I’ve never heard of it. I’m old school. I prefer my stories to come from books.”
