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He walks to the side, where Isley and Garrett are waiting with a huge gold pair of ceremonial scissors. The three of them take hold of the scissors—Langford and Isley taking one side and Garrett the other. They pose for the cameras with the blades open to the wide ice-blue ribbon. Then, with the crowd joining in, they count to three and snap the ribbon in half.
Guns filled with white and blue confetti in the shape of snowflakes fire into the air and rain down on us all.
All decked out in our new Misty Mountain Ski Instructor outfits Langford had made for us, the team heads to the slopes to greet guests.
“Are those reporters?” Scooter asks.
“Where?”
“Over there in the tree line.” He points to the wooded area across from the chairlifts, and sure enough, a couple of fellows are propped up, holding cameras.
“Yep.”
“What are they doing?” Clay asks.
I shrug.
“Garrett’s in town,” I say.
“I don’t think he’s the one they’re interested in,” Scooter states as they stand and swing in the direction of Zoey and Joanna exiting a side door from the hotel.
They start clicking away.
They’re here for Zoey.
It takes a minute for her to notice them, and when she does, I see her flinch before she composes herself, gives them a bright smile, and waves. It’s the same facade I’ve watched Garrett put on for years.
She hates being in the spotlight.
We slow our pace so they can catch up to us, and Scooter and I instinctively move to walk beside them, effectively blocking them from the cameras.
“Not in the mood for paparazzi?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “Not today. I’d rather they give the resort their attention than me,” she replies.
“I’m sure Langford won’t care. Having you here, instructing, and Garrett Tuttle as a partner? Whew. They’ll be getting national coverage. What other start-up ski resort on the East Coast gets that kind of exposure?” Scooter muses.
“I guess,” she says.
I look back and see that the cameramen are following us.
“I say, if they’re here anyway, we should give them something to watch. What do you guys say?” Joanna suggests.
“You don’t have to ask me twice to show off,” Scooter states.
“Let’s get our equipment,” Zoey agrees.
We head to our lockers to gear up and meet back out at the lifts.
Langford brings a sophisticated couple over and introduces them to Zoey. “Zoey, I’d like you to meet Stanhope Marshall and his wife, Vivian. Stanhope is one of our major investors.”
Zoey shakes their hands.
“We’re so excited to meet you. My daughter, Sophia, is a big fan of yours. We’re hoping to talk her and her husband into bringing our grandbaby out for a vacation in December,” Vivian tells her.
“That would be lovely,” Zoey replies.
“Imagine our Lily-Claire being taught by a world champion,” Vivian gasps.
