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“I’m so sorry.” He rushed around the podium, pocketing the phone. “Welcome to Mount Pierce. Can I get your bags?”
I would have carried them myself, except Thea had packed as if we were fleeing Franklin Notch for good. “Sure. You’ll need a cart, though.”
The attendant seemed nonplussed by the sheer amount of baggage for two days in the trunk. “I’ll take your keys and make sure your bags go to your room. Please head inside and warm up.”
I raised an eyebrow in Thea’s direction. After weeks in the single digits, the balmy twenty degree day felt warm, even with the whipping wind. Clearly, the target audience of this employee’s banter wasn’t locals.
“This is going to be a bunch of out-of-towners, isn’t it?” I murmured.
She rolled her eyes. “What do you think?”
I thought most of our friends and family couldn’t afford a single night at the resort, let alone a full weekend. Thea handed the guy a folded bill and took my elbow, pulling me into the lobby.
While the awe had worn off by the time I took my last trip to the summit back in high school, visiting for the first time in years, some of the grandeur had snuck back in. I craned my neck up to the high ceilings with exposed beams of wood crisscrossing above us and the massive chandelier of deer antlers.
Thea sailed by it all, greeting the front desk clerk with a smile. “Theodora Dawson.”
“Welcome to Mount Pierce, Ms. Dawson. And this must be Mr. Baker.”
I pulled my eyes away from the ceiling in time to watch as Thea’s cheeks bloomed red. So, she hadn’t changed the reservation.
“Yep, that’s me, Chase Baker. Nice to meet you.” I barely missed Thea’s elbow driving toward my ribs as I held out my hand to the front desk staff. He gave me a confused smile before shaking my hand.
“Do you have many locals up this weekend?” I asked, wrapping an arm around Thea’s waist and pulling her close enough to prevent her from elbowing me again. She pinched my waist instead.
“I believe you two are it. We have several couples from the coast and Canada. But we’re obviously glad you decided to spend your Valentine’s Day with us.”
He tapped into the computer before handing us two keycards and a map of the resort.
“Your bags will be brought up to your room and you’re welcome to take a walk around. The festivities don’t begin until early this evening. There’s an open bar mixer starting at four. Dinner is served at seven and this evening’s entertainment starts at nine. There’s an itinerary in your room, as well as a complimentary bottle of wine and snack basket, to hold you over until dinner.”
I swiped the map, stomach rumbling at the mention of snacks.
“Great. Shall we?” I held out my arm.
She rolled her eyes but took it, anyway. I escorted her into the elevator and pushed the button for the fourth floor.
“Forget to change the reservations?” I asked, voice teasing.
She pursed her lips together. “I didn’t forget. I just didn’t do it. Besides, what would I say? I broke up with my boyfriend and am bringing a different man.”
“It’s fine. Maybe pretending to be Chase will make me more sociable.”
“You’re really going to pretend to be Chase?”
“He said there wasn’t anyone else local. I can be a pharma bro for the weekend.”
She huffed. “He’s not a ‘pharma bro.’ He’s a pharmaceutical sales rep.”
“Okay, pharmaceutical sales rep,” I parroted. “It’ll be fun. Besides, doesn’t it seem lame? Going on a romantic weekend with your best friend?”
“Lame? I never feel lame,” she said haughtily, sweeping her hair back with a pleased smile on her lips. Of course she didn’t.
“Besides, I don’t want to talk about the sanctuary this weekend,” I said, ignoring her vanity. “This is better. I bet no one asks follow-up questions about being a pharma bro.”
“Still haven’t found a replacement for Whitney?”
I shook my head as the doors slid open. “Nope, and I don’t really expect to. But, let’s not talk about that. This weekend only, I don’t run an animal rescue. I sell drugs.”
