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“Nice to meet you, too, Gloria,” I said. “Absolutely no way is Morgan at all like the producers portrayed her. She’s the sweetest person you could ever meet. Always doing everything she can for others. It was so wrong the way they made her look like a villain.”
“What else isn’t like it seemed on TV?” Gloria asked.
They kept creeping closer. With each step, the business dudes stepped a little farther back. Perfect.
“Chester,” I leaned in conspiratorially, “is even quirkier in real life.”
“No way,” the two said in unison.
They shot each other a confused glance. The mom smiled. The daughter shivered with disgust.
Chester would love that I was talking about him. Even better if these people posted about it on social media. “You remember his cheese beard, right?”
“That’s his whole thing,” Gloria said.
I nodded. “In his fridge, he keeps a pair of cheese underpants to wear with it.”
Pom looked horrified. Gloria looked absolutely delighted.
“You two want to take some selfies?” I asked.
“Yes.” Gloria pulled out her phone and stepped in next to me. She waved Pom to join us.
Pom shook her head. “I’ll wait until you’re done.”
Gloria rolled her eyes and sighed. “Teenagers.”
I smiled, posed, and didn’t comment. Behind me, I could feel Gabriel’s presence, just a few steps away. I could feel his attention as if he were pressed right up against my back.
A flush carried up my neck. I shook off my wandering thoughts as Gloria snapped her pics. When she finished, Pom stepped up to take her turn.
“Can we go outside, catch the sunset? And not have the same backdrop as the ones withGloria?”
“Sure,” I said.
Gabriel was two steps ahead, booking it for the door.
A loud crack boomed through the building, shaking the floor beneath our feet.
I froze.
My heart jumped into my throat.
Was the building falling down on top of us? If it was, the best thing to do would be to run outside. So why wouldn’t my feet move?
“What was that?” I said to no one in particular.
But Gabriel was right there with me, suddenly so close I could grab onto him if we were two people who got along well enough for that kind of thing. Which we weren’t.
An announcement played overhead.
Good evening. We’re currently in the midst of an avalanche. The road is snowed over and will be closed for the foreseeable future. In the meantime, grab a hot cocoa and snuggle in by the fire. Your rooms will be extended automatically.
Avalanche? The word repeated in my brain on repeat. What about whee kid and the snow goblin builder? What about everyone else who was out skiing?
Gabriel snatched my hand and dragged me toward the desk. He was gripping me a little too hard that it hurt.
“We don’t have rooms,” he snapped at Jane, the same woman who was here before.
