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I cut the thought off quickly, deciding on a walk along the outskirts of the lodge. Some alone time. Some time to think.
Zach showing up was…unexpected. He’s always flaked on company events in the past, and that’s something I was banking on with Roy ready to step down. Surely he wouldn’t give his stepson control of the company if he couldn’t even show up for this retreat?
But here he is.
Trying to schmooze Roy, trying to get under my skin by flirting with Mel.
At least she didn’t flirt back.
Or…I don’t think she did.
That unfamiliar feeling of jealousy rises again, catching me off guard. I can’t even remember the last time I was jealous over a woman, but here I am, ready to jump Zach and pummel him into the dirt if he even looks her way one more time. And that wouldn’t look too good for me, beating up the boss’s stepson.
Circling back toward the lodge’s entrance, I walk in and stride toward our suite. Somehow, most of the company was quartered on the other side of the building, which gives us some privacy. It’s almost as if fate is working in our favor.
The suite door is unlocked and I step inside quietly, closing it behind me. The stillness in here acts as a warning. I stand for a moment, listening, and hear a voice—Mel’s.
My heart thuds, possibilities running through my mind. Did she bring Zach back here? Is she finally sick of this, and calling for a plane ticket home?
But then she laughs, and the sound is so familiar that my anxiety drains away.
“No, I’m fine, really. I know—it’s crazy they already have me on a retreat. But everything’s going great, Jodie. The team is competent. I don’t even think they needed to hire me.”
Jodie.
Her face flashes through my mind: long honey-colored hair, a kind face, always laughing. The same dimples that Mel has.
Jodie took Mel in not long after her parents abandoned her. Mel spilled the whole story to me one summer night when we were sixteen. My heart ached for her back then, and it aches now at the thought of Jodie, who was always welcoming me into her home, as if she’d always planned on having two teens rambling around.
“I’ll check in after a few days. And I promise I’ll call before I fly back. Alright. Love you, too.”
In the last minute or so, I’ve crept toward the balcony, not even realizing it. The memory of Jodie and the ease I felt back then sinks into my bones. I just want that comfort again. When was the last time I felt calm and grounded?
Mel is leaning against the railing, looking out at the forest. A pair of young squirrels chitters and chases each other through the branches.
“How’s she doing?”
Mel turns quickly, not looking too happy that I snuck up on her.
“Were you just listening to my phone call?”
I shrug. “Not really. Just came back to the room and you left the balcony door open, so I was going to hear it whether I wanted to or not.”
Her eyes narrow. She’s changed into a pair of light linen trousers and a tank top, both fitting the slight curves of her body perfectly.
“So? How is Jodie?”
Mel’s mouth presses into a flat line. “She’s fine.”
“Is she…back wherever you moved from?”
I have no idea where Mel was last. I haven’t asked, because it hasn’t felt like my business, but now…there’s a longing in me to know more. Where she’s been. Who she’s been. Where she wants to be in the future.
What I said to Roy was true—Mel had always wanted to go into fine art. Like him, I wasn’t sure what she was doing as the head of marketing at Dupont Analytics. Aside from graphic design, which she was obviously great at, management didn’t seem like her thing.
“She is,” Mel says shortly, arms crossed.
There’s a beat of silence. She obviously doesn’t want to talk about her personal life, and I turn away, letting her have some space.
