Page 72 of The Lodge

I follow her gaze to the door and find myself staring straight at Tyler as he walks inside. His eyes light up, and my cheeks turn pink at his obvious attention—and the guilt I feel over the email in my inbox.

“After all these years,” Makenna says in a low voice, “I finally knowonething he likes!” She gives me a pointed look before putting the croissant in the toaster oven.

Tyler joins me at the counter, gives me a shy smile.

I smile back, doing my very best to look innocent.

Iaminnocent, I remind myself. So why do I feel like such a traitor?

“What’ll it be today, Tyler?” Makenna asks.

“Surprise me,” he replies—to no one’s surprise.

Makenna smirks. “I’ll have it right out.”

“You don’t have to pay?” I ask as he follows me over to my table,where all my stuff is still spread out. Thank goodness I closed the laptop, so there’s no chance of him catching a glimpse of Sebastian’s name in Aspen’s email.

“Perk of working on-property,” he replies. “We get one free drink every day.”

“Okay, so how do I get a job at the resort?”

“I’m sure Jules could hook you up with one if you really wanted it for more than just the free coffee,” he says, grinning. His eyes study mine. “It’s good to see you. Thank you—for Saturday. For everything.”

He doesn’t have to get specific: it’s been almost two days, and his secret is still a secret.

“Speaking of Jules,” he goes on, “she and Riv know that you know. You might have noticed, but they are embarrassingly excited about the fact that I’ve taken you on a few dates—and—you can say no to this—they invited us to dinner at Jules’s place tomorrow night. It would be you and me, Jules and her husband, and Riv. Riv travels a lot, but he’s back to help out with storm prep this week.”

He looks so shy extending this invitation, definitely nervous. I guess itisthe equivalent of meeting his family—and I’m the first person he’s ever let in on his secret.

Maybe I’m the one who should be nervous.

Makenna comes over with my croissant and—I do a double take at the latte she sets before Tyler. There areFroot Loopson top.

Tyler raises his eyebrows. “This… is new…”

Makenna laughs. “Triple vanilla latte with a Froot Loop garnish, extra hot. Oh, and the milk is infused with Froot Loops, too—I let some soak in the fridge this morning since I figured you’d be in at some point.”

“You,” Tyler says, taking a sip and giving nothing away about how he likes it, “have a special talent.”

“I’m taking that as a compliment!” she sings as she heads back toward her station.

“It actually is really good,” Tyler admits when it’s just us. “A bit on the sweet side. Want to try it?”

I take a sip, and wow, yeah, it’s really sweet, even for me. But not bad?

“I’m surprised you like this, Mr. Naked Salad,” I say, maybe the most awkward sentence that’s ever come out of my mouth.

He laughs. “I wouldn’t put it past her to make me a spinach cappuccino one day, honestly.”

“Isn’t that just called a smoothie?”

“Not when it’s hot and has espresso in it,” he says. “I think we’ve just invented the worst beverage idea in history.”

“With soy milk,” I add, laughing so hard I snort, which makeshimlaugh even harder.

“And nutmeg,” he says.

“Stop it!”

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