Page 41 of Against All Odds

“What about you?” she asked after a moment. “You try couple’s counseling?”

I groaned. “Unfortunately. It was hell.”

“That must’ve been hard.”

She didn’t laugh as I wanted her to, and I marveled at this woman’s care when it came to others. She didn’t want to be amused about the fall of my marriage. The more time I spent with Sable, the more I was impressed by her.

“What made you want to get into the hotel business?” she asked after a while.

I smiled at the question, thinking back. “I kind of fell into it. Mav…Maverick Royal is the CEO of Royal Hotels. We were in college together at UCLA. I knew his father well, and he asked me to try the hotel business. I didn’t think it was for me, but I thought, why the hell not? Experience is experience. But then he passed, and Mav needed help, so I started working for him at the headquarters in New York.”

“How did you end up as a general manager?”

“I spent a lot of time in hotels, and I started to understand why some of our hotels were successful, but others that seemed similar weren’t. A big part of it was the leadership, so I became the general manager slash fixer for Mav.”

She raised an eyebrow, curious. “I thought you were just a GM.”

“I am. In San Diego, I felt settled and resented having to move around. So, I took over as GM of the flagship hotel. It’s a resort and conference center—with connected properties. Next thing I knew, I’d been running that place for fifteen years with short stints here and there whenever Mav needed me.”

We reached the overlook, which was the destination of our five-mile hike. The trail opened up to a wide expanse of rock that jutted out over the valley. The view was breathtaking—rolling green hills giving way to snow-capped peaks in the distance.

“Wow,” I exclaimed.

Sable sat on the edge, dangling her legs over the side, and I joined her. The warmth of the sun offset the cool mountain breeze.

She drank some water from a bottle and then handed it to me. She asked me questions about my work, and Irealized that Sable was curious about others, not revealing much about herself in the process. I didn’t mind. We had time. I’d get to know her, slow and steady, when my doe was comfortable with me and not as skittish.

“What do you love most about the hotel business?”

I didn’t have to think about the answer. I knew. “It’s the people. I like creating spaces where people feel comfortable. Where they can relax, make memories, and be themselves. It’s rewarding in a way I didn’t expect.”

She nodded thoughtfully. “You know, it’s what I also like about having the Wildflower.”

“It’s a big shift from bank teller to bar wench,” I teased. “How did that happen?”

She took a deep breath. “I worked in the bank because I thought that was whatnormalpeople did. I got an associate’s degree in accounting and got a job in the bank. I found I was good at it. I didn’t love it, but Ilikedthe regular paycheck and the dignity it gave me. I had a roof over my head. I didn’t have to worry about…well, my safety or getting food. All of that was pretty heady at twenty-two.”

I put an arm around her, and she nestled against me, the world’s most beautiful view in front of us. Technically, I knew that Sable grew up poor, and I thought I knew what that meant. But hearing her talk about what she experienced was hard-hitting, and it made my esteem for her grow.

“You did the bank job for a long while,” I remarked.

“Yes. Eighteen years.” She kissed my chest almostabsently. I liked that about her. I liked how she felt in my arms, how she nestled against me, how she always found a way when we were alone to touch me. It was all the same things I did with her as well.

“But after Jack discarded me?—”

“He screwed up, Bambi.” I didn’t like how she talked about herself sometimes. She was not trash that was discarded.

“Screwed Molly more like it,” she tried to joke.

“I’m so sorry, babe. Adultery hits hard.”

“It’s not that or notjustthat. We tried to have a baby with IVF,” she paused for a long moment and then continued, “I had two miscarriages. After that, I was done. I was sick of pumping hormones into my body. I was thirty-eight, and I didn’t want to have one of those geriatric pregnancies. Jack was upset and disappointed…so he found a woman who was, amongst all other things,fertile.”

This was tricky ground, and I didn’t think I could say anything to make her feel better, so I stroked her arm and held her closer.

“I don’t want children,” she continued. “I mean, I did, but I met Jack when I was thirty, and we married two years later. I was just so happy someonedecentmarried me. So grateful.”

“He was lucky to have you. I know because I’m lucky to have you with me right now.” I brushed my lips close to her ear.

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