Page 19 of The Dating Coach
"Don't encourage her," Gemma said, but she was fighting a smile. "She already thinks your house is haunted because the pipes make noise."
"All old houses are haunted," Frank interjected. "It's part of their charm. Henry's room is definitely haunted by the ghost of someone who died of boredom."
"Hey, my room is tastefully minimal," Henry protested.
"Your room looks like a prison cell," Karen said.
The good-natured bickering continued as we got back on the road, the afternoon sun slanting through the windows and turning everything golden. I found myself relaxing in a way I rarely did, the constant pressure of expectations and performances falling away mile by mile.
"Turn here," Frank called from the backseat, waving his printed directions like a battle flag. He refused to trust GPS in the mountains, which meant we'd been following his hand-scrawled notes for the past hour.
The cabin materialized through the trees two miles down the winding dirt road like something out of a storybook – log construction with a massive stone chimney, wraparound porch, and windows that reflected the surrounding forest. It belonged to Frank's family but rarely got used outside of summer.
"Holy shit," Karen breathed. "This is not a cabin. This is a lodge. This is where rich people come to pretend they're roughing it."
"My parents like their comfort," Frank said, somehow managing to shrug despite Wilson still on his lap. "Wait until you see the hot tub."
"There's a hot tub?" Mia perked up. "Gem, you didn't mention a hot tub."
"I didn't know about a hot tub," Gemma said, shooting me an accusatory look like I'd been holding out on her.
"I didn't know either," I defended. "Frank just said 'cabin in the woods.' This is... not what I pictured."
We piled out of the car, everyone eager to stretch after hours of confinement. The forest air was crisp and clean, scented with pine and the earthy smell of fallen leaves. Gemma tilted her face up to the sky, breathing deeply, and I had to force myself to look away from the elegant line of her throat.
"Dibs on the master bedroom!" Karen announced, already racing for the door.
"There is no master bedroom," Frank called after her. "They're all equally nice!"
"Then dibs on the nicest equal room!"
The interior was even more impressive than the exterior – soaring ceilings with exposed beams, a stone fireplace that dominated one wall, and furniture that managed to be both rustic and obviously expensive. Windows everywhere brought the forest inside, making the space feel both cozy and boundless.
"Okay, rooms," I said, trying to be practical even as everyone scattered to explore. "We've got three bedrooms, so—"
"Mia and I can share," Gemma said quickly. "Karen can have her own room since she apparently needs space for her portable salon."
"It's not a salon, it's basic grooming supplies," Karen defended from somewhere upstairs. "I found my room! It has a bear theme! Everything is bears!"
"I'll take the couch," I offered.
"Frank and I can share," Henry said. "We've roomed together at away games in worse conditions."
"Remember that motel in Buffalo?" Frank shuddered. "I'm pretty sure those weren't bedbugs. I think they were evolved bedbugs. Possibly sentient."
"They were definitely plotting something," Henry agreed.
Once the sleeping arrangements were settled, we spent the next hour unpacking and making ourselves at home. I fought the urge to think about Gemma just down the hall—what she’d look like waking up, hair tousled, eyelashes heavy. Yet the simple rhythms of shared domestic life—cooking dinner side by side, playfully squabbling over board games, inhabiting the same space without hidden agendas—brought a comfort I hadn’t felt in years.
“Who knew Liam could cook?” Karen teased, watching me slice vegetables with steady precision as we prepped for dinner. “You’ve got hidden talents, Delacroix.”
“Everyone should know how to feed themselves,” I replied, glancing over to see Gemma whisking the salad dressing. “My mom made sure I learned before college.”
"Smart woman," Gemma said. "I had to teach myself from online cooking videos and nearly burned down my first apartment twice."
"Twice?" Mia looked horrified. "You never told me about the second time."
"Because you would have told Mom, and I'd never have heard the end of it." Gemma's face did something complicated at the mention of their mother. "Besides, the fire extinguisher worked. Eventually."
