Page 9 of Maybe This Christmas
“Well, could you pretend?For me, at least?”
Davis pulled the Mercedes to a stop under the carport.A broad, bearded, blond man decked out in a buffalo-check flannel and khakis knocked on the passenger-side door.He clutched a tablet protected with a festive Christmas case to his chest.
With an aggrieved sigh, Davis pressed a button and the passenger window lowered.
“Why, hello there!You must be the Dale-Parkson party.”
Emma clapped her hands together.“We are!And we’re so excited to be here.”
“We’re excited to have you!I’m Brandon Blake.I co-own Sky House Lodge & Villas with my wife, Sabrina.That name is a mouthful—we just call this place the lodge.”He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a red parking pass.“Why don’t you hook this on your mirror and park at the Evergreen lot?I’ll have one of our bellhops meet you there to take your bags to your treehouse for you while we get you checked in at the lodge.”
“Sounds good!”
Davis rolled up the window before Emma could finish her sentence.“He needs to cut back on his coffee intake.It’s too early for anyone to be that energetic.”
She leaned forward to hook the parking pass on the rearview mirror.“Oh, stop being such a Grinch.This place is magical.”
“If you say so,” Davis muttered under his breath.
After the bellhop collected their bags, they made their way to the lodge building.Emma extended her gloved hand for Davis to take, but he was too preoccupied with his phone to notice.
She tucked her hand into her coat pocket and tried to shake off Davis’ bad attitude.If he couldn’t see the magic in a place like this, then this whole trip was just for show.Minimal effort as usual.It was up to her whether she wanted to continue to go along with it.
After all, that was kind of the point of this trip.And so far, the scales weren’t exactly tipped toward moving to New York.
But when she thought about what happened after Davis, her mind drew a blank.No job, no place to live.That had to be a terrible reason for staying with someone.
Emma inhaled the scent of evergreen and crisp winter air.She didn’t have to have everything figured out right now.
She approached the front entrance, with Davis trailing behind her.Another bellhop whisked the door open for them.
“The front desk is over there, Ms.Dale.”He pointed to the far end of the room as if she could miss it.A large oak desk stood proudly under a picture window.Wreaths and garlands wound around the desk.
A tall blonde woman stood behind it.As they approached, a man appeared from behind the counter and spoke animatedly to her.
Not that Emma could make out what he was saying.Her steps slowed as she took in the sight before her.The man wasn’t dressed in the flannel and khaki wardrobe like other hotel employees.He wore a pair of faded jeans and a grayish Henley shirt.His dark hair was unruly, haphazard curls sticking out as he brushed it back from his face.
He was…the opposite of Davis in every way.He was dark, broad, and built like a—as cliche as it sounded, given their location—a lumberjack.
“Hello!”the woman called cheerfully.“You must be Emma Dale.I’m Sabrina Ellis-Blake.We emailed earlier this week?”
Emma snapped out of her trance to find that the man was looking at her—no, he was doing more than looking at her.All it took was a glance for her to feel seen, so she quickly averted her gaze.
“Yes, hi.I’m Emma, and this is my fiancé, Davis.”
Mr.Tall Dark and Brooding ducked away from the desk with one further look that made her feel as though she was underneath a spotlight.Emma watched him go.Luckily, Davis was still too distracted by a text conversation to notice.
“I’ve got your keys already.We have your credit card on file.Here’s a map of the property.”She slid over a glossy, well-designed map.Emma always appreciated design.That and other little things that other people rarely notice.
Sabrina used a red pen to circle the location of their cabin on the map.“You’ll go out the back door here and walk to the end of the path.You’ll take the first left through the trees, and your cabin will be down the first bridge.”
Emma took the map as Davis finally looked up from his phone.“Is there Wi-Fi here?The cell service sucks.”
Sabrina cleared her throat before tapping on the map.“The Wi-Fi password is at the bottom of the map here.Although we encourage our guests to unplug and enjoy while they’re here.”
To that, Davis let out a snort.“Whatever you say.”
Sabrina ignored him and handed Emma another sheet.“This is the schedule of events for the week.Things may change, since our events director left us recently.My brother is filling in.”She nodded to where the lumberjack stood, flipping through a pile of pamphlets.
