I couldn’t let that happen but I could feel it. At some point, I would fall for the bastard. If I got away from him now, I felt like I stood a chance of truly getting over him. Any more contact and I would cross the point of no return. He was so incredibly out of my reach; it was ridiculous to even entertain the thought of being with him.
I had seen the caliber of women that he liked to be seen in public with. The skinny, underfed models, never older than twenty-four; that was his type. I was a curvy redhead who never got tall enough to model and couldn't even hack it if I tried. I had a low-key job that wasn’t that glamourous even though it was technically in the fashion industry. Maybe he liked to roll around in the hay with me, but when it came to business, meaning pumping and dumping all the tens in New York City, that wasn’t me.
My mind was running through all of the advice I had heard about men throughout my life because Toby was exactly the kind of man it applied to. Men were trash. Never trust what men said only trust their actions. Never let a guy tell you he didn’t want you twice. He had told me more than twice at this point, but it seemed it was indecisive.
No, that was just me giving him access to me when he didn’t deserve it.
I was trying to convince myself not to do something stupid and it wasn’t working. Being at the resort was going to be a good thing. We weren’t going to be alone anymore which meant contact would be limited by force. Everyone else was going to be around so we were going to have to pretend like nothing had happened in the cabin. As far as they were concerned, we were distant professional acquaintances who happened to belong to the same friend group.
After the work portion of the trip was over, we would have no reason to be in each other’s presence. This was what should’ve happened in the first place. At the resort, forced apart by the fact that we were not supposed to be together, I’d leave that man the hell alone.
I was going to remember this one day and laugh.
I saw the resort coming up on the left. After we turned in to the main entrance, Toby parked and came out of the SUV, taking his bags out with him. He handed his keys to a man waiting and that man took the car. Oh, valet parking, of course, this place had valet parking. I forgot all my friends were rich sometimes because they hung out with me.
I felt a little bit of my excitement for the remainder of this trip coming back. Of course, it wasn’t a treat for Toby and Missy the way it was for me, but I was determined to enjoy myself. When it was my turn, I hopped out of the car, grabbed my bags, and let the valet take the rental.
The lobby was a huge, grand hall. Everything was made of shiny, expensive-looking wood with touches of wilderness, fitting in with the mountains and forests in the region. With the obvious luxury apparent everywhere, I started to feel slightly out of place.
“Maggie? Maggie, there you are!”
Missy came running up to me and engulfed me in a hug so violent that I dropped one of my bags. I hugged her back. It had been way too long since Toby was the only other person that I could talk to, I was thrilled to see her.
“You guys made it. I was so worried.”
“You guys made sure we got help coming down the mountain. Everything is fine.”
“I'm so sorry it took so long,” she said.
“It's fine. I've spent more time in worse places before,” I said, trying to laugh it off.
“I promise I'm going to make it up to you. This place has the best spa in the whole state.” I fully intended to take her up on that offer. I felt like after my ordeal, and yes, it had been an ordeal, I deserved it. This was what I had wanted in the first place, the reason I was so excited to come out here. A fucking vacation.
&
nbsp; “This place is really beautiful, the pictures on the website don't do it justice,” I said to her, changing the subject. It was over now so I didn't want to talk about it anymore. Things were going to go back to normal now since we didn't have the option to continue the way we had been.
It was starting to become obvious to me now, what had happened in the cabin with Toby had only happened because of the ridiculous circumstances. In reality, in normal life, nothing like that could have taken place. Something extraordinary had happened because we had been subjected to extraordinary circumstances.
It might as well have been a dream. Nightmare more like. It had been a nightmare and I had just woken up.
Trying situations were supposed to reveal who a person really was, but in this case, I didn't think that was true. People adapted to their surroundings and we had adapted to ours. We were the only two people around for miles so of course, sparks had flown and lines had been crossed. I had learned something valuable about myself so it wasn’t all for nothing. In a situation where Toby was the only man available, I would choose him. Since he wasn't the only man available any longer, I was not going to.
“Come on, let's get you sorted out then. If you like it out here, you're going to die when you see your suite.”
I followed Missy in a daze to the front desk where we got our key cards. I had seen the price per night for the resort and let's just say, if I had ever wanted to come here on my own dime, it would have taken months if not years of saving to do it.
I felt myself get sentimental all of a sudden. Missy was such a good friend and such a good boss too. My life had completely transformed because of her. Where would I be without her? Not here, that was for sure. I started sniffling a little bit. Was that...was I crying? Why? Because I was getting to stay at a resort? What was wrong with me?
Maybe the stress of the entire situation had finally caught up to me.
After getting our key cards, Missy accompanied me up to my floor with Toby and Easton. Technically, it was our floor, all of us. She broke down the sleeping arrangements.
“We’re all on the same floor so don't hesitate to knock on anyone's door if you need anything. This room is yours, Maggie. Niall and Eddy are right across from you. Brenna and Charlie are down the hall, and I'm two doors down with Easton. Toby, that one is yours.”
Toby had barely looked in my direction since we had gotten here which was a good thing, but it still gave me a little bit of a strange feeling. I didn't want him to give away what we had spent our time together doing, but it was still a little jarring after all the attention he had given me since last night. Hopefully, the thought of the two of us together was so ridiculous that it didn’t even cross anyone’s mind.
“I suppose all we're doing today is getting settled in?” Toby asked Missy.