Lake or a pool.
I concede that it does indeed sound lovely.
I muster up some enthusiasm. “Sounds like it’s gonna be great!”
“So you’ll really come?”
“Of course I’ll come.” Ugh, who could say no to that sweet, happy face? “I love you—wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
I down what’s left in my canary shaped glass, face scrunching up like I’ve swallowed a lemon.
CHAPTER 1
Juliet
“When you said all expenses paid getaway, I was hoping we’d end up at a tropical destination. Or Cancun. Or, oh—I don’t know. Fiji.”
My best friend laughs at me as I step down from the black SUV and survey the same surroundings I’ve been watching through the tinted window on our shuttle ride from the airport; acre after acre of wooded trees coupled with the overwhelming scent of pine.
Washington nature at its finest.
A lake shimmers in the background through even more trees.
And more trees.
“Are you sure we didn’t take a wrong turn somewhere? Perhaps while the plane was zipping us past California?”
We’d passed the cutest little town on our drive here about twenty-five minutes back. There wasn’t much to it but a restaurant, a bank, a bar, and a gas station—but quaint, just the same. Anyway, it was hard to see where we are in the fading sunlight.
“Where on earth are we?”
Mia glances down at the screen of her phone then holds it up into the air, squinting at it. “I have horrible reception here but the guys are already here somewhere. At least Thad is.”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out—where here is.”
“Did you not see the big wooden sign at the entrance?” She holds her phone into the air as if a better signal were going to beam down to her.
Um no—unless it was a sign for Disneyland, I completely missed it. Disney, by the way, happens to be one of Mia’s favorite escapes we go to at least once a year, spending a day at Disneyland California Adventure and a day at the hotel pool. Usually it’s the last place on earth I want to be but I’d swap this woodsy murder trap for a park full of people in a heartbeat.
“I am so glad he decided on this place. At first I was thinking he’d choose Hawaii, but I’d seen a sponsored ad for this place too and fell in love.” She spins, hiking boots crunching into the gravel as she attempts a pirouette.
Hiking boots?
No one told me to pack hiking boots!
Shit.
“Why did I think we were coming to the tropics? Why! I had such high hopes I packed three swimsuits just in case. It’s not too late to turn around and head to the Caribbean you know.” I hike the laptop bag further up on my shoulder and scowl at her through the dark lenses of my sunnies.
“You’re so funny.” My best friend giggles. “You’ll still have a chance to put one of those suits on if the lake isn’t freezing cold.”
Great. “I’m not sure the lake is happening for me. Haven’t you ever heard of shrinkage?”
“Only guys have shrinkage.”
“And me—I have big dick energy, remember?”
Behind us, someone clears their throat. “Ladies, there’s a driver on his way to come grab you and take you to the cabins. They should be here any second.” Our driver then busies himself by opening the back of the shuttle and hauling our suitcases out the back, one heave at a time.
Mia has one.
One suitcase and a tote.
I have two suitcases and it appears that while I was packing, I was prepping for a month-long excursion, filling it with day dresses, skirts for fancy dinners, cover-ups, cute matching pajamas—and every lotion and potion that goes into my rigorous skincare routine.
Hey. Wrinkles don’t disappear themselves, they have to be babied, and I wanted to pack anything and everything I might need for a fun, adventure filled weekend.
This is an adventure alright.
The engine of a vehicle echoes in the still dusk air, the sun making a slow descent in the sky as an ATV materializes from a trail in the near distance.
It’s a four-seater, I notice as it gets closer. “It’s like an Uber in the north woods,” I joke.
Our shuttle driver begins stacking our bags into the back of the vehicle as the guy climbs out and comes around to introduce himself.
“Missus Watley? Mia?” His hand isn’t sure which one to shake until Mia grabs hold and gives it a firm squeeze. “Welcome. I’m Ben Sutter, the innkeeper and well, the concierge as well. Thad is already waiting for you back at the cabins, making sure everything is perfect. If you both want to hop on into the Gator, we’ll be at the site in a few short minutes.”
“The site?”
After thanking our shuttle driver and tipping him, we climb in, waving one last time before my eyes fully digest our surroundings.