“I’m not running myself as ragged as I did in the city. The apartment I rented was almost useless, and it cost a fortune. The peace here has been nice, but I miss the city vibe. I’ve slowed down and looked around a lot more. I love being with my family, too. Now that I know there’s going to be a baby girl, I’m even more excited. I want to be a good aunt.” I smiled at the thought of my niece and watching her grow up.
“I know I’d like it if you stayed here. I think I’ll be here working for a while until competitions pick up. Even then, I plan to make this my home base.” Jack assured me as he kissed my hair. “It’s the perfect place to train in the winter and gorgeous in the summer. I love being outside any time of the year.”
“I always loved all seasons here,” I agreed, thinking back again to being little here. “It’s a great way to grow up.”
“You can always change your plan and stay. You don’t have to be in New York to live your dream,” Jack reminded me as I closed my eyes.
“No, I don’t.” I snuggled closer to him, drifting off to sleep.
There’s something about being in the arms of a warm man that helps me sleep so much. I felt the same way with Charlie and felt surprised that I wasn’t bothered by the idea of being here with someone else.
I’d never thought that I’d be the woman to sleep with two men, but here I was. There even might be a third one soon and I wanted Ben as much as I wanted the others.
I slept hard and woke up in the morning to the sun coming through the windows. Jack still slept beside me, and I slowly got out of bed to go to the bathroom and fix myself in the mirror.
I walked to the window to look out over the snow and trees, just feeling the peace in the air. There was something about Lake Placid that made me not want to leave.
I glanced back at Jack, looking over his muscular, lithe body, and I knew he had a lot to do with that as well.
When he woke up, I joined him for breakfast at a diner in a different town and then he took me home. I told Jefferson I’d work that day and changed into some clean clothes after a shower before driving to the lodge.
I thought about my night as I worked, playing back everything. Jack was impulsive and fun, and I enjoyed being with him. He gave me a lot of food for thought and filled my mind the entire day.
CHAPTERTWELVE
BEN
I sipped my coffee as I sat in the large conference room with Jefferson and the other head staff of the lodge. The subject was Christmas on Main Street and a staple in the town, something I was familiar with.
It also booked every room and cabin in the place and brought in a lot of money. There would be vendors along with the restaurant, including a pop-up mobile bar for Charlie to promote the holiday spiced cider he’d perfected recently.
It all sounded like it would be great. I’d add a few things to the decorations inside and out and we’d be all set. With Avery on my staff, anything was possible, and I blinked as Jefferson ended the meeting.
I stood along with everyone, grabbing my cup of coffee as I heard Jefferson ask me to hang back.
I turned to look at my friend with a smile. “Is there something you’re worried about?” I asked, leaning against a chair.
“How’s Avery doing with the job? I know she’s worked a lot with you doing the decorating.” Jefferson gazed at me as I tilted my head.
“She’s great. Avery is hardworking and honestly one of the best I’ve had. She’s all over this place getting things done.” I sobered for a moment, thinking about the time she’d be gone. “It’s going to be tough to lose her.”
I’d never say it to Jefferson but losing her would hurt for a lot more reasons than just her hard work.
“I know. I’m worried about Avery, Ben. She came here from a shitty situation in New York, and I don’t know if she’ll be going back to anything better. Avery told me from day one that she planned to find a job back there and move back to her apartment, but I don’t want her to. We all want her here over getting caught up in something else like that.”
“Shitty situation?” I asked, knowing I couldn’t admit to knowing about it. I wanted to pretend that I wasn’t close to Jefferson’s sister, so I played dumb. “She hasn’t mentioned too much to me about that.”
“Avery has high expectations for herself.” Jefferson glanced around and, seeing that we were alone with the door closed, let his shoulders slump. “She did great in school and her first job went well. I think things went wrong when she met her ex and gave him too much of herself and her money when he opened a restaurant. If the asshole was smart, he’d still have it, but he got greedy and lost everything. Everyone involved lost everything and Avery came here early to regain her footing and try to save some money. I admire how hard she’s worked this year.” Jefferson shook his head. “I don’t want her to go back and have something like that happen again.”
I admired Jefferson’s protective nature with his sister and nodded, though I felt the same way for different reasons. “I can see that. Do you think she’d get back with him?” I asked, feeling my stomach clench at the idea.
“Avery? No, I hope not. He fucked her over too much. I know it took some convincing on my mom’s part to get her here, though. She felt like she failed.”
Jefferson gave me a serious look. “She doesn’t want many people knowing about this for that reason. Keep it between us?”
“Of course,” I quickly agreed with a nod. “Maybe she’ll stay. She hasn’t heard about any jobs yet, right?”
“Not that I’m aware of, but this damn place and Polly keep me busy. I hope Avery sticks around for the sake of the baby.” Jefferson stared through the window for a moment as he fell silent. “I want my sister here. I want to know she’s okay. I could kill her ex for what he did to her.”