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“Do you have a fishing license? Or will you need to go out to Coeur d’Alene for that?” I looked at him as if he were any other customer checking in for now. Something felt very off, and Laurel’s reaction was also alarming. She still stood rooted to the floor where she’d been when the man first walked in.
Could this be the same Mark that she’d been engaged to? Could this be Laurel’s ex-fiancé? Surely, there were plenty of people named Mark. It might not be the same person.
He looked like he was about to answer when he realized that Laurel had not come over to the desk with me.
“Make it a room for two, sir,” Mr. Wilson said as he walked over to Laurel. Her eyes were wide, but she’d wrapped her arms around herself protectively.
I wondered why she hadn’t escaped to the kitchen while I had the man in conversation.
“I missed you, Laurel,” he proclaimed. “You didn’t need to make yourself so hard to find, or refuse to answer my calls and texts.”
My heart skipped a beat as I realized this wasn’t just a man who had the same first name as Laurel’s ex-fiancé. This was the same man who had cheated on her and broken her heart. And from the look on Laurel’s face, she wasn’t any bit interested in what he had to say.
She looked scared.
I moved to stop the man from making her any more uncomfortable, but Mr. Wilson appeared to have a few thoughts that he wanted to tell Laurel because he moved to stand between myself and Laurel as he dug in his pocket.
“You were the best thing I had in my life, Laurel,” Mr. Wilson continued. “After our argument, I broke it off with Janelle. Promise. She’s nothing you’ll have to worry about ever again. And I’d be willing to give up everything to come live in Idaho if that’s what you’d like… though after seeing you kiss your friend there, I’m not sure I’d like it if you worked here still…”
“What’s in your pocket, Mark?”
Laurel had an amazingly even tone. I imagined she had been dealing with his antics for many months – possibly years – before he pulled the stunt that made her leave him. I couldn’t tell if she was actually interested in talking to him or if she was just trying not to escalate the situation.
Maybe she really wanted to hear him out. After all, she’d loved him enough to want to marry him. Maybe there was still part of her that wanted to fix that relationship.
It hurt to be the rebound man, but I had to respect that she was not immediately telling me to get away from her.
Mark pulled his hand out of his pocket to reveal a black velvet box. I knew that shape well. It wasn’t just any box, but a ring box. From the size of the box, I wondered how much he had spent on the ring. It looked like it was a little larger than a normal ring box. Perhaps to accommodate a large ring with a ton of diamonds, or a singular large gemstone or something of the kind.
“Laurel, will you give me a second chance to prove that I can be faithful?”
He opened the box to reveal a large diamond ring. I couldn’t quite see what kind of ring design it was, but I didn’t want to see it.
I slowly started walking back to the desk, but a quick, snagged breath made me pause and turn back to Laurel. Her face was entirely white, her eyes resting unseeing on the black box. Her chest heaved in broken gasps and she tried to calm herself down. I saw Mark take a step towards her, and it was like something suddenly snapped.
Laurel threw her hands over her head. “No!” she whimpered, as if trying to fend off imaginary blows.
Anger boiled in me, and I walked over to Laurel in a few quick strides. I positioned myself between Mark and her, holding my hands up to make him stay back.
“I think you need to take a step back.”
Mark raised his eyebrows sarcastically. “I don’t know who you are, but that’s my fiancé. She’s just dramatic sometimes.”
I scowled.
Behind me, I heard Laurel’s breathing slow. After a few more seconds, I felt her hand on my elbow. “I’m okay,” she whispered. I glanced to the side, and she looked stern, suddenly fully in control of herself.
I wondered if she was actually considering his proposal.
My heart stopped once more. A lump came to my throat.
Why did I care if she was considering his proposal so much? Was one morning with her enough for my heart to soften enough that I wanted to know everything about what she was doing?
She has no obligations to me except to do her job properly, I quietly reminded myself as I trudged back to my desk. I didn’t think it was a good idea to leave her alone with Mark, so I made sure to stay in the lobby.
In an effort not to seem like I was trying to eavesdrop on their conversation, I pulled my phone out of my pocket. As I had expected, there was no text or call from either Wyatt or Seth. They were probably on their way now. I suspected they were going to be coming by jet now that they had been delayed enough that a regular plane ride wouldn’t have done them justice. An itinerary would have been nice, but I supposed they might not have known it until they arrived at the airport and spoke to the pilot.
I decided to text Wyatt to see what was going on. Nothing too pressuring, of course. Mainly just to see what the plan was and how long before they were supposed to get to the lodge. I didn’t want to be stuck in the lodge with Laurel and her ex-fiancé.
