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Working on getting a flight plan cleared. Might be a couple of days. Sorry.
Wyatt’s response came much quicker than I thought it would. At least he had given me some kind of response. And it gave me an idea of when to expect them.
I’ll make sure you have a room to go to when you get here. You and Seth.
With that, I started looking through the reservations to see how many rooms were going to be taken immediately upon the lodge opening back up on Wednesday. There had been a couple of cancelations by now, but nothing too bad. Besides, with unexpected walk-ins like Mr. Wilson, we’d be able to recoup the losses of the large groups and other people who canceled unexpectedly through the season.
I glanced over at Laurel and Mr. Wilson. They had not yet moved from where they were, and I could see the ring sparkling from here. It took everything in me not to laugh out loud. It looked like a Superbowl championship ring. It clearly catered to Mark’s preference for flashy, expensive fashion than Laurel’s actual lifestyle. I couldn’t imagine Laurel trying to roll out cookies with such a giant rock on her hand.
My phone buzzed in my hands, and I returned my attention to it.
Thanks, Luke. We owe you big time for keeping those free for us for the summer.
Wyatt’s text sounded like the end of the conversation. I let out a soft sigh. The only other thing I could do was pretend like I was cleaning up the desk area. There was really nothing more I could do here, and everything else required going past the couple. I didn’t want to leave Laurel in the lobby alone with Mr. Wilson.
If this was a sign of things to come, I wanted to put him as far away from Laurel as I could. Thankfully, there was a room open near mine. Not exactly beside it, but close enough that I would hear if there was trouble brewing because he had invited her up to his room instead of going to hers.
If he was going to be staying, I needed to have a contingency plan. From the way he just blew me off, I suspected that he was only here to make sure that Laurel returned to Chicago with him, or at least agreed to marry him.
Somehow I didn’t think it would be as easy as he clearly expected.
She had learned to stand up for herself, from what I could tell. She might have put up with some of his egotistical behaviors before, but she clearly had gotten some good practice calling people like me out on that. If she planned to return to him, then there was nothing I could do but nurse the broken heart I could feel inside and do my best not to let it affect the season.
What had I even been thinking, kissing her like that? There had been no indication she liked me in that manner other than asking to go hiking together. And she could have asked simply to waste time while we were stuck here together.
One final glance at the two of them revealed that Mr. Wilson had closed the ring box. Or Laurel had pressed it shut. I was just glad that they weren’t putting that ring out there for all to see in the town. It would get stolen real quick if the wrong person heard about it.
And I knew exactly who to tell about it if it needed to disappear…
I quickly shook that thought away. It wasn’t my decision to make. If that ring disappeared, I would consciously be sure that I had no part in it. As much as I wanted to make it disappear and ruin his chances with Laurel, I was better than that. Better than the man standing in front of her, trying to win back her approval with a much worse ring and a desperate appeal to her compassion.
Besides, it was much more fun to watch him crash and burn organically should Laurel decide not to take him back.
Chapter twenty-one
Laurel
I stood in shock, attempting to form the words to tell Mark what I thought of his attempt to win me back but only breathing hot air in his face. Part of me still wanted him to put his arms around me, pick me up, and spin me around like he had the first time he had proposed. Part of me wanted absolutely nothing to do with him, as I could still feel Luke’s lips pressed against mine in my memories. It didn’t help that my lips were a little wet - from Luke’s kiss.
Then, there was the ring he held. Mark had always been a fan of the flashy fashion, but I had always been clear that I wanted a gemstone ring. He had done well the first time, finding a compromise by putting a decently sized peridot in the middle of the halo and smaller diamonds around it. It was still a lighter gemstone, which annoyed me. I had wanted a rich, luscious color in the middle of my ring – something like an emerald, or a deep ruby.
This time around, the ring had a large, white diamond in the middle of the halo, and it had two different halos around the larger diamond. All the diamonds were white, clear, sparkly. Everything I had hated in a ring.
In all honesty, it looked like he had gone up to one of the salespeople at the jewelry store, pointed at one of the rings on their advertising catalogue, and said that he’d gladly take one of those, no matter the cost. And not any lab-grown diamonds, either.
“I don’t want to go with you.” I finally managed to get the word out.
Mark’s face didn’t change. “I think you’re confused. Living in Idaho, this isn’t you, Laurel. Being some hotel cook, is this really what you want in life?” He laughed pityingly. “I don’t know what you’ve done with your boss over there,” he motioned to the desk. “But not everyone will be as forgiving as me.”
I felt my face flush. Was he right? “Can I have a couple of days to think it over?” I asked.
My voice finally found its way to the air. I was more surprised by the tone than the fact that it was rather quiet. I was not happy with the way Mark had decided to insert himself back into my life. I felt pressured. Did I even have a choice? Maybe he really did know better than me?
Shouldn’t the fact that I had run all the way to Idaho have been a clue that I didn’t want to be with him any longer – no matter how much it hurt? No matter what he said?
With my question, however, Mark slowly shut the ring box.
“Why would you need time to think about it?” He appeared genuinely confused as to why I would need to think about this.
