Page 34 of Release Me
There’s something developing between Ethan and me and I’m not the only one who sees it. These two are his best friends and they know him better than anyone. They see it too. They saw it when we all went out for dinner with each other, and they saw it when he came up to their suite in the hotel.
The charge in the air changes when Ethan and I are together and everyone around us is beginning to feel it.
But I’m not sure that’s a good thing.
“Thank you, I’m feeling much better,” I reply and Brandon mutters something under his breath, smirking as Tracy swats him on the arm.
Rolling her eyes, she looks back at me and says, “He’s hopeless. Ignore him. Now how about we take a look at those rooms.”
I motion toward the stairs that lead up to the rooms and allowing them to go ahead of me. I look back over my shoulder as we all begin walking over, catching Casey watching me. If looks could kill, I’d be dead, but I’m not sure what she has to be so pissed off about.
If anything, it should be me who is pissed off. She came to me for help and when I gave her a critical piece of advice, she saw that as an attack against her and her big mouth. Maybe she’ll learn not to be so gossipy.
As soon as we reach the top of the stairs, Tracy turns to Brandon and says, “This is it.” A beaming smile on her face and he laughs out loud.
“Babe, you haven’t even seen the room yet. We’re just standing outside of it,” he teases, his hand slitting in the direction of the closed door.
“The view is beautiful, isn’t it?” I say, walking over to the window that looks out on the treetops of a wooded area of the land surrounding Badger Creek.
“It is and I love it. This is exactly what I want,” Tracy gushes, linking arms with Brandon, pulling him toward the window.
“But, this isn’t the room I was planning to show you. If you just give me a few minutes, I think I can wow you even more,” I tell her. “And I’m not sure Ethan would be too pleased with me if I let you choose our lowest priced room.” I wink at them, which only makes Brandon laugh.
“I’m pretty sure you could do anything and Ethan wouldn’t care,” he says, which again earns him a smack from Tracy.
“Will you seriously leave her alone? Ethan is going to be so pissed at you,” Tracy says through clenched teeth.
“He’s great to work for and I’m excited to attend the conference in Seattle with him. I’m hoping to get some more information on real estate investing while I’m there,” I say, steering the conversation away from what could be a sensitive topic. He is still my boss.
“So you decided to come to Seattle then?” Tracy says, excitement in her voice. “I’d love to show you around, do some shopping, have dinner.”
“Take it easy there, Trace, you’re gonna scare her away,” Brandon jokes. “But I think it’s great that you decided to come to the conference too,” he adds. “Great opportunity.”
I again nod, not wanting to say too much. Not wanting anyone to get the wrong idea that I’m attending the conference for any other reason than business.
“So this is the room I wanted to show you,” I say, again with the change of subject as I walk them down a hallway and up a small flight of stairs.
I open the door, letting both of them in before me. It’s not like I haven’t seen the room. I take prospective clients on tours of our rooms all the time, but it’s rare that someone books this one. It’s expensive, but I know that isn’t an issue here. There’s no way Ethan will allow them to pay for it anyway.
“The view from up here is spectacular with the floor to ceiling windows and the panoramic views of the Badger Creek mountains. I know it’s not the treetops, but hopefully those perfect snow-covered peaks make up for it,” I say, walking over to the windows and pushing the curtains back even more.
“What do you think, babe?” Brandon asks, resting his hand on the small of Tracy’s back as she looks out the window.
“You’ll have access to the private bridal suite along with anything else you might need. We can hold a block of rooms for your guests and if you prefer, we can always make your event the only event that happens at the lodge.”
“That is so not necessary,” Tracy answers immediately. “This room is perfect and holding a block of rooms would be great too.”
“Wonderful,” I reply, entering their date into the booking calendar on the iPad. “The room holds one hundred, which is what Ethan said to expect, but if you would like more space, there are other rooms.”
“No, I love this one,” Tracy says, her hand resting against the window as she looks out at the view. It really is stunning. There’s nothing else like it on the property.
“And there’s Ethan’s house too,” I say, pointing it out in the distance.
“We’re having dinner at his house tonight,” Tracy tells me. “You should join us.”
The invites with these people are getting out of control. It’s like they’re trying to get Ethan and I together.
“I’d love to, but I’m going skiing with my brother tonight. Family obligation, you know,” I joke, rolling my eyes.