Page 15 of Stuck on the Slopes

Icouldn’tbelievemyself;I’d shot my shot with Juniper Hart and succeeded. As I braided my wet hair, not wanting to deal with it when Juniper knocked on my door in less than fifteen minutes, my phone rang. I quickly tied the ends and answered the FaceTime request, setting it on the bathroom counter as I applied some primer.

“Happy Halloween!” My sister, Sarah, was wearing a sexy Ghostface costume with the mask propped up on the side of her head. Her black dress had some strategically placed rips in it and was short enough to reveal the fishnets adorning her legs. “You’re not dressing up this year?”

“We’re on the top of a mountain and it’s snowing, so, no. But you look so cute!”

“Thank you!” She did a little twirl to show off the full look. “We’re doing a group of hot slashers. It’s not the same without you. How’s the lodge?”

In truth, I had mixed feelings. A part of me wanted to say that while I loved the view and unplugging, my boss was an asshole. But I refrained, fearing that if I voiced it out loud, I’d be admitting defeat. I knew coming out here was an enormous risk—Juniper said so about a thousand times, after all—but as it had only been a month, I didn’t want to say I was wrong… yet.

“It’s gorgeous out here. Like, seriously gorgeous. The village on the other side of the mountain has all this Bavarian architecture and the cutest cafes for when I don’t feel like cooking. You should come out and hike some summer.”

“Your room’s a suite, right? Maybe we’ll get the whole gang to come. Ima and Abba can get their own room, and I’ll share one with your sorority sisters and some of my friends. It’ll be like old times.”

“I miss you guys so much. But I do not miss having swamp ass. You’d frickin’ love it here, Sarah. Maybe I can convince you to move.”

“I would kill for a good hike. Florida is too hot and too flat. Maybe I will once I’m done with grad school.”

I smiled as I applied my foundation. “Hey, if you want a job here, I know a guy.”

“Ha! I’d have no shame in being a nepo baby at your lodge, thank you very much. How’s the boss man?”

“He’s… a little reserved,” I said, choosing my words carefully as I put on some eyeliner. While I didn’t want to do a full face when staying in, I did want to look presentable. “But we’re having a movie night together in, like, a few minutes. Not gonna lie, I have no idea how to dress.”

Sarah balked. “Movie night? With Juniper Hart?”

“What, did you look him up on LinkedIn or something?” I swapped my eyeliner pencil for my mascara.

“Instagram, but yes. Rach, he is so fine! I mean, he’s barely posted anything since he announced his retirement, like, four years ago. Just the occasional photo from a hike, but he’s never in those. All scenery.”

I shrugged a shoulder. “He is really hot, yeah.”

“Is his hair still long?”

“Yeah, it reaches his shoulders. He wears it in this little half bun more often than not. On most guys, I’d say it looks douchey, but it’s perfect on him.”

“Play it cool. Don’t overdress. Sure, he’s your boss, but it’s nine o’clock on Halloween. You don’t want to look like you’re trying too hard, either.”

“Chunky sweater or flannel?”

“Flannel. It’ll look cute with your leggings.”

“I’ve got a few oversized ones. You’re a lifesaver.” I topped my look off with some light blush and then spritzed on some setting spray. “I was totally overthinking.” I picked up my phone as I walked to my closet so I could throw my red flannel on over my bralette. “Hopefully, he loosens up tonight. We haven’t really gotten to know each other super well yet. I get the vibe something happened beyond his snowboarding accident, and it’s turned him into a total grump.”

“I hope both of us have some luck tonight,” Sarah said. “Julie will be at this party I’m going to.”

“If you don’t ask her what her favorite scary movie is, I swear!”

I moved my phone with me again, carrying it to the kitchen so I could prepare some snacks to set out. As I dumped some popcorn into two buckets, I added watermelon-flavored sour gummies and M&M’s to my bowl. I left the other plain for Juniper but set the extra candy into some additional bowls and brought them to the coffee table.

As I did, I heard Sarah’s response. “Ooh, good idea! Would be a missed opportunity if I didn’t use that as a pickup line.”

When I returned to my phone, I grabbed some diet soda cans from the fridge. “If anyone asks what I’ve dressed as this year, tell them I’m the guy from the paper towel rolls.”

Sarah snorted. “So sexy. Is Juniper into that?”

“Oh, please. He’s my boss! Just because he’s hot doesn’t mean tonight is like that.”

“Sure, Rach,” she said with a level of sarcasm that would make our father proud.

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