Asher smirked. “I give you permission to wear your hair up in that tight bun that must cut off the circulation in your head.”
“Get ready and meet us in the lobby in half an hour,” Landon said. Then I couldn’t help but watch his muscled ass as he trotted out of the room.
But his sudden change in tone had broken me out ofmy morning-after haze, and I got clean and dressed as quickly as I could.
Only Asher was waiting when I left my room. He’d cleaned up well, and was wearing dark slacks, black boots, and a rust-red sweater.
“You look good,” he said, his eyes appreciating the view. “All strict and severe and professional and shit.” He took my hand as I neared. “It makes me want to mess up your hair and makeup in all kinds of perverse ways. But I’ll be good.”
“You? Good?”
He slapped my ass and then we hurried down the passageway. It wasn’t until we were ascending the stairs to the main lobby that I realized we were holding hands. It felt just as comfortable as it had with Landon.
At the top of the stairs, Asher paused and then checked the time on his phone. “Let’s wait over here.”
“Wait for what?” I asked, but I followed him over to the huge fireplace on the far side of the room.
My pulse sped up as we waited for whatever it was. He was acting like a spy or something, and I was dying to know what was going on.
Then I heard deep, masculine laughter. The twins were walking slowly across the lobby with the owner of The Fraser, Edward Pierce, between them. The little old man looked pleased to be hanging out with them. His expression reminded me of a schoolboy who’d been invited to eat lunch with the cool kids.
“Come on,” Asher hissed. He grasped my arm tightly and steered us forward, so that we almost bumped into them.
“Good morning,” Landon said to us politely—as if he hadn’t been lying naked in bed with us thirty minutes ago.
Kai turned to Edward. “Do you remember Zoe?”
“Of course,” he said in my direction, though most of his attention was still on the ski instructor. “Hello again, dear.”
“Good morning, sir.”
He nodded, but he wasn’t really listening to me. As usual, he was paying attention to the twins, who, to my astonishment, were currently reminding him about the systems I’d set up, and the ideas I’d suggested during the internship. They refrained from mentioning that most of those ideas had been shot down by my ill-tempered manager.
Edward smiled at me. “These two young men here can’t say enough good things about you. What a remarkable young woman you are. I’m sure Mrs. Greer is going to hate to see you leave.” Somehow, I managed to keep a straight face when he said that.
The older man started rattling off names of resorts, including some of the best in the business. And then he said something astonishing. “I told the owners about you. Told them you’d be sending your resume rightaway, and if they had any brains, they’d fly you out for an interview.”
What?
I stood there, frozen and stunned, until Asher elbowed me into speech. “Thank you, Mr. Pierce. That’s… thank you so much.”
He was about to continue on when Landon reminded him, “Oh, Edward, don’t forget…”
“Oh yes.” The old man reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope. “I believe your school needs a report about your internship? This young man helped me write it, because I’m not so good with computers.” He indicated Landon with a smile. “He also had me write a letter of recommendation, but he said he’d send it to you over the email. That’s what all the young’uns use these days.”
I stared at the white envelope in Edward’s hand. Was it actually an internship report? One that I could turn into my school? From the way the twins were grinning at me, I knew that it was.
Asher had to nudge me again until I finally managed to reach out with trembling hands and take the report. I managed to say thank you again, but I was too astonished to speak properly. In fact, I probably would’ve slumped to the floor in shock if Asher hadn’t been there.
Edward turned his attention on the chef. “Excellent work as always. I hope you’ll be here next year. I hope you all will.”
Once Edward left, it started to sink in. I had a positive internship report—which meant I wouldn’t have to frantically search for another internship mid-semester. I never would’ve even dreamed of asking the owner for one, but the twins evidently had. It was too much to take in, but I couldn’t contain the happiness bubbling up inside of me anymore.
“You can speak now, Zoe,” Asher said. “Or at least take a breath.”
His words made me realize I’d barely moved a muscle, including the ones used for breathing, since Edward left. I let out a loud, shaky breath. Then happiness bubbled up inside me, and I ran my fingers through my hair, dislodging the severe bun. Then I took two steps forward and jumped into Kai’s arms. He caught me easily, spinning me around before setting me down. “Thank you,” I whispered. Then I hugged Landon, too. Tears threatened to fall, but I blinked them back. There was one more person to thank. Asher looked surprised when I hugged him, too.
“All I did was get you here on time,” he muttered. But there was happiness in his eyes, and I wasn’t sure I believed him. Of the three of them, he was the one who best understood what this internship meant to me, my education, and my future. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that he’d encouraged the twins to charm. Well, actually, three weeks ago I would’ve been completely surprised, but not now. And he was also smart enoughto know that Edward’s weak spot was Kai. He was the one the resort owner seemed to hero-worship.
