Chapter 5

5

OLIVIA

I was mortified. I was embarrassed, humiliated, and, yes, mortified.

First, there was the fact that I’d been caught nude by a pond, holding hands with a nude guy. Until today, no man had ever seen me naked. Now two men had, and apparently neither was the man I was going to spend the rest of my life with.

The whole thing got worse once I arrived at the retreat center, where a police officer was waiting to talk to me. He was interviewing witnesses when I got there, which at least gave me time to head back to the tent and get ready for the big dinner.

My plan was to go to the campground facilities and shower and get ready, but one of the retreat center employees came out and told me the police wanted to speak to me. They let me shower in the room behind the reception desk that was reserved for the night manager. The idea of speaking to the officer unnerved me, but I did like taking a shower without having to worry about the spiders and bugs that frequented campground showers.

As it turned out, the meeting with the officer wasn’t so scary. It was only after he walked out, following a beautiful woman who held two small pizza boxes, that it all settled in at once. The day’s activities, losing my virginity to a guy who didn’t have feelings for me, and now facing colleagues who apparently thought their morning meetings were more important than making sure I didn’t get eaten by bears.

“Olivia!” a woman called out as I entered the banquet room. “Everyone’s been so worried about you.”

As she said the words, my gaze landed on the two women I’d fought with. Women who’d condescended to me about my age and laughed off my advice in the bar last night. Women who’d been making fun of me in the campground facilities that morning, not realizing I’d overheard the whole thing.

Those women barely glanced in my direction now as I followed the woman I met at registration yesterday to a table of other conference-goers. Her name was Marlowe, and she was around my age and super sweet. Most importantly, she treated me like a peer, not some newbie who should be spoken to like she was five.

“Did you get in trouble with the police?” one of the women at the table asked as I took a seat next to Marlowe.

“Of course not,” another woman at the table said. “She didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I got lost on a trail.” I shrugged. “I didn’t mean to.”

“You don’t have to explain,” Marlowe said, reaching over and touching my arm. “We’re just glad you’re back.”

I still felt on edge as the director of Glamour Diva—a forty-ish badass woman named Ashley—came up to the microphone and started her introductory remarks. This should be the happiest night of the year, but all I could think about was Colton.

That was his name. Colton. I didn’t even know his name when we slept together. How wrong was that?

And we hadn’t used protection. My stomach turned at that realization.

The most pathetic part of it all was that I still had deep feelings for the guy. They wouldn’t go away overnight. All I could hope was that when I left here in four days, the memory of what had happened would start to fade.

If nothing else, at least I wasn’t a virgin anymore. Maybe, over time, I could start to think of it as an exciting, adventurous first time rather than the heartbreak it actually was.

“As you all enjoy your salads, we’re going to call our top sales reps up one at a time to get their prizes,” Ashley said. “The first plaque we’re giving out comes with a fifty-dollar gift card…and it goes to Karla Malnati.”

We all set our forks down and applauded for Karla, one of the gossips who’d driven me to the trails this morning. She got up and walked to the stage, wearing that self-satisfied smirk that was permanently affixed to her face. Recognition like this was what made her think she was an expert. Well, that and the fact that she’d been doing this for four years longer than I had. Plus, she was in her forties, so she knew everything about everything. What could a twenty-three-year-old like me know?

Not that I wasn’t here to learn—I for sure was. I just didn’t like feeling belittled.

“She won’t let that go to her head,” Marlowe said sarcastically, leaning over so only I could hear.

Marlowe’s words brought a smile to my face. I wasn’t the only one who’d noticed it. I didn’t want anyone else to be mistreated like I had been, but it did make me feel better that I wasn’t alone.

The higher-tier awards were given out, along with a Best Newcomer Award, which went to Marlowe. Everyone at our table cheered, and I felt like giving a big “take that” to the meanies at the other table.

But then it was time for the big award—or so I thought. When Ashley stepped away from the mic and headed back toward her table, my heart sank. I might have misjudged, but I knew the threshold for the awards. I should have gotten one.

As I sat, trying to shove aside my disappointment, chatter broke out over the crowd. For a second, I didn’t know what was happening. Then I noticed Ashley was walking back toward the podium. Behind her was Colton, now wearing a suit.

“Where’d he get a suit?” I asked no one in particular.

Marlowe looked over at me. “Do you know him?”

I nodded. “He was one of the rescuers.”

And that was all I had to say. She didn’t need to know more. We weren’t that close. Even if we were, I was still too embarrassed over what had happened to talk about it.

But what was he doing here? Was he about to head up to the microphone to break up with me in front of all these people?

Ashley took the microphone again and spoke. “For our grand prize, we have someone who wants to give out the award himself. Everyone, welcome Colton Montgomery!”

Nobody seemed quite sure who he was or how he related to all this, me included, but we all clapped. My claps were less enthusiastic than everyone else’s. Hesitant was the best word for how I felt right now.

“Thank you,” Colton said as he stepped up to the microphone. He was holding one of the plaques that Ashley had been giving out to sales reps. “I don’t know anything about makeup, as you can tell, but I do know a hardworking person when I see her. I also know just how incredible this particular award winner is. Apparently, she has sold more than anyone so far this year. She also gave all of us a bit of a scare this morning.”

He glanced over at me, and everybody laughed. Eyes turned toward me. People knew exactly who he was talking about.

“I happen to be in love with the woman who won this award, so if she will agree, this will be her new territory.”

We didn’t have territories, and everyone in the room knew it. But hell if anyone was going to correct him on that. Everyone was too caught up in what was happening here. Especially me.

“Let’s all give a big round of applause for Olivia Vargas, the top Glamour Diva salesperson in the country.”

Applause rang out all around as I froze. I knew I was supposed to be standing and walking in that direction, but I couldn’t seem to get myself to move. Luckily, Marlowe was seated next to me and all too eager to help. She gave me a nudge, then reached over like she was about to shove my seat back for me.

That was when I finally got my body to move. I pushed myself to my feet and started toward the front. Toward the man I was going to spend the rest of my life with.

This was where I planned to take the award and give a speech, maybe even look directly at the women who’d gossiped about me. I’d written a quick acceptance speech on a sticky note I’d found behind the reception desk in the lobby while I was waiting to talk to the police officer.

But I didn’t give a crap about the award—not when this man had just confessed his love in front of everybody in the room. Not when I could rise on tiptoe, give him a big kiss, and feel his arms around me while the applause swelled.

Yes, Colton was definitely the real prize.