2. Jacob

2

JACOB

" Y es, sir." Leo finally answered my question, with a small smirk. "Anything you say."

He was beautiful, his blond hair reminding me of an L.A. surfer type, but there was something so clean cut about him that I could just as easily imagine him at the head of a boardroom. I'd been trying to take my eyes off him but for some reason I couldn't, finding myself openly staring as soon as I'd walked through the lodge's front door.

Thankfully, it didn't seem like he minded.

"Do you mind showing me around? So I can get a good look at everything we have?" I asked, as I slightly shifted away from him. "We need to know if we need to start rationing things ASAP."

"Yeah. Sounds great." Leo nodded as he spoke. "You can just follow behind me?"

"Will do."

"And I'll go let the rest of the crew know that we're officially in snowed in territory," Tommy added. "Bradley, you mind coming with me to field all the weather questions? I don't know a damn thing about this kind of snow."

Bradley offered Tommy a thumbs up before the two of them headed down a separate hallway.

"Your cousin isn't much of a talker, huh?" Leo joked. "Feels like he's taking that whole strong, silent thing to heart."

"He's a smart guy." I shrugged. "He learned a long time ago that he's not much of a people person. Really only opens up when he has something to say."

I nodded toward the main hall. "You ready to give me that tour?"

Leo smiled before he took a few steps in front of me. "First stop? The Lodge Lobby. Look to your left, look to your right. There's lobby everywhere."

I playfully rolled my eyes. "Got it. Anything else you want me to see in here?"

"Did you see the water station? The coffee?" Leo grinned as he walked to the next room. As I followed behind him, I noticed that this room looked a lot like the lobby, but a whole lot bigger. There were separate seating areas, complete with cushions and upscale couches. There were also two brick fireplaces on different sides of the room, giving the place a bit of a rustic feel despite its luxurious interior.

"Who needs two lobbies?" I wondered, out loud.

"Three."

"What?"

"And we're walking," Leo said, as he headed into another room. When I got there, I took a quick look around, and couldn't help but shake my head.

Leo was right.

There were three lobbies. This one had seating areas, a huge flatscreen TV, and a separate section that looked like it was for having meals and dining in. While I was used to providing high-end experiences for my own clientele at Wild Woods, I wasn't quite used to this. This was the kind of service provided to millionaires, maybe billionaires, the kind of people who expected the world and had enough money to pay for it, too.

"This feels like overkill."

"Not if you're dealing with divas."

"What?"

"Let's say you have two or three actors staying here on their downtime from filming a TV show," Leo continued. "Sure, the whole place is private suites, but what happens when they leave their rooms? They still don't want to see each other. So, three lobbies ensures their assistants can spread the word about which one they're in and keep the peace."

"Damn." I scoffed. "You really have to think about stuff like that?"

"If you don't, things could end in disaster." Leo shrugged. "It's not a big deal. It's like juggling. Once you get used to it, it's all just a bunch of balls in the air."

Leo laughed at his own joke. "You like that one? My old mentor used to say it all the time?—"

"We should check out the rest of the grounds."

"Yep. You got it." Leo nodded before he started walking again. Soon, we were standing inside an indoor gym, complete with an indoor pool. "What do you think? Pretty nice, right? I wanted to pick a place that the guys could still work out at their usual level."

"Very nice," I agreed, taking in the room. "Everything looks like it's in working order. Which is good for staying in shape, but not necessarily useful in a storm."

"It's good for keeping your mind off being stuck in a storm?"

"True." I looked over at Leo, who seemed pleased with my response. "Keeping yourself busy is important when it comes to staving off anxiety."

Leo slightly smiled. "All right. I think I know what you really want to see."

"A cabinet stocked with canned goods?"

"Something like that, sure."

Leo and I were on the second floor of the lodge, standing in the middle of the kitchen. He was holding open the fridge door, listing off different things as he found them. As he spoke, I took it upon myself to search through the cabinets, ensuring there was even more food than he was mentioning.

"Honestly? I think we're good when it comes to the whole snowed in thing." He sighed with relief. "Whoever stocked this place really stocked it up good. Not to mention the restaurant, which probably has its own kitchen, too?—"

"There's a restaurant? On site?"

"A restaurant and a café." Leo closed the fridge. "I don't know if the staff is around, since they're probably snowed in somewhere, too, but yeah. There should be a lot more food options over there."

"Good to know."

"Right?" Leo beamed. "So, what do you think? Do you think we're good to go?"

"Sure. As long as no one gets too overeager in any of the kitchens."

"I mean, we're living with a bunch of athletes. They're probably going to tear through all the protein, but there's a good chance they'll leave the bread alone." Leo chuckled. "But yeah. We can start divvying up stuff if it comes to that."

There was a moment of silence between us.

Leo leaned toward me. "Are you always like this?"

"Always like what?"

"A little off-putting. A little hard to get to know," Leo replied. "Or is that just a defense mechanism? Bradley rarely speaks and you rarely laugh. Or smile."

"I laugh all the time."

"Got it. You just don't think I'm funny." Leo grinned.

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to say it. The whole not laughing thing pretty much sealed the deal." Leo grinned again. "But hey, that's fine with me. You don't have to think I'm hilarious. You just have to, I don't know, respect me?"

"Why'd you make that sound like a question?"

"Uh, because you're intimidating?" Leo admitted. "I don't know if anyone's ever told you that before. Your whole vibe is very… intense."

"And you don't like it?"

"I didn't say that." Leo quoted me from earlier, a smile still playing on his lips. There was another moment of silence between us before he added, "Do you want to see my favorite place? In this whole lodge?"

"Your favorite place is this bar?" We were in yet another lounge-like area, although this one seemed less like a lobby and more like an old-fashioned drawing room. Leo was tending bar, pulling down a few bottles before he set them down against the marble countertop.

"Yeah, I should probably expand on that." He laughed before he motioned for me to have a seat at the bar. "It's not my favorite place because of the drinks. You can get drinks anywhere."

"Then, why is it your favorite place?" I asked, taking a seat in front of him.

"It's because people tend to loosen up when they feel safe, warm. Back when I was in college, I used to work at this dive bar. Completely below board, by the way. I think they just pretended they didn't know I wasn't quite twenty-one yet, until I was."

"And you liked it? Tending bar?"

"I liked meeting all kinds of people. I liked talking to people I never would've talked to in a million, billion years if I'd stayed in my college bubble." Leo held up a finger before he asked, "What are you in the mood for?"

"Pretty sure it's barely eight in the morning, Leo."

"Un-huh. A White Russian, it is." Leo pulled out a small glass from behind the counter, before filling it halfway with milk. He then slid it over to me. "Virgin, of course."

I couldn't help it. I cracked a smile as I took the drink into my grip.

"Oh, my God. Did I just get you to laugh?" Leo gasped. "Is that all it takes? A little bar humor?"

"I wouldn't necessarily call that a laugh?—"

"A win is a win!" Leo pumped a fist into the air. "I'll take whatever I can get."

He then poured himself a small glass of water, before he took a few sips. For a moment, I was able to get a glimpse of the real Leo, the one hiding behind the confident fa?ade. He was just as beautiful without the mask he wore for others, the one he seemed to be wearing for me, too.

"Are you always on?" My question came out quietly.

"What do you mean?"

"I assume it's part of your job, right? Always being on. People expect their PR person to be an extrovert. To always be the life of the party. A source of constant entertainment."

"You could say that, sure." Leo shrugged. "Doesn't mean that I'm faking it, though."

"Except you are."

"Come on, Jacob. You've known me for what? Five minutes?" Leo filled his glass with water again. "Maybe spend less time trying to psychoanalyze me and just enjoy the conversation?"

"We both work with people, Leo," I replied. "It's your job to make sure people are comfortable. That's my job, too. Except I think we're tuned to different things."

"Oh?"

"I'm tuned to fear. I have to know if someone's faking it because I need to know if they're afraid. We have people book some pretty extreme camping experiences, and I need to be able to tell if they're the real deal or if they're going to end up hurting themselves."

"And? What do you think I'm tuned to?"

"Happiness. You have to keep people happy or else. Isn't that how it works?"

"You're not wrong," Leo quietly admitted. "Still, it's kind of presumptuous to think you can read people, just like that?—"

I suddenly moved from sitting in front of the bar to standing a few inches away from Leo. As I moved closer to him, I could tell that his breath hitched in his chest, surprised at the quickness of my movements.

"Hi," Leo murmured, his cheeks turning a deep shade of red.

"Hi," I said back, feeling my own heart starting to race inside my chest.

I'd never been with a man before, but I recognized what I was feeling as attraction.

I knew that there were sparks between us.

"What are you thinking?" I asked, still staring over at him, enjoying taking in his features this close up.

"Nothing."

"No, you're thinking something. You think I don't see this?" I brought a hand to the side of his face, my fingers trailing alongside his cheek. "Your body's going to give you away every time, you know."

"Fine. If you know so much, what do you think that I'm thinking?" Leo pressed, his hand coming up to meet mine, soon resting his fingers on top of mine.

I leaned down closer to him, our faces inches away from each other's. "I'm thinking that you want to meet me in the sauna later, after dinner."

"And why would you think I want anything to do with you, Jacob?"

"Because you like that I'm a challenge." I smirked. "You like that I don't respond to your usual PR personality that you put on. You like that I know there's something more to you."

"There you go, assuming you know everything about me again?—"

"Bradley and I are going to make dinner tonight," I cut him off, my eyes still fixed on his. "Assuming the kitchen staff isn't able to make it. And I have a feeling that they won't."

"Jacob—"

"It'll be our treat." I shifted away from him, heading away from the bar. "I'll see you at the sauna later, Leo."

"Hey! You can't just—you're not the one running this show—you don't make the rules!"

"Oh, Leo." I sighed, without turning around. "I think we both know that I'll be making the rules around here, for as long as you'll have me."