She’d prepared herself for an angry man. She’d prepared herself for a moderately large group. But she hadn’t prepared herself for Freddie, her ex-boyfriend, his parents, some people she didn’t recognize, and a woman clinging to his arm—his new girlfriend.
Freddie’s lip curled with disgust. “I can’t believe this. What are you doing here?”
16
“This really would all be better if you were here,” Jonas said, leaning on the desk where Gabe was still working on fixing the system. “Haven’t you ever considered it? Would you consider it now?” Jonas wouldn’t stop needling him about working at the Elk Lodge.
“No. And no, I’m not considering it now.” Gabe put the final keystrokes into the program and set the reservation system back to rights. It would at least function well enough to get them through the day, giving Jonas time to decide what he wanted to do about the software. Gabe would be back home by the time that was all said and done. “And I wish you’d stop—”
“You can’t afford to be here. Why would anyone even let you onto the grounds?” A loud, male voice coming from the direction of the reception desk interrupted their conversation.
Gabe got up out of his seat before he could process what he’d heard and rushed out to the reception area, close on Jonas’s heels. What he hadn’t expected was to find Anna the object of the man’s attention. She stood behind the desk with another one of the reception staff members next to her. But it was Anna’s demeanor that caught and held his gaze. Lost and terrified were the two words that came to mind.
“Who is this woman?” The man shouting at Anna had a woman on his arm, her fingers locked tight around his bicep, her face drawn up into an expression of disgust.
A jolt of anger shot down Gabe’s spine.
“She’s an ex.” The man rolled his eyes. “Don’t worry about her. I’m just not thrilled to see someone working here who doesn’t belong. Given her family’s business, she probably got a job here so she can siphon money from the resort.”
“That’s not true,” Gabe said, glancing around to address his family. He turned his attention back to the man. “You’re speaking about my fiancée,” Gabe said, stepping up to Anna’s side. “That’s why she’s here at our family-owned resort. Is there something we can help you with?”
“It’s Freddie,” Anna whispered, and Gabe’s heart broke for her. The ex who hadn’t thought she was good enough. This was supposed to be a holiday getaway with nothing but snow and family dinners and charm, not a chance for some jerk to confront her at the Elk Lodge.
Freddie’s mouth had dropped open, and furious red splotches blotted his cheeks. His eyes swung wildly between Anna and Gabe. He took a step back as if to take in the entire scene again and make sure he was in the right place. “How the hell are you engaged? I just dumped you a month ago.”
A gasp came from behind him, and Gabe recognized it instantly as belonging to his grandmother.
No. The meaning of Freddie’s words hit him next like a clap of thunder. Just dumped you a month ago. They’d told everyone a far different story.
“How can that be?” Jonas joined in the conversation.
Gabe glanced over his shoulder to discover his entire family standing there, shocked expressions on their faces.
“I thought you two had been engaged for a few months,” Chase asked while maintaining a look of casual indifference, hands in his pockets and leaning against the doorjamb.
Anna didn’t lower her head, but Gabe could tell she wanted to. Heck, he felt the same way. The whole house of cards was tumbling down around them, and Anna’s cheeks went pink, then red. Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes.
He took her arm, gently moved her back behind him, and then took his place at the reception desk. “We won’t be able to process your reservation for today.”
Freddie’s girlfriend—whoever she was—glared at him. “What are you saying? We booked here weeks ago, and your staff told us your system would be up and running in a few minutes.”
“It’s up and running now, but not for you.” Anger threatened to choke him, but he swallowed it back. Losing control of his emotions now wouldn’t help anyone—only action could do that. “I won’t tolerate you treating my fiancée this way. I wouldn’t tolerate you treating one of the staff this way. We’ll note your names for future reference. All of you are now officially banned from the resort.”
“Where are we supposed to go?” an older woman howled—he figured it was Freddie’s mother, but didn’t care since she’d stood by and watched her son mistreat Anna. “There’s a storm.”
“You can sit in the lobby until it passes. You won’t be welcome anywhere else on the resort.” He turned to the woman on shift at the reception desk—Lizzie, by her name tag. “Lizzie, run down to the restaurant and let the hostess know that this party is not to be seated under any circumstances. You might want to call security and let them know, too.”
“Yes, sir.” Lizzie’s eyes were bright, and Gabe had a flash of pride. Maybe he didn’t work at the Elk Lodge, but that hadn’t removed him from the family. He had every right to protect Anna here and anywhere else she went. Something shifted inside him—wait, let me think about this—but there was no time to think because he could feel his family staring at the back of his neck.
“You can’t do this,” blustered Freddie. “We’ve paid good money to be here, and—”
Gabe held up a hand. “I absolutely can do this.” If Jonas wanted to disagree, now was his chance. “You’re not welcome here anymore. If you do anything other than sit in the lobby, I’ll alert the authorities that you’re trespassing. Cancel the reservation,” he said to the other staff member, who hurried to do it with a few hasty clicks.
“It’s canceled, sir, and the money has been refunded.”
Freddie stood there with his mouth hanging open, stunned, and then his eyes narrowed.
“Not another word,” warned Gabe. “Not one single word.”
The other man turned and stalked off, mumbling furiously to his girlfriend. Good. Let him. A man like that deserved to be put in his place occasionally. Arrogant jerk.
Gabe turned to Anna and reached for her, but she ducked away at the last moment, wiping at her eyes.
“Gabe,” she choked out. Gabe felt a sick dread wash over him, unlike anything he’d ever felt before. “Your family.”
“Are you all right?” he asked.
“No, I’m obviously not all right.” She took a shuddering breath in and let it out again, then turned around to face them.
No one had moved. Jonas glared at them; his eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Let’s step into the back room, okay?” Her voice shook, but she put on a determined smile anyway. “We can talk about—about what happened.”
They filed into the back room, his grandmother easing into a chair, and putting a hand to her eyes. Seconds later, she sat up and stared straight at him, the confused look on her face making Gabe falter. He’d hurt her with his lies.