“I’m going to send everyone home.” Scott hovered near the door, resignation and disappointment peppering his words. “Meet you downstairs?”
“Yeah.” Zach needed a smoke anyway. He headed for the stairs, and made it about halfway down before tension spilled through him, and made him pause. The weight of frustration hit him full force. “Fuck!” His yell was long and drawn out, echoing in the passage.
Chapter Three
Rae followed the winding mountain road toward Deer Valley, about twenty five miles east of Salt Lake. It was funny, when she was younger, she couldn’t wait to get out of this place. Utah was too small. Too … nowhere.
It felt comfortable now. The green lining the hills. The trees. The wood-faced businesses that were a city requirement to make the place look rustic. As her mind drifted, it tripped over a memory and dredged the past to the surface. The last time she’d traveled this far into the mountains.
As images surged into her thoughts, a pang grew behind her ribs. Senior year of high school, the Valentine’s Day dance. She and Zach put in a brief appearance, but she didn’t last long. Her shoes dug into her feet, and blisters formed faster than she thought possible.
Zach led her out to the car, and slipped her heels off. Told her she hadn’t needed the miniature torture devices, she looked gorgeous either way.
A lump grew in her throat at the vivid surge of feelings, and images that blended then with now.
He hadn’t been ready to go home—he rarely was. Rae never complained. Any excuse to spend more time together was fine with her. They’d driven, and found themselves up here. Taken a back road and parked among the trees. In February, snow still covered most of the ground, and no one plowed the back roads, so they took the car as far as they thought was safe. Far from any prying eyes.
That night, they spent hours talking, the way they always did. Moving into the back seat of his car so they could cuddle. Turning the car on long enough to get warm every time the chill seeped in. Making out. Losing her virginity. Saying they loved each other.
His voice from the past gripped her lungs like a vice, and she gasped. It had been amazing back then, but never better than that night. The same night it started to fall apart. The night he started assuming their future would be one way, and ignoring her opinion on the matter.
She pushed the bittersweet surge aside, and focused her attention on the scenery and the rest of her drive. A few minutes later, she pulled into the Silver Lake lodge parking lot. She smiled at the black SUV in a spot near the entrance. She hadn’t seen Scott’s newest ride, but he’d had the G4M3G0D vanity plates longer than the Escalade. At least some things hadn’t changed.
Since he wasn’t waiting outside, she made her way to the restaurant inside. Scott and Zach already sat at a table on the back deck, overlooking the lake. Am I late? A glance at her watch told her no, she was five minutes early.
She watched them through the glass as she approached. Scott wore jeans, battered high tops, and a faded black concert T-shirt. Looking at him, there was no indication the man was worth millions.
Zach was his opposite. Polo shirt, slacks, and an etched on smile as he leaned in and said something to their waitress, drawing a laugh from her. And he still looked amazing. Heat raced across her skin, drawing her senses to life, and she was pretty sure the sun didn’t cause it. Rae forced her gaze away, and pushed the door open to step outside and join them. Both heads swiveled in her direction. The waitress tucked her notebook in her apron pocket and brushed by Rae.
Zach and Scott both stood as she approached, and Scott greeted her with a hug. Zach’s smile still didn’t reach his eyes, as he shook her hand. The entire situation cranked her nerves in opposing directions. It was the wrong kind of appropriate. Casual, but forced.
“Did I get the time wrong?” She added a short laugh to her question.
“Nope. We always get places fifteen minutes early.” Scott held out her chair, and scooted it in as she sat. “Even if it’s just us, it’s become habit over the years. A lot of times, in business meetings, it helps to make sure we know what we’re doing before things start.”
Did they do that with me today? She tucked the question away before it could blossom into something more than a nagging curiosity.
Scott and Zach both took their seats. The two had an almost ballet going on, one playing off the other’s actions without hesitation. To do what they’d done though, to make themselves such a big name in the gaming industry, they had to have an unparalleled synchronicity. More than they had in high school. More than showed right now.