“No. You never do. What’s going on?”
He sounded suspicious and for a moment I fought with myself over whether to tell him the truth. One way or another, he was going to get it out of me; he knew me too well for me to lie to him for long.
“Look, could I stay at your place while you’re away?” I asked.
“What? Why? Did something happen to your apartment?” he demanded, the worry clear in his voice.
“No, nothing like that. I just... I need a break for a couple of days.”
“That’s not cryptic or anything,” Sam scoffed.
I sucked in my cheeks. Okay, here we go. Like a Band-Aid.
“I need to be someplace where Trevor can’t find me.”
The long pause echoed over the line louder than any words could.
“Did he hurt you?” Sam demanded, his voice barely more than a snarl. “I swear to God, Maggie, I’ll—”
“No!” I cut in sharply, gripping the phone tighter as the shame came again in one, giant wave. “Not physically, anyway. He—we broke up.”
Silence filled the line for a long moment and I glanced down at my phone, wondering if we’d been disconnected, but then Sam’s voice buzzed through the line again.
“You can’t stay there alone.”
“Oh, don’t be dramatic. It’s just a breakup. I’ll be—”
“You won’t,” he argued. “Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve and you’re not going to spend it by yourself. Come here with me. I’m on my laptop buying your ticket right now.”
“Don’t buy me a ticket. Seriously, Sam,” I murmured, pressing my fingers against my aching temple.
“Too late, it’s done,” he snapped back. “You need to get to JFK in ninety minutes, so be quick about it. Go pack and I’ll call you in a little while.”
The phone went dead and I stared at it for a long moment before shoving it back in my pocket.
Leave it to Sam to hijack my plans. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to be angry at his heavy-handed tactics. If the shoe had been on the other foot, I’d have done exactly the same thing.
Besides, some time with my best friend would be good for me, especially when I was hurting so badly. All I had to do was get home, pack a bag hella-fast, and hope for the best.
Three hours later, I found myself buckled into the window seat on a plane headed to Colorado with nothing but the few clean clothes I’d had in my drawers.
A magazine lay in my lap, and as I watched the people passing by, I wondered how many of them were on vacation and how many were headed home after the holidays.
Occasionally, just to keep my brain from replaying the scene from the previous day over and over on a loop in my head, I made stories for the passersby, but when an older woman in a chunky-knit cardigan stopped in front of me and flashed her ticket, I smiled and forced myself to focus.
“Looks like we’re in for this trip together, neighbor,” the woman said with a wink. “Did I interrupt you? You look deep in thought.”
“No, uh, just distracting myself. Do you need help with your bag?”
In answer, the old woman heaved her luggage into the overhead compartment and let out a sigh. “You don’t raise four boys without having a good bit of strength to back you up. But thank you.”
I smiled a little more genuinely. “Four boys? I can’t imagine.”
“Oh yes, on my way to visit the older one now. Spent Christmas with the little one. But then, the little one is forty, so.” She chuckled and then stuck out her hand as she took her seat beside me. “Agatha.”
“Maggie,” I said, shaking her hand. When I released it, she buckled herself in and gave me another once-over.
“What’s taking you to Colorado, then, Maggie?”
“Oh, a friend. Meeting up for a ski trip,” I replied.
“That’s nice. Has she been a friend for a long time?”
“He’s been my friend since college, yes.”
Agatha nodded, her blue eyes twinkling. “And what’s taking you to him? Is he getting married there or something?”
I laughed. “Oh. No. Not him. I just…” I rolled my eyes at myself, but figured I might as well tell this woman everything. We had plenty of time and, after all, it wasn’t like I’d ever have to see her again.
“To be honest, I just sort of had a big breakup and he’s flying me out to join him on vacation to cheer me up.”
“Wow. Good friend. And he’s flying you first class.” Agatha sniffed. “We should all be so lucky.”
“Yeah, he’s a really good friend,” I agreed.
“You’ll excuse me, dear, for overstepping but…” Agatha paused. “You’re newly single and your male friend is flying you out to join him on a vacation? Don’t you think maybe…” She rose her brows and gave me a knowing look.
“I know how it sounds, but trust me, it’s not like that,” I reassured her with a stiff laugh.
Agatha nodded. “You know best, I’m sure. It’s just not many men would spend so much money on a first class ticket to cheer up a friend.”
I smiled and we fell into companionable silence as the flight attendants followed their procedure and the plane took off.
Still, as we ascended and my ears popped, I found myself glancing at Agatha every now and then, her words playing in my mind.
Sam did very well for himself as a well-known photographer, but he wasn’t independently wealthy and a last-minute first-class ticket had surely cost him a pretty penny. Why hadn’t I noticed that? It was possible it was the only seat left on such a short-notice flight, I supposed.
Doubt stirred low in my stomach and I settled back into the leather chair, thinking hard. Now wasn’t the time to fall down rabbit holes or read into anything.
Sam had brought me out to have fun.
And that was what I was going to do.
Chapter Four
Sam
I sat in the lobby, watching droves of people in their snowsuits and ski goggles head out onto the slopes.
According to her text, Maggie ought to be here any minute, and even though my friends had headed back out after lunch like two hours ago, I wanted to make sure I was here for her when she arrived.
For what felt like the millionth time, I checked my watch and then glanced at the concierge, who had been eyeing me up and down for the past half hour. Averting my gaze, I leaned closer to the fire, warming my hands as another horde of people bustled past me with skis and snowboards in hand.
In truth, I still didn’t know what I’d say or do when Maggie got here. I couldn’t exactly pump her for information about whatever happened with Trevor. I was sure it would be a sore subject, and I needed to be aware of that. I also couldn’t bring her attention to the one thing that had been on my mind since we’d gotten off the phone last night.
This was the first time in all the years I’d known her that she was actually single.
Sure, I’d had my stints of monogamy, but for Maggie? This was huge.