to the airport was entirely out of the question.
Luckily, one lone taxicab idled at the far end of the building under the last of the covered entrance. Anna hoisted her purse higher on her shoulder, curled a hand around the handle of the suitcase, and marched toward it.
This was it—this was the last chance. If Gabe came running out after her now, she might not be able to tell him no. Out in the snow and cold, the bitter flakes freezing her skin, she desperately wanted to be back in that suite with him, preferably tucked under the covers. One step at a time, each one taking her closer to the cab. The driver rolled down the window before she could knock. “Are you waiting for someone?”
“Just waiting for the snow to taper off. Some guy called, but my car wasn’t big enough for his group.” The driver peered out the window. “It looks light enough to drive now, I think.”
“Could you take me to the airport?”
“Sure thing.”
He got out and helped her get her things into the trunk, and then Anna collapsed into the backseat. The heat was on at full blast and it felt like falling into a warm cocoon. Tears threatened again, but she fought them back. She could break down when she got back to Las Vegas, in the privacy of her own apartment.
The driver hopped in and put the car into gear, and they rumbled past the resort. Anna wanted to be stoic and keep her gaze straight ahead, but she couldn’t help looking one last time at the massive building with all the warm light spilling from its windows, beckoning guests inside.
Just not her.
She’d proven herself more than unworthy of visiting the Elk Lodge.
The driver made a turn, and she craned her neck to keep looking back. The Elk Lodge was big and solid, like Gabe’s family. A family that had managed to stick together for years and years, unlike her own. Anna’s family home was nothing but a constantly changing apartment according to her mother’s latest husband’s whims and had standards that were too low, rather than too high.
The Elk Lodge finally disappeared behind a thick stand of pine trees, and a few minutes later, they burst out onto the highway. It was a slow escape. She wished for frenzy and speed and longed to tell the driver to step on it, but enough snow had fallen to make driving a little dicey and he was rightfully cautious all the way to the airport.
They finally arrived at the airport, the driver casting a questioning look in her direction. “You sure you want to get dropped here?” He hefted her suitcase onto the sidewalk. “There might not be any flights out for a while on account of the storm.”
“I’m sure.” She thanked him, paid with an extra-large tip, and headed inside.
The woman at the ticket counter gave her an apologetic frown when she asked about the next flight to Vegas. It had been scheduled to depart in two hours, but on account of the snow there was a delay. Which meant she would be forced to camp out at Gate 11 for eight hours before being able to board the plane.
It wasn’t like she had a choice. Anna paid for the ticket and made her way to the gate for the long wait. Eight hours became nine, and then ten, and the day fell into a dark winter evening. Anna put her head back on the chair she’d claimed as her own and closed her eyes. At least with it dark outside, she couldn’t see the snow and the road back to the Elk Lodge. Small blessings.
It had been twelve hours by the time the screen at the gate lit up and the agent announced they would begin boarding the flight to Las Vegas in fifteen minutes. Anna pulled herself out of her slump and checked to make sure she had everything. Waiting in the airport didn’t break her. Freddie didn’t break her. And Gabe Elkin wouldn’t break her either, no matter what.
18
Gabe replayed a livestream of every memory he had with Anna. The highlight reel started at their first meeting together after he’d hired her to work with him. She’d laughed so hard at something he said that her can of Diet Coke had fallen from her hand and splashed on the floor of his office, and he hadn’t cared. Not at all. Memory after memory assailed him.
“You still with us, Gabe?” Chase’s