We stepped in and were as equally blown away by the inside as the outside. It was like walking into a movie set, everything laid out with an intention to please the eye and get the most flawless, Oscar-winning shot without putting in any effort. Sunlight poured in through all the windows, making the polished dark wooden floors shine as if they were made of glass. Exposed beams on the vaulted ceilings flowed downward, leading the gaze to the beautiful fireplace that was the star of the show. It was made of white and black stone with a thin border of black tiles surrounding it and was large enough to keep the entire cabin warm if the logs were lit.

“Oh, we’re so having our book club around this fireplace,” Yvette said, running her hand over the fluffy white love seat that was tilted toward the center table made from driftwood, the table’s shape something only Mother Nature could sculpt.

“What about the rooms?” Eric asked.

“Three upstairs and two downstairs. None assigned, so it’s a free-for-all,” I said, realizing my mistake way too late.

The scramble was immediate, Tia and Jess bolting up the stairs, followed by Tristan on their heels, giggling like a bunch of schoolkids on a race around the yard. Eric took another strategy, running directly ahead and down a hall, opening the first door he found and diving in. Yvette, Jake, and I were left in the living room, looking at each other, slightly dumbfounded.

“I’ll take the one that’s leftover upstairs?” Yvette asked.

“And we’ll grab the one down here,” Jake answered, clapping his hands together. Yvette gave a nod and a chuckle as she grabbed her neon pink suitcase and brought it upstairs, the sounds of Tristan and Tia rock-paper-scissoring for the room with the nicest view drifting down to us.

“That was easy,” I said as I followed Jake down the hall, trying hard to not stare at the way his ass ate up those gray sweatpants.

Tried and failed. Miserably.

“Let’s see what we just signed up for.” Jake stopped in front of the door at the end of the hall, a large framed photo of Robby and his parents hanging on the wall. I had to remember to get them a good thank-you gift for letting us stay free of charge in this mountain wonderland.

Jake opened the door, and my jaw dropped. We might have lucked out with the nicest room in the cabin. It was a corner bedroom that somehow managed to be circular, the window wrapping around the entire wall and giving us the most stunning view of the Blue Ridge Mountains, covered in emerald-green trees that climbed up its various peaks and down its dipping valleys. The bed looked like a cloud, the thick white comforter folded with a few chocolates waiting on a small rainbow pillow.