Page 6 of Challenged By the Mountain Man

“You’re supposed to be doing Biker Blast stuff today, right?”

He smiled. “A lot of the guys will be getting drunk at the retreat center before the big dinner tonight.”

“Big dinner?” I asked, clueless.

That was one part of Biker Blast I knew nothing about. Okay, I knew nothing about any of the parts of Biker Blast except they came into town for a weekend, made a lot of noise, and left. Oh, and there was a parade Saturday morning that ended with all the bikes lining up along Rosewood Ridge Parkway, otherwise known as Main Street.

“It’s the last formal event of the weekend. Tomorrow, everyone pretty much breaks off into their own thing. A bunch of us are riding up into the mountains in the morning. Then it’ll be checkout time for all the out-of-towners.”

I nodded. “So, if you weren’t with me, you’d be drinking at the retreat center right now?”

“Probably not.” He shook his head. “This is a working weekend for me. Everyone else would be drinking and having a good time while I’d be running around, making sure everything was set up.”

“I’m keeping you from that, then,” I said, guilt stabbing me in the side.

I didn’t want to mess up his weekend, even though this had been his idea. He seemed to be on a mission to get me to lighten up. He wouldn’t be the first, but he might just be the last. From now on, I vowed to actually live life rather than spend it worrying.

“Honestly?” he asked, his gaze piercing through his sunglasses, straight at me.

My heart skipped a beat at the intensity emanating from him. Then he spoke again, and his words stole my breath.

“I can’t imagine anything I’d rather do than hang out with you.”

Thank God he was controlling the movement of this seesaw. Otherwise, I might have crumbled to the ground, my legs weak beneath me.

It wasn’t just what he’d said. It was his entire demeanor, plus the sparks that shot through my body every time we touched. The warmth that unsettled between my legs. The naughty thoughts I couldn’t seem to stop.

He was feeling it too. All of it.

“Same,” I said. “Actually...”

I bit my lip, trying to work up the courage to make a bold move. But no, I couldn’t do that. I was too shy.

He wasn’t shy, though. “You know, we seem to have this whole park to ourselves.”

I totally spaced on the work I was supposed to be doing on my end. The seesaw stopped, both of us squatting and staring at each other.

“That could change,” I said.

Way to be a buzzkill. I was supposed to be lightening up.

“I think we’re good for a while,” he said. “They’re doing face painting at the library.”

“Crap buckets.”

The two words slipped out. Old habits. Meanwhile, Nate was staring at me, no doubt thinking I was weird.

“I should’ve done something like that,” I said.

“Like what?”

“Face painting, clowns, story time…something to bring families in.”

“There’s always next year,” he said with a shrug. “And tomorrow.”

I tilted my head. “Tomorrow?”

“Bikers are still in town. I can make an announcement at dinner tonight. Ten percent off all books to anyone who pulls into the parking lot on a bike tomorrow. What hours are you open on Sundays?”

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