Page 3 of Brooding Mountain Man

Work with Georgia. Those three words distracted me from everything else he said. But when I took a few seconds to think through the rest of it, emptiness settled over me.

Home. I should want to go back to Lillyville on weekends. It was only a couple of hours away. But my little house suddenly seemed dark and dreary. And that was when it became clear that something had shifted this morning. That something was caused by meeting a certain gorgeous blonde.

“I don’t suppose there’d be a way to put me up in a cabin around here,” I said. “You know, a place of my own. Somewhere to get away from work at the end of the day.”

Alex sat back in his seat and studied me. That made me wonder if I’d gone too far. Before I’d met Georgia, I would have shrugged and headed home if this guy turned down hiring me for his project. But the stakes were higher now. I didn’t want to get in my truck and head home with no reason to ever see that woman again. I wanted every reason to see her again.

And that, in part, was why I wasn’t all that disappointed when Alex said, “Nope. That’s why we’re building the chalets. One of the reasons we’re hiring you is to speed up production on them. It’s not just a shortage. There are no cabins for skiers to rent in Seduction Summit. We’re pretty much the only game in town.”

“And you want to keep it that way,” I said.

Alex laughed. “Yeah, I wish. It’s basically a race to the finish around here. All kinds of developers have eyes on this town. My buddy Brandon and I are hoping to get enough momentum that we can keep the projects between the two of us for now and center everything around this ski lodge and Brandon’s new shopping center down by the square.”

I’d noticed that as I drove into town—a big sign announcing that The Shoppes at Brighton Village were coming soon. I’d never been to Seduction Summit before today, but I knew it as asmall mountain town with a population of about a thousand and just enough infrastructure to support it.

Seduction Summit had an elementary, middle, and high school, along with a small post office that operated out of the only slightly bigger library on the square. Even the fire, police, and ambulances had to come from neighboring Adairsville, which was at least fifteen minutes from the square.

“A room here at the lodge will be fine,” I said, giving one nod as though to confirm it with myself. “I might not want to go home on weekends, though.” That seemed to get a look of surprise from the guy seated in front of me. “Driving back and forth would be a lot.”

Not really. It was a couple of hours to my cabin from the front door of this place. Definitely doable once a week.

But I couldn’t give away my real motivation for wanting to stick around. If there was a chance I might get to spend some time around that beautiful woman at the front desk who’d stumbled upon me sleeping this morning, I’d sit in that lobby from quitting time on Friday until the workday began on Monday.

“That won’t be a problem,” Alex said. “But if you do decide to go home on weekends, let Georgia know. She always has last-minute bookings she can squeeze in there for the two days.”

That was a stark reminder that this room would not be my home. It was a place to sleep at night, shower, and keep my clothes. But it wasn’t like I was used to having a warm, cozy home to go to. I’d never had that. I was shuffled from place to place throughout my youth, unwanted and unnoticed. I’d hardly earned the name the state had given me when my mom abandoned me at a church as a newborn—Lucky.

I started toward the lobby to get Georgia to book me a room. My heart was pounding. It was no big deal. I’d talk to her, then head out to my truck and follow through on my promise to Alex.I’d spend the week checking out potential lumber sources up in the mountains, then report into him in the morning. He’d see what he needed to clear with the city before I started chopping.

Georgia wasn’t alone behind the desk as I approached. A woman who appeared to be around the same age stood with her gaze locked on me as I approached.

“You have a customer,” the woman said.

Georgia spun, and I was nearly knocked over by the sight of her face again. She was so beautiful, I thought I was dreaming when she woke me up that morning. Then I’d remembered—no, I’d crashed on the sofa in the lobby of a ski lodge and had somehow ended up sleeping with my back to the door. Anyone could have snuck up on me, but this gorgeous woman was the best outcome possible.

“Hi, Mr. Palmer,” she said. “Did your meeting go okay?”

I frowned. I didn’t remember telling her my name, but I supposed a good employee would somehow know, even if I wasn’t a guest here. I was meeting with the guy who owned the place, after all.

“Sure did,” I said. “Mr. Jewell said to get with you on reserving me a room for the next few weeks.”

Her eyes widened. “The next few weeks? Starting when?”

“Tonight,” I said, already worrying that this was going to be a problem.

“Do we have any rooms?” the other woman asked.

Georgia twisted her mouth slightly. How was it possible to contort her face and still be so beautiful?

“I don’t think we’ve had any cancellations,” she said. “Let me check.”

She turned her full attention to the monitor in front of her and began tapping on the keyboard. Her mouth untwisted, but her features were still tense.

“The honeymoon suite’s available,” the other woman said. She’d stepped closer to Georgia, and I could see her name tag readSkye. “That guy just called, remember?”

Georgia glanced at her before returning her attention to the screen. Skye went silent, and even though the look had been completely neutral, I had a feeling there was a story with the phone call. Maybe a story she didn’t want her boss to know. The secret was safe with me, whatever it was.

After some clicking around, Georgia shrugged and said, “The honeymoon suite it is. We’ll have to move you Friday morning, but if you don’t mind making a switch, you can live in luxury for a few days.”

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