Page 24 of Her Silver Fox Mountain Men

“And why is that?” I ask with a sly grin, well aware of his plans.

He chuckles softly and leans back in his chair. “Well, if you really want to know, I bought a few chunks of Wagyu beef from Sal’s earlier this morning. I plan on putting together a generous feast for tonight. Elise has cooked for us three nights in a row.”

“And you want to make it up to her; that’s your reason?”

“Of course. I’m counting on you two to pick the right wine and the dessert.”

James smiles. “I’ll stop by the French bakery later. They’ve brought out the autumn stuff, so you know the girls are going to be over the moon.”

“Pumpkin pies all around!” Oliver exclaims.

“You sound more excited than Tricia and Ainsley put together,” I say.

“Can you blame me?”

Tori walks in, her dark brow furrowed.

“Uh-oh,” Oliver notices. “Somebody needs to get more coffee into Tori, stat.”

“She looks like she’s about to kill us,” I mutter.

“Frickin’ traffic,” Tori grumbles as she joins our table. Her shoulders drop as she hands a few folders over to James. “Sorry, guys. Took me forever to get here.”

James already has a hand up, signaling the waitress for another round of coffees.

“That’s alright,” I tell her. “We figured you’d have a long drive here. It’s going to be October soon enough; the fall festivals and fairs are already starting. The whole district will be packed well before Halloween.”

Tori laughs and says, “You three had better not use that as an excuse for skipping the end-of-the-month board meeting. We need to go over some admin issues and a couple of proposed salary increases for the logistical team.”

“Okay, so let’s dig in. Where do you want to start?”

“The Q3 figures. Might as well get those out of the way.”

11

Oliver

Iwas right about the Wagyu steak dinner. Elise loved it. The girls were over the moon with the mini pumpkin pies, too. Roman picked out the perfect wine, but he also made sure that Tricia and Ainsley had a fruity, bubbly nonalcoholic drink to have with us. It was the perfect meal all around.

I wait for Elise outside the diner Monday afternoon, just as the sun sets over the mountainside. As soon as she comes out and sees me, I know I did the right thing. All the stress and exhaustion fade from her beautiful face, and a warm and sunny smile blooms across her plump, pink, glossy lips.

“Oliver,” she says, straightening her uniform, noticing the ketchup and mustard stains on her white apron. “Oh, shoot. Sorry, we had kids for lunch. Lots of kids.”

“I don’t know what you’re apologizing for,” I chuckle softly, leaning against my truck.

She smiles shyly.

“Well, look at you, all handsome and dapper while I’m fresh off the back burner.”

“You look beautiful as always,” I counter.

A slight blush crawls up her cheeks. “Thank you.”

“I’m taking you out for drinks,” I tell her. “You need to unwind.”

“What, like this?” she gasps, pointing at her uniform.

“Lose the apron and you’ll be fine.”

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