Page 5 of Forbidden Mountain Man

As I breezed past him into his house, my shoulder passed within inches of his chest. I nearly gasped at the electricity that shot through my body at the near contact. I’d read about sparks flying between two people when there was an attraction, but I’d never experienced it. I’d never even imagined it could happen in real life.

The garage opened into a laundry room with hooks on the wall that held various types of jackets—all male, all huge. I glanced over at his washer and dryer, then walked through another doorway into an open-plan cabin.

I was in the living room, but from here I could view the kitchen and a dining area. A gigantic fireplace was on the far wall with the biggest flat-screen TV I’d ever seen. On either side of it were speakers. The furniture looked cozy and inviting.

I’d expect to find an entire family living in a home like this, not a single man. He was single, wasn’t he?

“You live here alone?” I asked, turning back to stare at him.

If it came out he had a wife or even a girlfriend, I’d probably lock myself in the bedroom and refuse to come out until he agreed to take me back down to the lodge. The last thing I wanted to do was mess with someone else’s man.

“Yeah,” he said. “Lived alone most of my life.”

I frowned at him and opened my mouth to ask questions. I had a lot of them. Most of his life? Did that include childhood?

But before I could say anything, he reached out his hand and said, “I can take your purse and hang it with the coats.”

I suddenly remembered I had the strap of my purse on my right shoulder. I’d grabbed it from my wrecked car that morning, then headed out the door with it once my shift was over.

I wasn’t wearing a coat, ignoring my mom’s years of advice to always keep one in the car in the winter months in case I got stranded by the roadside. I skipped grabbing it, figuring it wouldn’t kill me to walk across the parking lot to the front door of the lodge without one, even in these temperatures. It was what? Two minutes of my life?

“Sure,” I said, handing over my purse.

He was already shrugging out of his coat as he grabbed the strap, seemingly careful not to make contact with my hand. Was he feeling this weird zing of electricity between us? Or was he avoiding all contact with other human beings?

No, he wasn’t a hermit. He was a builder, a developer. I needed to quit with the stereotyping.

But I still couldn’t seem to shrug off this feeling that the guy was a loner. He’d said as much only a minute or two ago.

But just because he lived alone didn’t mean he wasn’t social. He might have a whole group of friends. Maybe he even headed down to the bars in Adairsville to meet women. Not to date them, but to sleep with them. Guys had needs, didn’t they?

“Make yourself at home,” Lucas said. “Are you hungry?”

He’d eaten while sitting at the bar, waiting for me. But it was well past dinner time now.

“I had a salad on my dinner break,” I said. “But if you have anything to snack on… Maybe something sweet?”

“I’ll see what I can rustle up.”

While he walked to the kitchen, I awkwardly settled onto the far-left side of the sofa, facing the TV. I closed my eyes as my butt sank onto the cushion. This was a nice piece of furniture. Nothing like the worn-out, hand-me-down couch in my own living room. In fact, all of my furniture was gifted by relativesand family friends. Anyone who had a piece of furniture they were trying to get rid of immediately went on my mom’s radar.

My mother knew I was struggling to make it in this mountain town where I’d dreamed of living all my life. And even though she was only a couple of hours away, I may as well have moved to the big city, the way she bragged about her successful daughter working at a ski lodge in the mountains.

“Do you like ice cream sundaes?” Lucas asked.

My eyes widened as I looked over to my left. I’d been restlessly considering sneaking over to the laundry room to grab my phone out of my purse. It felt awkward just sitting here. I could probably pick up the remote and turn on the TV, but that felt wrong when it was someone else’s house.

“Of course,” I said.

“Chocolate or caramel?” he asked.

“Yes.”

It was meant as a joke, but he didn’t laugh. He just looked confused. I could see that from here. His brow was furrowed and his eyes narrowed as he stared at me.

“Both,” I said.

And then I shifted my stare to the pitch-black TV screen. I could see myself living here. This was the dream. Not my little townhouse with no view whatsoever. This cozy log cabin with gigantic windows to my right and a big fireplace in front of me was…perfect. I couldn’t see much outside those windows, but I’d bet in the daytime it was breathtaking, considering where this house sat.

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