Page 2 of Protective Mountain Man

He pointed toward Alex’s office. “I can just grab it.”

My eyes were still wide as I stared at him. “I haven’t made any. I don’t drink coffee. Not that kind, anyway.”

His face tended to stay in the same position. Only his lips moved. Well, that and he occasionally blinked and clenched his jaw, but that was hard to tell under the beard.

But now, I saw a hint of an expression. I’d call it a micro-expression. His eyes narrowed just slightly and his jaw twitched. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he actually wanted to smile at what I just said.

“What kind of coffee do you drink?” he asked.

Oh, that was what he found amusing. “My favorite is peppermint mocha with oat milk, but for some reason, that’s only sold at Christmas. I think peppermint is good all year, but they could at least extend it through the winter. Am I right?”

Okay, I was babbling. Worse, I was talking to him like I might interact with one of my college friends. This was my first job not related at all to my major, but it was an important big step into adulting. Time to act like an adult.

“I’ll go make it,” Brock said. “Just hand me the key.”

Oh, right. I was giving him free access to my boss’s office. That wasn’t a very good idea. I’d totally make a fool of myself if I tried to make a cup of coffee in something that clearly wasn’t the one-cup coffeemaker my parents had. But I had to weigh that against pissing off my new boss by letting a guy into his office. A guy who claimed he had permission to stop by for coffee but who could have been anyone.

“You wait right here,” I said. “I’ll be right back.”

As I pushed open the door to the office, it hit me that I’d abandoned my post with a lobby full of guests. I could get in trouble for that too.

One thing was clear. I sucked at this adulting thing.

2

BROCK

How long did it take a hot blonde to make coffee?

That was the big question as I stood at the front desk waiting for Porsha to return. I needed caffeine. I’d gotten a good half dozen or so vehicles back on the road in this mess and finally, the calls had slowed a little, giving me some time to get a little caffeine in my system. Sure, I could go get it from the restaurant, but I wanted an excuse to spend more time around her.

“How much?”

A male voice pulled me out of my thoughts. I turned to see a gray-haired man in a ski suit standing behind me.

I was horrible at judging the cost of things, but this guy just reeked of money, from his perfectly cut hair to the tortoiseshell glasses to the tailored fit of his black ski suit. We saw a lot of this type this time of year in Seduction Summit. They either came from neighboring cities for the day or stayed overnight in one of the half-dozen or so luxury suites in this lodge. Just one night in one of those suites cost more than I’d make risking my neck helping people tonight.

“Sorry?” I asked, trying my best to sound polite but probably failing miserably. My rough tone tended to rub guys like this one the wrong way.

“How much to drive us to one of the hotels downtown?” the guy asked. “I already called, and they have rooms available. We just need to get there. I’m told the road is closed.”

I frowned at him. They’d closed the road? That was news to me. But I’d spent the better part of the last hour unsticking a stuck SUV a few miles up the road.

That explained it, though. Now I got why so many people were milling around the lobby. And why my phone had stopped ringing and pinging an hour or so ago. Nobody was going anywhere if the only road through town was closed.

The man reached behind him and pulled his wallet from his back pocket, opening it. He retrieved a stack of bills before returning the wallet, then he counted them out.

“Four hundred dollars,” he said, holding it out to me. “Just get us past the barricade and drop us off in the parking lot. We’ll get a ride share to bring us back to our vehicle once the road’s open again.”

I opened my mouth to say there were no ride shares in Seduction Summit, but I had a feeling this guy would make it happen. He’d probably pay someone at the hotel a hundred bucks or so to drive him up here.

After staring at the money a long moment, I shook my head. “If the road’s closed, I’m not going anywhere either.”

The man tilted his head and smirked at me. “Come on. You’re a local, right?”

I nodded and opened my mouth to explain. He cut in before I could say a word.

“You just talk to the local police officers and tell them you need through. Tell them somebody’s stuck in a ditch farther down the mountain.”

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