Page 5 of Trouble for the Mountain Man

I give myself a mental shake. She may be a distraction but I find if I really concentrate, I can get through the work quicker with the promise to myself I will stop for lunch and that will give me a chance to talk with Hazel again.

I find myself looking forward to the break. Looking forward to just talking with the girl. I shake my head as I put my focus back onto my papers.

We are both in the kitchen preparing lunch. Normally I have a sandwich over the sink but it is nice to prepare something more filling.

“How is it that you work in a museum instead of being an archaeologist if that is what you wanted to be?”

She gives a little shrug. I’ve noticed she seems to make herself small when she doesn’t want to talk. Like a wilting plant shrinking back into itself.

“I did a history degree. And I started working at the museum in college. I guess I just never took it any further. I had a job I liked so that was it, I just stayed there.”

I have a feeling there is more to the story that she isn’t telling me.

“Maybe you are like a Hazel tree. They don’t bloom until late in the winter and the environment has to be just right. Maybe you are just a late bloomer.” I say it with a smile and she appears to think on that, biting her lower lip in the most adorable way.

“And what led you to an online dating site?”

She shakes her head and gives me a stubborn look.

“Okay, what led you to my profile?”

“The site matched us. And then when we got talking, well, to your sister I guess, it turns out we read the same books.”

I know exactly what sort of books my sister reads.

“You thought I read Vampire Romances?” I let out a laugh as I add more vegetables to the pot for our lunch. I’ve seen those books in my sister’s house. She has often teased me that I couldbe a cover model for them. Apparently they are pretty sexy. I eye Hazel as she butters some bread rolls. She is damn fine looking. I find it exciting that she reads books about sex with Vampires. Just thinking about Hazel and sex in the same thought is giving me ideas. Ideas that would be just fine if this was a normal situation where we had met online.

“What else did you talk about?” I ask and turn to see a pretty blush spread over her soft cheeks.

“It’s private.”

“You thought you were talking to me! I should get to know what was said.”

She shakes her head no.

“What if I was a sexy Vampire?” I pull my arm over half half my face like I’m wearing a cape. “Would you tell me all your fantasies?” I do my best transylvanian accent and she bursts out laughing.

With a smile, Hazel sits back in her chair to look at me. “It wasn’t like that. We didn’t talk about sex. I talked about my work and family.”

There is a slight look of pain in her face and I have a feeling she opened up about her insecurities to fake me. I feel it like a sharp twist in my guts. I want to know her sexual fantasies. But that’s not all. I want to know absolutely everything about this sweet, beautiful woman.

I turn back to stir the stew I’m making. I’ll get it out of her over lunch I decide. But I have a feeling it will take more than just one meal to get Hazel to open up to me.

Chapter 5

Hazel

It is late in the evening and we are in front of the fire after a fantastic meal cooked by Aidan. Outside the wind is howling, rain is falling hard, but the fire keeps us warm as I swirl the wine in my glass and avoid looking straight at the man across from me.

This is what I wanted. This is how I pictured things. A house in the mountains. Fireplace. Wine. Surrounded by books. But I hadn’t counted on the sexual tension. The messages I had exchanged online hadn’t been sexual. And that had made me feel safe. I thought he might be like me, not interested in sex. But Aidan has me wishing I was more experienced. More confident. I recognise the looks. For some reason he thinks I’m pretty. Or maybe it’s just that I am here.

I wish I was the type of girl who could flirt. Be seductive and sexy. But I’m not that girl. I’m the bookworm. The shy girl. The fat friend. I just had one boyfriend in college. And then I was stupid enough to think my boss and I were dating because we would have lunch together and he invited me to a few parties. But it turned out that was all just so he could get closer to my sister.

All my life I’ve been told I’m not good enough and the proof of it can be seen in my dating history. Or lack of dating history.

Nobody wants me.

But Aiden seems to be interested in me, he certainly asks a lot of questions. Could I possibly hope that he might like me? Or is it probably just that we are stuck here together and he is being nice just making conversation.

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