Page 1 of Paired with the Mountain Man

CHAPTER ONE

Adalynn

“Didyou know there’s a new dating website for mountain men?” Suzie sipped on her second glass of red wine, her cheeks already rosy. Her eyes lit up like they always do when she’s excited to talk about something, usually the latest town gossip. “I’ve heard a few men around here have profiles. Based on what my sister told me.”

“Wait, wait, how does your sister know? And what website is this? We need to check it out.” My head buzzed from the alcohol, and I was all warm and fuzzy inside.

I loved the girl nights we had together, a tradition we’d upheld for years now.

We traded off whose place we went to, but there was always lots of wine, chick flicks, junk food, and lots of girl talk. Then we crashed on the couch together and nursed our hangovers the next morning by dragging our asses out for brunch. Eggs, toast, and bacon at the local diner was the perfect hangover cure.

“Shannon said it’s called Mountain Mates. That’s where she met the guy she’s dating now.”

“Your sister met a guy on here? Okay this I have to see. Who from Apple Falls has a profile?” I placed my now empty wine glass on the coffee table and scrambled to my feet, a bit unsteady, but on a mission. I had to check this website out. I grabbed my laptop and the bottle of wine from the kitchen table and hurried back to the couch.

“If I see your brother on there, I’ll die.” Suzie giggled, her ears bright red.

“Please no. Ew.” I made a face of disgust and handed her the bottle of wine while I opened my laptop and navigated to a new browser tab. Suzie filled my glass and topped hers off while the website loaded.

“You’re right, ew. Aren’t you glad I never found your brother attractive?”

“I’d seriously question your taste in men if you did.”

“Oh, stop it, your brother’s a catch. For the right girl. Maybe Forrest will be on here.” Suzie wiggled her eyebrows at me and at the mere mention of his name, my heart tripled in speed.

I shot daggers at my best friend. Out of love of course.

She held her free hand up in surrender and ducked behind her glass. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry. We’re still hoping he’s secretly in love with you. Got it.”

I shot her another look of disapproval and rolled my eyes before grabbing my glass off the table, being careful to keep it away from my laptop. After a big gulp, I inhaled deeply and typed in Apple Falls in the location search box. “Let’s see who we’ve got.” I said before hitting enter.

Apple Falls, a small town on the outskirts of Appleridge Mountain, where Suzie and I grew up together, had its fair share of growly mountain men. Two of them happened to be my older brother Jack and his best friend Forrest.

The one I’ve secretly pined over for years. But no one knows about my secret crush, except Suzie and it needed to stay thatway. Not only did Forrest not give me the time of day, but my brother also wouldn’t like it. Why the hell would I make a fool of myself?

It’s bad enough I had to see Forrest on the regular, half naked, his tan bare chest glistening in the sun as he worked in the family orchard. My parents started this business years ago when they were first married, and now with Jack and Forrest running the orchard, they’ve set off to travel the world, leaving everything in our hands. I handled the marketing side of the business and spent a lot of time creating brochures and new ideas to bring visitors to the orchards.

Right away, several profiles from Apple Falls and the surrounding towns within a ten-mile radius, populated on the screen.

Suzie and I looked at each other and burst out laughing.

This is gonna be fun.

Two glassesof wine later and we’ve scrolled through every profile, laughing at some of the men we knew, and happy to see neither Jack nor Forrest.

That is, until we get to the very last one.

AppleMtnMan43’s Profile:

Forrest O’Neill, Part Owner of Miller Apple Orchards.

Looking for some fun and maybe the one? Whatever that means. ;)

I gasped and my hand flew over my mouth.

“What’s wrong, what is it?” Suzie said but as soon as her eyes landed on the screen, she whispered, “Oh no.”

We both looked at the profile in silence. I clicked through the pictures, each one making my stomach twirl. Forrest lookedso handsome, his physique on display whether fully clothed or shirtless in the hot sun. I loved how he loved to garden and landscape, his face lighting up with delight every time he talked about it. I loved how he smiled, only lifting one side of his mouth. I stared at his lips and lost myself in the fantasy of kissing him, what he would taste like, what it would feel like to have my dream come true.

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