Page 64 of Wild Promises

"Oh, yeah. Okay." She carefully pulled on the clothes, rolling the waistband of the pants several times so they would fit.

"I'll walk you down." I didn't want her to do the walk of shame alone, and I wasn't ready to be away from her.

"Since when do you work on Sundays?" Tori asked.

"Since I had to prove to my brothers that I'm taking the business seriously. They want to see my job generating more money, and this is the only way I could think to do it. I haven't come up with any groundbreaking additions for the outdoor adventures. Skiing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing. What else is there?"

"I don't know." When the elevator opened, I intertwined my fingers with hers, and we walked down a side hallway to the parking lot. I knew all the ins and outs of the lodge, and I was positive she didn't want to go through the lobby with her hair damp and wearing oversized sweats. We were supposed to be showing everyone we were a thing, but I think we'd done that last night when I was desperate to get her alone.

Outside, it was cold and the sky gray.

"I wonder if it's going to snow."

"If so, we can stay at the lodge overnight to help clear the snow." In the past, I'd stayed in town. But that didn't jive with the new me who was all-in at the lodge. "If so, you can stay with me in the condo."

"Yeah?" She'd stopped in front of my truck and turned to face me.

I braced a hand over her head on the door. "Take care of my truck, yeah?"

She smiled and tucked a chunk of hair behind her ear. "I'll take good care of it."

"You do that," I said as I lowered my mouth to hers, kissing her slowly. I wanted to savor this woman. There was still a possibility I was going to screw everything up, or she would return to New York. It was more of a reason to take advantage of the time I had with her.

When I eased back, I opened the door for her and waited for her to get inside. Then I handed her the keys. "I can get a ride home so you don't need to worry about picking me up."

She smiled. "I was thinking of getting some things for your apartment. It's a little bare."

I grinned, loving that she wanted to make it her home. "You can do whatever you want with it. I don't have any design ability."

"Okay."

I leaned over and kissed her, then shut the door. I stepped back as she turned on the engine and pulled out of the parking lot. Inside the lodge, Eli stood just inside the door.

"Were you waiting for me?" I asked, feeling a little weird about that.

"I saw you and Tori walk out last night. Was everything okay?"

I couldn't stop the grin that spread over my face. "It's great."

"Good. That's good."

"I have a full day of lessons, and I want to log into my computer first. Did you need anything?"

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

My forehead creased from the unexpected inquiry. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know. This thing with Tori is moving fast, and you're working more hours than ever."

I shook my head. "Isn't that what you wanted, for me to take my job seriously? I'm on call if you need me. I can do whateveryou need." Then I glanced at the time. "I have to go. My first lesson is in five minutes."

"Yeah, okay. We'll talk later."

I let out a breath as I walked away. What was Eli getting at? Isn't this what he wanted? I was at family events and working every day of the week. I'd already planned to move into the lodge if we got a major snowstorm. The family and the lodge came first. I was doing everything him and Oliver had asked of me.

The only problem was that I hadn't come up with any groundbreaking business ideas. I'd have to think of something while I was teaching today. I couldn't chance anything. Everything I'd ever wanted was within reach. I couldn't mess up now.

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