Page 6 of Wild Mountain Ma n

“Well, more of a candy-maker,” she said. “But I spent a lot of time sharpening my baking skills for this competition. We’ll be making all kinds of things—pies, cakes…”

“But not candy?” I asked.

She shook her head. “Not candy. The winner of the competition gets fifty thousand dollars and help with starting a bakery. And that’s my dream—to open a candy shop in my hometown.”

“Where’s that?”

I held my breath, waiting for the answer. I’d spotted her license plate, which said she lived in Washington. Obviously, she wasn’t from here, but Washington was far, far, far away.

What was I thinking? I’d just met this woman. Was I really getting my hopes up that I could see her again?

Yes, I was. That was the plain and simple truth. I’d never met a woman who captured my attention quite as much as this one had from the second I met her.

It wasn’t just that. I felt comfortable with her. I wanted to open up to her. Had I ever felt that way about a woman? No, I hadn’t. And now that I’d found it, I wouldn’t be able to just walk away from her and forget it had ever happened.

“Charleston.” She laughed. “I know. As if there aren’t enough candy shops in Charleston.”

I would have no idea about that. “I’ve never been there.”

I was mentally calculating the distance from here to Charleston. I wasn’t completely sure, but it couldn’t be too far.

“Is that where you live now?” I asked.

Teagan nodded. “I went to school in Seattle, but…let’s just say it didn’t go well. I’m back home now.”

We put the convo on pause again as the server set down our sweet teas and walked off. Teagan unwrapped her straw and settled it into her cup while she spoke.

“And you fly back out in a couple of days?” I asked.

“Sunday,” she said.

It was Thursday night. That meant I only had two days to get to know her. And it sounded like her schedule would be jam-packed both those days. My mind was spinning, trying to come up with excuses to get involved with the baking competition. There weren’t any.

“A town like this would be perfect for a candy shop,” I said.

Oh yeah, real subtle. I picked up my cup and took a drink as I waited for her to answer, trying to pretend that what she said next didn’t matter all that much. Lying to myself, in other words.

“I never imagined living somewhere like this,” she said. “It’s a tourist town, right?”

She didn’t know? Had she researched the place at all before she came here? No, she’d probably been set on achieving her dream. The competition was all that mattered, not the town that was hosting it.

“I want to have kids someday,” she said. “I always pictured myself raising them in the ‘burbs, you know?”

“Makes sense.”

The sinking feeling in my gut surprised me. I hadn’t expected that strong a reaction. But I wasn’t the type to shy away from a challenge, and that was where my next words came from.

“Seduction Summit is becoming more than a tourist town,” I said. “We’re growing like crazy. There’s an elementary, middle, and high school in Adairsville, which is about ten minutes from this restaurant, but I have a feeling this town will need its own elementary school soon enough.”

That was an exaggeration. There weren’t nearly enough jobs in this town right now to support a bunch of families.

“You trying to sell me on moving here?” she asked, giving me a smile.

That smile went straight to my heart. I opened my mouth to respond, but there was something about the way she was lookingat me that shut me up. Her features softened, and I saw a slight flicker in her eyes.

Was she feeling the same thing I was? If so, that gave me hope that we might be able to work out something.

Maybe, in the next hour or so, I could get her to fall for me. And from there, we could figure out what would happen after she left town.

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