Page 9 of Wild Mountain Ma n

“And a bakery,” she said.

“Maybe even a candy store. Tourists love candy. Seduction Summit could become known for it. Like some mountain towns are known for their taffy.”

She was quiet for a long moment. I wondered if I’d gone too far. Maybe she knew what I was up to. I had to be more subtle in my attempts to lure her here.

“Is it expensive?” she asked.

The question pulled me out of my thoughts. I glanced in her direction, taking in her thoughtful expression as much as I could before I had to face forward again.

Her thoughtful expression gave me hope. Maybe she was considering it.

“What?” I asked.

“Living here. Buying land and building a cabin and all that.”

“That’s the big attraction,” I said. “A bunch of us have bought land on the cheap and are paying bargain prices to have cabins built. The demand isn’t what it will be once this place gets up and going. It’s an investment.”

An investment. That reminded me that she’d mentioned her dad had said something about that. I’d forgotten all about it until now.

But I didn’t want to convince her to move to Seduction Summit for financial security. I wanted her to move here because she wanted to. And if I was honest, I’d admit I wanted her to move here to be with me. That might take more than a drive up the mountain in the dark.

“Home sweet home.”

I pulled off the road into a driveway that was all dirt right now, covered in snow. Eventually, they’d pave it.

In front of us stood the frame of what would be my house soon enough. It looked ready to move in from the outside, aside from the fact that the windows and doors were just big holes.

“You can’t see the water from here,” I said. “The cabin blocks it.”

“Can we get out and go look?”

It was chilly outside, and she didn’t have a coat. I cut the ignition, then shrugged off my bomber jacket and handed it to her.

“As long as we can stand it,” I said.

Snow was in the forecast for tomorrow, and it still covered the ground tonight. It hadn’t done much to the roads, but it made the walk up the driveway a little treacherous.

“Take my hand,” I said as we used the glow from my headlights to walk toward the house.

She slid her hand into mine, and I’d never been more grateful to not be wearing gloves. Her hand was cold, colder than mine, and as I wrapped my much bigger hand around it, I hoped it warmed her up enough to create a sense of security.

That was how I wanted her to feel when I was around her. Like I’d wrap my arms around her and protect her for life. She was safe with me. Always.

“Not bad for a former juvenile delinquent,” I said as we stepped through the doorway.

She led the way. We had to break contact to enter, and I immediately missed her touch. I wanted to have her hand in mine around the clock for the rest of my life.

Crap. I’d turned into a cheeseball all of a sudden. When had that happened? When I met Teagan, that was when.

“This is great,” she said. “I love the high ceilings. At least I assume they’re not going to fill this in.”

I shook my head. “Nope. I wanted an open feel. There’ll be three bedrooms over there to the left, and the kitchen will be straight back.”

She turned to look at me. “Three bedrooms.”

I immediately averted my gaze. Yeah, that part was embarrassing. I’d chosen three bedrooms when one- and two- bedroom cabins were standard with this builder. But I wanted room to grow, and I was being optimistic that I’d eventually meet my soulmate and have one or two kids with her.

“You can never have too many bedrooms,” I said. “Plus, it’s a good investment, remember?”

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