Page 2 of Untamed Mountain Man

“I just got here,” I said. “I was going for a walk and figured this building would be heated.”

“It isn’t,” he said. “Not very well, anyway.”

It sure felt warm, but that was probably because I came from much cooler temperatures. That brought my next question.

“Do you work here?”

He laughed. “I guess you could say that.”

He stepped away from the bathroom, moving to the center of the room. He was still a good twenty or so feet away from me, but he was close enough for me to get a better view of his face. I’d only given him glances before.

He had an intense stare and a strong jaw. There was something hardened about his features too. He hadn’t led an easy life. And something about his skin told me he worked outside. He had the permanent tan of someone who rarely spent time indoors.

“I’m part of the logging crew.” He gestured toward the front of the building. I assumed that was meant to indicate the immediate world outside this building. “We’re clearing away some property for chalets.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Chalets.”

“Little cabins,” he said.

I held back my amusement. I knew what a chalet was. I was impressed that this place was putting them in. I’d lived in nearby Boone all my life and had never been to this particular area of the mountains.

I’d heard good things about Seduction Summit, though. My middle school friends traveled here on a church trip. I definitely remembered the lack of places for them to stay. They’d all crammed into a couple of rooms. It sounded fun to me, but I had a feeling it wasn’t nearly as fun for the people who went through it.

“Anyway, I just use this building for the bathroom,” he said. “The lift ticket salesperson is only here in the mornings and early afternoons.”

Yeah, it was late in the day. I hadn’t even thought to wonder why nobody was here selling tickets. I found it interesting more than anything else.

“I’m not trying to buy a lift ticket.” I gestured to indicate my skirt, visible beneath the thigh-length jacket I wore. “Just getting away from…”

This time I gestured in the same direction he had seconds earlier. Even I wasn’t sure what I was trying to say. The lodge? The chaos? The women who’d pasted on smiles as we’d all filed out of the tent after the finalists were announced?

I’d felt the silent daggers they’d shot at me with their stares, and I had a feeling tonight was going to be more of the same. Everyone putting on an act, pretending they were happy for us while we acted humble and gracious over something we’d worked our butts off to achieve. Okay, so they’d worked their butts off too, but I was annoyed at myself for feeling guilty about being a finalist, even though that was why I was here in the first place.

“You’re part of that baking competition, right?” he asked. “I’ve seen you in the restaurant.”

He’d noticed me? My heart sped up a little at hearing that. I’d noticed him looking in my direction, but I hadn’t imagined…

It felt awkward standing here, facing each other across the room. But he hadn’t made a move to head out yet, and I could only assume that meant he wanted to keep talking to me.

And I definitely wanted to keep talking to him.

“I’m a finalist,” I said.

His eyes widened. “Congratulations.”

There wasn’t much emotion in his voice, but I got the feeling that was a normal thing with him. This was about as animated as he got.

He’d stopped to talk to me. Not because he was a polite guy, but because he’d been watching me. He found me attractive?

That was something that was hard for me to get used to. In my younger years, all my bony friends had gotten the attention. I had curves for days, but for some reason, the guys in my school didn’t like that. Maybe because I looked like a woman long before I was supposed to.

But now that I was in my early twenties, things had shifted. I’d walk down the street and guys would smile at me. I’d enter a room and men would stare. At first, I’d assumed something was wrong. Like I had toilet paper trailing out of my waistband or food stuck in my teeth, but I was coming to realize they were looking at me for other reasons altogether.

And this guy was definitely looking at me for those reasons.

As the silence stretched between us, I told myself I should say something. Maybe I should just excuse myself, let him know I needed to get back to the lodge. Dinnertime was fast approaching. Everyone would be in the lobby by now, some holding cocktails they’d grabbed from the bar because they showed up early, just as I was thinking of doing.

I could go grab a glass of wine and chug it, then start on my second glass during dinner. That would at least help me get through what was sure to be a challenging evening.

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