Page 3 of Rugged Mountain Man

And that was why, even though I was due to meet up with the rest of the contestants in just a half hour or so, I found myself looking around and asking, “Is there a back way out of this place?”

2

LIAM

There was no back way out of this place. I was trying to be a hero and help this beautiful woman escape, but basically, I was walking around, carrying a bag with two foam containers full of food.

We tried various doors. The back door led out to the patio, but it was fenced, and there didn’t appear to be an easy way to get to the front of the building. We could try trudging through the snow around the side, but neither of us was dressed for that. The beautiful woman who introduced herself as Willow wore high heels, a maroon sparkly dress, and no coat.

Another issue was that Willow didn’t want to go back through the lobby. There was no way to get to the hallways with doors to the parking lot without doing that. We were stuck with the hallway that linked to the restaurant, and that gave us very few options.

We ended up in the fitness center—a tiny room packed with equipment. We sat on one of the weight benches facing opposite each other, food in between us, drinks on the floor at our feet.

“Exactly why are you on the lam?” I asked.

She smiled. I was already addicted to the sight of that beautiful smile.

“I just don’t want to deal with it,” she said. “All day, we’ve been stressing about this competition, and suddenly, the thought of having dinner with the other contestants…it just doesn’t sound appealing.”

“So, tell them you’re going to bed early. Or hide out here until they’re done and sneak back to your room.”

She nodded. “That’s exactly what I plan to do.”

As she took a bite of her patty melt, I asked the next question on my mind. “What were you going to do if you could get to the parking lot? Drive away?”

She shook her head. “I didn’t bring keys. Just my phone with my credit card and driver’s license. I thought maybe some wine could help me get through dinner, but sitting on that bar stool, I knew nothing would make it bearable. I just need a few minutes away from it all.”

She reached down, grabbed her foam cup full of sweet tea, and took a long sip. The sight of those beautiful plump lips wrapped around that straw did things to me. Things that were probably inappropriate, considering she was young enough to be my…niece? Little sister? I didn’t know her exact age, but I was guessing I was too young to be her father’s age unless he had her while he was in elementary school.

“The other women in the competition weren’t exactly friendly, I guess?” I asked, wondering if this was some sort of mean-girl situation.

I picked up my own drink, taking a sip and wishing it was the beer I’d had at the bar. Not for the alcohol, but for the taste. Soda wasn’t really my thing, but I wasn’t in the mood for water or tea.

“No, they’re great,” she said. “I think the competition has messed up things, though. I was starting to think of some of those women as friends, but one of the women I’ve gotten closest to is a finalist with me, so we’re going to be competing. And then the other woman—she’s the most driven person I’ve ever seen. She keeps to herself. I’m not sure what to make of her.”

The thing was, I didn’t want to hear about these other women. I wanted to know more about Willow. I wanted to knoweverythingabout Willow.

“Do you work at a bakery?” I asked.

She shook her head. “I’m a software engineer. But I’ve been baking for fun for years. I’d love to just bake full-time or maybe start my own business?—”

“Like catering?”

I’d just interrupted her. That was kind of rude. I really needed to touch up my social skills before I tried to talk to the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. She had me feeling like a big ogre.

“I’d love to start my own bakery,” she said. “Doughnuts, pastries…in the mountains near where I live.”

“Where’s that?” I asked.

“East Tennessee. When I was a kid, we’d go up to the mountains, and some of my best memories are sitting in front of this big fountain at a bistro table, eating doughnuts with my mom and sister.”

“They’re building a new shopping center here,” I said. “I don’t know if there’ll be a fountain, but…”

What was I doing? Was I trying to talk her into moving to Seduction Summit? Yes, I definitely was. The fact that she lived in East Tennessee was bad news. That was hours from here.

Since when did I care about that? I’d built a one-bedroom cabin up here for a reason. I had no intentions of ever getting married. If I needed a woman, I’d go to Adairsville or beyond and track one down. Hot skiers sometimes came through the lodge in the wintertime and hung out in the lobby, but they didn’t really want to be hit on, and it wasn’t worth the trouble to me.

Thing was, lately it hadn’t been worth the trouble at all. None of it. My hand was just as good as a woman I cared absolutely nothing about. Plus, my hand wouldn’t feel rejected when I never called again.

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