Page 4 of Seduction in the Mountains

I bite my lip, thinking of the things fantasy Cole has done to me over the years—a continuation of the pleasure that real life Cole wrung from my body the one night I spent in his bed. Shaking my head to clear it of sexy thoughts, I wipe down a table and am suddenly hit with terrible guilt for leaving without so much as a goodbye.

Rolling my eyes at my lack of humility, I snort. I'm sure a one-night stand wasn't unusual for a guy like Cole. Even if it meant more to me than it did him, I don't begrudge him that. He didn’t make me any promises. No, he only made the thought of any other real-life man so much as kissing me feel awful and wrong, effectively ruining my sex life until the end of time. Not that I had much time for guys once I came home.

Interrupting those sad thoughts, my cell pings, and I see a text from Scarlett.

Scarlett

Please tell me you left the supply closet! I just saw this. I can't call but can text discreetly from my computer while I listen to Alistair blather on. I'd say I have about thirty minutes before he lets someone else talk. Spill!

I roll my eyes.

Yes. I left the supply closet. Sorry for my freak-out voicemail.

Oh good, you sound rational. Is this the next stage of acceptance after seeing the love of your life?

I screw up my face. Sometimes the problem with a best friend is they know too much.

Love of my life? We slept together once. Hardly the love of my life.

Have you slept with anyone since?

Beside the point.

Are you okay?

I bite my lip, thinking of how to answer her question.

He looked good.

Yes, I gathered that, what with you being in sexy tall handsome hell.

What is he doing here?

He was there with Levi? Did they seem like friends?

No clue. What do I do?

You wait for him to come back to the shop, and then you fuck him. On every surface.

Laughing, I sit at the nearest table. Scarlett ran from Duhring the second her graduation cap took flight. She worked her ass off to get an internship at her dream company, got hired right out of college, and has worked her way up into a position where she’s under-appreciated by a douchy boss while living with a guy I can't stand. I wish she lived here and not in the city with her loser boyfriend so she could come over tonight and make me feel better about all this with a pint of ice cream.

No time for relationships. Parenting a pre-teen, remember?

I didn't say relationship, Mir. I said fuck him. Ride his big until you many, many times. Let him taste your and come back for seconds.

Friends with benefits.

Call it research.

See if he can live up to the memory of that night. If he doesn't, maybe it's the closure you need to not hide in a closet when he walks in for coffee.

I snort and then grimace as I type out the bigger issue.

And, if he does live up to the memory?

Marry him.

Are you going to marry Chad?

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