Page 88 of Mountain Wood

“That’s a good thing, right?” I have no clue. “I hit the algorithm at the right time.”

“It’s not the algorithm, Dean. It was my comment.” She actually cringes telling me that.

Right. Because I’m a nobody and she’s famous. Her sexy comment on my video is why so many followers are suddenly noticing me. Because if Grace Finch is looking at me then I must be something special.

Well, this is awkward.

I’m not mad. I’m overwhelmed. “You did say everything you touch turns to gold. What do I do now?”

She swallows hard and looks down at my screen again. More and more notifications are popping up.

“We can ignore it,” she offers. “Orrrr…” A wild grin spreads across her face. “We can lean into it.”

I’m down for either one. I have no clue what the right answer is. But I’m not the only one being affected by this sudden spike of attention. Grace is too. What if her mother finds out she’s with a blue-collar mountain man? Bet it won’t go over too well. And what about her brothers? Her friends?

“What doyouwant to do, Grace?”

She wraps her arms around my neck and drags me down for a kiss. “Let’s get dirty, baby.”

Chapter 22

Grace

Well, that escalated quickly.

There are dozens of situations and opportunities flying through my head to make the most of this. But first and foremost, I want to make sure Dean’s onboard here and that requires a serious talk.

“I have to warn you, there’s going to be a bunch of trolls.” The only way I can possibly protect this man from the internet’s cruelty is by warning him up front.

“I don’t give a rat’s ass about what people say about me. No one even knows me. And I don’t have that fragile of an ego for some stranger’s opinion of me to make a damn bit of difference in how I see myself.”

“Good.” But that’s not what I’m worried about, to be honest. “They’ll say shit about me too.”

He stiffens and swallows hard, his gaze not meeting mine for a moment. Then Dean calmly asks, “Are you okay with that?”

“I told you I never care. It’s par for the course.” Except Idocare with this. I’ll be damned if I’m going to stand by and let people drag our relationship through the mud just for clicks. “Some people will do a deep dive on you. Try to find out your life story.”

Dean chuckles. “Good luck with that. I’m not on social media as my real name anywhere, and I’venever done anything except live and work on this mountain, so whatever they could possibly dig up on me will disappoint them because there legit isn’t anything.”

I’ve been in the spotlight forever, so not having dirt won’t stop someone from trying to start shit. “Sometimes they make up stuff when they can’t find anything.”

“I can’t wait to hear the stories then.” He shrugs, truly seeming unbothered. “Honestly, Grace, I know what kind of man I am, and the life I’ve lived. I don’t give a flying fuck what anyone says about me—made up or true. I know myself and I like me. But I don’t want you made fun of for being with someone… below your station.”

“What, are we living in the sixteen hundreds?” I laugh to hide the fear that’s gnawing at me. A lot of people are going to have something to say about our relationship—and one of them will be that he’s using me for my money. It’s not true, but they’ll act like it’s a fact. Others will no doubt say I’m rebelling, just like they did when Mason married a camgirl who was also his house cleaner.

I really hate people.

Oscar slinks between us and nudges Dean’s leg. He rubs her head and starts scrolling again. “This is wild.”

“We have an opportunity here.” I make him lower his phone. “Let’s start a series where we work on the cabins together.”

His brow pinches. “With me shirtless or something?”

He’s so cute. “If you want, but I don’t think it’s necessary.” Okay, I’m about to let out a little secret. “So, um…” I retrieve my phone and pull up a video edit I made that he doesn’t know about. “I’ve been secretly recording us all week and made this.”

Dean’s expression is completely unreadable at first as he takes my phone and watches the short clips I’ve combined.

It starts with us sanding drywall. Then he spins me around, because we’re dancing to music. Then I tug him by his tool belt and kiss him. He smears grout on my cheek. I smack his ass while he holds up part of a cabinet for me to mount. We eat lunch across from each other. Oscar runs through the snow. Dean throws her a ball, laughing with his head tipped back. He’s stacking wood into the fireplace, shirtless. The last is a selfie reel of me smiling big because I’m so happy.

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