Page 2 of Hooked By the Mountain Man

Dick.

When he idles again to point out the Dillinger Mansion, I manage to get the drinks poured and hand them to the guests. I catch a shit-eating grin on Eric's face, and I try to sit down quickly knowing he's about to do something stupid and reckless. Before I can move, he lurches the boat forward and I stumble, tipping over the side of the boat and into the cold lake water.

"Brynn!" Mrs. Winfree screams, and Mr. Winfree yells out, "Man, 'er, woman overboard," as I break the surface of the water, gasping and coughing out a mouthful of lake water.

Eric circles me with the boat, making waves that jostle me back and forth. Luckily, I insisted on a lifejacket even though Eric scoffed at me.

"Not sure we have one in your size, Brynn," he said. Like his opinion would keep me from being safe on a boat.

I'm a curvy goddess, and he can get bent.

Eric maneuvers closer to me and then turns off the engine. He bends down to offer me his arm.

I grit my teeth and swim over to the side of the boat. Is he seriously going to try to pull me up? This is humiliating. But I don't have the upper body strength to do it myself, so I reach for his arm and try to hoist my leg up and over the side of the boat. I'm close, and then, Eric winks and releases me. I splash down hard into the water again.

"Whoa, I can't lift you, Brynn. All those curves work better on land than water. Too many bonbons, I guess."

What did this fucking dickwad just say in front of the guests?Body shaming frat boy, douche!

"You'll have to meet us back at the shore. Head that way." Eric points behind me and starts the engine again.

Mrs. Winfree eyes me with concern, and she hits Mr. Winfree's leg to get him to say something to Eric, but I don't need the guests involved, so I wave them off.

"Not a problem! I'll see you guys back at the dock." My words are drowned out, literally, as I splutter and cough when Eric jets away, spraying water over me. I'm not the best swimmer, which is why I insisted on a lifejacket in the first place, but the shore doesn't look too far away. So, I turn and start making my way to the closest pier.

Okay, to-do list.

One, swim to shore.

Two, get the guests back to the resort.

Three, Eric and I are going to have a little chat.

I can do this.

Chapter 2

Ethan

"What's the point of living on a lake if you aren't going to fish?" Weston Billings goads me as he baits his lure.

"You sound like my father," I grumble, struggling to get my hook tied.

West preens like it's the best compliment he's ever heard. "Great minds think alike, my son."

I roll my eyes, and West grins before turning to effortlessly cast into the water. He sets his pole into the holder and takes a seat with a contented sigh.

"Need help, Ethan?" Barrett, West's brother and my closest friend, holds out his hand, but I shake my head. Barrett chuckles at my stubbornness and then walks down the pier to cast his line out into the water. He reels it in, walking closer to West's and puts it in a holder as well.

I've known the Billings brothers since boarding school. Barrett and I were in the same class, but West is two years younger.Their older brother, Vaughn, was a grade above Barrett and me, but he and I played on the basketball team together so I've gotten to know all three of them pretty well over the years. They are a real-life copy/paste situation in terms of looks, but vastly different in personality. I'm probably most similar to Vaughn out of all the brothers, if I'm being honest. He's moody and prefers solitude, which I can appreciate.

As CEO of Billings Corp., an eco-conscious research & design company, Vaughn pretty much lives and breathes work. He is particular and impatient, but cares a lot about the people who work for him and making the company a success. Barrett is the rational peacemaker of the three. He's the Chief Marketing Officer at their company, and it's the perfect job for him. He's friendly and loves connecting people. West is a shameless flirt who loves being the life of the party. He acts like he doesn't have a care in the world, and yet, he's the CFO of Billings Corp., and that is no easy task. Vaughn once told me West's constant joking is nature's way of finding balance for a brain that can crunch numbers like a calculator.

"Gah!" I clench my jaw, refusing to ask anyone else to tie my hook, but I'm about to lose my freaking mind.

"I'd be happy to tie it for you, son." West cranes his neck around to look at me and lets out a loud hooting laugh when I flip him off. "Kids. Always so stubborn." He takes a long drink from one of the cans in the cooler I brought down to the dock and then spits it out with a dramatic spray.

"Ugh, Weston. You're going to scare the fish, brother." Barrett wipes the spray from his bare arms.

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