Page 5 of Mountain Man's Flirty Farmgirl
Finally, she said, “I don’t know how you feel about crowds, but there’s a cocktail thing tonight at the inn. Just an hour or so. Vendors only. Sort of a welcome mixer.”
I raised a brow.
“Totally optional,” she added. “But I’ll be there. If you happen to show up, I’ll save you a seat.”
I still didn’t answer.
She gave a little shrug. “No pressure.”
Then she stood, took her sandwich wrapper, and tossed it into the bin behind her booth. When she turned back, I was still there. Still watching her. Still wondering what the hell was happening to me.
“I’ll think about it,” I said.
Her smile could’ve lit up the valley.
“Good.” She picked up a mug, poured a fresh serving of cider, and handed it to me like she’d been waiting for that exact moment. “Just in case you change your mind.”
As I watched her walk back behind her booth, I’d already changed my mind about a hell of a lot more than cider.
3
SIENNA
Senior year, I had a massive crush on a guy named Bryce.
I could clearly remember sitting in the cafeteria, watching for him out of the corner of my eye while trying not to look like I was watching for him. I got pretty skilled at it. When he’d show up, my heart would jump and my breath would catch.
That was exactly how I felt, standing in the relatively small banquet room of the Wildwood Valley Inn. I was at a cocktail table with a few other vendors, including two that I was pretty sure would become good friends this week. One, Marissa, was a fall-themed spice seller from Nashville. The other, Cecelia, was a gourmet popcorn vendor from a rural town in southern Alabama.
Someone else at the table, a woman from somewhere in the New England area, was asking for tips on how to make the perfect loaf of Southern-style banana bread. That was when I caught sight of Blade.
As soon as I spotted him, there may as well have been nobody else in the room— or in the world, for that matter.
This was much, much more powerful than the little crush I’d had on Bryce Goodman. No, I was imagining things with this guy that I’d never imagined before. Sexy things.
And that was the difference. Blade was a man. Bryce had been a guy. Just a teenager. But it was more than that. This was an attraction on a level I’d never felt. This connection was rare. I’d bet my week’s harvest market sales on that.
“Excuse me,” I said to the group gathered around the cocktail table.
I grabbed my beer. Nobody even noticed as I stepped away and headed toward Blade. That was the power of baked goods discussions, I supposed.
Blade stood in the doorway, looking around and straightening his navy striped button-down shirt. As he probably noticed, most people weren’t dressed up. He would have been fine in the shorts and T-shirt he’d been wearing earlier that day—the one with the wordsUS Navyprinted on the chest.
“Hi,” I said once I was a few feet away.
We were the only two standing in that immediate area. Still, someone could come blasting through the doorway at any second, and he’d have to move. That was how much space his hulking form took up.
“I guess I’m overdressed,” he said.
I looked around and spotted a guy in a similar button-down shirt, then pointed him out. “There’s no dress code in Wildwood Valley.” I turned back to Blade, a smile on my face. “That’s what I was told, anyway. Seems accurate.”
He gave a nod and looked around. “So is this place serving dinner?”
I shook my head and held up the beer bottle. “Drinks and appetizers.” I gestured with the other hand toward the food table. “Mostly fruit and veggie platters.”
“Yeah, this place doesn’t really have catering.”
“We could ditch.”
