Page 16 of Made for You
If only that were true. If I had that kind of power, I’d be tangled up in Siena’s sheets right now instead of sitting here in a monkey suit, glad-handing the man who’d likely be our next governor.
“Is that so? What’s your secret?” Eli’s eyes lit up with interest, and for the first time during this conversation, I had an inkling I should have been paying better attention to what was being said. I suddenly felt like a prize heifer at auction.
I shrugged, wishing we could talk about something else.Anythingelse. I had an ego just like any other man, but I didn’t like feeling like I was being put under a microscope. “No secret. Just treat people like they matter, listen to what they’reactuallysaying instead of what you want to hear, and remember that most folks want the same basic things—to take care of their families and feel like they belong somewhere.”
Eli nodded as if choosing his words carefully. “The valley’s changing fast. Growth brings opportunities, for sure, but also challenges. We need folks with roots here who can help guide that growth in the right direction.”
“Growth’s inevitable,” I agreed, forcing myself to focus on the discussion. To listen to what wasactuallybeing said, not just what I wanted to hear … like I’d pointed out a few moments before. “The trick is making sure it doesn’t come at the expense of what makes this place so goddamn special in the first place.”
I looked in my brother’s direction for him to weigh in with his thoughts, but his eyes were fixed on me, a slight frown creasing his forehead. It wasn’t an angry sort of look … more like the one he wore when he was chewing over a thought, trying to put the pieces of a complicated puzzle together to form the whole picture.
“Exactly,” Eli agreed with enthusiasm. “That’s the kind of forward-thinking perspective that could really make a difference. Have you ever considered?—”
Oh, hell no. I could see exactly where this was heading, and I wanted no part of it. Politics wasn’t for me. If anyone in our family should run for office, it should be Jake. Steady, dependable, scandal-free Jake. I could only imagine the parade of women who’d come crawling out of the woodwork to share stories about me, given that I’d slept with half the single population of Bridger Falls. The last thing our family needed was that kind of scrutiny.
Besides, these days, there was only one woman I wanted to fuck, and she’d made it clear that wasn’t happening ever again. Normally, that would have been enough to make me move on, but I couldn’t get over the way she’d looked at me when she’d told me it’d been one night. Her mouth might have said one thing, but her eyes had told a whole different story.
“You mentioned your ski chalet earlier,” I practically blurted, desperate to steer the conversation in another direction. Any direction other than the woman I was slowly becoming obsessed with. “I don’t get out to Whitefish much. Is The Bulldog Saloon still there?”
Jake shot me a look that clearly said, “What the hell is your problem?”but I pretended not to see it.
If Eli was disappointed by the subject change, he didn’t show it. “Oh yeah. It’ll never close.” He paused, studying me with calculating eyes. “You know, Gage, we should continue this conversation sometime soon. I’d love to hear more of your thoughts on managing growth in the valley.” Then, seamlessly shifting gears like the seasoned politician he was, he launched into a story about his grandkids.
As he and my brother spoke about their families, I nodded and made the appropriate sounds, but the tie around my neck felt like it was slowly strangling me, and the warmth from the nearby fireplace was starting to make me sweat. The constant clink and scrape of silverware, which had been background noise earlier, now felt sharp and grating. As discreetly as possible, I hooked my finger into my collar to try and loosen it, but it didn’t help the restless energy building under my skin.
The whole evening felt like a test I hadn’t studied for, and I was failing spectacularly. I’d been off my game all week, obsessing over a woman who didn’t want me, and I was afraid it was starting to show.
“ … don’t you think, Gage?”
I looked up to find my brother and Eli watching me expectantly. I felt my cheeks heat at being caught not paying attention, and cleared my throat. “I’m sorry, what?”
Jake’s frown deepened. “Are you feeling all right?”
“Fine,” I said quickly. “Just tired. It’s been a long week.”
Eli studied me with the calculating look of a man who’d built his career on reading people before leaning back in his seat and tossing his fabric napkin onto the table next to his plate. “Maybe we should call it an early night. I wouldn’t want to keep you if you’re not feeling well.”
“No, I’m all right,” I insisted, forcing myself to focus. Whatever Eli had asked, I’d figure out how to respond. “I just … could you repeat the question?”
The concern in Jake’s expression was starting to shift toward something that looked suspiciously like annoyance.
This was precisely the kind of opportunity our family had worked generations to earn—dinner with influential people who could help shape the valley’s future. And here I was, so wrapped up in thoughts of a woman who’d made it crystal clear she wanted nothing to do with me that I could barely hold up my end of the conversation.
I needed to get my head on straight, and fast.
Jake nudged my shin under the table with the toe of his boot. “You good?”
“Yeah.” I blinked. “Like I said. Just tired.”
My beer bottle now empty, I reached for the bottle of wine instead, an excellent French Bordeaux I would normally be all about, but what I really wanted was something stronger. Something that would burn going down.
That was when I heard it. A laugh. Bright, feminine, and so fucking familiar that the hairs on the back of my neck rose. I froze with my hand reaching across the table.
“What’s up?” my brother whispered out the side of his mouth while Eli was distracted, gesturing for our waiter.
“I thought I heard …” I trailed off with a shake of my head. I was being ridiculous, conjuring ghosts where they didn’t exist. “Never mind. It was nothing.” I grabbed the bottle and filled mywaiting glass nearly to the rim as I heard it again. But not just laughter this time. A voice, too.
Hervoice.
