Page 65 of Release Me

“Now you’re calling me babe and telling me how great I am. You really think this is going to work?” I’m smiling and Ethan’s arms are wrapped around my waist, his mouth moving slowly along my neck.

“I hope it works. That old guy is really mean. Super grumpy. He needs a hot blonde in his life to make things better.”

“This feels like sexual harassment,” I tease, squeezing his ass. “And a hot blonde with money,” I add, which only makes Ethan laugh harder. “Before I agree to this, I need to know your plan for the land. Tahoe locals are super sentimental, and I would guess this guy is no different. He was probably here when my great-grandfather started Holden and for him, this isn’t about the money.”

I get where this guy is coming from even if his motel has turned into a sleazy layover where people do drug deals or groups of college kids come here to ski and cram into one room for cheap. I’m sure that’s not what he wanted from his business, but it’s what’s happened with the influx of resorts and tourists.

“I want Badger Creek to be accessible to everyone and while the lodge is pricey and the villas will be even more expensive, I want to create a place for people to stay at a reasonable rate,” Ethan says. “Since the Mountain View Motel is on the edge of the Badger Creek land, it will be farther from the mountains and the village. This will give it a better price point.”

I listen, taking it all in. I like this idea. He isn’t planning to price people out of a vacation. He actually wants to make it more accessible. This is something I can work with, something that will help sell the idea to the guy at the motel.

“Okay, I’ll do it,” I tell Ethan and I swear, the way his face lights up has my heart swelling.

“Zoey, this is just the start of something wonderful and I can’t believe I have you by my side to do it.”

“I can’t believe you asked me to be a part of it,” I admit, still feeling in over my head, but loving every second of it.

“We need to celebrate,” Ethan says, his fingers sliding under my sweater, trailing along my stomach. “Think you can sneak away from Delaney and Alex for another night?”

“I’ll wait till they’re in bed and then head over. I’ll text Delaney in the morning to tell her I left for work early so she doesn’t worry.”

A knock comes on Ethan’s door and we instantly separate, my heart slamming into my chest, my hands growing clammy almost immediately. I move over so it looks like I’m looking over the plat survey, as I try to calm my racing heart. I take in a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

“Hey Zoey,” Elissa’s voice says, and I turn around to find her standing in the doorway of Ethan’s office.

“Hey, what’s going on?”

“We have a meeting about the construction and maintenance in the off season, remember?” she says, not even realizing what was just going on here in Ethan’s office. “We’re meeting here with Ethan.”

“Oh, yeah, I remember. Silly, that’s why I’m here,” I say, smacking my forehead as I pull out a chair and sit down across from Ethan’s desk.

Fuck me, that could have been much worse.

Chapter23

Ethan

I’ve been staring at my computer screen for over an hour, not really doing anything productive except watching the tiny clock in the corner, waiting. It’s almost eleven and as the minutes tick by, I can feel my fingers twitching, the constant urge to grab my phone and text, maybe even call, to check that she’s still coming over.

The sneaking around thing is hot, but it’s also frustrating not being able to just be together and not give a shit about what anyone else thinks. I do get it though, and I’m not about to put pressure on Zoey or make work difficult for her just because I want to be able to see her whenever I want to.

I take a sip of whisky, exhaling as I click through my email, trying to fill the time until she gets here, having already run five miles on my treadmill. I re-open Brandon’s reply to the proposal I’d sent him yesterday. It hadn’t taken him long to go through it and I wasn’t surprised when he’d responded with a yes to coming on board either. I knew he’d see what a huge opportunity it was.

I knew he’d go for it too, even if this is different to our first business venture together. And even though I could probably fund this whole deal myself, I kind of like the idea of him and me being partners again. He brings a whole different set of ideas and skills to the table, and we work well together, always have. I trust him more than anyone and I know he trusts me. We work well together, practically able to read each other without even thinking about it.

After we’d created that stupid dating app that did far better than we ever expected, we hadn’t stopped there, branching out into a few other tech ideas, including a vacation planning app. It’s what got me interested in real estate and led to me buying Badger Creek. Brandon had just met Tracy at the time and wasn’t interested in joining me, which I totally got. But now, he is one hundred percent interested and I am all for it.

Plus, the house I’d looked at this afternoon for him was amazing and if he went ahead and bought that, in addition to coming on board with this deal, there is a really good chance he might end up here in Tahoe permanently, and that’s an idea I can definitely get on board with.

The loud chime of the doorbell suddenly rings out, signaling Zoey’s arrival. With a grin, I stand from my desk, grabbing my drink as I walk out of my office and through the living room to open it.

“Hey,” she says, smiling up at me. “Sorry I’m so late.”

She’s standing on my doorstep, dressed in plaid pajama pants, Ugg boots and that sweater of mine, and fuck me if she doesn’t look beautiful. With a smile, I curl my arm around her waist and pull her into me. “You are gorgeous,” I murmur as I lean in to kiss her, before pulling her into the house, closing and locking the door behind us.

Zoey laughs. “And you taste of whisky.”

“Want one?”

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