Chapter 3

3

GEORGIA

T he locals had taken all the bar stools again. Not that I could blame them. This was the only place within city limits to get an alcoholic beverage, so of course they’d gravitate here.

It was hard to miss them with their beards and bulky builds. They were undeniably hot. When I was in high school, we used to come hang out to check out what my friend Megan called Beefcake Row. Still, none of them were as good-looking as the bulky bearded guy I was here to meet.

“Hey, Georgia,” Darby, the hostess they’d hired at the end of last year, said as she approached the hostess stand.

I hadn’t yet gotten to know Darby as well as I wanted. We’d had a few conversations at the front desk when she passed by on her way in and out of the lodge, but so far, most of our discussions had been kind of surface-level.

“Everything going okay at the front desk?” Darby asked, tilting her head.

I nodded. “I’m here to meet someone, actually. Tall, big build with a beard…”

From Darby’s blank expression, I took it that wasn’t enough of a description. There were too many guys like that seated at the bar, but none were Lucky. I’d be able to pick him out from a mile away in a lineup of mountain men.

Suddenly, Darby’s face lit up. “I think I know exactly who you’re talking about.” She gestured and started toward the windows, calling back, “Follow me.”

My heart seemed to pound a little harder with each step I took. By the time I spotted him in the jam-packed restaurant, I was having a tough time breathing.

“This isn’t a date,” I whispered to myself.

And it wasn’t. Despite the fact that we’d be sitting in a booth across from each other, which was very date-like. When I’d pictured us having drinks, I imagined us sitting at the bar with the bartender nearby to make the whole thing feel less…intimate. I’d worked here long enough that I should know better, but my mind had played that kind of trick on me.

“Is this your party?” Darby asked me.

I nodded, not able to force out words. I was staring at her, not him, because I was afraid my attraction to him would show on my face. He was just so darn handsome.

But as I settled onto the seat across from him, I had no choice but to look at him. He’d changed into a quarter-zip sweater in navy blue that brought out the blue in his eyes.

But he was no pretty boy. His face had a toughness to it. From the set of his jaw to the sharpness in his stare, this guy had lived. He’d experienced things. And that intrigued me more than anything.

“Looks like you got settled into your room okay,” I said.

He gave a nod. “Yeah, thanks for that. I drove over to Adairsville to get some extra clothes.”

Had he gone shopping just for tonight? Probably not. But it warmed me a little, thinking that he’d taken our not-date so seriously, that he’d bought something to wear for it.

“Alex said you drive a logging truck,” I said.

In a continuing effort to avoid looking at him—this time because it flustered me too much—I flipped open the menu and stared intently down at it. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lucky watching me, his hands folded on top of the open menu near a half-full glass of beer.

“It’s a flatbed truck with a small log trailer,” he said. “I unhitched the trailer and parked it at the edge of the lot so it wouldn’t be in the way. It’s nothing like the one the big guns use, but it gets the job done. I’m a one-person team. That’s how I like it.”

I looked up. “Then I guess I shouldn’t tell you that one of our guests knows a guy looking for work. He lives in Adairsville, but it’s a short drive over here. He might have some friends too.”

I’d been so excited to deliver that news, but it was almost disappointing to hear he didn’t want it. I saw him nodding, and by the time I looked up, he had his eyes closed.

He sat back, crossing his arms over his chest before opening his eyes again. “Appreciate that. Your boss wants me to bring on at least two people to help. So, yeah, this is going to be a bit outside of my comfort zone.”

I relaxed a little. He might not be excited at the prospect, but at least I’d made brownie points for my efforts.

Why were brownie points so important with this guy? It wasn’t like me at all to seek out the approval of a man. I’d had a great family life with two parents who loved me and nurtured me well, but I’d slacked when it came to dating. I loved my job and my friends. I had a full life.

Suddenly, though, it was clear what I’d been missing. Everything seemed a little more exciting now that I’d met this guy. It felt like I was alive for the first time in years.

“I can totally relate,” I said.

I hesitated, wondering if the use of the word “totally” made me seem like a kid. This guy was clearly in his thirties, and I was only twenty-three. I wanted him to see me as a woman, not someone young enough to still be in college.

“I’m a control freak too,” I said. “We’ve lost our night clerk, so my boss’s girlfriend is filling in. I spent almost all afternoon training her.”

“Was that the woman I saw behind the desk with you this morning?”

I shook my head. “No, that’s Skye. She works in the gift shop. She’s my best friend.”

Best friend was another way I sounded like a kid, not a woman. Women had best friends, though, didn’t they? It wasn’t like I’d referred to her as my BFF or anything.

“Must be nice,” he said.

“What’s that?”

“To work with your best friend.”

I smiled. “We met here, actually. She and Darby are the only two on staff who are my age.”

He frowned. “Darby?”

I’d assumed he’d noted the name tag of the person who’d seated me. But I considered it a win if he didn’t memorize her name. I didn’t want him to notice my beautiful coworkers, as petty as it sounded.

I hitched a thumb toward the front of the restaurant. “The hostess.”

I followed his gaze to just behind me. Darby was approaching with a big smile on her face.

“Your server’s a little busy right now, but I told her I’d help out by getting your drink orders.” She immediately corrected herself with the word, “Order.”

Her gaze had landed on Lucky’s beer, reminding me he’d been here long enough to order that. Had he gotten here early to wait for me? Did that mean he was excited to have drinks with me?

“I’ll just take a glass of Moscato,” I said, closing the menu.

But as Darby turned and walked away, I worried that closing the menu had been premature. It had been out of nervousness. I didn’t want him to think I had no intention of ordering more.

“I know I just invited you for drinks,” he said, definitely reading my flip of the menu as a sign I didn’t want to eat. “I’ll order my food to go and take it to my room if you want to just enjoy your wine and go.”

“No,” I said, the words much more forceful than I meant them to be. I rushed to add in a more normal tone, “I mean, I’m hungry too. I barely had time to eat lunch. I left most of my sandwich in my lunch bag in the fridge.”

That brought a smile. Well, the closest thing he got to a smile, anyway. Just a twitch at the corners of his mouth and a softening of his features.

“They make a mean patty melt,” I said.

Mean patty melt? Where had I gotten that terminology? Something I’d seen in a movie, no doubt.

“I’m thinking something a little heartier.” He scanned the menu. “Chicken on the Slopes sounds…interesting.”

I nodded. “Our cook is really good. That chicken dish is what we’re known for.”

“Have you tried it?” he asked.

I looked up at him. That was the question I feared.

I shook my head. “I guess I should have by now. I’ve been coming here since I was fifteen and my first friend got her driver’s license. It was one of the few restaurants in town back then.”

“And it was so good, you got a job working at the lodge?”

I almost laughed at that one. “I wasn’t sure what to do when I graduated high school, so when I saw the job opening here, I applied. It was supposed to just be something I did the summer before going off to college, but…” I shrugged. “I guess I liked it too much.”

Correction—I liked this town too much. It was in my blood. My parents still lived here, and even my sister, who graduated four years ahead of me, was thinking about moving back here. I’d seen how disappointed she was with big city life. It was nothing compared to what we had here in Seduction Summit.

“One glass of Moscato,” Darby said as she approached, speaking in advance probably to warn us we were about to have company. She set the glass down in front of me and stepped back, looking from Lucky to me. “Elizabeth will be right with you. Don’t order dessert, though.”

Lucky and I exchanged a glance. Finally, I looked back at her and asked, “Why is that?”

“They’re having s’mores out back by the pool,” Darby said. “Big fire pit. Free dessert.”

She tossed a quick smile in my direction before turning and walking away again. I just hoped Lucky didn’t notice that smile. I didn’t want him to think she was trying to matchmake us. That might scare him off for good. And the last thing I wanted was to scare him off.