Hope Falls_Accidental Gifts

by Elena Aitken

  Max tapped his pen against his lip. “Interesting. I would have thought the cost to install such an activity might affect the relevancy score. A mountain lodge in the Canadian Rockies isn’t always the easiest place to build things like that. But if you say so…it’s definitely worth a look. That’s for sure.”

  She hadn’t thought of the cost to install a zip line, but he absolutely had a point. What was Clara thinking? She took another look at the piece of paper in front of her. Kayaking scored a three. That didn’t make any sense. Not that she knew much about kayaking either, but it seemed like a much easier activity to implement. Why would it score a lower mark?

  Tess answered her own question when her eyes traveled to the top of the page and the legend of explanation that clearly laid out how the scoring system worked. The lower the score, the more relevant the activity. The higher the score, the less relevant it would be.

  Crap.

  Tess flipped the folder shut again before Max looked down and saw her screw-up for himself. “You know what else might be a good choice?” She smiled as sweetly as she could. Blind him with bullshit, Tess. “Kayaking.”

  “Kayaking?” Max leaned back in his chair and grinned. It was the type of grin that, if she wasn’t so consumed by not utterly making a fool of herself, probably would have made her stomach flip and a silly girlish giggle come out of her. As it was, she couldn’t let herself get distracted by anything else.

  “Yes, kayaking. In fact, I think it’s actually a much better choice. I just wanted to see if you were paying attention with the whole zip line thing.” She hoped she sounded a whole lot more confident than she felt. “Let’s talk about that.”

  “Kayaking sounds interesting, too,” Max said. “But let’s not totally abandon the idea of zip-lining yet.”

  “No?”

  “No.” He abruptly sat up and placed his hands on the table. “In fact, I think we should go out to Mountain Ridge Outdoor Adventures right now and check it out.”

  Something that was way too close to panic filled Tess at the very idea of going anywhere near a zip line. “I don’t know if that’s necessary. Sometimes talking it through is the best course of action. Why don’t we—”

  “Come on.” Max hopped up from his chair and held out a hand to her. “I insist. Besides, I’m the client and isn’t there a saying that goes something like ‘the client is always right’?”

  For a second, Max actually felt a little bad when he saw the panic on Clara’s face. Or whoever she really was. Because no matter what she said, the woman who’d been sitting in front of him for the last thirty minutes trying to sell him on adding crazy activities like zip-lining to Castle Mountain Lodge was most definitely not the Clara Clark that he’d been corresponding with. In fact, the more he thought about it, there was a good chance that the blonde who’d been with her when he arrived was likely the woman he was supposed to be meeting with.

  She was likely one of Clara’s colleagues, although she really didn’t seem to have a clue about his business. And although there wasn’t anything overtly obvious, Max’s instincts told him he was definitely not dealing with the same consultant he’d been working with via email.

  He couldn’t figure out who she was, and if she wasn’t so damn cute, he might even be upset about it. But he wasn’t. She obviously was trying to do a job she wasn’t adequately prepared for and her heart seemed to be in the right place, but she wasn’t hurting anyone. Besides, the only reason he’d even agreed to hiring a consultant on this project was because the owners of the Lodge and the new general manager Melissa Kramer had insisted. They signed his paycheck, so who was he to argue?

  He already knew what he wanted to do up at the Lodge to add an adventurous appeal, and it wasn’t likely that anything the cute little brunette had to say would change his mind anyway. So, as far as he was concerned, there really was no harm in him playing along with her little game. In fact, he was pretty sure he could have a little fun with it. No, he could have a lot of fun with it.

  “Are you ready?” he asked when she didn’t immediately stand and take him up on his offer to go check out the zip line. “I mean, there’s no time like the present.”

  She paused and her cute little mouth opened and closed before it finally pressed into a tight line.

  “Of course,” she said through gritted teeth and a smile so false Max had to work at not laughing out loud. If his suspicions were correct, there was a very good chance this woman had never even seen a zip line, let alone tried one.

  This was going to be fun.

  “We’ll take my car.” Once outside of Sue Ann’s Café, Max held his hand out and gently steered her in the direction of his rented SUV. He’d toyed with the idea of getting her to drive to the location she’d obviously never been to before, and as entertaining as it might have been to watch her squirm as she tried to continue this deception, ultimately Max’s chivalrous nature won out. He’d never let a woman drive him around before, and he wasn’t about to start now.

  He opened the door for her and she slid inside. The second the door was shut, she dropped her head into her hands and shook it quickly when she obviously thought he wasn’t watching. But he was. Oh, he most definitely was watching her. He couldn’t not. Not only was she gorgeous, she was fascinating. And the prospect of seeing how far he could push her was definitely going to make his trip to Hope Falls a whole lot more interesting than he’d originally thought.

  “I was just thinking.” Clara spoke up after they’d been driving for a few minutes. “We probably had to make reservations for the zip line. It’s a busy time of year and all.” She wouldn’t make eye contact with him, focusing instead on the papers in front of her. “There’s a good chance we won’t be able to check it out today. But that’s okay. I mean, I’m sure a guy like you has had plenty of experience with stuff like that.”

  Max swallowed a smile. “What do you mean, a guy like me?”

  “Oh, nothing.” She laughed, a high-pitched nervous trill that he couldn’t help but find ridiculously cute. “I just meant that you seem like a really outdoorsy type of guy who’s probably been on a zip line before. You’d know what it’s like. You wouldn’t actually have to see this one.”

  “Oh yes.” He nodded, working hard to keep his face a perfect mask of seriousness. “I definitely need to see this one. After all, my job here is to make sure that I’m bringing in the right type of activities to Castle Mountain Lodge and the only way I can do that is if I personally try each and every thing. And I’m so lucky to have you with me because it’ll be so important to not only get your professional opinion, Clara Clark”—he emphasized her name— “but also to get your firsthand experience with everything. My bosses will definitely be interested in getting the opinion of a woman. After all, Castle Mountain Lodge is largely visited by couples.”

  “Couples? Really?” Tess saw the opportunity to change the subject and jumped on it. She’d figure out how to get out of the zip line situation later. Because there was no way she was going anywhere near a contraption that would have her sailing through the air with the ground a hundred feet below her. No, thank you; she’d be keeping her feet firmly planted on the ground. “Tell me a bit more about the Lodge.”

  He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “Shouldn’t you have all the information about the Lodge already? I’m pretty sure I sent you all of our promotional materials and of course there was our email correspondence.”

  “Oh, of course.” Tess covered quickly. This deception thing was already way harder than she’d expected it to be. Not that she had any expectations at all, really. “But reading about something is not nearly as good as hearing about it firsthand. I’d like to hear your take on Castle Mountain Lodge. It sounds amazing. Tell me about it.”

  He nodded and focused his eyes back on the road that would presumably take them to Mountain Ridge Outdoor Adventures. She could have kissed him when he offered to drive. It’s not that she wasn’t capable of typing an address into her G
PS function on her phone, but she was pretty sure that Clara had been to the resort a time or two, and she was supposed to at least give the illusion of knowing what she was talking about.

  “It’s amazing.” Max started to talk, and much to her relief, as soon as he mentioned the woods and the mountains, he got lost in his explanations and Tess found herself getting lost in his words. There was so much passion in the way he spoke about the Rocky Mountains and the Lodge he worked at. It seemed like so much more than just a place to work and she told him so.

  “It is,” he said in response. “The Lodge is way more than just a job, but I’m very fortunate to be able to live there and get paid to do what I love. That’s not always the case when you choose a career like mine.”

  “And what exactly is that career?” She didn’t mean for her words to sound snarky. Not in the least, but she also had a hard time understanding what it was exactly that Max Grant did. From what she could tell, he got paid to play outside all day. Not that it sounded like her kind of play. Not at all. Not that she hated the outdoors: Tess enjoyed a nice walk in the park on a sunny day as much as the next person. It was the forest and anything beyond city limits that tended to scare the crap out of her.

  If Max was offended by her question, he didn’t show it. “My official title is adventure activity manager. I know it’s hard to understand and even some days I have to pinch myself to remind myself that I’m lucky enough to have this life. Basically, my job with the Lodge is to bring adventure to their offerings for guests. They have an outdoor activities manager. Bo Clancy. He’s a great guy and he’s great at what he does, but I’m the guy to bring in the really good stuff.”

  “Being the zip line?” Even saying the word made Tess’s insides shake.

  “Exactly. And maybe some other stuff as well. After all, you have the list.”

  “Of course.” She smiled as professionally as she could manage. “I’ll be able to guide you with all the right decisions about what activities you need to bring to the Lodge.” She couldn’t be certain, but she was pretty sure she saw Max roll his eyes.

  Whatever. She was there to do a job and that’s exactly what she was going to do. If she could just survive the next few hours. She had the distinct impression that Max was going to expect her to try the activities and there was no way in hell that Tess Rogers was going anywhere near a zip line.

  But Clara Clark would.

  Damn. She was going to kill her.

  As if Clara could tell from a distance that Tess was cursing her under her breath, her phone chirped with an incoming text message.

  How’s it going?

  Tess smiled over at Max. “It’s just my girlfriend from earlier. Excuse me for a second.”

  I’m going to kill you, she typed back.

  Sounds like it’s going well. Just follow the plan in the folder.

  What plan? She hadn’t seen any plan. Just some sheets full of information and specs. And that silly rating system that had already gotten her into trouble once. There was certainly no plan.

  What plan?

  “Is everything okay?” Max asked.

  She glanced in his direction in time to see his smirk before he focused his eyes back on the road. Either he was very cocky or he knew she was a fake. It had to be the former. There was no way he’d have any reason to think she was anything but an ill-prepared consultant. She definitely wasn’t perfect, but she’d done a pretty damn good job so far. At least she thought she had.

  “Of course,” she said smoothly, tucking her phone away. It wasn’t as though Clara was going to be any actual help anyway.

  “Good. Because we’re here.”

  3

  Max pulled the SUV into the parking lot in front of the main building of Mountain Ridge Outdoor Adventures and cut the engine. “Are you ready for this?” He felt a twinge of guilt at the pleasure he was taking from seeing her squirm, but just a twinge. After all, it was clearly her who was doing the deceiving and it’s not as if he was causing any actual harm.

  She nodded. With a smile so fake he almost gave in, she said, “Of course. It’s not as if it’s my first time.” Her confidence, even if she was forcing it, was definitely attractive. Very attractive. “But like I said, I’m not sure they’ll be able to fit us in on such short notice. After all, there are a few cars here and they probably have scheduled tours already booked. I’m not sure that we—”

  “We won’t know if we don’t try, will we?”

  She swallowed hard, and for a second Max was pretty sure she was going to come clean and out herself. To his surprise, she didn’t. Instead, she gathered up her bag, shoved the folder inside and clutched it to her chest. “Okay, let’s go see what we can see.”

  He shook his head with a little smile as he followed her up the path to the main office of Mountain Ridge Outdoor Adventures. Whoever she was, she was certainly cute. If you liked the city girl type. And he did. He watched her navigate the gravel path with her high heels and let his gaze slide up her legs. He took his time drinking in her curves showcased in her form-fitting jeans. It was most definitely a sight he could watch all day.

  If it wasn’t for the step.

  “Dammit.” Max cursed under his breath as he tried without much success to shake off the pain radiating through the foot he’d just stubbed into the step he hadn’t seen. Because he’d been watching his way too attractive companion.

  Who was now watching him with a satisfied grin on her face. “You okay?”

  He nodded.

  “If you’re sure,” she said. “Because I’d understand if you—”

  “We’re going zip-lining.” Max stepped purposely on his now throbbing foot and took the steps two at a time to join her by the door, which he opened in a flourish. “Shall we?”

  She walked confidently into the building and straight to the desk. “Excuse me,” she said to the girl behind the desk. “My name is Clara Clark and this is Max Grant. I’ve been emailing with Amanda Jacobs about some of her operations and I was wondering if she was available to speak with.”

  “It’s fine if she isn’t,” Max jumped in. “Because what we really want to do is check out the zip line.”

  “But we really should spend some time speaking with Amanda.”

  He didn’t miss the glare she shot his way. She really didn’t want to get anywhere near the zip line. Her stalling techniques were impressive to be sure, but Max wasn’t the type of guy to be swayed when he wanted something. And he definitely wanted something.

  “I’m sure we can see her another time.”

  “They probably don’t have any space for us to—”

  “Are you two almost finished?” The girl behind the desk interrupted their banter. “Because if you want to talk to me, I have a few minutes right now, but then I have to run into a meeting and then I’d be more than happy to send you with my partner Justin to check out the zip line.”

  Both of them turned their attention to the girl who’d more or less outed herself as Amanda Jacobs, the owner of Mountain Ridge Outdoor Adventures. Max couldn’t be sure which one of them was more surprised, but he certainly wasn’t the first to recover.

  “Amanda.” Clara held out her hand. “It’s so nice to meet you in person. I’m so sorry that I didn’t let you know ahead of time that we’d be coming.”

  “But you did,” Amanda said. “In your email last week, you mentioned that you’d be meeting with Max and he’d probably want to try out some of our activities.”

  “I did?”

  Max raised an eyebrow. “You did?”

  “Of course I did.” In a flash, the frown was gone from her face, replaced by the sweet smile Max was already growing very fond of. “I don’t know where my head is today. It’s been a very strange afternoon and I’m just not myself. You have a few minutes to talk then?”

  “I do.” Amanda looked strangely between the two of them. “But quite honestly, I’m not really sure what more I can tell you than what I’ve already told you. I think your
time might be better spent trying things out for yourself. Come on, I’ll go grab Justin for you.”

  Max almost felt bad for his advisor as they were shuffled into a Jeep to be driven to the staging area, where they were given harnesses, helmets, and a thorough safety speech before they were led to the first platform. She’d put on a brave face while Justin snugged her into her harness, and Max couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy at the close contact the other man had with her. It was completely ridiculous considering they hadn’t even known each other a full twenty-four hours, and hell, he still didn’t even know her real name.

  You could ask. A little voice, the voice of reason that should be telling him to quit the game and just come clean that he knew she wasn’t Clara Clark, spoke up for at least the tenth time since they’d gotten in the car together. But he couldn’t do it. Not yet. It had been way too long since he’d had a little fun. And messing with the pretty little brunette was just the little bit of fun he needed. Besides, he wasn’t hurting anybody. Not really. He was the one who was being messed with. So at least for the time being, he planned to enjoy every minute he had with Clara.

  “This is going to be amazing,” he said when Justin finished explaining the first zip line. The course was made up of more than one line; the first one was definitely not the longest, but there was always something thrilling about that first time stepping off the platform and letting your body fly through the air. “You should go first.”

  “Oh no.” She shook her head and took a step backward but ran into the railing. Her hands shot out on each side and her fingers gripped the wooden rails. Max could see the white of her knuckles and he had another shot of remorse for what he was doing. But she was just the type of woman who needed to try a zip line. He knew her type. Repressed city girls who spent their entire lives making safe decisions and making sure they were firmly in control of everything in their lives at all times…they were the ones who needed zip lines the most. She’d thank him for it later.