by Nicole Casey
“We’re here to party, aren’t we?” I asked wryly and she shook her head.
“Party starts tomorrow for me. You knock yourself out. I’m not even sure I’m going to make it through this glass to be honest.”
She followed up her announcement with a yawn and stood from the sofa.
“You shouldn’t drink alone,” she warned and I rolled my eyes, slugging back a freshly poured shot.
“I don’t have a choice if you’re going to bed,” I teased but I was grateful she was leaving me to stew with my own thoughts. I knew I had to get my head on straight before Gennifer and the others showed up.
And I wanted to text Damien in peace.
Not that Damien is going to help with your state of mind right now.
“You could go to sleep too,” Kennedy suggested but her tone told me she had no faith in me accepting that idea.
“Nah,” I muttered, grabbing the bottle of tequila off the bar. “I think I’m going to go explore the resort. Maybe find something to eat. You want anything?”
Kennedy opened her mouth, presumably to protest but just as quickly, she closed her lips and shook her head.
“Sweet dreams,” I called, grabbing for my purse, a second wind rushing through me. “See you in the morning.”
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” Kennedy yelled after me but her only response was the door closing behind me.
The Mountainside was huge—a village inside the town of Gatlinburg. It boasted three spas, four restaurants and dozens of two-storey cottages to house the guests. From what I could see, our cottage was the largest but I had a feeling I was missing half of what the place had to offer as I ambled about, half-drunk.
The resort wound up around the mountains, hence the name, “Mountainside” and my ears were popping the higher I climbed.
I found myself half-panting with only half a bottle of tequila by the time I arrived at the quaint little café, the last building at the top of the resort. Beyond it, there was nothing but dark, forbidding woods.
I had no idea what time it was or how long I’d been out wandering around. Most of the other businesses were closed but this place remained open and when I entered, I realized it was more of a bar than a restaurant.
A jazz trio played on stage and I stood, looking around, my eyes adjusting to the lights.
Perhaps it was the dim lighting or the seductive music piping from the small stage which made me feel uncharacteristically romantic. Or maybe it was the booze, who knew?
In any case, my eyes fell on a single patron at the end of the bar like magnets. If there was another in the place, I certainly didn’t see them. This man’s dark eyes fixed broodingly into his scotch and I couldn’t say why my inebriated eyes drew to him immediately but the more I stared at him, the more I couldn’t look away. Maybe it was because he was the only person who didn’t raise his head to look at me when I came in.
Or maybe it was because he was shockingly handsome, even with the unkempt scruff on his face and messy, outgrown mop of black hair which fell over his forehead but not enough to hide his widow’s peak. I willed him to look at me and even as I thought it, I remembered what Kennedy had said about me validating myself through a man. Shame colored my cheeks.
Sex has nothing to do with validation. If Damien can be out there, banging half of Miami Beach, I can have a drink with a handsome stranger in a seductive mountain café.
Abruptly, he raised his head, his chocolate eyes sending a thrill of anticipation through me as they locked on me. My heart intrinsically skipped a beat as I locked him into my gaze.
But before I could move or react in any way, a voice called out and broke the spell between us.
“Hey! You can’t bring that in here!”
I realized someone was talking to me and I reluctantly turned my eyes toward the bartender who was scowling at me.
“What?” I demanded in confusion. In my haze, I had no idea what he was talking about.
He pointed at the booze in my hand and I scoffed defiantly even though my cheeks flushed. This wasn’t exactly how I wanted that super hot man at the bar to see me.
“I’m a guest here,” I replied cockily. “A paying guest!”
God, I hated the words as soon as they left my lips. I sounded like a spoiled, wasted brat that I so desperately did not want to be.
But I was a spoiled, wasted brat.
“Get rid of it or get out,” the bartender insisted, folding his arms over his broad chest.
“What’s the problem, Jeff?” The sulking stranger spoke and his voice made me feel warm. I looked toward him, a small smile toying on my lips and I could see he was deliberately not meeting my gaze as he waited for the bartender to respond. I wonder if I made him as nervous as he made me.
“No problem, Ranger Payne,” Jeff, the bartender replied, staring me down with daggers in his eyes. “The lady is just leaving, aren’t you?”
I parted my lips, ready to unleash my best entitled bitch but the look on the ranger’s face stopped me. I dropped my eyes, wondering what the hell I was trying to prove with this rebel without a cause BS.
I shouldn’t have left the cottage. I was just going to get myself into trouble. Still, maybe it wasn’t all for nothing, not when I was still gazing at such an attractive specimen of man.
“Miss?” the gorgeous ranger demanded. “Are you leaving?”
I nodded and swallowed the lump of embarrassment in my throat before spinning to hurry out of the café. I hadn’t even been in Gatlinburg for a night and I was already causing a ruckus.
And for what reason?
It was just like Kennedy said—I was too old to be rebelling against the injustices of my life.
I needed to put my big girl panties on and accept what was.
Or do something about it.
“Miss?” I whirled back around, already familiar with the voice who called out to me.
“I-I’m sorry,” I muttered, unable to look Ranger Payne in his smouldering dark eyes this time. The attraction I felt toward him wasn’t lessened by my humiliation and I was sure my cheeks were crimson with shame. “I’m leaving.”
“I was just going to ask you if you need a ride back to your cottage.”
I raised my head quickly and met his gaze, my pulse quickening slightly. I had not been expecting that.
Up close, he was even more attractive than I had originally thought, his mouth perpetually drooped into a sulky pout which gave him the appearance of deep pensiveness but what I had taken for moping at first now seemed to simply be a part of his appearance. If anything, there was a subtle intelligence and less petulance than I had gauged.
“Miss?”
I realized he was waiting for my response and I blushed again, a heady feeling washing over me.
“I…sure,” I mumbled. I would never see this man again in my life. “If it’s not any trouble.”
Why not accept a ride from him? He was law enforcement after all. Sexy, simmering law enforcement. He was even wearing a uniform, the dark green shirt hugging the muscles of his broad torso.
Good God, he was magnificent—and I knew it wasn’t just the alcohol talking.
He nodded toward the parking lot where I saw his Jeep.
“Are you all right?” he asked and I nodded, hurrying around to the passenger’s side. To my complete shock, he followed me and opened the door for me to get in before slamming it and taking the driver’s side.
Aside from the driver’s, I’d never had a man open a car door for me in my life. Damien certainly hadn’t. I couldn’t even get him to look up from his phone when we were walking to the car.
The entire situation was surreal and I hoped I wouldn’t forget the feeling of headiness I had in the morning, fleeting as it might be.
“You shouldn’t wander around the resort at night alone,” the ranger told me when he buckled up his seatbelt. He nodded at me to do the same and I obliged, hurriedly so I could return my eyes to his face.
“Why? I
s there a lot of crime?” I asked in surprise and he guffawed.
“Hardly,” he chuckled. “But the wildlife gets a great deal more brazen at this time of night when there are less people around and you might surprise the wrong thing while it comes looking for scraps.”
“Oh.”
That made more sense. What kind of criminals would be hiding in the bushes in the Smokey Mountains, after all? He had answered me without scorn or belittlement and I was again struck by how different he seemed from Damien.
Damien would have mocked me for asking something like that.
Why did I keep thinking about Damien when I was in the company of chivalrous perfection? I decided not to make that mistake again. I eyed the ranger through my peripheral vision as he backed out of the spot and he turned his head abruptly to meet my gaze.
“Well?” he asked.
“Well…what?” I asked, my heart hammering nervously. Was he asking me back to his place? That would be really forward and highly presumptuous, wouldn’t it? Then why was I considering it?
A slow smile formed on his stunningly full mouth and I couldn’t stop staring at the almost devious smile.
What are you asking me, Ranger Payne? I thought, a shiver of excitement coursing through me.
“Where is your cottage?”
“Oh.” I was beginning to feel like an idiot, uttering the same words over and over. Of course he wasn’t bringing me back to his place. Normal men didn’t act like that.
“Sixteen,” I muttered. “Cottage Sixteen.”
His brow raised and he nodded, putting the Jeep in gear.
“You’re here for a party,” he guessed lightly. If he sensed my embarrassment, he had a way of dismissing it that almost put me at ease.
Almost. I still couldn’t get my cheeks to cool. The thoughts in my head weren’t helping.
“How did you know?” I asked instead, determined to get my mind out of the gutter.
“It’s the biggest cabin on the resort. They only rent it out to big groups.”
I had not known that.
“You know the Mountainside well,” I commented, trying not to gawk at the angles of his face. It seemed strange to see such perfection in a car and not on some billboard in Miami Beach.
“I should know it well,” he grunted but he didn’t offer much more than that and I didn’t push the issue, sensing some resentment in his voice that had nothing to do with me. We all had our baggage, I guess. Maybe his was being exiled in the mountains. Who knows?
I found myself wanting to ask but the words stuck to the roof of my mouth. This wasn’t a date—this man was doing his job, no matter how I wish he wasn’t.
The Jeep made its way down the mountain and I popped the cap on the bottle to take another swig. He eyed me and I thought I saw a look of disapproval.
“You shouldn’t have an open alcohol container in here,” he commented dryly but he made no move to stop me.
“You gonna arrest me?” I teased, waving the bottle but he didn’t smile. “How about a drink? I saw you having one at that place back there. I feel like I owe you one.”
He didn’t say anything for a long moment and I truly began to feel stupid. I needed to stop talking.
“Here’s your cabin.”
He pulled up and disappointment shot through me. Reluctantly, I recapped the bottle but I didn’t move.
I wondered what he’d do if I tried to kiss him.
What the hell is wrong with you? He really can arrest you.
It was a sobering thought and I sat back, unbuckling my belt in a haze of uncertainty.
“Hey,” he said as I reached for the door handle. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
If I say no, will you carry me inside?
“I’m fine,” I said with all the haughtiness I could muster. “Thanks for the ride, Ranger.”
“Laz,” he muttered as my foot touched the ground.
“What?”
“My name is Laz.”
“Oh.” There I went again—saying “Oh.” I offered him my best smile but I was beginning to feel increasingly ridiculous, standing there, reeking of booze.
“Ayla. Ayla Winter.”
For the first time, he smiled directly at me and a feeling of bittersweetness overcame me under his expression. It was a gorgeous grin, sullen but sexy and I was sure my insides were melting.
“Stay safe, Ayla Winter,” he said, his hand on the stick shift. There was a note of genuine concern in his voice and I was filled with a wistfulness. A part of me wanted to climb back into the Jeep but I reasoned I’d make enough a fool of myself for one night.
“You too, Ranger Laz,” I sighed, closing the door. I watched him drive away, regret flooding me that I hadn’t had the balls to steal a kiss after all.
4
Ayla
I had barely closed my eyes when Gennifer’s shrill, child-like voice filled the cottage with a rush of words that I barely understood from my room on the second floor. How could her voice travel that far in such a big place?
I managed to finish the entire bottle after getting dropped off by Laz the previous night and boy was I feeling it. As my body struggled to wake, I found myself wondering if I was actually in Hell and Gennifer had just beat me there.
I could barely pry my lids apart, my head throbbing with the fury of the gods. What the hell had I been thinking?
“There she is!” Gennifer squealed, throwing open the bedroom door to gaze at me. “I’m so glad you made it!”
“Shh!” I begged her. “Shh, you need to keep it down.”
Gennifer laughed in her obnoxious way and hurried over to kiss my cheeks. She froze at the side of the bed, wrinkling her nose.
“Oh dear,” she muttered. “You stink! What the hell were you two doing last night?”
I groaned loudly.
“Please,” I whispered. “You need to leave me so I can die.”
Gennifer’s mouth twisted into a scowl.
“Serves you right for getting started without us. When you said you wanted to come a day early, I thought it was because you were driving, not because you were going to drink all the booze.”
Gennifer glowered at me and I didn’t have the will nor the sense to fight with her.
“You better get a move on,” she insisted. “We have massages booked at one. The girls will be here in the next hour. Their flight just got in.”
“I’m moving,” I promised even though I had no idea how I was going to fulfill such a quest. I was sure that my liver and stomach had completely shut down.
Gennifer grumbled something before spinning back toward the door to find Kennedy.
“If she’s in the same situation as you—”
“I’m not,” Kennedy sang, appearing in the doorway. I moaned again, willing them both to get the hell out of my room. I had purposely taken the suite at the end of the cottage so I wouldn’t have to listen to them. Yet there I was…
“What happened last night?” Gennifer demanded. “Why is she in such rough shape?”
“We were tired. The booze hit her funny,” Kennedy replied, coming to my defense. I shot her a grateful look and she winked reassuringly.
“Come on, Genny. Let’s go find some mimosas.”
My stomach lurched at the idea of more alcohol but to my relief, the pair moved away, leaving me to my misery.
I instantly closed my eyes and let the pain of my mistakes wash over me.
Pain. Payne.
Immediately, I conjured an image of the stifling hot ranger who had driven me home the previous night and my body rose ten degrees.
Had I imagined him?
Through my pounding head, I remembered walking into the little log-style bar at the side of the mountain and I flushed.
No, he had been real and I had made an ass out of myself. It was a blessing I hadn’t gone in for the kiss my drunken ass had wanted to pursue. I’d have a lot more to be ashamed about this morning.
Was it even morning anymore?
/> Reluctantly, I opened my eyes again and looked around for my cell phone. I found it under my pillow even though I didn’t remember putting it there. A horrific thought occurred to me.
Did I drunk text Damien last night?
Sitting up, I scrolled through my messages and exhaled with relief.
No, Laz Payne had consumed so much of my thoughts, I had all but forgotten about my cheating ex.
It was a pity I’d never see the ranger again.
With great effort, I pulled myself to my feet and ambled toward the ensuite bathroom, each step harder than the previous one.
There was no way I was going to make it through the day. Not with eight shrieking women and a hangover from hell.
I started the shower and brushed my teeth to eliminate the spiderwebs on my tongue. My gut rocked mercilessly as I swallowed mouthfuls of water but I knew I needed to get hydrated.
Damn, the water was so good!
It was fresher than any I could ever remember drinking but I reasoned that had more to do with the fact that I was literally dying. It might have been laced with E. coli and I probably still would have thought it was amazing.
The shower helped, if only a little and when I slipped into a simple green sundress, pinning my auburn waves onto my head with minimal effort, I was beginning to feel partially human again.
I made my way down to the main floor where the others had arrived, their loud voices meeting my ears well before I laid eyes on them.
“I was just about to come looking for you!” Britta cooed when I appeared. “You look like shit.”
That was easy for Britta to say. The girl woke up with her makeup already done. Seriously. She had eyeliner tattooed on her lids, eyelash implants and a natural bronze glow which didn’t require a lick of foundation.
“Thanks,” I muttered and the rest of the bridal party laughed.
“I hope you’re going to be able to keep up this weekend, Aye. We’ve got a lot planned,” Gennifer jeered at me.
“Keeping up has never been my problem,” I assured her but even as I spoke, I felt my stomach lurch slightly. Oh God. If I threw up, I’d never live this down.
