“Afternoon, April,” the candy shop owner said with a smile as they approached the counter.
“Hey, Laney. Those strawberries in the window look delicious.”
“How many for ya’?”
April glanced at him, her blue eyes striking against her pale skin and dark hair. He nearly forgot to answer her question. “Two,” he said, and took out his wallet before April could approach the counter.
He paid for their afternoon snack, took the bag with the berries and left the shop, April following closely behind.
“You didn’t have to do that,” she said, as they continued up the gradual hill toward Blue Lake Inn.
“Consider it payment for showing me around today.”
“Done deal.” She took the bag, removed one of the strawberries and nibbled on the end. “So what magazine do you work for?”
“Majestic.” He took out the afternoon snack and savored the first bite. Firsts were always the best. First meetings. First kisses… what would kissing April feel like? Her lips were pink and plump, surely the most kissable he’d ever seen. “Have you heard of them?”
“Of course! I stock that magazine near the door in Java Falls. You’ll see a stack at the inn, too. You must be an excellent photographer to be working for them.”
“Well enough, I guess.” He shrugged, finishing off the berry. The chocolate was delicious. Fresh and sweet without zinging his teeth. “The shots of Blue Lake are the most important I’ve taken yet. If I can get some striking images, showing the rustic beauty of this town, there’s a chance I could be put on their permanent payroll.”
“That’s amazing!” She bumped into him playfully with her shoulder.
He didn’t budge, but the contact startled him. It’d been a long time—years, maybe—since his stomach caught from something simple like a shoulder bump.
“Thanks.” He paused, struck by the words he was about to say. “I wouldn’t mind settling down in a small town like this someday. There’s something really appealing about this place.”
“Oh, there’s definite appeal.” They crossed the street once more, though this time the sidewalk changed from wood planks to cement. Wine barrels overflowing with flowers lined the sidewalk. Wrought iron posts where gold mining cowboys used to tie their horses stood in the gutter. “Moose Valley Ski Resort is thirty minutes up the road, and there are meadows and wineries twenty minutes down. There are lakes and rivers and vacated gold mining sites, all a short drive from here. To top it off, you’ll meet the nicest people in Blue Lake.”
“I couldn’t agree more.”
He brushed her hand with his, looked down at her and smiled. Her hands were warm, despite the chill on the air. They were soft, too. He was amazed at how natural it seemed to reach out and grab ahold of her hand. He didn’t dare latch on though.
Too soon.
As if she could read his thoughts, she blushed and averted her gaze to the white two-story building on the block in front of them.
“That’s the inn,” she said. “If you head around back, there’s a beautiful garden with some views of the town below.”
“I didn’t notice the change in elevation.”
“It’s slight, but we climbed a bit. If you look closely to the southwest, you might be able to see the vineyards at StoneMill.” She opened the creaky inn door. “Want to come in first?”
“I think I’ll wait out back and check out the views.”
“Sure thing.”
As she walked inside, he let his gaze linger on her backside. She was petite, maybe five-feet-four, but she had curves to her, thank the heavens. The simple cotton dress hugging her hips only played into her sex appeal.
He made his way around back, and pushed through a white-picket fence. Just as April had said, part of the town could be seen stretching beneath them. Interspersed between towering trees stood a fire and police station, a school and grocery store. Mixed with the new buildings were old ones that looked like they’d been standing since the mid-1800’s. The new with the old. It’d make for some cool shots.
He took out his camera and started snapping. He kneeled on the ground near a hedge of roses, capturing a close up of the buds with the clouds lumbering in the sky behind them. Using the picket fence as a low border, Mason squatted and shot a few of the town, and then focused a few others on the iron wind vain perched atop a barn in the distance.
By the time he realized he’d been shooting for a good twenty minutes, he turned, expecting to see April in the garden. She wasn’t there.
He strode around front, and spotted her on tiptoe leaning against a truck.
“Come on, Rick, please,” he heard her say in a soft, pleading voice. “You have to come.”
To give her privacy, Mason stopped and planted his back against the white-washed inn. He kicked a few pieces of loose gravel into the gutter and tried not to listen to what she was saying to the guy in the truck.
“Sorry, babe. I’ve got to fill in for Joey. He covered for me last month, so I’ve got to return the favor tonight.” He stroked the arm that she’d rested on the door. “I’d be a jerk if I left him hanging.”
“I understand, it’s just that my Grams is going to be so upset that you’re not coming.”
She did have a boyfriend.
Mason knew it’d been too good to be true. Women like April weren’t single. She was drop dead gorgeous, sweet, and soft in all the right places. Judging from the crowd in her coffee shop this morning, she was a savvy businesswoman and could make a slamming cup of joe. She had a sense of humor, too. Majoring in chocolate. He laughed as he replayed their conversation in his head. That’s the thing though: conversation had been easy and natural with April. He didn’t feel like he had to try too hard. Being with her felt like connecting with a childhood friend, only this was a friend he wanted to kiss…and pin against the wall of the inn.
Trying not to watch their interaction, Mason raised his gaze enough to spot the license plate on her boyfriend’s Chevy truck. It was covered in flames and sported the figure of a fireman in one corner.
Wonderful.
Her boyfriend was a real-life hero, and he took pictures of mountain scenery.
“I’ll come in for coffee tomorrow morning,” Rick said, putting the truck in gear.
“Okay.” April’s voice was tainted with notes of rejection. “See you then.”
As she stepped onto the sidewalk and faced Mason, a stack of pamphlets under her arm, she said, “I’m so tired of being me today. How ‘bout we be you, instead?”
“I’m not that exciting.” He certainly didn’t charge into crumbling buildings and save lives. “Trust me.”
“The least we could do is focus on you getting those shots that you need. It’ll take my mind off some things.” She tugged on the strap of his camera bag, her fingers grazing across his chest. “Get any shots back there?”
“A few.” He must’ve been seriously misreading her cues. He could’ve sworn she was making it a point to touch him. “I’d really like to get some of the river.”
“Okay, when do you have to leave?” She checked the time on her phone. “It’s nearly two.”
“As long as I’m heading down the mountain before dark, I’m good.”
“We should have time to get you to the river and back.” She nodded, her gaze drifting down the nearly-empty street. “But we have to go now.”
“I’m the black Jeep at the corner.”
“Lead the way,” she said, and hopped in after he opened the door for her.
Thirty minutes through winding roads later, he knew all about her family, her younger sister, her parents and their amazing marriages. He knew about her Grams and how excited she was for April to find someone before she passed away. Odd as he found the sentiment, he could relate. His father had wanted him to find the girl of his dreams before he passed, too, but he’d died of cancer two years ago. Surprisingly, Mason had shared that with April. She’d listened intently, her hips swiveled toward him. And when th
ey pulled up to the bridge above the river, he wished they could’ve continued driving for another hour or two. Boyfriend or not, there was so much about April he wanted to know.
“Right here,” she said, pointing to a dirt road branching off the main one.
He veered off, slowing along the riverbank. He wound around rocks and trees, and killed the engine when they’d descended as far as they could go. April hopped out quickly, and stood at the edge of the rocky bank, the wind whipping her dark hair behind her.
The contrast of colors stunned Mason speechless: the blue of the sky, the vibrant yellow of her dress and the black of her hair.
It was too beautiful for words.
“Gorgeous, right?” she asked, keeping her back to him.
Before she could spin around, Mason took his camera out of the backseat and snapped a few shots. The bottom of her dress blew in the wind, so she caught it and held it against her. She glanced over her shoulder at him, and gave a coy smile when she noticed he had his camera pointed at her back.
He captured the glorious sight, and then committed it to memory.
“What are you doing?” She said over the roar of the water. “Don’t point that at me. You’re here for the river.”
“That’s gorgeous, too.” He strode to her side and took in the view. A fisherman in waders was fly fishing upstream, and downstream the river seemed nearly completely blocked by boulders. “It’s amazing.”
She took a deep breath and then sighed. “I come here a lot. It’s calming. After what I’m about to go through tonight, I needed this.”
“I know it’s none of my business, but you keep talking about something going on tonight.” Mason snapped more shots of the trees, the trail, and April gracefully in the middle of it. “Would it help to talk about it?”
“My parents are having a vow renewal at StoneMill Winery. I’m supposed to be a sort of bridesmaid. My sister, too. It’s this big stressful thing. About fifty people are coming, mostly family.”
Now he understood the rejection at Rick’s big red truck. “And you’re upset because your boyfriend can’t go.”
She spun around. He nearly ran into her. “What makes you think I have a boyfriend?”
“The guy…the truck in front of the inn.”
“Rick?” She seemed to force out a giggle. “We’re friends. He was supposed to be my date tonight so my Grams didn’t freak out that I came solo.”
“He sure wasn’t looking at you like a friend.”
It wasn’t until she smirked that Mason realized how jealous that sounded. Maybe he was jealous. Maybe he wished he could stay in Blue Lake a little longer, see where the roads took him, and if any of them led into April’s arms.
“Yeah, well, we tried that once and it didn’t work out.” Getting closer to the river, she stepped from one boulder to another, and then finally sat on a large one, her feet kicked out in front of her. “Do you have a girlfriend, Mason?”
Man, he liked the sound of his name on her lips.
“I wouldn’t be here if I did.” He sat beside her, crossing his ankles to match hers.
“But you have to leave tonight.” Her gaze focused on the river. “Right?”
“Yeah, I’ve already checked out.”
“Hmm.”
They sat for awhile, talking about their previous relationships and what they wanted for the future. Mason was shocked to discover they had a ton in common. More than other girls he’d dated and loved. He took more than fifty shots, most of them suggested by April. A hawk circling overhead, its wings outstretched. The fisherman’s line as it swooped through the air. He sneaked in a couple of her profile, too, or the long stretch of her arm as she pointed out something downstream.
He couldn’t stop pointing his camera April’s direction. She was a magnet—one of the most beautiful sights he’d seen in the Sierras in years.
“We should get back,” she said finally, checking out the angle of the sun in the sky. “I still have to get ready for tonight, and pick up my uncle on the way to the party.”
“Sure,” he said, though he didn’t want their time together to end.
As they drove back into Blue Lake and she directed him toward a white house with blue shutters a few turns off Main Street, Mason wondered why he couldn’t accompany her to the vow renewal. He could head down the mountain afterward. And hey, maybe while he was at the vineyard, April could show him the vista point she’d mentioned.
He pulled up at the curb, and she turned to him. “Thanks for this afternoon,” she said, hand to handle. “It was really great meeting you. I wish you the best of luck, and maybe if you find yourself in Blue Lake again, we can meet up for dinner or something.”
Well, hell, he wasn’t about to invite himself to her parents’ shindig.
“That sounds good.” His voice sounded weird. Oddly soft. Guess this was it. “It was a pleasure meeting you, April.”
She got out quickly, without a single glance his way. Hands on the wheel, Mason watched her walk up the steps to her house. Something about the way they’d just parted ways didn’t sit right with him. He exited and circled the Jeep, jogging a few paces to catch up to her. She’d already trudged the few steps to her door.
“Hey, April.”
She spun around at his voice. “Yeah?”
Was that a hopeful gleam in her eye? “I was thinking maybe you could show me the view at StoneMill Winery that you were talking about.”
“Now?” She descended to the bottom stair.
“Well not exactly now, but later tonight. Maybe after your parent’s ceremony.”
She smiled, and he had the urge to pull her into his arms.
“What then, Mason?” She tilted her head, and a long swoop of silky black hair fell over her shoulder. What a vision she was. She sighed and said, “You’ll dance with me beneath the stars, kiss me goodnight on my porch, and then put Blue Lake in your rearview mirror.”
“The dancing and kissing part sounds like a good plan.” Heart beating out of his chest, Mason took her hand in his and brushed his thumb over the back of her knuckles. “Doesn’t it?”
“It does, but…” She blinked quickly, her gaze shifting to their entwined hands. “…you’re leaving.”
He got the message loud and clear. She wasn’t interested in having something short-term. She was looking for her one-and-only, and a photographer who moseyed from town to town didn’t mesh with someone who was rooted somewhere like Blue Lake.
“You’re looking for someone who’ll stay,” he said, almost to himself.
“I am.” She squeezed his hand. “But this was nice—you were nice.”
She leaned in, kissed him lightly on the cheek, and then left him standing in her front yard.
Chapter Three
April dressed in the blue silk dress her mother had picked for her Bridal Party Part Deux. She twisted her hair up, leaving a couple of loose tendrils hanging down her back and in front of her ears. She squished her feet into a pair of black heels and drove to pick up Uncle Jed from his hotel.
She tried not to think about Mason as she cruised through town, but her thoughts revolved around him. They’d gotten strawberries there. He’d brushed against her there. She’d wanted him to kiss her there…and there. Geez, this could go on all night.
Thankfully, Rhonda’s B&B came into view quickly. It was a two-story cottage south of Main Street, with red shutters and a swinging gate out front. Uncle Jed was sitting on the curb, and waved when she drove by.
“Hey Uncle Jed!” she said as he plopped into her car. “How have you been?”
“I’m old, I’m tired, and I’m cold,” he said, grumbling as he yanked on his seatbelt. “What kind of car is this? It’s cramped. There’s barely room for my cane!”
“It’s an Audi.”
“When I was young, they had what was called American Muscle. You’re too young to remember that.”
“I remember,” she said on a sigh. “I used to drive a Mustang in high school, reme
mber?”
“That’s right.” He craned his neck around to glare at her. “You went spinning through my yard in the snowstorm of ‘65 and tore up my rose beds.”
She gripped the wheel hard. “I wasn’t born until the ‘80’s, Uncle Jed.”
“You remember the car, but not the damage.” He crossed his arms over his chest and slumped into the seat. “Kids these days. Don’t take responsibility for nothin’.”
Taking a series of deep breaths, April drove south on Highway 4 toward StoneMill and stepped on it. They reached the entrance to the winery in fifteen minutes flat, even though it should’ve taken twice that. She simply couldn’t handle thirty minutes in the car with Uncle Grump.
As they entered the winery, April couldn’t take her eyes off the amount of vines surrounding them. There were so many branches rolling over the hills behind the property, covering the hills in green as far as the eye could see. Roses were planted at the end of every row, and a gravel driveway led the way to a huge main house and a handful of outbuildings. Lucy, the owner of StoneMill and April’s longtime friend, greeted them at the main building. April gave her the menus and order of event pamphlets she’d picked up from Blue Lake Inn and waited for someone to pick up Uncle Jed. He was still hollering something about Chevy being superior to Ford when April’s second cousin came to escort him out back. April nodded to Lucy in thanks and took a deep breath.
She’d shown up to the ceremony stag. Grams was going to croak. Maybe she could say that her date was showing up late. Yeah, that might buy her some time.
Here goes nothing.
She strode around the building, staring at the rows of white tables and chairs covered with pale blue linens. White roses seemed to be part of the theme, as they were in vases on every table and petals littered the floor. Tiny white lights hung from the main building and stretched over the tables to a few posts on the backside of the grass clearing. And across the way, a large gazebo had been transformed into a bar. The layout was beautiful, perfect for a vow renewal ceremony.
A glass of Cabernet was calling April’s name.
“April!”
Nope, that wasn’t the wine, darn it.
When I Fall in Love (Contemporary Romance) Book 1 (Blue Lake Series) Page 2
