When We Fall, Contemporary Romance (Last Frontier Lodge Novels Book 6)
Page 19
Once her words, which she had practiced in her head many times, came out, she breathed a sigh of relief. Everything she’d said was true. She simply hadn’t elaborated on the details about the ‘environment’ she’d been forced to deal with in academia. She hoped what she said would satisfy Owen.
Owen watched Ivy Nash while she spoke, doing his damnedest to keep his eyes on her face and away from her breasts. She wore some kind of silky cream-colored blouse. It wasn’t tight, but the slip and slide of the silk as she gestured with her hands offered glimpses of the shadowed valley between her generous breasts. He couldn’t say he’d had any expectations about what Ivy would look like, but he definitely hadn’t expected to take one look at her and have his brain fuzz out. Pure habit got him through the motions of introductions and down the hall to his office. It was true he tended to be blunt and to the point, but he was worse than usual with her because he was having trouble focusing.
Ivy’s name had blipped on his radar before she’d ever applied for the position here. As he’d just told her, her work as she made her way up the ladder of graduate school and onto her doctorate had mostly been on engineering self-sustaining energy. She’d done some engineering work for NASA on ways to lengthen battery life for various instruments used in rockets. He’d read a few of her papers and been intrigued. She was clearly bright, focused and cared about her work. Yet, he’d had no clue how she looked. Her amber hair fell in loose waves around her shoulders. Her eyes, like warm cognac, were wide and tilted up at the corners. And her mouth, holy hell her mouth. Her lips were full and perfectly bow shaped. She had a dimple on one side of her mouth, which made him want to lean over and kiss it. Her rectangular black glasses only served to add a dash of illicit naughtiness—only because they made her look like the sexiest librarian he’d ever laid eyes on.
He had to force his attention to the moment. She’d just answered his only question. He distantly heard her explanation over the static in his brain, but he didn’t have it in him to ask her again. He knew from her academic work that he wanted to hire her, so he would. This ‘interview’ was nothing more than a formality. His brain grasped onto the fact she mentioned she had family here.
“You say you have family here?” he asked, figuring he needed to say something to look halfway polite.
Ivy looked relieved with his question, which piqued his curiosity. “My brother moved up here about a year ago. He runs the ski instruction program over at Last Frontier Lodge.”
Owen’s brain clicked into gear. “Ah, Cam Nash is your brother?”
Ivy nodded, a wide smile gracing her face and bringing out her tempting dimple. He kept his attention on her face, which should have been less distracting than her breasts, but he was finding it didn’t really matter where he looked when it came to her—need galloped through him heedless of his mental attempts to corral it. Focus, focus, focus. He chanted silently and tried to keep the conversation on track. “One of the reasons I moved Off the Grid here was because I wanted to be able to engineer technology that could withstand harsh weather. The other was because I love to ski. Your brother’s reputation precedes him. You ski?”
“Oh yeah. Not quite like Cam. I’m definitely slower, but I love it. Diamond Creek’s a pretty amazing place for your company. How’d you find it?”
“I visited Alaska a few times when I was in college and fell in love with it. When I first started Off the Grid, I went with what was convenient. At the time, that was Boston because I was at MIT. When we started doing well enough to need more space, I decided I wanted to be where I wanted to be. I flew out here to ski two years ago and figured it’d be hard to find a better place. Simple as that.”
She nodded and fiddled with several silver bracelets on her wrist. “Well, Diamond Creek is certainly beautiful, and you might just have the best view around up here.”
He chuckled. “We do have a great view, but it’s just as good in other areas around town.”
When she nodded politely again, it occurred to him he hadn’t officially told her he planned to hire her. For a flash, he wondered if maybe he should reconsider. He hadn’t considered this wild, pounding attraction to her. He mentally shook himself. It would pass. It would have to. He needed another researcher and she met every mark he’d set and then some.
“So, back to you. As far as I’m concerned, the job’s yours. You can start whenever you’re ready. Do you have any questions about the pay and benefits?”
Those stunning cognac eyes of hers widened slightly and her breath drew in sharply. His body tightened, and he forced himself to take a slow breath.
“Oh. That’s it?”
“That’s it. I’m familiar with your work, so I know you’ll be a great asset. If you need some time to think about it…”
She shook her head, the tousled waves of her hair swinging softly. “No, no. I’d love to work here. I don’t mean to sound silly, but I’ve only had one position since I finished my doctorate. Should I talk to someone in human resources if I have questions about the benefits or anything like that?”
He felt a strange sense of warmth toward her. She was so open, so not calculating, so not so many things he had quickly tired of in academia – the constant ego battles and jousting for leverage. He looked over at her, catching her eyes and instantly locked into them. Electricity arced between them, so hot and fast, he could almost feel the heat in the air around them.
“HR here is Joan. She came with the company from Boston and has since decided she lived in Alaska in another life and finally found her home.”
He stood. “Come on. I’ll take you down to meet her.” He needed to do something other than stare at Ivy, so introducing her to Joan would give him something to do.
Not much later, he stood by the entrance and watched Ivy walk to her car, her hips swaying with each step. He wondered if he’d just lost his mind.
Coming Soon!
Hold Me Close (A Last Frontier Lodge Novel)
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Diamond Creek Alaska Novels
When Love Comes
Follow Love
Love Unbroken
Love Untamed
Tumble Into Love
Last Frontier Lodge Novels
Christmas on the Last Frontier
Love at Last
Just This Once
Falling Fast
Stay With Me
When We Fall
Catamount Lion Shifters
Protected Mate
Chosen Mate
Fated Mate
Destined Mate
Ghost Cat Shifters
The Lion Within
Lion Lost & Found
Acknowledgments
To friends near and dear to my heart who inspired Lacey’s story. Always…my hubby who makes sure I keep my sanity while writing like mad and who reminds me every day what’s important in life. My editor continues to ruthlessly remind me what each story needs to make it better than it began and then some. Clarise Tan at CT Cover Creations takes my ideas and creates stunning covers. Most importantly: my readers…thank you from the bottom of my heart for your enthusiasm and for cheering for the next book over and over again!
About the Author
Bestselling author J. H. Croix lives in a small town in the historical farmlands of Maine with her husband and two spoiled dogs. Croix writes sexy contemporary romance and steamy paranormal shifter ro
mance with strong independent women and rugged alpha men who aren't afraid to show some emotion. Her love for quirky small-towns and the characters that inhabit them shines through in her writing. Take a walk on the wild side of romance with her bestselling novels!
Places you can find me:
@jhcroix
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jhcroix.com
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