Of course he had no plans to kiss her. She didn’t need a mirror to remind her that she was most definitely coming across as a wild-eyed, wired weirdo in flannel pajama pants.
She turned to face him and saw his gaze fixed on her, his attention and interest so firmly focused on her that it took her breath away for a moment. What had he asked?
Oh right, the lodge. “Stupid lodge,” she muttered.
He let out a little snort of amusement. “Not a fan of the rustic vibe, I take it?”
She studied him with narrowed eyes. Why wasn’t he letting this go? Then she rolled her eyes. What did it matter? She didn’t care what this guy thought of her. It wasn’t like she was here to impress him with her love of the wilderness.
“No,” she said with a loud exhale. “I don’t love rustic. And I’m not a fan of nature.”
The couch vibrated slightly and she turned to see that he was laughing at her.
Oh good. She lived to amuse.
With a shrug, she explained. “I’m a city girl, born and raised. I’ve just never really understood the appeal of nature. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a whole lot of insects, rodents, and bad weather.”
“What about sunsets, changing leaves, and more stars than you could ever count?”
She turned to look at him. Stare, really. Goodness, the man had a great voice. And talking about sunsets and stars? He was rapidly going from hottie to dreamy.
He cocked an eyebrow and she realized she was expected to respond. “All of those are lovely,” she said slowly. “But even more enjoyable when viewed from a hotel room or a cruise ship cabin.”
His laugh was low and rumbly and goosebumps rose on her arms at the sound. She wondered idly what that laugh would sound like if her head were pressed to his chest, if she was cuddled up against his side—
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
She picked her head up quickly. “Nothing.”
He was watching her closely. “You let out a big sigh.”
She had? Oops.
“Are you really that miserable here?”
Oh dear. He sounded almost…hurt. Like she’d just offended him personally. “It’s not that the lodge is so horrible, it’s just not my cup of tea.” She heaved a sigh at having to explain herself. “I mean, if I was a gazillionaire like the owner of this place, I could think of a dozen things I’d rather spend my money on.”
His lips were twitching with amusement, which made her grin in response. Everyone knew the owner of this place was Bryce Dalton, the ridiculously wealthy owner of Dalton Industries, which had their fingers in so many pies it was impossible to name just one. Her irritating boss Gary had told them all about his fabulous in with the big-time entrepreneur on the plane ride out here. He’d been blatantly bragging and no one but her had seemed to mind. They’d all smiled enthusiastically and oohed and aahed like he’d won a Super Bowl and not scored them an invite to a lodge in the capital of Nowheresville.
The bartender lost the battle with his lips and she watched in awe as they curved up in a smile, his eyes crinkling at the corners and his dimples deepening. She liked making this guy smile, and laugh, and… and anything else, really. She could watch him all day long and never get bored.
“If you hate nature so much, what are you doing here?” he asked.
Excellent question. “Work.” She loaded as much disgust as possible into that one word.
“Ah, so it’s a working trip?”
“Not exactly. It’s my reward.” She made a gagging noise that probably wasn’t super attractive, but it did elicit a laugh.
“Reward, huh? For what?”
She sighed again. “For having the best sales record for the year.” She couldn’t have sounded less enthusiastic if she tried.
“That’s impressive,” he murmured.
She turned to face him. “Is it? It doesn’t feel impressive.”
Ugh. She wished she could call the words back. This guy was too easy to talk to. Maybe it was the bartender in him.
He slung his arm over the back of the couch and even though it didn’t even graze her neck, she felt the warmth of him there behind her, around her. It was cozy and added to the intimate feeling in this dark, book-filled space.
She bit back another sigh. “If only we had cocoa.”
He laughed again, most likely at the wistfulness in her voice.
“Why don’t you think your job is impressive?” Yet again, he was not letting it go. He seemed to be genuinely interested, his gaze so firmly fixed on her, it was beyond flattering. He made her feel like the only woman who’d ever graced the face of the planet. Or at least the only one he’d ever taken notice of.
She was positive that wasn’t true—she knew enough charismatic men to know that it was a personality trait, an ability to focus on the person they were talking to, a way of listening so you knew they were really hearing you.
Still, even though she knew it wasn’t just for her, the result was intoxicating. It was a good thing she was leaving this place in thirty-two hours and twenty-five minutes—but really, who was counting?—because she had a feeling too much time around this man could prove addictive.
She had enough bad habits to kick, namely sugar and excessive amounts of caffeine. She didn’t need to add “hottie bartender from Montana” to the list.
But the fact that she did only have thirty-two hours and twenty-five minutes left added a whole other level of temptation to this scenario. Temptation to lean over and kiss him because she would never have to see him again or face the consequences.
But also temptation to open up to him.
She could afford to be honest with this guy because he didn’t know her, he didn’t know her colleagues, and once again for good measure…she was never going to see him again.
He was watching her, patiently waiting for her to talk.
So she did.
First she told him about how she’d fallen into sales during a senior year internship at university. She’d stumbled into it, really. She’d taken the internship to earn credits and then, shockingly enough, she’d been good at it.
“How good?” he asked.
“Good enough that my commissions paid off my college loans.”
He let out a low whistle. “Impressive.”
She shrugged. Was it? Again, it didn’t feel like it. “After a few years I left that job for another sales position and then I was headhunted by CRBO, my current company.”
The cable company had been flatteringly persistent and in the end the signing bonus and commission rate were enough to make her leave her former job and start selling ad time.
“Were you selling ad time before?” he asked.
She shook her head and sipped her drink only to find that it was empty. Man, how long had she been talking this guy’s ear off? And why was he still encouraging her? “No, but it doesn’t matter what I’m selling. I can sell anything.”
He laughed and she turned to face him. “What?”
“Nothing, I just love your confidence.”
“I’m not bragging. It’s just the truth.”
His smile broadened. “I know, you’re just being yourself—honest and confident. That’s what’s so sexy about it.”
She stopped breathing. The word sexy hung in the air between them. The original sexual tension had faded to the background a bit as they’d talked about her career but now it was back in full force, making it hard to breathe.
Or talk.
Or think.
“Sexy?” she repeated. It just kind of slipped out.
He nodded, his gaze darkening deliciously as he moved closer, taking the glass from her hand. “You are an incredibly sexy woman, do you know that?”
She physically couldn’t answer, and even if she could, what would she say…yes? That sounded far too cocky. Besides, it wasn’t even the truth. No one called her sexy. Ever. And while she felt safe in saying she was cute—she felt distinctly unworthy next to this brawny male model.
At least she assumed he was a model. Or maybe a struggling actor?
Maybe she should have asked.
Whatever. It didn’t matter. What mattered was that he found her sexy.
The fire crackling was the only sound in the room other than her heartbeat, which she sincerely hoped only she could hear.
“You know,” she said slowly, trying to keep her voice from cracking like a teen boy’s. “I might not be a fan of this lodge, but this library is winning me over.”
One side of his mouth tilted up and she was fairly certain her ovaries cried out for mercy. Oh dear. This guy was doing decidedly gushy things to her insides.
Get a grip, Kat.
This was not love. Insta-love was not even a thing. It was just hormones that made her brain turn to goo and her heart ache with longing.
Hormones. Chemistry. A biological misunderstanding. That’s all this was.
He was a walking daydream, after all. Like a Disney prince come to life and sitting beside her, asking her to talk ad nauseam about herself.
Who wouldn’t be attracted? It didn’t mean anything. What she needed was a reality check. She needed him to come down off that white horse and be a normal dude.
She needed to kiss him.
The idea came complete with a lightbulb. Okay, the lightbulb was actually the bartender’s doing. As the fire died out he clicked on a lamp on the end table beside them.
She watched him do it as she realized that her idea had merit. All she needed was one kiss, and then the fantasy would turn to reality and the prince would go back to being a frog.
She frowned at his profile. Wait. Did that make sense?
All mixed metaphors aside, she was pretty sure she was onto something here.
One kiss and she’d be satisfied. Her heart would stop racing and her belly would stop butterflying and she would go back to New York City with her game plan firmly underway.
She just had to make him see that a kiss was in order.
With that thought, some of her normal confidence returned. It was just a kiss she was after. And this guy was clearly interested, right? He’d called her sexy. How hard could it be to get him to kiss her?
She could totally sell this.
She hadn’t been lying when she’d said she could sell anything. Heck, her current job had her selling air time, which was nothing, really. She was selling time, for Pete’s sake, and for loads of money.
“You know what I’d like on this working vacation, not-Steve?”
He let out a soft chuckle at her blatant acknowledgement that she didn’t even know his name.
“What’s that, not-Rhonda?”
Oh crap, she’d never told him her name either.
Wait, was she really going to kiss a guy who didn’t know her name?
She watched his eyes darken and smelled that heavenly male scent as he leaned in closer.
Yes. Yes, she was.
She reached out and toyed with his shirt where it was unbuttoned at the top. Fixing her gaze on the flannel helped her keep her courage up.
A little voice in the back of her mind was shrieking out warnings. She barely knew this guy. What if he wanted more than one kiss? What if he rejected her? What if he laughed in her face?
What if, what if, what if…
She shoved the doubts way down deep.
So what if he laughed? So what if he rejected her?
She’d never see him again. That was the beauty of her whole kissing agenda.
What happened in lodges in the middle of nowhere stayed in the middle of nowhere, right? She was pretty sure that was a saying.
She flicked her gaze up and nearly forgot to breathe at the intensity in his eyes. “What would you like?”
A kiss.
She couldn’t quite bring herself to say it. But he seemed to know. He leaned in closer, closer…
Her breath caught in her throat as she waited for him to kiss her. Doubt flickered in her chest as he paused, his lips inches away from hers. He was going to kiss her, wasn’t he?
He paused, so close she could feel his breath on her cheek. Her heart was definitely going to give out at the rate it was pounding. She should have spent more time on the treadmill at the gym in preparation for this exact moment.
His lips touched hers gently. So sweetly that she couldn’t hold back a sigh.
Oh man, he could kiss.
Of course he could. Hottie McHottie couldn’t be a slouch in the kissing department, no woman would stand for it. The guy probably got a lot of practice.
He kindly stopped that train of thought when he teased her lips with his tongue, asking for access which she happily granted. His lips moved over her mouth with skilled assurance as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close.
She sighed in pleasure and disbelief. Who was this guy? Where had he come from?
Things like this did not happen in real life. At least not in her real life. Something like this was so not part of the plan.
He pulled back with a wince of regret. “You’ve been drinking.”
It was one glass of wine. She didn’t point that out, though, because her head was spinning, and she was so far from being in her right mind. “So have you,” she said instead.
His lips curved up. “Yes, but this was not how I wanted our first kiss to occur.”
She blinked. She had questions. So many questions. Namely…he’d been thinking about their first kiss? He’d had plans for it?
Her belly did a loop-de-loop. But when it came round again, she landed back in reality with a sobering jolt.
A familiar panicky sensation had her pushing back, putting a few inches between them. “It’s just a kiss.”
He stared at her and she felt her cheeks heating under his scrutiny.
It’s just a kiss. Her words, said so nonchalantly, seemed to echo between them. That casual tone seemed to mock her because it was a lie. She’d made it sound like kissing random guys was something she did on the regular.
It was not something she did. In fact, randomly kissing a guy she’d just met—a guy whose name she didn’t even know? This was definitely a first.
For some reason, she had this feeling like he knew that. She bit her lip as he reached for her hand and squeezed. “I’d intended to take you out first,” he said. “A proper date.”
Proper date? She tried not to wince. She didn’t date. Like, ever.
She had a career to focus on and she had plenty of time before dating was on her agenda.
“That’s…not necessary,” she said, shifting away.
His brows hitched up in surprise.
Not surprising, really. She imagined the hottie from Hottie Town wasn’t used to being rejected.
The more he looked at her, the more that heady, dizzy feeling from his kiss began to ebb and she found herself knee deep in cold, harsh reality.
“Not necessary.” He repeated her words as his brows drew together in amused confusion. “I know it’s not necessary, but I’d like to spend some more time with you.”
“And that sounds lovely. It does.” She was scooting away from him so quickly she almost slid off the leather couch. “But I really don’t need romance.”
He stared at her unblinking. “So…no flowers before our date then.”
She choked on a laugh. He was teasing her. But still, his mention of a date made her scramble back even further.
“I promise you I don’t need romance,” she said again, in case he didn’t believe her. “Or a date. In fact, I don’t want it.”
His breathing was the only sound for a moment and she knew he was considering her words, probably trying to determine whether he should believe her. His gaze moved to the fire, to the their glasses sitting on the coffee table, and then it dropped to her lips. “So, what was this then?”
She shrugged as she thought it over. What was this? A moment out of time. A lapse in judgement. A brief respite from her torturous work trip? She finally settled on, “An escape.”
Unf
ortunately it came out sounding far more pathetic than she’d planned.
His grin was sudden. “You’re really that miserable here, huh?”
She nodded. “Yes.” There was a brief silence as he seemed to be digesting this, and to her horror, she found herself filling the silence…with the truth. “I am so miserable here. But not just because I’m spending my weekend in nature.” Though that didn’t help. “I could deal with it if I was here with my friends and with the sole purpose of having fun.”
She exhaled loudly and watched as his eyes softened with concern. He was officially too good to be true. “But I’m not. I’m here with people I not only dislike but who make me doubt all my life decisions.”
His eyes widened in shock at that. Oh crap. She clamped her lips shut. She’d said too much. This guy was way too easy to talk to.
“Look, tomorrow morning I’m going to be forced to deal with my jerk of a boss who insists on hitting on me every chance he gets while simultaneously stealing my glory. Then there’s his colleagues who hate me because I’m good at my job and view me as competition.” She threw her hands up. “Not to mention the rodents that are waiting to devour me whole when I walk outside that door.”
He was quiet for a moment but his gaze roamed over her, studying her intently. “Rodents, huh?” His lips were turning up in that way she loved. “Most people are more concerned with bears.”
She shrugged. “Most people are idiots. The chances of running into a bear are slim to none—I know, I checked. But the chances of having a run-in with a raccoon?” She raised one eyebrow meaningfully.
He chuckled and reached out to tuck one of her wild curls back behind her ear. She shivered when his fingers brushed against her skin.
“You don’t know me,” he said. “And I don’t know you. We don’t even know each other’s names—”
“That’s the beauty of it,” she said before she could stop herself. “I mean, I’m leaving in thirty-two hours and I’m never coming back. The odds of us seeing one another again is about the same as me running into a bear before I go.”
He let out a short laugh. “So you were just gonna kiss me and leave me, huh?”
Once Upon a Lumberjack Page 2
