“It’s too bad you are my boss,” I said, my lips just inches away from his. As soon as I said those words, I wished I could take them back. It was ridiculous to admit to Luke that I’d been having these feelings for him when he’d never shown any sign that he might feel the same way about me.
“Why?” he asked in a voice almost as breathless as my own. His eyes were so hypnotizing I almost admitted everything to him. I was relieved when we were interrupted.
“Coop!” Greg, the resort’s operations manager, looked flustered. “We’ve got a bit of a crisis, boss. One of the trees over by the banquet hall collapsed and knocked out the power to the hall.”
Luke’s arms were still around my waist and I could feel them tighten. “No power? But we have the wedding there tomorrow.”
“I know. Hence the crisis.” Greg looked at me. “Sorry, Emery, I didn’t mean to ruin your date.”
“It’s not a–” I stopped myself. Whether or not Luke and I were on a date wasn’t nearly important enough to debate at that moment. “Did you call the power company?” I asked instead.
“I did, but they won’t be able to fix it until morning at the earliest. The did shut off the power so we don’t have to worry about any live wires hurting someone or starting a fire. What should we do, Coop?” Greg asked.
Luke finally let go of me and started across the bar. Greg and I followed close behind. “Get the generators from the shop and spa and hook them up in the hall. They won’t be strong enough to power the whole place, but we should be able to get the main area powered enough to keep it heated.”
“Will do.” Greg headed toward the door while Luke and I returned to our table to grab our coats.
“What are we going to do, Luke?” I asked as he held out my coat. Even in crisis mode, Luke was still a gentleman.
“Em, you can take off. You don’t need to stick around to deal with this.” He slid the coat into place on my shoulders and then slid on his own coat.
I grabbed his hand. “But I want to help. Tell me what I can do.”
“We need to clear the tree that fell and make sure there isn’t any structural damage. I want that area to be ready for the power company when they do arrive so there aren’t any delays.” Luke kept hold of my hand as he moved toward the door, surprising me.
I had to hurry to keep up with him as his long legs crossed the parking lot. It wasn’t hard to find the tree that had done the damage. It had come dangerously close to falling on the building. Greg appeared with the generators and some other men that worked at the resort. They all got busy hooking the generators up to the main part of the building.
Luke brought his truck around the side of the building and used his headlights to give us a better view of the damage the tree had caused. “Well, it missed the building.”
“That’s good,” I said.
“But it absolutely smashed the power box.” He sighed. “I’m not sure they’ll be able to get that completely repaired tomorrow.”
“What about the wedding?” I asked.
He shook his head. “I don’t know. We’ll figure it out in the morning. There’s nothing we can do out here in the dark and I think the guys have it handled inside. You should head home.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’m sure. As much as I love having you around, there’s no need for you to stand out here in the cold.” Luke gestured to his truck. “Jump in and I’ll drive you to your car.”
“You don’t have to do that,” I said, but he had already opened the door for me.
As he pulled up next to my car, he said, “Are you still up for helping me out tomorrow? I have a feeling I’m going to need you.”
“Of course. What time should I be here?” I asked.
“I’ll pick you up. Can you be ready by 7:00?”
“Sure. No problem.” I opened my door.
“Oh. One more thing.” Luke smiled shyly. “I’m probably going to need some help during the wedding, too, so you should bring something nice to change into. It will kind of be like you’re my wedding date.”
I returned his smile. “Date, huh? That’s presumptuous of you, Mr. Cooper.”
“Too presumptuous?” he asked.
“Definitely not,” I said before I could stop myself. “Um, good luck tonight. I’ll see you in the morning.”
It had been a long day and an even longer week. As much as I wished there was something I could do to help Luke, I was glad to finally be home. I made myself a quick dinner and then took a long, hot bath. Before getting into bed, I opened my closet and searched for something that would be appropriate to wear to a December wedding. I had only two dresses that would work, and I’d worn one of them to my engagement party. I shoved that one back in my closet and hung a midnight blue dress on the back of the door. It would have to work since I wouldn’t have time to shop for anything.
I grabbed my laptop, preparing to work a little on my business plan before falling asleep. I was surprised to see an email from one of my college friends. I hadn’t heard from Leslie since the funeral and at first, I thought she was just checking in. Her email started off nice enough but quickly veered into judgmental and accusatory. She said that she had heard I’d moved to Starlight to be with Luke and she thought it was incredibly disrespectful to Eric’s memory for me to have moved on so quickly. She also proceeded to accuse me of having cheated on Eric with Luke while we were still in college.
I slammed the laptop shut without finishing the email. I couldn’t believe that Eric had been cheating on me probably for our entire relationship and I was the one being treated like a pariah. It was incredibly unfair that Eric wasn’t alive for me to yell at. It wasn’t fair that I had to carry around his secret even after he was gone.
As tired as I had been, I was now wide awake. I tried to fall asleep for hours, but it was impossible. Then my phone chimed softly. I reached for it, desperate for anything to take my mind of the email and I felt a soft tug at my heart when I saw Luke’s name.
Sorry for how abruptly I had to end things this evening. Hope you got home safe. Can’t wait to see you tomorrow.
It was such a small thing. Just a polite text from a nice guy. It wasn’t as if he’d professed undying love for me or even said anything that would lead me to believe he wanted to be more than friends. Yet I still found myself wanting that to be true. To me, Luke was no longer just my nice guy friend who I thought would be a good husband for someone, someday. He was the guy I fell asleep thinking of, the guy who now starred in my dirty dreams, and the guy I couldn’t wait to see again.
CHAPTER FIVE
I only slept for a few hours, but it was a good sleep. I woke with a smile on my face and jumped out of bed. The promise of seeing Luke was enough to get my heart racing, but I made some coffee anyway. I took it outside and sat on the upstairs balcony while I watched the sun begin to rise.
When Luke’s truck pulled into my driveway, I checked my phone. He wasn’t supposed to be there for another hour and he hadn’t called or texted to let me know there had been a change in plans. He spotted me as he exited the truck and waved while flashing me a big smile.
“Good morning!”
“You’re early,” I said, leaning over the balcony.
“Yeah, sorry. I was just stopping by to drop off some firewood. We chopped up the tree that fell and I figured the wood might as well go to good use.” He gestured to the door. “Can I come in?”
I nodded. “Sure. I’ll come down. One sec.” I felt flustered as I skipped down the steps. After spending most of the night thinking about Luke, he was now standing right in front of me. “Hey,” I said lamely.
“Hey.” His smile was warm and irresistible.
“Get in here,” I said, stepping back. “You want some coffee?”
“That would be great.” He stopped to remove his coat and boots while I went to the kitchen and poured his coffee and refilled my own mug. “I’m surprised to see you up so early.”
“I always get
up early,” I said. “I used to go for long runs in the morning before everything happened.”
“Well, you have a lot of options here to get your cardio in,” Luke said, easily dodging my grief landmine. “There are lots of trails for hiking and, of course, you could always go skiing.”
I shook my head. “I don’t ski.”
“What?” He gaped at me. “Seriously?”
“I’ve only tried it once and I was terrible. It’s safer for everyone if I just stay away,” I said. I carried my coffee into the next room and settled onto the plush couch. Luke followed me, still processing what I’d just admitted.
“Let me get this straight. You are now working at a ski resort, but you don’t ski?” He shook his head. “That is just wrong. You have to let me teach you.”
I frowned at him. “Do you think that’s a good idea? I’ve kind of gotten comfortable with having you as my friend. I’d hate for that to change.”
It was supposed to be a joke, but something in Luke’s eyes said that I’d struck a chord. He cleared his throat and looked away. “We’ll still be friends. Don’t worry.” He shot a glance at me and forced a smile. “I’m a good teacher.”
“We’ll see,” I said, trying to sound like everything was normal between us. In my head, I was remembering some of the things he’d taught me in my dirty dream. “Do we need to take off soon? I’m sure there’s a lot of work to be done this morning.”
“We’ve got some time. There’s not a lot we can do right now,” Luke said. “I’m sorry, I just completely barged in on your morning. Do you want me to take off?”
“No.” I put a hand on his arm and instantly regretted it. “I like having company.”
Luke had tensed a little when I touched him and that tenseness didn’t go away when I removed my hand. “Emery, I feel like there’s something that I need to tell you. I might end up regretting this, but I think you should know.”
“Okay...” My heart was pounding. I was sure that Luke was going to say that he knew I was developing feelings for him and that he didn’t feel the same way.
“I know that you’re going through some really complicated stuff right now and I can’t even imagine how hard that is. I don’t want to do anything to make that harder for you.” Luke leaned forward with his elbows resting on his knees. He was studying his coffee carefully as he contemplated his next words. “This last week, I’ve really enjoyed having you here. We were good friends in college and I’ve missed you.”
“I missed you, too, Luke,” I said.
He looked at me, a trace of pain on his face. “Not like how I’ve missed you,” he said. “Em, I–”
His phone rang loudly and we both jumped. Luke swore under his breath and hurried to turn it off. He froze when he saw the caller on the screen. “It’s the power company. I need to take this.”
“Of course,” I said.
Luke stepped into the other room and I was left hanging on those few words he’d managed to get out before we were interrupted. It hadn’t sounded like Luke was about to let me down gently. If anything, it was the opposite. It sounded like Luke was battling the same feelings for me that I was for him.
“Hey, any chance you can be ready to head out in ten minutes? I need to get back to the resort.” Luke looked flustered.
“Yeah, sure. Let me just go upstairs and grab my things.” I stood.
“Take your time. I still need to unload the firewood I brought.” He smiled a little as I moved closer to him. “Maybe we can finish this chat later?”
“Of course.” Instinctively, I touched his arm lightly as I passed him on my way to the stairs. The spark of electricity from the slight touch was undeniable. We both felt it. “I’ll meet you at the truck,” I said before hurrying up the stairs.
When I got to my bedroom, I walked over the window that faced the front of the house and watched as Luke began to unload the firewood. For most of my life, I’d just assumed that men like him weren’t real. My father had never done anything as manly as chopping his own firewood and delivering it to a friend out of the kindness of his heart. Being a gentleman and a handyman just came naturally to Luke.
Before he could catch me staring at him, I grabbed the garment bag holding my dress and shoes and headed down to the truck. Luke hung it behind my seat alongside what I presumed was his suit and then we were off, headed back to the resort.
“Thanks for the firewood,” I said.
“You’re welcome.” Luke was intently focused on his driving.
“You must have stayed late last night to get that entire tree chopped up.” I couldn’t decide if Luke’s quiet demeanor meant that he didn’t want to talk or if he just needed a distraction from the stress that was weighing on him. “I’m kind of sorry I left. I’d like to see you wield an ax.”
Luke smiled at me. “Next time.”
We were already back in the resort parking lot and it was bustling with activity. The power company’s truck was already parked near the banquet hall and Luke hurried over to speak with the men surveying the damage. I went inside to see if there was anything I could do and one of my new coworkers, Katie, flagged me over to where she was attempting to hang a gauzy curtain.
“Emery! Help!” she squeaked with a laugh.
I rushed over just as the chair she was standing on started to tip over. After we stopped laughing, we managed to get the curtain hung without injuring ourselves. The next couple of hours passed in a blur. We got the decorations in place and the chairs and tables set up. When it was time to string the lights over the entryway, we enlisted Greg’s help. He and Katie had been friends for a long time and they teased each other mercilessly.
“I hope some actual work is getting done over there,” Luke called as he crossed the room with a ladder. He was smiling, though.
“Work? Is that what we’re supposed to be doing?” I said loudly. I stepped onto a chair to help Greg hold the string of lights in place. Too late, I realized that my shirt had crept up, revealing a few inches of skin that I hadn’t been intending to share with my coworkers.
Luke had brought his ladder over to us and he climbed it right next to me, taking the lights from my hand. “I’ve got it,” he said. With his other hand, he pulled down the hem of my shirt. His fingers skimmed across my skin and sent a shiver through my body. In a low voice that I knew no one else could hear. “You should be careful where you flash that skin, Scott. You’re destroying every man in this room right now.”
I swallowed hard and jumped down. Luke’s caution had nothing to do with the other men in the room since none of them seemed to have even noticed my slight wardrobe malfunction. I could feel Luke’s eyes still on me and I couldn’t stop myself from meeting his gaze. When he smiled at me, I blushed and moved further away.
Katie hadn’t heard what look said, but she didn’t miss our flirty exchange. “What’s the deal with you and Coop? Did you guys date?”
“N, we didn’t.” I tried not to make it sound like I was protesting too much. “We were just friends in college.”
“Friends... with benefits?” Katie asked with a smirk.
“We were both dating other people at the time,” I said by way of explanation, hoping she wouldn’t ask any follow-up questions.
The look Katie gave me said she didn’t believe my denial. “Well, you should rectify that ‘just friends’ business.” She waggled her eyebrows. “There isn’t a female within a 100-mile radius of the resort that isn’t in love with that man.”
“Luke?”
Katie gaped at me. “Duh. Have you looked at him?”
She had a point.
“I just had a relationship end and I’m not looking to get right back into another one.” I hoped that would be enough for her to let it drop. So far, I’d managed to make it an entire week without telling anyone about Eric.
“What else needs to be done?” Greg asked, jumping down from his ladder.
I consulted the list in front of me that Katie and I had hastily thrown toge
ther. “We just need to wipe down the chairs outside one more time before the guests arrive and light the lanterns on the walkway. Monica and Jess are taking care of both of those things. The caterer will be here in ten minutes to start setting up the food, but they shouldn’t have any issues now that the power is back on.” I looked up. “I think we’re free to change into presentable attire.”
“Are you saying this isn’t presentable attire?” Greg joked, gesturing to his stained t-shirt and torn jeans.
“Depends what kind of wedding this is going to be,” I replied.
“We change upstairs,” Luke said, his hand coming down gently on my shoulder. I saw Katie’s eyes widen slightly. “I’ll grab our stuff from the truck.”
“Just friends?” she whispered to me when he was gone. “Why are your clothes in his truck?”
“He gave me a ride,” I said lamely.
We split up by gender upstairs. Katie and I took the larger room and quickly changed into our dresses and heels. She insisted on applying a light layer of makeup to my face, despite my protest. When she was done with that, she removed the clip holding my hair back and ran a brush through it.
“Who am I trying to impress?” I asked her in a grumble.
“Oh please. I think we both know the answer to that.” She turned me around. “Not bad. Could be better.”
“Thanks.” I glared at her.
Katie just laughed. “I’m kidding. You look beautiful, Em. Coop will be dazzled by your beauty.”
“Please stop.” I could feel my cheeks flushing. “Luke is our boss, Katie. It’s inappropriate to talk about him like that.”
“I’m not trying to be inappropriate or make you uncomfortable,” she said softly. “I just really like him and I want him to be happy. It looks like you make him happy.”
“Luke deserved somebody better than me,” I said.
Someone knocked on the door and I jumped. Katie hurried to open it. “Can I help you?”
“Are you ladies ready? The guests should be arriving soon.” It was Luke. I couldn’t see him, but the sound of his voice made my heart beat a little faster.
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