by Tessa Bailey
“I can take care of this if you need me to. I’ve gotten pretty used to the system with this,” I offered.
“I know you can, but I need something to distract me. I’ve been making bread all day, and I could use a change of pace.”
Just then, Evie Blair came in from the outside, most likely arriving for the dinner shift. She had her straight dark hair pulled back into a ponytail that swung back and forth as she hurried toward us.
“Hey,” she said, pausing beside us. “It’s hot as hell outside. You been out since this morning?”
Dani shook her head with a grin. “Hell no. It’s fucking hot out there. I am a slave to the A/C in the summer.”
Meeting Evie’s blue gaze, I nodded in agreement. “I’m on Team A/C too.”
“Want to get started helping us inventory this order?” Dani asked.
“Sure thing,” Evie replied as she hung her purse on a row of hooks by the pantry.
The three of us surveyed the boxes and quickly divided them up. Once we got going, I mostly listened as they chatted. I felt like I hit the jackpot with my first real job—decent pay, a place to live away from home, and really nice people to work with.
Evie rolled her eyes at some comment Dani made about Wade. I might not be an expert in romance, but it was clear as day those two had a thing for each other and probably some history. They were always bickering.
Evie caught my eye and winked. “How much you wanna bet someday Dani’s going to have to admit she actually likes Wade?”
I slid my gaze sideways to find Dani glaring at Evie. I shrugged. “A hundred bucks?”
Dani jabbed me with her elbow. “Really? You’re going to give me crap too?”
Glancing her way, I shrugged again. “I might not have been here too long, but it’s kind of obvious you like each other.”
Dani rolled her eyes and huffed. “Change of subject please. Let’s bet on something else.”
“How about Lucas getting over himself and actually being a nice guy for once?” Evie offered. “He changed my flat tire for me this morning. He hardly said a word, but I took it as a win.”
My ears perked up at that. While everyone seemed friendly with Lucas, I thought perhaps I was the only one he was quiet and broody around.
Dani finished emptying a box of canned olives and rested a hand on her hip as she turned to look at Evie. “Now, you give Lucas a break. He’s on the quiet side, but he’s never an asshole. He’s just all business.” She paused, looking from me to Evie. “Things have not been easy for him the past few years. He’s a single father. Rylie’s mother died when she was only a year old. Then he found out after the fact his wife had been having an affair with one of his friends. That man can be as quiet as he wants.”
“Oh! That’s terrible,” I said, staring at Dani. “Really?”
Dani nodded slowly, leaning down to open a box filled with jars of artichokes. “Yup, it’s awful, and that’s what happened.” She straightened, and her shoulders rose and fell with a sigh. “Melissa did a number on him.”
“I can’t even believe it. I mean, he’s totally hot,” Evie chimed in.
Dani’s gaze swung to Evie again, her eyes narrowing as she slid two jars onto a shelf. “For God’s sake, don’t you get hot for Lucas. It’s enough to deal with you and Dawson.”
Evie’s eyes widened. “I am not interested in Lucas, or Dawson, for that matter. But you would have to truly be blind not to notice Lucas is handsome as all get-out.”
Evie glanced at me, and I felt my cheeks heat. Suddenly, they were both looking my way. “What?” I blurted out.
“I dunno,” Evie said. “But your cheeks are all red. Do you have a thing for Lucas?”
Dani bit her lip, fighting a smile.
“No. I do not,” I lied. “Just like you, I might have noticed he’s handsome. That’s all. Y’all know my life. When it comes to men, I get embarrassed about anything.”
I so, so wanted to tell them about the disaster with the vibrator, but I couldn’t bring myself to. At that moment, conveniently, one of the line cooks called for Dani just as the hostess called back to let us know we had a new table to cover. Evie volunteered to take it, seeing as my shift was almost over.
Dani hurried off to take a call, leaving me alone to finish doing the inventory and unpacking the supplies. All the while, I couldn’t forget Lucas’s last comment.
“Well, if you decide you need a man to help you in these matters, let me know.”
I wondered just what he meant by it, and whether I could scramble up the nerve to ask.
* * *
Kicking the sheets loose from my feet, I rolled over in bed with a sigh. I was chasing sleep to no avail. When I opened my eyes, a sliver of moonlight falling at an angle through the window beside my bed illuminated the room. The sheets were damp and stuck to my skin. Shimmying my hips, I loosened the cotton twisted around my waist and lifted it, letting the air gust across my body as the sheet drifted back down.
My nipples were tight, and the sensation of the thin cotton on my skin abraded them. My mind spun to Lucas.
He was the reason I was hot and sweaty and grasping for sleep that wouldn’t come. To be fair, it was me obsessing over him that was at fault. A sigh slipped from my lips, and my belly clenched at the memory of his intense gaze on me. I shifted my legs restlessly. Before I thought about it, I was reaching between my thighs and teasing into the slick heat there.
I might not be able to have Lucas, but that didn’t stop me from fantasizing about him. My climax came quickly, and blessedly, sleep finally claimed me in the aftermath.
Chapter Five
Lucas
I stood in the shower, leaning my hands against the tile and savoring the feel of the hot water beating down over me. Considering I’d been covered in sweat and dirt when I walked in here and hot as could be, I couldn’t believe how much I was enjoying the hot shower. I started it out cold, though, to knock the sticky heat off.
Today had been insanely busy. Just the way I liked it. It had started out with a call to an accident on a narrow mountain road. After that, I spun into the lodge and picked up a guided hike. I led a group of college kids on an eight-mile hike up and down the mountain today. One woman spent half the time flirting with me, and even though she was beautiful, I couldn’t have cared less.
I’d barely spared much more than a passing thought about women ever since Melissa died. She’d soured me on the idea of love. Being a single father, I found I didn’t have much time for women, and when I did, I kept it casual. As the steaming water beat down on my sore muscles, Valentina danced through my thoughts.
Valentina should have given me pause. She screamed innocent in some ways, yet in others, she seemed too wise for her years. Her innocence drew me in, and it shouldn’t. Hell no.
Try as I might, I could not forget what happened last week. Not for a second. As usual, I’d been so damn busy I could hardly keep my head up. But she’d been occupying a corner room in my thoughts so thoroughly it was like she had moved into my brain.
Virgin. Valentina was a fucking virgin. Somehow, I could not stop thinking about that. Or how she ran her mouth about how she ended up with that vibrator. I couldn’t help but wonder if she’d taken it for a test run.
Just thinking about that caused my cock to swell. Fuck. Pushing away from the wall, I swiftly turned the knob to cold water. Problem solved. I was in the shared showers for the guys at the lodge. Although I didn’t live here as some staff did, all of us were allowed to use any of the facilities.
I intended to grab a bite of dinner here before heading out. I preferred to shower here before I went home, if only because the minute I walked through the door, Rylie would latch on to my side.
I quickly toweled dry and dressed in clean jeans and a T-shirt. Grabbing my bag, I strolled down the hallway toward the staff kitchen. When I entered, Dani was busy at the stove. Meanwhile, Jackson, Shay, Dawson, Walker, and Grace were sitting at the massive table in the back of the
kitchen.
Dropping my bag on the floor by the door, I paused by Dani’s side. “Need me to carry anything over?”
She glanced up with a smile as she turned a burner off. “No, thank you. You go sit down. Food’s already on the table.” I started to turn, but her voice pulled me back. “Actually, on second thought, grab some beer and wine. I know you won’t drink any since you’re driving home, but the rest of us will.”
Striding to the industrial-size stainless steel refrigerator, I snagged a six-pack of beer and grabbed a bottle of wine as I passed by the rack. As I approached the table, I glanced up, my eyes immediately landing on Valentina’s dark red curls. She must’ve come in through the back.
It felt as if a bolt of lightning struck my body. Fuck me. I shouldn’t want her the way I did, but there was no denying how badly I wanted her. My entire body tightened in anticipation, a hum of electricity zinging through me.
I scanned the large picnic table with enough space for ten or more. I never knew the cluster of staff I would find here. Sometimes it was just a few, and other times it was a full house.
In the few moments since I had entered, the table had filled up. Dani beat me there with another platter, sliding her hips down on the last seat at one end, leaving me with only one choice of where to sit. Right beside Valentina.
Ignoring my body’s response to her, I strode to the table, setting the beer and wine in the middle before slipping onto the end of the bench seat. Voices were crossing over each other as everyone talked. Valentina replied to something Grace said and laughed at a joke from Dawson.
If my state around her wasn’t ridiculous enough already, a flash of possessiveness surged inside. Dawson was a good guy and a friend, but he was a consummate flirt. Him teasing Valentina was par for the course, as it was with every woman he had a chance to tease.
Case in point, Dawson glanced over at Shay, the new love of Jackson’s life, and then at his boss and winked shamelessly. “Shay keeping you in line?” Dawson teased.
Jackson simply shook his head and chuckled, his arm resting over Shay’s shoulders. I imagine he intended to eat with one hand. That man was whipped. Good thing Shay so clearly adored him.
I reached for the pitcher of water in the center of the table, my arm brushing Valentina’s elbow as I did. She glanced my way, her stunning blue eyes colliding with mine.
“Oh! I didn’t realize that was you, Lucas,” Valentina said, a blush cresting on her cheekbones.
“I just sat down,” I replied, stating the obvious, as I was wont to do when I felt off balance.
I didn’t get nervous often. In fact, I could probably count on one hand the number of times I’d actively experienced nervousness. Yet Valentina appeared to have the unique ability to set my nerves to sparking.
“Of course you just sat down,” she replied, her lips curling into a slight smile.
My eyes snagged on that little dimple in her bottom lip, and my cock twitched. Cut that shit out, I mentally ordered.
“How are you?” I asked, looking away to fill my water glass.
“I’m quite fine. How are you?”
Before I had a chance to reply, Dani nudged my hand from across the table with a platter. “Lasagna?” she asked.
Glancing up, I smiled. It was hard not to smile at Dani. I’d known her forever, and she was good people. “Is there anything I don’t want if you’re cooking?” I asked as I took the platter from her and served myself.
Dani chuckled. “I don’t think so although you’re not a fan of the vegetarian options.”
I laughed softly. “I like vegetables fine, just not all by themselves.”
Another comment from someone drew Dani’s attention away. “I’ll take some lasagna,” Valentina offered.
“How much?”
Nothing was unusual about me serving whoever happened to be sitting beside me. We all did. It was a casual dinner among friends.
Yet everything felt loaded with Valentina now. Between every sentence, I remembered she was a virgin and how she thought it was something she needed to deal with. I couldn’t imagine any other man having any part of that, which was crazy thinking on my part.
“How much?” I pressed.
“About half of what you got. Lord knows, you boys eat so much I don’t even know how you manage it.”
Dawson, of course, just had to chime in. “Darlin’, we can manage more than that.”
Dani sent him a pointed look. “You be nice to Valentina.”
“What did I say that wasn’t nice?” Dawson protested.
“You are always teasing, and sometimes it’s a bit much.”
Dawson rolled his eyes. Meanwhile, after I served Valentina, I passed the platter over to Dawson who was already teasing someone else.
I ate quickly, trying not to notice Valentina’s subtle citrusy smell. I wanted to wrap my hand in her red hair and kiss her senseless.
These were thoughts I shouldn’t be having. I glanced up at the clock on the wall behind the table as I was mopping up the last of the lasagna on my plate with some garlic bread. “I gotta roll,” I said after my last bite.
Standing, I couldn’t resist one last look at Valentina. She glanced up. “Good night, Lucas,” she said.
Of course, my eyes just had to dip down and notice the hint of her cleavage in the V-neck T-shirt she wore. Sweet Jesus, the last thing I needed to notice was that tease of navy blue lace along the curve of her breast.
Chapter Six
Valentina
“Mom, you don’t need to worry. I’m doing great,” I said into the phone.
“Hon, it sure sounds like you are, but let me worry. You’re my first child to move away from home,” she replied.
I bit back a sigh. Her point was completely accurate, but the urge to shake free of her worries was fierce sometimes.
“I’ll let you worry, Mom. Just do me a favor and try to have faith I’ll be fine.”
Her laughter rang in my ear. “Oh, you are good! Of course I have faith in you.” She paused, her voice muffling to say something to someone else. “Sorry about that. I’ve gotta go. You call me next week, okay?”
“I always do, Mom. Love you.”
Hanging up, I smiled. Much as I’d worried my parents would pressure me more to move back home, they’d gracefully accepted my choice to take this job. If that meant I needed to listen to my mother worry when we talked every week, then I could deal with it.
With a mental shake, I returned my attention to work. Staring at the spreadsheet in front of me, I let my breath out slowly. Numbers calmed me. I loved numbers and spreadsheets, really anything that helped me feel organized.
I settled in to spend the morning reconciling the accounts for last month. Roughly an hour later, a soft knock sounded on my door. Glancing up, I saw Shay Martin smiling at me.
I removed my glasses and set them on the desk. “Hey, how’s it going?”
Shay stepped into my office—I still couldn’t believe I had my own office sometimes—and slipped into the chair across from my desk. “Good. I was just thinking I am so freaking glad Jackson thought it was a good idea to have you help with the accounting. It’s only been two months, and I can’t even put into words how much less stressed I am now.”
From what I understood, Shay had largely taken over the business end of things around here. Stolen Hearts Lodge used to work with an accountant based out of Asheville, but when I had applied for the job here and they learned I had handled the accounting for my parents’ church and retreat organization for the past few years, Shay promptly told Jackson they needed me for more than basic bookkeeping and waitressing.
My smile stretched as I looked at Shay. She couldn’t know how much it meant for me to have this job. It was just a job, but it was so much more for me.
“Well, I love it, so I’m glad that it helps you out. I don’t even know how you do everything you do,” I added.
She shrugged lightly. “I like to be busy. Plus, I love the animals.”
I’d pieced together since I’d started here that she and Jackson were a fairly new couple. It was plain as day that Jackson was head over heels in love with Shay, and she returned the feeling. I hoped if I ever got a chance like that, I would find a man who loved me as much as Jackson loved her.
“Speaking of things to do, I keep meaning to take you with me when I feed the animals. That way, you can be my backup if I’m busy. Actually, Jackson and I will be gone for a couple of days next week, so I was hoping you wouldn’t mind handling that.”
“Of course not. Anything to spoil Gloria and Squeaky is fun for me.”
I was referring to a giant pig and a mini pig, respectively. They were two rescue pigs who had become permanent residents at the lodge. With Gloria a few hundred pounds larger than Squeaky, they made a cute pair.
“What time?” I asked as I glanced down and hit save on my spreadsheet.
“Not until this evening. That’s the only way for you to get to see everything. Are you on shift tonight at the restaurant?” Shay asked as she reached up and tightened the elastic on her ponytail. She was beautiful with dark blond hair and green eyes. I was slowly getting to know her even though I hadn’t had a ton of girlfriends growing up.
My parents’ unique combination of being devout and hippie dippy meant they didn’t fit in many circles. With me being homeschooled, I didn’t have many opportunities to make friends my age.
“Tonight’s perfect. I’m not on duty at the restaurant.”
“Great. Will you still be here around five?”
“I’ll be here all day. I’m reconciling the accounts for last month. I like to do it all in one chunk so I don’t lose track,” I explained.
She grinned. “Awesome. I’ll come get you when it’s time. I’m across the hall if you need anything. Jackson has appointments in the vet clinic all day, so you might want to close your door. You know it can get a little noisy with the animals coming in and out.”