Grand Lake Colorado Series: A Complete Small Town Contemporary Romance Collection
Page 37
I laugh. Just the thought of unlimited breadsticks is funny to me. I haven’t eaten bread or pasta in years. “Sounds perfect,” I agree, planning on sticking with a celebratory glass of wine and a salad.
Gavin leads me down to the parking garage and over to his Mercedes. He opens the passenger side door and motions for me to slide inside. Within minutes, we’re zooming through traffic on the crowded-but-moving California freeway.
“So, Colorado, huh?” he asks as he weaves in and out of traffic.
I laugh. “Yeah, I never pictured myself wearing muddy boots and chewing on a piece of straw, but here we are.”
“How long are you going to be gone?”
“A year,” I reply.
“Wow, a whole year, huh? Now I’m suddenly hoping this date doesn’t go well.” He offers up a teasing smile. “I mean, not that I don’t like you or anything,” he continues.
I laugh out loud. “No, I understand. It would suck to have a great time only to put things on hold for a year. But hey, we might figure out that we can’t stand each other. So, here’s hoping,” I say.
He laughs at my stupid joke and the conversation continues its effortless flow as we pull into the parking lot at the restaurant.
When we’re seated, we start our meal with water and breadsticks. He immediately starts digging in, but I choose to sip my water.
“Not big on garlic?” he asks, raising a brow.
“I try to stay away from carbs. I spend way too many hours in spin class to throw it all away on a piece of bread.”
He shakes his head. “With a figure like yours, I wouldn’t worry about one little piece of bread.” His eyes fall down and slowly make their way back up to my eyes. I feel embarrassment wash over me, staining my cheeks.
He must pick up on it because he says, “What? I can’t be the first person to ever say you have a nice body.”
I shake my head. “No, of course not, but it’s usually not during a lunch date. Maybe a drunken night in a club or something, but not in the middle of the day.”
He sits back and shrugs. “Well, it’s true. You, Celeste Teller, are absolutely gorgeous, and I consider myself lucky to be on this lunch date with you.”
A smile forms on its own at his words. It really does suck that we waited so long for this date. Gavin is definitely the type of guy I usually go for. He’s good-looking, he’s always dressed nicely, he has a good job, and he has social standing—not that that’s all I look for. He’s one of the good ones, and I can’t believe someone hasn’t locked him down already.
I lean forward, running my finger around the rim of my glass. “How are you still single?”
He chuckles. “I could ask you the same thing.”
I sit back with a shrug. “I think a lot of guys I meet are intimidated by me. I mean, I’m a lawyer for one. Most guys just think that I’m snobby and uptight—just some rich bitch.” I say it like I’m indifferent. I’ve heard these things all my life. I wasn’t raised poor. I went to prep school and understand that I have privilege—more than most. “Most powerful men want a woman they can make a stay-at-home wife—someone they can break out for corporate parties and in front of cameras to prove they’re not sleeping around with their assistants.”
He laughs loud and hard. “Lucky for you, I’m not that type of guy.” He shakes his head. “I don’t want marriage and kids. I’m far too selfish for that. I just want someone who’s okay with keeping our lives separate—someone who wants the same things out of life.”
“And what’s that?” I ask, taking another sip of wine.
“Fun. Experiences. I want to work my job, putting in 70+ hours a week without someone expecting me home for dinner at the same time every night. I want to take lavish vacations and not worry about kids. I want to do what I want to do, when I want to do it. I work hard. I play hard.”
Our eyes lock from across the table. “It sounds like we’re made for each other.”
We eat the rest of our lunch while talking about whatever comes up. I discover that Gavin is an only child who also went to prep school. His mother and father are still happily together, but can usually be found spending their retirement on beaches around the world or on their private yacht. He’s mostly on his own, just like I am. While I have family, they’re usually doing their own thing. We only ever come together on holidays or special occasions like my parents’ anniversary, when they have a massive party only the best people are invited to. It’s always the biggest and most lavish event of the season.
Gavin and I talk all the way back to the office. When he pulls into the parking garage, he opens my door and takes my hand, helping me out. The moment I have both feet planted on the concrete, he pulls me against his chest where his lips press against mine. The kiss is soft and slow, gaining intensity. My heart pounds in my chest and butterflies tickle my stomach when his hand squeezes my hip. His tongue is sweet like wine and his rich scent washes over me, causing my eyes to flutter closed. The way he kisses, it’s strong, but not too strong. It’s enough to let me know he means the emotion behind the kiss, but not so intense that he’ll be trying to press me against the hood of his sports car.
The kiss slows and breaks away. Our eyes lock and he lets out a long breath. “I can’t believe I’m going to have to wait a whole year to do that again.”
A silent laugh escapes my lips in a puff of air. “Weren’t we supposed to find the things we hated about each other?”
He chuckles. “I tried, but I couldn’t find anything. You were put here just to keep me humble.”
“What does that mean?”
“Just a reminder that I can’t have everything I want, no matter how much money I have,” he says, pulling away.
Gavin walks me back up to the office and we promise to keep in touch over the next year. I finish packing up my office and decide to leave early for the day to get a jump-start on packing my belongings at home. But before I leave, I find the contract on my desk as Mr. Mason promised, along with a set of keys. I pick them up and smile before signing the document and handing it off to Mary.
I find the car that’s been provided for me just outside the building. It’s a shiny silver Tesla and I can’t wait to have it packed up so I can get on the road, driving toward a better life. I place my box of office supplies in the passenger seat and climb behind the wheel, heading for my apartment.
The weekend passes quickly and by Monday morning, the car is packed up and I’m dropping off a check to pay my rent for the next year. I have the trunk of the car crammed full of clothes, shoes, makeup, and jewelry. My little box of office supplies has been moved to the back. The passenger seat holds my purse, a tote bag full of snacks and drinks for the drive, and an envelope containing the paid rent receipt and keys for the place that’s been rented for me for the next year.
I program the GPS with my destination, fill up with gas, and hit the highway, ready to meet this Mr. Drake Slade and conquer Colorado so I can get back to the new fancy life waiting for me in Los Angeles at the end of the next 12 months.
Everything is looking up. There’s no doubt in my mind that I can do this job. Sure, Colorado isn’t the place of my dreams, but I can do it for a year in order to get to where I really want to be: the top of the Mason, Lawrence, and Howe Law Firm, looking down on California from my big office in the sky—maybe even with Gavin on my arm—while stepping on all the little Jeremys of the world. Life has never looked so promising.
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Read Billionaire’s Unexpected Bride
Also by Alexis Winter
Love You Forever Series
The Wrong Brother
Marrying My Best Friend’s BFF
Breaking Up with My Boss
My Accidental Forever
The F It List
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Slade Brothers Series
Billionaire’s Unexpected Bride
Off Limits Daddy
Baby Secret
Loves me NOT
Best Friend’
s Sister
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Castille Hotel Series
Hate That I Love You
Business & Pleasure
Baby Mistake
Fake It
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South Side Boys Series
Bad Boy Protector-Book 1
Fake Boyfriend-Book 2
Brother-in-law’s Baby-Book 3
Bad Boy’s Baby-Book 4
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Mountain Ridge Series
Just Friends: Mountain Ridge Book 1
Protect Me: Mountain Ridge Book 2
Baby Shock: Mountain Ridge Book 3
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**ALL BOOKS CAN BE READ AS STAND-ALONE READS WITHIN THESE SERIES**
About the Author
Alexis Winter is a contemporary romance author who loves to share her steamy stories with the world. She specializes in billionaires, alpha males and the women they love.
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If you love to curl up with a good romance book you will certainly enjoy her work. Whether it's a story about an innocent young woman learning about the world or a sassy and fierce heroine who knows what she wants you,'re sure to enjoy the happily ever afters she provides.
When Alexis isn't writing away furiously, you can find her exploring the Rocky Mountains, traveling, enjoying a glass of wine or petting a cat.
You can find her books on Amazon or at https://www.alexiswinterauthor.com/
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