by Mazzy King
Nothing.
Torn between persistence and wanting to respect her obvious desire for space, I eventually put my phone down.
I’m also torn between fury at Katrina’s bloated sense of entitlement—to me—and heartache at the things she said about Evelyn. I would hope Evelyn wouldn’t take to heart the comments of a narcissistic brat like Katrina, but no one should have to hear someone badmouthing them that way.
Did I do enough?
Should I have done more? Should I have chased Evelyn as soon as she stepped out of my cabin? Did I fuck things up forever between us?
These thoughts, and more—remembering the taste of her, the feel of her soft, satiny skin under my eager hands, the sounds of her moans and cries as I made her explode in my arms over and over and over again—spin through my mind all day. I cancel all of my meetings, even though Matt’s pissed because we need to discuss the intricacies of the contract I signed and sent back in the nick of time.
Thanks only in part to Evelyn.
But I can’t do it. I can’t have that conversation. Not today.
Evelyn was here yesterday at some point, because her desk is clear of the few personal effects she kept. In my email at some absurdly late hour last night, I had a giant zip file with all the pertinent documents she promised me. There’s nothing left of her in this office, when her mere existence filled it up before. It amazes me how much I relied on her presence before.
God, I’m pathetic.
My desk phone bleeps at that moment, distracting me from my pitiful state.
“Stone Jericho,” I answer in a clipped tone.
“Mr. Jericho!” a bright voice chirps on the other end. “This is Emily from the HR department at Herring, Bender & Thomas.”
The top law firm in Hawk City? I frown. “Yes?”
“I’m calling in regard to one of your employees. An Evelyn Adams.”
I sit up straight in my chair. “What about her?”
“I just need to confirm a few things—her dates of employment and salary.”
Holy shit. Evelyn has a new job lined up already?
I draw in a deep breath…and give her all the information she needs.
“I’d like to add,” I say in a low voice, “that Evelyn was the best employee I’ve ever had. Her work ethic, integrity, and drive make her totally invaluable. I’m sorry to be losing her but tell your bosses they’d be idiots not to hire her.”
The young woman on the other end of the line giggles. “I’ll be sure to tell them that.”
I hang up the phone and lean back in my seat. It’s really over then, Evelyn and I as a team. That stings.
But I won’t accept that she won’t be in my life anymore.
I just won’t.
Chapter 7
Evelyn
I park my car in my building’s underground lot, then walk to the elevator. My heart is both light and heavy at the same time, and my thoughts are swirling nonstop through my head.
Maybe I should be happier. After all, I was officially offered an incredible job at Herring, Bender & Thomas, and I accepted. I start one week from today.
One week, and the new chapter of my life starts.
Who am I kidding? The new chapter started the moment I walked away from Stone.
He’s called and texted more times than I can count since then, but I haven’t answered. I realized in those moments at his cabin, watching the leggy, blonde, supermodel-esque Katrina drape her arms around him how…good they look together. She’s the heiress to a huge beverage company. She’s worth half a billion dollars. He’s the CEO of one of the most innovative tech companies and will clear a billion dollars inside of two years.
And then there’s me. An executive assistant. Who is decidedly not worth anything approaching half a billion dollars. Or half a million dollars. What can I bring to the table?
As much as I wanted the weekend to be the beginning of our dream, like Stone said, I know that it was just a dream. He was too caught up in our lust, in the magic of the mountains, and admittedly, so was I.
And, deep down, I’m afraid. I’m afraid of getting hurt. I’m afraid of getting cast aside for the person who can be the better match, who makes the most sense. I’m afraid of that pain. I had a taste of what my life could be like with him in it, and that will have to be good enough. I touched the hot stove, very fast, and I felt the sting. That’s enough for me. I know better.
God, are you done with your pity party?
I should be celebrating, but I think tonight calls for a bottle of red wine and some dark chocolate. And maybe a horror movie, because romance is absolutely out of the question.
I ride the elevator up to my floor. When the doors part, I sigh heavily and step out to begin the long trek down to my door.
There’s a person in the hallway, farther down. A person holding a gigantic bouquet of pink and white roses.
That person is standing in front of…my door.
I freeze. Am I about to be killed?
The person holding the giant bouquet shifts.
Stone.
He offers me a tentative smile, his eyes glued to me. “I hear congratulations are in order.”
“How did you know so soon?” I ask.
“They called for a reference. And I have a friend who’s close to someone at that firm. It’s a good one, by the way. You’re in great hands.”
“Speaking of hands, looks like yours are full.” I walk toward him slowly.
“They’re for you,” he says unnecessarily.
“Thank you.” I hesitate by the door. “Why are you really here?”
He sighs. “I needed to see you. I needed to talk to you. To apologize for what happened at the cabin. Why won’t you talk to me?”
I slide my key in the lock. Against my better judgment, I stand aside to let him in. If he came all this way and brought me this enormous bouquet of flowers, the least I can do is hear him out. And tell him how I feel.
“I saw the two of you together, and I realized that’s the kind of woman you belong with.” I drop my keys and my bag on my counter and fling my arms out. “I can’t offer you anything, Stone. I don’t have a family fortune behind me. I’m not used to the jet-set lifestyle. I don’t love going to galas and parties and schmoozing with upper-crust society types. I like pizza and wine. And Netflix.”
“I happen to love pizza and wine and Netflix,” Stone says. “And I’ll let you in on a little secret, Evelyn—I hate that shit.”
I blink. I suppose I’m both surprised and not. Stone’s never complained about these outings and events when they come up and I respond on his behalf that he’ll be attending. But he’s never appeared to be overjoyed by them, either.
“Those are obligations I fulfill in the name of business,” he goes on, stepping toward me. “I love a quiet life, Evelyn. And last weekend, for a few hours, anyway, I got to experience that. With you. And that was better than any gala I’ve ever attended. You’re the reason for that.”
“Katrina’s beautiful,” I blurt. Why am I fighting him so hard? “She’s your type. I can’t live up to that.”
Stone tilts his head. “You’re beautiful. You’re my type. The only thing you have to live up to is…yourself.” He reaches out for my hand. “Evelyn, I don’t know how to make it clearer to you that I want you. Katrina and I went on a few dates after a friend of mine tried to set me up, because he, like you, assumed she was my type with no basis of comparison or experience. I didn’t want to make him look bad, so I entertained a few dinners. When I realized absolutely nothing was going to come of it, I broke things off. Katrina is an opportunist. She’s someone who definitely loves the galas and the parties and the schmoozing. She pushed so hard for a relationship with me because she saw me as a ladder.”
“Where is she now?” I ask softly.
He shrugs. “Probably hanging out with the friend who tried to set us up in the first place. I honestly don’t care. I told her in no uncertain terms that if she didn’t leave me
alone, I’d get the police involved.”
I can’t help but smile. “Don’t you think that’s a little dramatic?”
He smiles back. “Hey, it worked, didn’t it? She burned rubber so fast from the cabin, I thought her tires would catch on fire.”
“Burned rubber…on snow?”
“You know what I mean.” Stone tilts his head. “I want you, Evelyn. I wanted you then, I want you now. And more than that…”
“Yes?” I hold my breath.
He reaches for me slowly, running his fingers along my jaw, brushing my cheeks with his thumbs. “I love you. I. Love. You.”
I close my eyes, letting him graze my lips with his. “I love you too, Stone,” I say in a single breath.
“You won’t regret it,” he murmurs, pulling me into his strong arms. “I promise.”
His mouth is on mine before I can reply, but there’s nothing else that needs to be said.
It’s as if we were never interrupted at the cabin. We tug at each other’s clothes, frantic and hot, until we’re both naked and he has me on the couch, his broad shoulders pushing my thighs apart as he buries his mouth in my pussy until I come on his tongue. I have no time to regain my breath before he slides his thick cock into me with one strong push. He fucks me at a blistering pace, holding on just long enough for me to explode around him again before he buries himself to the hilt deep inside me, roaring his pleasure.
Still inside me, he carries me to my bedroom. By the time we land on my bed, he’s hard again, and we fuck slow and hard and deep. My body is helpless against the nonstop waves of pleasure he brings me, and I lose count of how many times I come.
Later, we order pizza and eat it in bed, watching a murder documentary on Netflix. I glance over at him, where he contentedly chomps a slice of pepperoni.
“Well, this is it,” I tell him. “This is the glamorous life of Evelyn Adams. Welcome to—well, pick any night of the week, really. This is it. Minus the hot sex, of course.”
“I’ll take the glamorous life of Evelyn Adams,” he replies, reaching out to pull me close. “With the hot sex.”
I giggle, leaning into him. “Seriously, though. If I told you this is as good as it gets, what would you say?”
He tilts my chin up and kisses me tenderly. “I’d ask the universe what I did to earn such an amazing prize, and then I’d spend the rest of my life making sure I never fucked it up.”
“Good answer,” I breathe.
“I’m sad not to work with you anymore,” he adds. “But I think you’ve got an even better opportunity there. Plus, I wouldn’t want you getting sick of me.”
“I could never,” I say. “But I hope you find an assistant who can balance your crazy schedule.”
“I’ve got an interview lined up for tomorrow,” Stone replies. “I think he’ll be a good fit.”
I try not to feel relief that Stone’s going to hire a him, but…I don’t hate that.
“Can we meet for lunch sometimes?” Stone asks, kissing my temple. “If you have time?”
“I’ll see if I can pencil you in.” I grin.
He laughs. “I’m going to need a permanent, repeating appointment with you.”
“Oh yeah? For how long?”
“Starting now. And going until forever.”
Epilogue
Stone
Seven months later
No matter how many times I’ve seen it, the sight of snow falling on the mountains will never get old.
I stand at the big bay window with a cup of hot mulled wine in my hands, the very thing I need to warm my cold bones. I spent several hours hanging up Christmas lights around the cabin while Evelyn decorated the pine bushes in the front. Preparing for our first Christmas as husband and wife had us both as excited as little kids on the big day.
I hear her in the kitchen, humming as she stirs a big pot of beef stew, the recipe she snagged from Stephanie Hillsong while we were picking up some tools from Asher Hillsong’s hardware store. Evelyn also had a craving for something sweet, and I had a craving for Forrest Thornton’s beer, so we stopped by Auntie M’s to knock out both needs in one trip. She and Leila, Forrest’s wife, had chatted quietly and in depth while Forrest and I shot the shit.
Ever since Evelyn and I got married, my relationship with the people in town changed. Or maybe I changed—I stopped being such a recluse. I stopped paying people to bring me all the things I needed and left my cabin to meet them, learn who they are, befriend them. I’m glad I did, because now Evelyn and I have a circle of close friends to spend time with every time we venture back to the mountains from the dregs of the city. Besides the Hillsongs and the Thorntons, there’s Clay and Savannah Lowell and Loch and Ava Holmes. Ava, I learned, is the talented photographer whose first photo book is sitting on my coffee table. And together, those four couples have been deviling Evelyn and me nonstop to give up city life for good and live in Hawk Valley permanently.
We’re both very, very tempted.
“Dinner,” Evelyn calls, and I turn just as my stomach grumbles to life.
“Starved,” I reply, setting down my mug to kiss Evelyn’s neck. Then I grip a nice handful of her delectable ass. “That stew smells pretty good too.”
She giggles and elbows me back. “Down, boy. You need to eat first. I do too. We worked hard, getting the cabin ready for Christmas.”
“If I eat all my food like a good boy, do I get dessert?” I flirt, smiling at her as she slides me a big bowl of stew across the island, our favorite place to eat.
She purses her lips, her cool eyes twinkling. “What would you like to eat for dessert?”
“I’ll give you a hint. It’s soft and pink and very, very juicy.”
Evelyn bites her lip. “I think that can be arranged.”
“Good.” I lift my mug to my lips, noticing she’s only got a tall glass of water. “No mulled wine for you? You love this stuff.” Just then, I notice she’s made the batch in a much smaller crockpot than usual—about enough for one ambitious person.
She lifts a shoulder, taking a dainty bite of stew. “Yeah. I’m okay with water. For now.”
I bunch up my forehead. “Do you have a headache? I can get you some ibuprofen.”
Her lips curve into a little smile. “No, not a headache. I just don’t feel like having any wine. Or alcohol of any kind, actually. Not for a while. Like, probably not for the next thirty-some weeks, or so.”
It takes a second, but her words hit me like a sledgehammer. I drop my spoon. “What…what are you saying?”
Evelyn slides off her stool and walks around the island to cup my face in her hands. “I’m saying,” she murmurs, brushing her lips to mine, “that you’re going to be drinking on your own until our baby is born, Daddy.”
All the breath leaves my body.
She smiles softly and kisses me again. “That’s right, Mr. Jericho. The corporation is growing by one more.”
“Holy fucking shit,” I whisper.
Evelyn giggles, and I sweep her into my arms. We hold each other for a long, long time.
“Well,” I manage around the lump in my throat, “I’d say this is the best acquisition we’ve had since our inception.”
“I’d call it more of a merger,” she says, kissing me.
“I love you,” I tell her. “Mrs. Jericho.”
“And I love the hell out of you,” she replies. She grins, and it sets my heart on fire. “Mr. Jericho.”
The Hawk Valley Mountain Men Epilogues
1 | Asher & Stephanie
Asher
“Honey!” I bellow from our bedroom, leaning over a pile of clothes on the bed.
“Just a minute,” Stephanie’s voice floats in from Asher Jr.’s bedroom. She’s been helping AJ with the tiny bowtie she insisted on him wearing first to our family photo session with Ava Holmes, and then to Stone Jericho’s Christmas party tonight after seeing a similarly cute, little boy wearing one on Pinterest. But I think she underestimated what it would be like to
wrangle a one-year-old into standing still long enough to put a bowtie on him.
Besides, I need her help with my own tie.
It’s hard to imagine a time in my life where I wore one of these on a daily basis. It feels so long ago. The last time I remember wearing a tie was on our wedding day, and even then, Steph made me take it off as soon as pictures were over.
“It doesn’t suit you,” she said with a smirk, unlooping it and tossing it over her shoulder.
There are no words to describe the last year and a half with her. I never knew what my life was missing until Stephanie came into it. The hole Beth left behind seemed to fill the second I looked into her gorgeous brown eyes.
Our love was fast, yes. It was instant, and it frightened us both. Were we making a mistake? Jumping in too fast? Giving too much too soon? But sometimes, when you know the truth deep down in your soul, time becomes a meaningless thing that has nothing to do with your existence.
Finally, she breezes into our bedroom, our dog Sadie on her heels. Steph took to mountain life immediately. We still go back and forth between Hawk Valley and Hawk City to manage the hardware stores, which keeps us busy and also allows us to spend even more time together. For the past year, her trips to the city with me and to the store in town have been less frequent, since she started writing children’s books—and they’re wildly successful. She also compensates her income by writing sexy romances on the side under a different pen name. I’ve read some, and they sound strangely familiar…
“You’re as bad as AJ,” she says with a soft laugh, taking in the sight of me wearing only a towel and scowling at the clothes on the bed. “Ava’s going to be here in half an hour.”
“You’re not dressed either,” I shoot back. I glance to Sadie, to see if she has my back. She’s giving me serious side-eye. “Is he in his crib?”
Stephanie flashes me a matching look over her shoulder as she removes her fluffy, white terrycloth robe that has “Mrs. Hillsong” stitched across the back. It was a gift from her maid of honor. “That’s what I was trying to do, but you boys are driving me crazy. And yes, he started falling asleep after I got him dressed. So even though he’s going to be pissed when I wake him up for pictures…I’m going to let him nap.”