by Reina Torres
She smiled and laughed. “Now you’re just trying to feed my ego and you don’t need to do that, Aaron.”
“I’m not doing anything of the kind. When I tell you that you’re the only woman for me I’m not joking. I’m serious. I mean every word.”
“Then,” she couldn’t help the way she leaned into the emotions that his words and his looks evoked in her, “when are we going to go out and see whatever it is that you brought me here to see?”
His eyes narrowed on her, bright with curiosity. “Are you trying to get away from me?”
She shook her head. “Not in the least.” Lifting her hands, she set them palms down on his chest and smoothed her hands over his skin. The silver and black hairs tickled against her palms. The pads of her thumbs swept over his flat nipples and when they passed over again, she felt the tight points scraping against her sensitive skin. Gently smoothing her hands down his sides, she felt the play of his muscles under his skin and every inch of her skin tightened and heated at the sensations of her hands on him. “I’m just thinking if we don’t take a few steps away from each other it’s going to take a force of nature to get me out of this house anytime today.”
She heard the huff of his breath, saw the ink dark shadows that passed over his eyes, but it wasn’t until she felt as if she was standing in front of an open oven that she felt any movement from him.
“You take the shower first,” he told her and she started to protest, “and you’re going to want to bring the small bag Julia put in with your things.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “The small bag? You’re not talking about my swimsuit.”
Celeste was sure she’d quashed that idea right then and there, but instead of hearing an apology from Aaron for even bringing up the idea, she saw his lips curve into a deep, broad, grin.
“That’s exactly what I mean, Cel. I promised you magic. And that’s what you’re going to get.”
Magic was what he promised her, but honestly, she really didn’t hold too much stock in it. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Aaron. No, she trusted him more than anyone else in her life outside of her children.
There wasn’t need for magic in her life. She had worked hard all her life. She’d picked up the pieces after her husband disappeared over fifteen years ago. Magic was the illusion of Santa at Christmas time, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy…
Reaching out her hand, she set it on Aaron’s knee and felt him lay his hand over hers.
Aaron was flesh and blood.
Aaron was kind and gentle.
And yes, Aaron was deliciously gorgeous, but there wasn’t any magic to that. He worked hard, gave more than a hundred percent of his heart to others.
Aaron was a hundred percent real.
She could only hope that what she was feeling between them was only the beginning.
Passing through town, she was able to see the diner and recognize Mr. Carter inside, pouring a refill cup of coffee for one of the diners. The Fisher’s store was lit with warm light and Lynnie was just turning the OPEN sign as they passed by. Her face brightened with a smile and she waved at the truck. Celeste returned the gesture and then sat back against the seat as Aaron turned onto another road.
“So, are you going to tell me where we’re going?”
He shook his head and she heard his chuckle fill the space in the cab of the truck. “Weren’t you always the one to tell the children to be patient?”
“Do as I say… not as I do.” She cleared her throat and folded her arms over her chest as the road began an incline toward the mountains. “As a parent, I’m supposed to teach them manners, but you’re an adult, Aaron. I don’t have to teach you anything.”
His hand shifted on the steering wheel and he snuck a look at her before returning his focus to the road ahead. “You’re different.”
“Different?” She pondered over the word and its possible meanings. “What-”
“Different,” his tone mellowed, deepened, “like the tone of your voice. You’re teasing me.” He shifted in his seat and cleared his throat. “Or at least it sounds like you’re teasing me. I guess it’ll take time to figure it out.”
Turning her hand over on his thigh, she wove their fingers together. “I’m glad we’re getting that time, Aaron. We-”
The thought she had in her head disappeared as Aaron slowed the car to a stop at the top of the road. Across the way, two huge wrought iron gates stood open, bracketed by two elegant walls that were carved from some kind of pale stone.
The wrought iron climbed up and over the opening, meeting in the center where a large sign in the same stone was marked with large metal letters spelling out MYSTIC MOUNTAIN RESORT.
“Mystic Mountain Resort.” She whispered the words and smiled. “I thought you said this was a small town.”
“It is.” He squeezed their joined hands and eased the truck across the road and through the gate. “The Resort has been closed since the late Nineteen-Thirties. Since then it’s been sitting here aging like the rest of us.”
There were hundreds of questions swirling around in her head, but they all fell by the wayside as her gaze and her attention was focused on the sights around the truck as they drove along a wide curving cobblestone road with tall trees blotting out any sky above.
Time seemed to slow and the road felt like it went on forever and just when Celeste was convinced that she’d lost all of the air in her lungs, the canopy over their heads split open and everything was bright blue with high flung clouds dotting the heavens.
“Goodness.”
Aaron’s laughter was soft and warm. “Just wait. Once we’re around this curve…”
And there it was.
The resort.
She hadn’t really had much in the way of expectations when she’d seen the sign. Okay, yeah… she did. She expected something falling to pieces. Holes in the walls. You didn’t have something sitting around before World War II and looking… like the building up ahead.
The main building had four main floors with a final fifth floor at the top that must have amazing views of the mountains and the town below. The stonework looked incredible and she couldn’t wait to get her hands on the cool stone and feel the detail for herself.
It looked like it was frozen in time and softly colorized in a sepia-tone photograph.
“Cel?”
With the exterior still in such great condition she had a feeling that the inside of the resort must be a sight.
“Celeste?”
A soft touch on the back of her hand sent shivers through her body. Turning her head on a slow swivel, she saw Aaron with his cheek laid against her skin, his cool blue eyes darkening.
“Are you ready to go and take a look?”
Was she ready?
It was a few moments later when she realized that she’d all but pushed him out of the truck cab, following him down the step on the driver’s side. Their hands still linked together, he was able to wrap around her and lightly press her against the side of the vehicle, tangling the fingers from his free hand through the lengths of her hair.
He was all but caging her in, his broad-shouldered frame less than an inch from hers from head to toe… except for the hard wall of muscle against her breasts. Each breath was a beautiful frisson of feeling between them.
“Are you in such a rush to get inside?”
It took her a few moments to realize that he had asked her a question.
“Hmm?” She blinked and cleared her thoughts. “What?”
“I would have come around and opened your door,” he explained, “and helped you down.”
The whole scene replayed in her head in a rush of emotion and images and Celeste was left with a flush in her cheeks. “Yeah, I could have waited. I’m sorry if-”
He kissed her quiet.
And again, when he’d let her breathe.
She had nothing to say as she looked up into his eyes and heard the whisper of a thought.
Mine.
; Aaron spoke, his voice a deep roll of sound from his throat. “I want to be near you, Celeste. So, if you want to squeeze between me and the truck, or a wall, or… a bed. Then just say so.”
Celeste parted her lips to speak. In her head were so many things that she wanted.
And yes… many of them involved being skin to skin with him. She felt the change in her body the instant she acknowledged the want.
The need.
She felt her skin tighten and heat.
The shortened breaths.
The ache deep inside of her body.
But that was what she wanted.
And Aaron had brought her there for another reason.
Over the years he’d given her so much, she could give him her attention. It was the least she could do.
“I think we have a resort to look at.”
Maybe she’d messed up again. The shadow that crossed his features said that she had.
“Oh,” he leaned back and cleared his throat. “Sure, let’s go.” Aaron reached into the back of the truck and pulled out the bag she’d packed for later and slung it over his shoulder. “Let me get the door.”
She stepped aside and felt the rush of air as he closed the truck door.
“Aaron.”
He lifted his gaze to meet hers and she knew she was right. She’d messed up. Hurt him.
“I want to see this place because it means so much to you. All the rest of the things that I want,” she felt her chest rise and fall with the weight of her feelings for him, “we’ll get there. You and me, Aaron. We’ll get there together.”
The hard line of his shoulders relaxed and he tugged her closer to place a kiss on her forehead. “Then let’s go inside.”
Their hands were still woven together and neither of them seemed to want to let go. Still, as they climbed up the handful of steps to the front entry, she felt a little embarrassed that he was carrying her bag. Turning slightly as they reached the top, she knew the instant that he read her intentions.
Aaron turned his body just an inch or two and put her bag out of her reach. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m trying to carry my bag, Aaron Winter.”
“I’ve got it.”
“It’s not heavy,” she pushed back, “I can carry it.”
“It’s fine where it is, Cel. Leave it.” He unclipped his key chain from his belt loop and opened the front door of the resort. “I might as well just keep it until we get to the pool.”
The door opened easily under his hand and a rush of air pushed past them and inside the resort. Traveling at that speed it sent chills through her body. “Pool?”
She gave up trying to wrest her bag from him, but as she entered the lobby, she gave him a reproachful look. “I don’t want to be a popsicle either.”
He touched a kiss to the tip of her nose. “Trust me.”
Smiling, she shook her head. “I know, I know… I’m just not big on swimming to begin with. I’m more of a lie down on a lounge chair and read a book kind of girl.”
“You just might change your mind, but we’ll get to that point when we get there, okay?”
“Okay.” She had to give it to him. There was something about his even nature that made it so easy to concede her worries. “We’ll get there…”
He walked them over toward a metal panel on the side wall and started to flip switches. Each one made a heavy, hollow thump of sound. Celeste didn’t want to ruin the surprise so she stood there with her back to the room as Aaron flipped through dozens of switches. She saw her bag bouncing against his back and came to an odd realization. “Aaron?”
“Hmm?” There were a half dozen more to go. “What’s up?”
“Where’s your bag with your swim stuff?”
His fingers grasped the last switch and flipped it to the side before he turned and looked her straight in the eye. “I don’t need any.”
With that little comment going off like an explosion in her head, Aaron turned her around to look at the lobby.
Maybe he’d known the effect that the sight would have on her and that was why he’d remained behind her, but when her knees went weak, he was there for her to lean on.
“Oh, my goodness,” she wasn’t sure that she’d actually said anything out loud.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Aaron’s voice was warm against her ear, his beard tickling the line of her neck. “I thought you might like it.”
She couldn’t seem to form words after that. Brass. Brass fixtures. Brass ornaments. None of it too flashy or overwhelming.
But it was there and glowing warm against green wallpaper as dark as a deep forest. It was like emeralds in a deep cave, but still as rich and powerful as a color.
“I think we were lucky,” Aaron spoke softly as if he was as loathe to break whatever spell surrounded them, “that whoever decorated the resort didn’t want everything to sparkle. Or this could easily have been a nightmare.”
She nodded. “Like the Emerald City in technicolor. That would give me a headache.”
“Most of the ground floor is in green and brass like this.”
She sighed softly. “Imagine all the polishing.”
She felt his hand close over her hip and his forehead touched her hair.
“I should have known you’d think about the cleaning.”
She didn’t shake her head because she didn’t want to lose their connection. “Why wouldn’t I? It’s hard enough to keep up with all the wood in the Victorian. Can you imagine how many people and hours would have to work to keep this- but you do.”
Aaron moved at the same time she did and they met each other’s gaze somewhere in the middle.
“This is where you come every winter,” she nodded her head as the pieces continued to fit into the puzzle. “Are you the only one taking care of all of this work?”
Just the thought of it made her arms and wrists ache.
His soft smile eased some of her worry.
“I hire some people. Anyone in town who wants the extra money or those of the younger generation who needs a job to take care of their families. They come and work here.”
“In a place that isn’t open for guests.” The thought seemed so foreign to her. “A place like this,” her gaze moved over the room again as if it was an eager hand, “needs people in it. It needs to have the rush of energy when people stay here, moving from room to room. It needs to be admired and appreciated. I bet if you could ask it,” she sighed and turned a slow full-circle admiring everything she hadn’t seen the first time, including the mirrors that sat on the walls and didn’t have anyone to look at them, “the building would tell you it was lonely… and waiting for someone to open the doors again.”
She heard the silence that answered her sudden outburst.
Nodding her head, Celeste took a step forward to put a little distance between them. When she could take in a whole breath, she turned around and looked him in the eyes.
“Aren’t you ready to cart me off to the funny farm?”
“Why?” His smile was slow, but it was genuine. “Why would I do that?”
“Because I’m standing here making some kind of impassioned plea on behalf of a building. An inanimate object. I know that Josiah would have in an instant.”
She froze and dropped her gaze to the floor. Josiah. She hadn’t thought about or said his name in… in ages.
Why was it coming to mind now?
“Cel?”
She lifted her chin and met his curious look. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what… but seriously, Aaron. Are you actually going to keep this place closed?”
Celeste released the breath that she’d held inside and felt much better when she shoved thoughts of her former husband, Josiah, where they belonged… in purgatory at the back of her mind.
“Well, that’s why I brought you here… part of the reason. Recently, a man made an offer on the resort. He was going to use it as an investment property. Open it for a particular clientele while he made this tow
n his home, but he changed his mind.”
“Well,” she arched a brow at him, wondering about his mysterious wording, “I’m not sure what kind of ‘clientele’ he had in mind, but what changed his mind? Bad pipes in the bathroom?”
When he didn’t reply she tried again. “Rats in the kitchen?”
He lowered his gaze and she pressed her lips into a thin line, worried that she’d stepped in it again.
“Aaron, I didn’t mean anything bad. Really, the kids groan about my mom jokes and-”
“He came here to Mystic to get away from his hometown. He was afraid that he wasn’t going to find a ma- a woman to share his life and wanted to start his life somewhere new.” Aaron’s smile gave her a little insight into how the story was going to end.
“She was living here?”
Aaron shrugged. “Not quite. She was hired by the estate to sell the property as the real estate agent. When they married, they moved back to his hometown, Sylvan City.”
“Sylvan City,” she repeated the name a time or two, mulling it over in her head and on her tongue. Still, it didn’t click into place. “I’ve heard that name before, but I can’t remember why.”
“It will come to you later.” He sounded like his throat was tight around his voice. “The important thing to remember is that while he did end up buying the property he didn’t want to live here. So, he made me an offer.”
She could hear the excitement in his voice and stood there, waiting for him to explain. He had done so many things for her and the children in the past, he deserved something wonderful in his life.
“He wants me to run the place. He knows how much I love this land and my family has lived here in Mystic since the town was founded before the Revolutionary War. It’s in my veins.”
Celeste heard the conviction in his voice.
“I thought he was joking at first, after all, I have no idea how to run something like this. You give me something broken, I’ll find a way to fix it. Need a chest of drawers, a trunk, or a bed made? I’m your man.
“But a resort needs more than a bed to lay in and working lights. It needs special programs and hospitality.”
The puzzle pieces were snapping into place so quickly that she was almost out of breath. “You want my help.”