“You are technically my boss,” she chimed in, and Ashley laughed. “I won’t tell Ashley any embarrassing things if you—”
He laughed. “How about two bucks an hour?”
“Try three, and we’ve got a deal.” His niece grinned, and her boyfriend chuckled.
“Deal.” Austin glanced at Ashley, who was thoroughly enjoying the banter.
“It was nice meeting you, Ashley. I hope to see you again.”
“Same. It was lovely meeting you.” Ashley smiled, and Austin quickly led her out of the rink.
“There are no secrets in my family.” Austin sighed, glancing at Ashley.
“Oh, I think there are plenty, and it sounds like Abigail just might be the person to reveal them to me.”
Austin laughed and shook his head. “I had no idea she was such a traitor.”
“She’s really sweet.”
“She’s an amazing young lady, and her boyfriend is pretty great too.” They were making their way back to the lodge, and Ashley couldn’t help but feel a little closer to Austin. There was something about seeing the dynamics of a family that revealed so much in very small ways.
“I bet that drives her dad crazy.” Ashley smiled.
“It does.” He nodded in agreement. “But they’re good kids.”
“I believe it. Silver Ridge seems like an amazing place to raise a family.”
He stopped walking and drew a breath. “I wouldn’t want to raise a family anywhere else.” Austin’s eyes stayed on hers, and she felt a wave of longing roll through her. “It’s a special place.”
“Especially when you own the place.” Ashley chuckled, and he nodded.
“Well, there’s that.”
They started walking toward the side entrance to the lodge, only the crunch of their feet on the snow, and Ashley took in the beautiful surroundings.
When they got inside the lodge, the warmth filled Ashley up with hope, but she wasn’t sure what for. A pleasant quiet had sat between them for several minutes, and her mind raced with giddiness about the night ahead. Would they spend the night together? Would they spend more time together before she left? Had she scared him off with all the loneliness talk?
“I think Erika is working tonight,” Austin’s voice pulled her from her downward spiral of thoughts. “You met her, right?”
“I did.” Ashley smiled, fondly remembering the friendly bartender. “She was the highlight of my night.”
Austin clutched his chest. “I thought that might have been me.”
“You were a strong second, but you barely uttered more than a sentence to me.”
“I had business to take care of,” he teased as he led them to the lounge where the dating event had taken place.
“I have to tell you that the lounge looks much more welcoming now that there aren’t so many—”
“Predators waiting for their next prey?” He laughed, shaking his head.
“Exactly. I was so out of place. It didn’t even occur to me to dress up.” Ashley laughed as she followed Austin to a table by the window. “I just knew another snowstorm was about to hit, and I didn’t want to be trapped in the freezing temps.”
His laughter filled the bar, and Erika waved at them both, lighting up for some reason when she spotted Ashley.
“You definitely left a lot up to the imagination,” he agreed. “Just like today.”
Ashley glanced down at her sweater. “My sweater’s not a turtleneck.”
“No.” His smile only widened. “But your long underwear underneath is.”
Ashley’s hand flew up to her neck. “It’s not as tall as my others.”
Austin laughed. “You’re right. I can actually see your neck this time. First time in days.”
Ashley threw her head back in a fit of giggles. “And you’re the one who wanted to ask me out.”
“I love every minute of it.” His voice was low and sexy, and a thrill of expectation ran through her as she brought her gaze to his.
“Me too, actually.”
“Good.” Satisfaction ran through his eyes, and she dropped her gaze to the drink menu.
“I think I’m going to get something warm and sweet.” She let out a hum as she scanned the drink menu. “And strong.”
Erika bounded over to the table, and Austin smiled.
“Hi, Ashley.” She waved. “I don’t know if you remember me from that night, but I’m Erika.”
“I totally remember you.” Ashley smiled.
“You were her favorite person from that night,” Austin added.
“Ouch,” Erika hissed. “That’s gotta sting for a guy like you.”
Ashley giggled, and Austin rolled his eyes. “I don’t know if this was such a good idea.”
“I think it is a perfect beginning to the night.” Ashley glanced at Erika, who looked to be beaming at her boss.
“If you don’t mind, I’m going to excuse myself for a few minutes. I have to check on something.” He looked toward one of the lifts that no longer circulated. “A winter ale would be great.”
“Sure thing.” Erika nodded and turned her attention to Ashley. “How about you?”
Ashley watched Austin hurry away and let out a deep breath.
“I think I need something to warm me up and get me through the night.”
“Something warm and strong.” Erika winked. “I’ve got the perfect thing.”
“Thanks.” Ashley tilted her head and thought about asking Erika about her boss. She wanted to know everything there was to know about Austin North, and she didn’t even know why. It wasn’t like it would matter this time next year. She’d be settled into her new life with her new family.
“You okay?” Erika asked.
Ashley turned her attention back to Erika and bit her bottom lip. “Sorry. Just . . .”
“If it means anything to you, Austin isn’t really a dater.”
“What do you mean?”
“He tends to avoid relationships.”
“Oh.” Ashley’s shoulders sagged slightly. She certainly wasn’t expecting a relationship with Austin, but hearing those words still made her chest tighten.
“In fact, he doesn’t take women out on dates, really at all. He’s married to the resort.” She looked around. “As you can see.”
“I can understand why, though.”
“Me too, but most can’t.”
“But like I said about dates . . .” Erika glanced around the bar. “He doesn’t do this.”
“This?” Ashley asked.
“Yeah. Ice skating, right?”
Ashley nodded.
“And drinks and dinner?” she continued.
“That’s the plan.” Ashley nodded.
“I’m happy to see it because he’s just never been that guy who has thought something that lasts more than a night.”
“Well, we’re still only on one night,” Ashley joked.
“Oh, girl. He’s been thinking about you nonstop since he saw you. That’s not the Austin I know. You’ve been on his mind day and night. He’s never been a relationship guy, and it seems the tides are turning.”
“So, you’re telling me Austin North has never been in a serious relationship? Not even one?” Ashley asked the bartender.
Not that she was one to talk. The last time she was in a relationship was over a decade ago, and she was never fully invested. She liked the family she was looking after far better than anything she could dream up with her ex.
Erika, the bartender, nodded and scanned the room. “I can tell you that he has slept with plenty of women. He just chooses to avoid relationships.”
“Well, that’s probably still his game plan.” Ashley noticed Austin making his way back over. “I’m headed out of town in three weeks. Moving for my job. So, my guess is that I’m the perfect candidate for his needs.”
Erika’s expression fell. “Regardless of your plans, I see something more in his eyes when he looks at you.”
“Thanks.” Ashley grinned. “Bu
t I’m completely fine with just a little fun and nothing more. No need to be his wingman.”
Erika laughed and shook her head. “I could never be that man’s wingman, but I’d better go get your drinks before the boss sits down.”
“That spells trouble to me,” Austin teased as Erika scurried away. “My favorite employee talking to my date.”
He sighed and sat down with a glint in his eyes.
“Well, she certainly filled me in.”
“Oh, no.” He propped his elbow on the table and let out a low growl in defeat. “I’m surprised you’re not running for the door.”
“I think I’m pretty safe.”
His eyes flicked to hers, and she smiled. “I might regret that assumption, but something tells me I’m not your typical type.” She punched the top of her turtleneck and pulled it on before snapping it loose. “Even when I try to be less uptight, I sneak a pair of long underwear on, just in case.”
“Just gives me more time to unwrap you.”
“Whoa.” Ashley smiled as Erika delivered their drinks and left them alone. “What makes you think I’d ever let you even think about undressing me?”
His smile only widened as his gaze stayed on locked on Ashley’s, and every butterfly in the universe seemed to be fluttering around in her stomach, one flap at a time.
“I can see it in your eyes. I know exactly what you were thinking about back on the ice to make you fall.”
“Absurd.” Ashley dismissed Austin’s comments, but a part of her wondered if he actually could sense her thoughts.
“Is it?” He took a sip of his ale and set the glass down.
“Maybe not,” she muttered under her breath before taking a sip of what looked like apple cider.
The moment the sweet liquid touched her lips, she let out a little moan of ecstasy and closed her eyes.
“This is the best drink I’ve ever had. It’s like liquid gold.”
“Must be one of Erika’s specials. She makes a cider drink that is out of this world.”
Ashley blinked her eyes open and grinned happily. “That’s what this is. It’s so good. I could drink a tub of that stuff.”
“Now that is something I’d like to see.”
Ashley wiggled her finger at him. “Don’t even think for a second that alcohol will make me throw caution to the wind.”
“I never would.”
“Good.” She didn’t want to confess to him that she’d already thrown caution right out the door the moment she fell right on top of him and felt every single bulge of his body.
“You love what you do,” he stated.
“Being a nanny?” she asked and nodded before he responded. “I love it. Taking care of families is such a privilege.”
“How so?” Austin asked.
“Well, for starters . . .” She sucked on her bottom lip, trying to find a way to explain it. “A family is trusting me with their children. I’m being allowed to see the good, the bad, and the ugly of the family at the most intimate times. That’s an honor to be trusted in that way.”
“Any family is lucky to have you.”
She shook her head. “I’m lucky to have them. Each family I’ve been with has shown me more about love than my family could ever dream.” Her heart stopped when she realized what she’d just confessed. Spending time with Austin was about fun and carefree attitudes, not burdening him with her life story.
“Really?”
“Well, I’m probably exaggerating.” She attempted to dismiss everything, but he wouldn’t have it. His eyes stayed locked on hers, and she felt as if her heart was about to betray her.
“I doubt it.”
“No, I am.”
Austin nodded and licked his bottom lip as he contemplated what next to do or say. “I don’t believe it, but I’ll drop it since the topic makes you uncomfortable.”
She drew a quick breath. “The topic doesn’t make me uncomfortable, but it might make you that way, and tonight is supposed to be about fun. I want to show you that I’m fun. I’m more than merely my turtlenecks.”
Austin laughed, and his eyes still stayed fastened to hers. “You’re so much more than your turtlenecks, but I’d love to see the collection sometime.”
“Only if you’re lucky.”
“Cheers to luck.” Austin raised his glass to her mug, and they clanked them together. “So, you love getting to share in other people’s families, but what about your own?”
“I thought we weren’t going there?” She chuckled nervously.
“No. I mean what about wanting to create your own family? Is that something you’ve ever wanted?”
She cleared her throat and took a sip of her cider. “I’ve never allowed myself to give it much thought.”
“Really. Not at all?” Austin’s brows rose.
She shook her head. “I’ve never been one of those girls to dream about weddings or finding Prince Charming. I guess I knew better.”
“But you see it with the families you stay with?” he prompted.
“See what?”
“Love.”
“I do, and I realize it’s better suited for me in the short-term. I see the family while it’s becoming a family, before everything turns bad, the kids grow up, and the parents divorce.”
“Don’t you think the bad happens before the kids grow up? Some signs along the way? I mean, do you see that kind of stuff?”
She chuckled. “Of course, remember? The good, the bad, and the ugly. That’s probably why I like to go on from one family to the next. I don’t have to see the real, real ugly.”
“Looking at you, the way you smile, laugh, joke . . . I’d never think of you as being cynical.”
“Oh, I’m not cynical.” She shook her head. “Just realistic when it comes to love.”
“You don’t think love exists?” he questioned, his voice lowering.
“I know it exists.” She smiled. “I just don’t believe it’s in the cards for me. I didn’t exactly have the greatest examples growing up, so why screw it up for someone else?”
Darn it. Back to the family again. How does Austin keep leading her back there?
“Anyway, I’m about done with my drink.” She took another sip. “So maybe we should get another or—”
“It’s about time for our reservations.” Austin smiled at Ashley, but she saw sadness etched into his expression, and she wondered if she’d just ruined her chances for a little bit of fun.
Chapter Twelve
Austin could almost taste the discomfort Ashley felt from bringing up her family, and he felt horrible about it. He’d always had a close relationship with his family. His parents had divorced, and his father went off with the new family, but his mother and grandmother had somehow made it almost unnoticeable.
Granted, there were times when he was very resentful of his father, but he never felt cheated. His mother and grandmother were strong women who showed all his brothers and him how to be respectable men, unlike his father.
But his mom and grandma were incredible role models. In fact, he often thought his mom had an inkling about his father from the very beginning, because he and his brothers didn’t take their father's last name. North is his mother’s name, and it made him proud.
Everyone had family stuff.
Everyone.
Yet, there was something haunting Ashley, and she didn’t want to reveal a single thing to him about what it was. That little fact he knew. She’d clam up and turn away from him on the mere mention of her family, and it broke his heart because whatever was bothering her made it nearly impossible for her to even have a relationship.
Or at least that was Austin’s guess. Not that he was a psychiatrist or anything, but he had a sneaking suspicion that whatever she missed when she was a child was something that she craved from these other families without the risk of getting hurt.
And here Ashley Malone was, sitting in front of him, drinking wine, and cutting into her steak as she pretended he hadn’t almost opene
d the lid to something she didn’t want to face.
“Filet cooked to perfection?” he asked, trying to shake off his curiosity.
“Beyond.” She smiled and took another bite. “Are you asking as the head of operations or a date?”
“Both,” he teased and glanced around the restaurant.
They’d moved from the bar to the steakhouse, and he’d been careful not to mention anything about family.
The problem, however, was that he wanted to know so much more about Ashley Malone. He wanted to know everything there was about her, and she didn’t want to reveal much of anything.
“What do you do in your spare time?” he asked, watching her avoid his gaze.
“Well, I can tell you what I didn’t do.” She looked out the window.
“How so?”
She let out a sigh. “Honestly, I feel like I’ve wasted more time than not, especially with the Finns. They watched their children far more than I ever did. There was so much I could have done with my time. So much.”
“Like what?” He was genuinely curious what Ashley felt she missed out on.
“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “Maybe take online courses, finish my degree online, or take classes that would help my future.” She let out a low, slow breath. “And before I know it, I’ll be forty, and what do I have to show for my life?”
Her words shocked him, and he instantly reached for her hand across the table. “You’re an incredible woman, Ashley. People’s degrees or assets aren’t what prove a person’s worth.”
“Says the man who owns a world-class resort,” she teased, and he laughed.
“Well, I should know.” He cleared his throat and steadied his eyes on hers. He saw a flash of pain behind her gaze and wished he could take it away, whatever it was. “I seemingly have everything, right?”
“I’d say you’re closer than most,” she agreed, giggling a little as she looked around the restaurant.
“I have a confession.” Austin smiled and leaned across the table.
“What’s your confession?” Ashley whispered, and her lips turned up into a beautiful smile, nearly melting Austin on the spot.
He imagined seeing that smile when he had her under him, kissing the most sensitive parts of her body as he ran his fingers along her silky skin.
A Surprising Fact About Love: Small Town Romance (Silver Ridge Series Book 4) Page 10