“You know the way to my heart.” I opened it and took a big whiff and then a tentative sip. “Strong. Planning to take advantage of me tonight?”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “I don’t kiss on the first date.”
“Prude.”
The horse kicked up its hooves and we were off. We were lucky that it hadn’t snowed in a few days and the carriage wheels moved smoothly. Luke handled the reins easily.
We took turns sipping from the thermos on the way down the mountain. A light snow started to fall, making me feel like I was in a snow globe.
“When did you decide that you wanted to stay here?” I asked. “When you left school, you said it was just temporary.”
“I thought it was,” he admitted. “But after a few months, I realized that I really like doing this. I like being my own boss, working at a place that has so much history for my family.”
“You’re good at it,” I said. “Your employees love working here.”
He nudged me. “Are you trying to say that you love having me as your boss?”
“I’m serious, Luke. It’s pretty impressive what you’ve managed to do here.”
“Thanks.” He smirked at me. “I think you’ll come to find that there are a lot of things about me that are impressive.”
I rolled my eyes. “Not tonight, I won’t. You already shot me down.”
“I take it back,” he said hurriedly. “I was just joking.”
I looped my arm through his and rested my head on his shoulder. “This is really nice. Thank you.”
“It’s only just beginning.”
When we finally made it to Ground, one of the resort workers was waiting to take control of the horse. Luke handed over the reins and helped me out of the carriage.
“How are we going to get home?” I wondered.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said, taking my hand again to lead me into Sid’s. It was the resort’s most popular bar because it had an old jukebox and a dance floor. I had come with Gary and Elsie on Wednesday night and been surprised to find it hopping. Tonight was more of the same.
“Stick with me,” he said, holding my hand tighter as he guided us through the crowd toward the back.
He opened the door to the storage room. “Take your clothes off,” he said with a smile.
“What?”
“The coat. Hat. Gloves. Scarf.” He started to take off his own outerwear. “We can leave everything back here so we don’t overheat in the bar.”
It made sense. I was already starting to sweat. When I got down to my last layer, I was glad that I had chosen a form-fitting sweater instead of one of my oversized ones. This was a first date, after all.
“Alright,” Luke said with a nod. “Now we’re ready to party.”
He’d even planned ahead and had a table reserved. Two bottles of beer were waiting for us.
I sighed as I sat down.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Nothing.” I was at a loss for words. “Everything is perfect.”
“Then why do you look like someone just plucked one of your nose hairs?” He inched his chair closer to mine so we wouldn’t have to shout over the music.
How could I explain to him what I was feeling without sounding like an emotional train wreck?
“I think you’re too good for me, Luke. I don’t deserve all of this.”
“It’s just a beer in a dive bar, Em.” He looked like he wanted to smile, but was afraid that it wasn’t appropriate. “That Jared must’ve really done a number on you if you think this is too much.”
I took a long drink. “I don’t want to talk about Jared.”
“No complaints here.” He shrugged. “Let’s talk about your favorite things about me instead.”
I smiled. “What will we do after those thirty seconds?”
“Funny.”
“I like your smile,” I said, feeling bold. “And your eyes. I like the way you laugh at your own jokes, even when they are terrible. I like the way you run ahead to open doors for people and the way you sing along with the holiday music in the shop.”
The way that he stared at me after that made me worry that I had gone too far. He had just been joking, after all.
“Thank you,” he said. After a pause, he added, “I like everything about you.”
“Please. You’re just saying that because you can’t come up with anything specific,” I teased.
“I like the way you play with the ends of your hair when you are uncomfortable.” He pointedly looked at where my hand was twisting a strand of hair. “I like the way you bite your lip when you’re thinking and the way you always remember random facts about people you’ve barely met. I like how you look just as beautiful having coffee on your deck in the morning without any makeup on as you do tonight.”
And then, just when I thought he couldn’t get any sweeter, he nearly ruined it by adding, “I like the way that sweater fits you.”
“Such a charmer,” I said quietly, feeling a little breathless.
“Come on. Let’s dance.” Luke grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet before I realized what was happening.
“I don’t know how to dance to this,” I said, looking around uncomfortably.
Luke grinned. “Neither do I. That’s what makes it fun.”
We joined the back of the dancers, watching their moves for a few seconds before attempting to join in. I had never attempted line dancing, and it was pretty apparent why. Luke was only slightly less terrible than me.
“Two steps, then you kick,” he said.
“I don’t think that’s right.”
We ended up colliding into each other, breaking down in laughter. It took us three songs, but eventually we were able to keep up for at least part of the dance. When they finally switched to a slow song, I was relieved.
“That was a nightmare,” I said, stepping easily into Luke’s arms.
My arms went around his neck, his around my lower back. We swayed slowly, bodies pressing gently against each other.
“This is my dream coming true,” he countered.
“It’s really too bad you don’t kiss on the first date,” I said, my lips just two inches from his.
“I might be willing to make an exception,” he said.
“Denver!”
We both snapped away, flustered.
“Carl.” Luke regained his composure quickly. “What’s wrong?”
“There’s a blizzard coming, boss. We need to prepare for shut down.” Carl never even looked at me.
“Shut down? What does that mean?”
Luke reached for his phone. “If the snow gets too bad on the roads, we lock down the resort. It isn’t safe for people to be out in blizzard conditions.”
“Is it really going to be that bad?”
Carl eyed me like I was an idiot. “I wouldn’t be raising an alarm if it wasn’t.”
“Can you give me a second, Carl?” Luke gave him a pointed look and he surprisingly took the hint. “Emma, I’m sorry. We’re going to have to cut the date short.”
“No apology necessary. You need to take care of this.” I noticed that the snow was falling heavily out the window.
“I’ll have Carl drive you home.”
“I’m sure he’ll be pumped about that.”
Luke gave me a shaky smile. “Look at it this way-you’ll get a day off work tomorrow.”
“Sweet.” I faked a smile for his benefit. “Be safe out there, okay?”
“Of course.” He leaned over and whispered in my ear. “I plan to cash in that kiss as soon as possible.”
Carl was openly hostile about the request to take me home, but he did as Luke asked. I tried to make small talk with him, but he reached over and cranked up the radio to drown me out. The weather was indeed supposed to become dangerous. With snowfall accumulating overnight, we were looking at a potential of two-feet of snow in the next few days.
They weren’t wrong.
The next morning when I woke
up, we had already added eight inches of snow and it was still falling. I was able to sit on the lower deck and watch it come down, the upper deck keeping me dry. It was actually quite beautiful.
Luke had shut down the resort proactively and while it meant I got a day off work, it meant that Luke was busier than ever. I was starting to feel lonely trapped in my giant mountain home.
I couldn’t even call anyone because the signal was out. It was the perfect opening scene of a horror movie.
To distract myself from those thoughts, I cranked up the radio and started dancing around while I cleaned. The hardwood floors were pretty, but they also accumulated dust like crazy.
When that was done, I started a fire in the bedroom. The music was still playing which was why I didn’t realize that I was no longer alone.
“Emma!” A hand clamped down on my shoulder.
“Ah!” I whirled and swung my fist, catching Luke in the jaw.
His head snapped back and he grunted. “Ouch.”
“Oh my gosh. I’m so sorry.” I reached for him, feeling like a total jerk. “You surprised me.”
“It’s okay. I never should’ve let myself in like that. But the phones aren’t working and you didn’t hear me knocking…” he stopped talking the minute my fingers touched his skin.
“I didn’t hurt you bad, did I?” His jaw was just a little red.
“You have a pretty good hook,” he said solemnly. “Only one thing is going to make me feel better.”
My eyes narrowed as I anticipated where he was going. “What’s that?”
His arm circled around me and he pulled me close. “A kiss.”
I was happy to oblige.
Our first kiss was tender and sweet. When it was over, I instantly wanted more. Fortunately, Luke wasn’t in a hurry to leave.
“It’s getting pretty bad out there,” he said, still holding me. “It’s not safe to be out after dark.”
“No, it’s not,” I agreed. “You should probably stay here until morning.”
“Just until morning?”
I thought about it. “Longer would be okay. Did you have a timeline in mind?”
“I was thinking about forever,” he said, giving me his adorable smile that he knew I could never resist. “Does forever work for you?”
I returned his smile. “Make it longer.”
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Love in London
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Love in London
Stepping out onto the sidewalk again felt like leaving behind a magical world. We were instantly back in London, surrounded by millions of people.
We fell into step with them, back in step with the city. It was easy to stroll next to Dexter, taking in the neighborhood. He liked to point out his favorite pubs and bookshops, giving me his own personal guided tour of the city.
With his baseball hat pulled low over his eyes, very few people seemed to recognize him. I only spotted a couple people pointing in our direction. I wondered if Dexter ever got used to the attention.
“I feel like I’m on a date with a movie star or something,” I said, noticing a group of people taking our picture. “Does it ever bother you?”
“I barely even notice.” He kept his eyes straight ahead as we walked. “People are only fascinated because I’m young. In a couple of years, no one will care how much I’m worth.”
“Give yourself more credit than that.” Even I, a pop culture deviant, could appreciate his legacy. He had created one of the most successful websites in history, not to mention developing an entirely new way for people to communicate. “You’ve done something pretty amazing.”
“It’s just a job, Taylor.” He seemed almost annoyed by my comment. “There’s more to me than just my success with Scuttle.”
“I know.” I grabbed his arm, forcing him to stop and look at me. “You know I don’t care about any of that right? I liked you before I ever knew about your company, back when I was just a clumsy girl throwing water in your lap.”
A cocky smile spread over his face. “I knew you liked me. Now you’re grabbing my arm, pretty soon you’ll be inviting me into your bed.”
“And that moment was just ruined…” I rolled my eyes. “Forget what I just said. I used to like you-until I was exposed to your arrogant, gross alter-ego.”
“It was only a matter of time.” He pointed to the structure in front of us. “Second stop-straight up.”
“Up?” I looked toward the top of the pillar and was surprised to see an observatory deck. “What is this place?”
“The Monument.” He pointed to a sign nearby giving the history of the landmark. “It was built to commemorate the Great Fire of London. 311 steps all the way up so we better get started.”
I suddenly understood why he had been so adamant about comfortable shoes. “The view better be worth it.”
“It will be,” he said with certainty.
Dexter led the way as we climbed, stopping occasionally to look over his should at me. About halfway up, he asked, “The view is worth it, right?”
“Ha.” I scowled. I couldn’t deny that I had been checking out his firm butt. Since it was directly in my line of sight, I’d barely been looking at anything else. “At least now I’ve found your redeeming trait.”
“Funny,” he said, not-quite-smiling.
By the time we made it to the top, my legs were beginning to burn and I felt slightly dizzy from the winding repetition on the way up.
“Oh!” I was pleasantly surprised to find that the view had been more than worth the climb. “Nice work, Sanders.”
“We’re still talking about my butt, right?”
“You’re incorrigible.” I slapped his arm and he caught my hand, pulling me out further.
Dexter led us to the edge. “See that building there with the gargoyle type thing on top?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s my office.” He smiled proudly. “Scuttle takes up the top three floors.”
It was cute to see him finally showing some excitement when talking about his company. “When do I get to see the inside?”
“Whenever you want.” His hand pressed against my lower back as he looked over my shoulder. I got a whiff of his clean, manly scent and my heart jumped.
“It really is a beautiful city,” I said, more to myself than him.
“We’re just getting started.”
Dexter tapped the arm of a nearby tourist and held out his phone. “Would you take our photo?”
I was surprised. “Really?”
“We need to document this moment,” he said. “Smile.”
His arm went around my shoulders easily and I leaned into him, forcing a smile despite the butterflies in my stomach. I was surprised that the picture actually turned out pretty well.
“That figures,” I said, frowning at it.
“What?” Dexter looked at it closer.
“We’re up here with the wind whipping around after having climbed all those stairs and I look like a crazy person while you look like a model. Figures.” I handed him the phone.
“You are insane.”
I remembered what he had said just prior. “Why was it so important to document this moment?”
He leaned close, lips a few inches from my ear. “Because this is the moment where you start to realize that you are crazy about me.”
Falling for Denver (Restless Hearts) Page 4