Swiped Right by the Mountain Man (The Mountain Men of Linesworth Book 6)

by Frankie Love

  Winnie blushes. “I was thinking the same thing.”

  “And honestly, our opinions aren’t that opposing,” I say, turning her around, her hands on the tiled wall. Damn, her skin looks so good when it’s slick with water.

  “My ex and I didn’t agree on anything either.”

  I lift her hair, kissing her neck as my thick cock rubs against her pretty ass. “I don’t want to talk about your ex, Windsor.”

  Her shoulders shake as she laughs softly. “Duly noted. I don’t want to know about your conquests either.”

  I run my cock up and down her ass, her back arching as she offers me herself.

  I slip a hand between her legs, her sweet pussy so warm and wanting. “Not one of them matter when I’m with you.”

  “Don’t, Wyatt.”

  “Don’t what?” I spin her around, taking hold of her hands and pinning them over her head.

  “Don’t get your heart involved.”

  “Too late,” I say, lifting her up, and easing her down onto my cock. Her back is against the wall and water sprays down on us. Her tits are so round and ripe that I dip my head, pulling a hard nipple into my mouth.

  “God,” she whimpers as my cock begins to fill her up nice and good. Fucking in the shower, pressed against the wall is a goddamn dream. She looks so good, feels so good. I know I’ll need her again.

  “You feel so right, baby,” I moan as I thrust my cock into her eager cunt. She clings to me, her mouth on my neck, my ear. “Make me come,” she whispers.

  And I do. I get Winnie off the way she wants and needs and when we finish, she slides off me, gasping for breath. I kill the shower, the hot, steamy bathroom is going to overheat both of us if we’re not careful.

  She lets her head fall against the shower wall, her fingers massaging her neck. “I needed that.”

  As I reach for towels, I remember her red-rimmed eyes. “Today rough?”

  She nods. “The loan I wanted, for my juice bar? It got declined.”

  “Shit.” Guilt settles over me.

  “I know.” She wraps the towel around her as we step out of the shower. “It was my dream, you know? I had a logo made and everything, Fresh Fit Juice Bar was going to be the name. But now all that is going to go on hold.”

  “Can you start on a smaller scale?”

  “Yeah,” she says. We get dressed as she talks. “I can do the farmer’s market in the spring and save up. But I went to business school and know the profit margins. I need to scale up to make money at this.”

  “You went to business school?”

  She nods. “Yep, just graduated.”

  “I went to Montana State for business.”

  She lifts her eyebrows. “So, there are some brains under all that brawn, is there?”

  “Ha,” I deadpan. “But honestly, Winnie, I’m sorry. It sounds like it meant the world you.”

  She shrugs. “Well, at least tonight I won’t have to face my ex alone.”

  “You think having me by your side will make you feel better?” I can’t deny that the idea feels good.

  She steps toward me, runs her hand over my beard and nods. “Actually, yes, Wyatt. I do.”

  Pride surges in my chest. Damn, the idea of being her man feels so good. Thank god we both swiped right.

  Chapter 8

  Windsor

  After the warehouse sex, I go home and group text Tillie and Kensie. Even though my sister is out of town with her husband-to-be Kodiak, I can’t not fill them in on the developments in my life.

  Me: The loan wasn’t approved. :(

  Kensie: Really? I’m SOOOOO sorry.

  Tillie: Want me to beat that loan officer up?

  I smile, trying to imagine innocent Tillie beating anyone up. Kensie could sure, just try to take away her iPhone and that girl will go batshit crazy.

  Me: And I have the auction tonight. Mark will be there. So, my day is officially shit.

  Kensie: Tell Mom you can’t go. Boundaries, girl!

  My thumbs hover over the keypad. I get what she is saying, but I wanted to go tonight. Mark be damned.

  Me: Actually, I’m going. With a date.

  Kensie: WTF? WHO?

  I bite my lip, suppressing a smile. Remembering the way Wyatt’s hands worked themselves over me in the shower. I guess maybe I don’t mind workouts if they are led by him.

  Me: Wyatt. We just hooked up again. I can’t believe my life right now.

  Tillie: TIMBER FOR THE WIN!

  Kensie: I thought you hated him?

  Me: I thought so too.

  The thread derails from there, Kensie starts talking about making sure I wear the red dress Mark loved and Tillie says I ought to give Wyatt a chance. Maybe he is more than a hook-up. I scoff at that in the form of aghast emojis, but deep down, I’m wondering the same thing.

  There is something about Wyatt. When I’m around him, I feel so sexy and funny and wanted. I like feeling those things.

  I like feeling those things with him. And maybe he is right. Maybe our differences are surface level. Maybe there is hope for us yet.

  Later, as he takes my hand as we get out of the truck, I feel that flicker of hope again.

  “You know I’m dying to rip this dress off of you, right?” He leans in, whispering in my ear and his hand is on the small of my back as he leads me inside the auction hall. In the end, I went for a light blue dress, preferring to match Wyatt’s clear blue eyes over Mark’s personal tastes. I’m happy with my decision as Wyatt’s eyes linger on me.

  “You clean up pretty nice yourself,” I tell him. “This is a big change from blue jeans and sweaty workout clothes.”

  He tugs at the collar of his button-down shirt. “A good change?”

  I nod, kissing him on the cheek. “You look great, but I admit to preferring bearded men in flannel shirts.”

  He chuckles as we reach the registration table. I give Tanya, the woman working the line my name, though she already knows it, of course, most everyone in town knows who I am. That’s what happens when you aren’t a tourist in a tourist town.

  When we get inside the auction hall, I see my parents and point them out to Wyatt.

  “That’s my mom and dad. We need to go say hello.”

  He lifts his eyebrows in surprise. “This must be serious, you and me. You already want me to meet the parents.”

  I place a hand on my hip. “Don’t make this weird.”

  “Why would I make it weird?” Then he runs a hand over his beard. “Except when they ask how we met, what would you like me to say?”

  “Right. Uh, if they ask, just say we met at the pub.”

  We walk toward them, and I give my mom a hug. “Wyatt these are my parents, Jim and Susan.”

  “Great to meet you,” my dad says.

  “You too, sir,” Wyatt says, shaking his hand.

  “It’s a great turnout, Dad. I see everyone is here.”

  “Yeah, and remember the benefit for Luke this summer?”

  “I wasn’t there. I was babysitting Clive and Hazel’s little ones.”

  “Oh, right. Well, the local band, Heart Song played. Everyone loved them so much that we booked them for tonight.”

  “They sound great,” Wyatt says, and we all turn toward the band on stage.

  The four of us scan the room and I admit to looking for Mark. But Dad pulls us back into the conversation before I can spot him.

  “So sorry about the loan, sweetie,” he says. “I know you were counting on it. Do you think maybe tomorrow we could grab a cup of coffee and talk?”

  I nod, not wanting to cry. My parents have always been so supportive of me, always behind my decisions.

  “Don’t cry, Win. You’ll ruin your makeup,” my mother says.

  I take the tissue she hands me and blot my eyes. “It’s just hard to give up on a dream.”

  Wyatt squeezes my hand. “You’re not giving up on anything. The timing is just different than you expected.”

  My parents give Wyat
t warm smiles, and I’m glad he’s making a good first impression. God, why do I care if he is or not? He was supposed to come as arm candy, nothing more.

  Except I know he is.

  So much more.

  “I’m going to grab us some drinks, Winnie.” Then looking at my parents he adds, “Can I get you anything?” They shake their heads, and he squeezes my shoulder. “I’ll be right back.”

  When he leaves, my mother practically squeals. She is the most hopeless romantic I’ve ever known. Why else would she name her daughters after royal palaces? She says it’s because Kensington and I are her happily-ever-after.

  “Windsor!” she exclaims. “Where exactly did you meet this man?”

  “At the pub. Last week. He seems nice, right?”

  “It seems like he likes you,” my dad says. Right then, Clive and Hazel pause to say hello. After working as their nanny last summer, I feel a connection with this sweet-as-sugar couple.

  “Who likes whom?” Hazel asks, giving me a side hug.

  “Wyatt is here is with Win,” Dad explains.

  “Wyatt, the CrossFit trainer?” Clive asks. When I nod, he adds, “Nice, he’s a stand-up guy. Charlie and I took him out on the mountain a few times when he first got to town. He’s had dinner with us a few times too. I give my approval.”

  I feel my cheeks heat up and Hazel notices. Tapping her lips with the finger, she looks like she’s trying to remember something. “How is it for a vegan like yourself to date a meat eater like Wyatt?”

  “It’s been a... learning curve.”

  She smiles. “Hey, I know you hate working out, but maybe Wyatt can bring you over to the dark side. Then maybe you would come to the Pilates Greta and I keep trying to get you to join.”

  “Don’t hold your breath,” I say with a laugh.

  “It’s awesome he got the space for his gym. That warehouse is going to be perfect,” Clive adds. “It’s awesome that his funding went through. I know I’ll be at the CrossFit gym all the time.”

  I try to absorb his words, but it feels like a gut punch. The warehouse where we had sex today is the space for his own gym? Why didn’t he tell me? Trying not to show my emotions, I focus on the conversation, feeling my stomach flu-flop with jealousy. Wyatt got his loan approved and I didn’t.

  “You mean you’ll be at the gym when you’re not on diaper duty?” Hazel says, swatting his arm playfully.

  “Exactly.” He wraps his arms around his wife. “We’re gonna go mingle. See what’s up for auction.”

  I nod, watching them leave, my eyes falling on Wyatt across the room.

  He has a drink in hand, and he’s clapping a man on the shoulder, laughing like they are long, lost friends.

  When the man turns around, I see it is none other than Mark.

  My ex.

  Chapter 9

  Wyatt

  When Windsor walks up to me, I can tell right away something is wrong. I hand her the white wine I got for her, explaining I don’t have a drink because the beer keg is just getting hooked up right now, but she isn’t concerned about the drinks.

  “Why are you standing with him?” she asks, her eyes flaring with frustration.

  “What do you mean?” I look over at Mark, the guy who processed my bank loan. He just came over saying we should have a congratulatory drink.

  “Hello, Winnie,” Mark says to her, obviously familiar with the woman I have my eyes on. Well, more than eyes. She has my goddamn heart. “You look great tonight, as always.”

  “Don’t talk to me,” she says to Mark, her words icy. “And you Wyatt, why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Tell you what?” I ask.

  “That you got approved. That your gym,” she says, blinking back tears. “That your gym is opening up.”

  “Hey,” I say, trying to wrap an arm around her shoulder, but she steps back.

  “Are you guys friends or something?” she asks, looking between Mark and me.

  Mark gives her a smug smile. “Yes, Winnie, we are.”

  “Are you kidding me?” she asks incredulously.

  “Why do you care?” Mark sneers and points to me. “You’d hate this guy.”

  “Why is that?” I ask, crossing my arms, hating the idea of Winnie really, truly hating me. Sure, we disagree on some things, and we know how to argue--but hate?

  Impossible.

  When I took her in the shower this afternoon, it was about more than sex.

  “Because I know Winnie,” Mark says with a sly grin. “Really know her.”

  “You know shit, Mark,” she bites back. “You’re a cheating bastard and my one regret is that I didn’t break up with you earlier. I should have known, should have trusted myself. You always had the perfect lines and perfect dates and perfect hair. But I don’t want perfect.”

  “What do you want, Windsor?” I ask, desperate for her to say it’s me she wants. Only me.

  She blinks back tears, shaking her head. “Why didn’t you tell me you got funding?” she asks, this time her voice soft.

  “I know. I should have mentioned it this afternoon but--”

  She lifts her hands. “You know what, Wyatt? I’ve been played once. I don’t want to be played again. We met on Timber, there’s no way this could be real. You and I are a bad idea in a hundred different ways. You’re buddy-buddy with Mark, of all people, for goodness sakes. I’m not going to let you break my heart on top of everything else.”

  Then she walks away from me. I reach for her arm, but her eyes are so wounded. “Please” she whispers. “Let me go without making a scene. Half the town is here. The last thing you need as a new business owner, Wyatt, is having people talk behind your back.”

  I let her go, hating that she’s walking away.

  Wishing like hell I was reason enough to make her stay.

  I leave the auction before it even starts. Once Windsor leaves, all it takes is a few questions to Mark, asking why things ended between him and my girl, to realize just how shady this motherfucker is.

  No wonder Winnie’s on edge. She was cheated on by this loser.

  And to top it off, today she lost the opportunity to open her own business. I can only imagine how crushed I’d be if I were her.

  When I get to my brother’s apartment, I’m surprised to find him there. If Windsor thought I was a player, Benji brings it to a whole new level. Like me, he’s rarely at home on a weekend night--hell a weekday night. He’s the epitome of work hard, play harder.

  “Thought you’d be out tonight,” I say, reaching for a beer in the fridge. I check my phone as I do. I’ve already sent Winnie half a dozen direct messages via Timber. She hasn’t replied to any of them.

  “I’m headed out soon,” he says. “The ski slope is open for night skiing as of today.”

  “Sweet.” My word doesn’t match my tone. I feel fucking lost.

  “Dude, you look like shit.”

  I lift my eyebrow, looking down at my clothes. “You don’t like me in a button-down?”

  He laughs, taking a swig of his beer. “No, I just mean you look like you’ve had a rough night.”

  “I have.” I fill him in on everything. Meeting Windsor, losing her. Mark, the loan, the fact Winnie and I are wrong in so many ways… ways that make it right.

  “Shit, you really like this girl.”

  “She’s probably too young for me, too sweet for me, too fucking good for me. But damn, she makes me crazy, Ben.”

  “So, what are you going to do?”

  “Figure out a way to make her dreams come true.”

  “Isn’t her dream to open a juice bar?”

  I nod. “Yeah, it is.”

  I must have a crazed look in my eyes, because Benji leans forward. “Look, don’t do anything stupid unless you love her.”

  I laugh. “That’s the sage advice from my older brother?”

  “Not that much older. Thirty to your twenty-eight.”

  I run a hand through my hair, amazed at how Winnie has wrapped her way
into my heart so damn fast. She’s funny and refreshing and good and… fuck. I’m in love with her.

  “Hell,” Benji laughs. “By the look on your face, you’re screwed.”

  “Nah,” I say, thinking it through. “I’m a man with a mother-fucking plan.”

  Chapter 10

  Windsor

  It’s like nothing’s changed.

  Here I am, in my bed, looking like a hot mess. Well, just a mess, and crying over a boy.

  Is my life on auto-repeat or what? I swear I was in this exact same spot a week ago.

  But God, it feels so, so different than my break up with Mark.

  Losing Mark was losing the idea of a real-life happily-ever-after like my sister and Kodiak have. It wasn’t about him as a person. It was the idea of him. The idea of a man choosing me, over all else.

  The way I feel right now, is so much different than the agony I felt seeing Mark in bed with another woman.

  This pain is soul-crushing and heart-breaking. It’s not about not getting my juice bar. It’s about not having Wyatt.

  A knock on the door startles me and for a split second, I run my hands through my bedraggled hair terrified that it’s Wyatt who has come for me. I mean, I want him to come for me, but not looking like this.

  But then keys jam into my apartment door and Kensie and Tillie trip in with coffee and cinnamon rolls from Greta and Maggie’s bakery.

  “What are you doing back?” I ask my sister. “You and Kodiak were supposed to stay in Spokane until Monday.”

  Kensie hands me a soy latte. “We heard about the auction and left early.”

  “Seriously? Who told you?”

  My sister looks over at Tillie who speaks up. “It was kinda everyone in town. Apparently, when you have a fight in front of every business owner in Linesworth, it’s basically the entire population.”

  “Haven’t you looked at your phone?” Kensie asks pulling out the cinnamon rolls and plastic forks from the paper bag. “Mom is freaking out. She texted me like four thousand times this morning. She was on her way here, but I stopped her from coming, telling her that Tillie and I had it covered.”