Ah. Now this was the life.
Ben reclined in the zero-gravity patio chair and let the evening sun warm his face. At the moment, he couldn’t imagine a more stunning place to sit than the Walker Mountain Ranch’s patio. Built in tiers, the stones resembled slate tiles, all rustic and varying shades of the earth—gray and brown and a dusty red. The first tier, where he and Bryce sat for their pre-dinner drink, had killer chairs and furniture strewn around for lounging. A step lower, there sat a gigantic gas fire pit with handmade log benches angled on every side. The lowest tier, down at ground level, held a sparkling blue in-ground pool and three hot tubs that would surely call his name once the warm sun slid behind the mountain peaks.
Tall, lanky evergreens and pines decorated the patio edges and stretched into an endless forest that cut off the rest of the world, and wrapped him in its seclusion and mystery.
Speaking of mystery…he flicked down his sunglasses and glanced at the man who’d once played his wingman in college.
Bryce was kicked back in the chair next to him. His faithful dog, Moose, sprawled out between them.
“So what’s Paige’s story, anyway?” Ben asked casually.
Bryce took a swig of sweet tea and set the glass on the table between them. “Whadda you mean?” His eyes narrowed the same way they used to when he’d lecture him about commitment during their sophomore year.
What could Ben say? He’d never lucked out in the dating department like Bryce had. The guy met his first wife, Yvonne, when they were like six, dated her forever, then married her. After he’d lost Yvonne in a Jeep accident, he’d met and married Avery in less than a year. And Ben had never seen two people so perfect for each other. Somehow the guy had found the real deal twice. Damned if he could find it just once.
He shrugged and gazed out at the peaks. “Elsie mentioned some asshole had done a number on her. Just wondering who it was.” The more information he had on the situation, the better off he’d be. Then he could figure out how to undo the damage that guy had done.
“Okay. You wanna know about that guy?” Bryce leaned in, got in his face. “Actually he reminds me of you.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. His family was filthy rich. He thought pretty highly of himself,” Bryce said, easing his back against the chair again. “He was known for racking up the marks on his bedroom wall.”
The comment hit its intended target. “Sophomore year was a decade ago, man.” He’d be the first to admit it wasn’t his best year. He’d gotten wrapped up in the parties, the booze, the women. Took him a while, but eventually he did get his head on straight. Bryce knew that.
“For some reason the guy decided he was interested in Paige,” Bryce went on. “He was a senior, she was a sophomore. They dated, got close. After he went to college, he’d come in and out of the picture. But she never slept with him because she wanted something real first. A committed relationship.” The way Bryce emphasized the word made it sound like Ben didn’t even know what it meant.
“When she was nineteen, he came back to visit. Told her he’d need something to remember her by. Something to bond them.” Bryce didn’t have to finish. He caught the meaning. He’d talked her into sleeping with him.
“Then the guy never called her again,” Bryce growled.
Blood pumped through Ben’s arms hot and fast. “What a prick.”
“Yeah.” Bryce gave him a pissed-off look. “Only reason I know about it is ’cause she showed up here the next day, shitfaced and heartbroken.” Bryce pointed at him, face stern as a grumpy old man’s. “Which is why you shouldn’t get any ideas about her, Noble. I’ve seen how you are with women, remember? There’s no way I’m letting you go after my little sister.”
“I’m not saying I’m gonna go after her.” He hadn’t said it, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t. “Just curious about her, that’s all. What the story with her family?”
Leaning back, Bryce swiped his glass off the table and stared at the mountain peaks. “She’s had it rough. They’re a piece of work.”
He grinned. “Whose family isn’t?”
“Yeah, well at least your mom’s the only crazy one in your bunch. She’s got four siblings who give her all kinds of shit for not pulling her weight with their precious café.”
Lord help him, he couldn’t hide his amusement. “So a vegetarian is forced to serve a bunch of charred meat to a room full of carnivores.”
Bryce laughed. “Sounds about right. She avoids it as much as possible, but sometimes they guilt her into it.”
He thought back to the restaurant, to how Paige’s face had been so flushed, so flustered. “It didn’t seem like waitressing was her thing.”
Bryce finished off his tea. “How bad was it?”
“Let’s just say, J and I had to get Gracie out of there before things exploded. Not Paige’s fault, by the way.”
“That’s what I was afraid of.” Bryce kneaded his forehead as though fending off a headache. “Will your mom be okay with this? I mean, I know she’s not planning to go on the trip with you, but will she have a problem with Paige?”
She already had a problem with Paige. That’d started the second she’d seen the interested look on his face. “Yes. She most definitely will have a problem with her. But she’ll get over it.”
“You sure? The last thing I need is Gracie Hunter Noble making trouble for me around here. We’re still trying to get established.”
His mother wouldn’t make trouble. He wouldn’t let her. “You guys have done a great job with the place, by the way,” he said, glancing around the pool area again. “Can’t believe the difference from when I was here last.”
Bryce looked around, too. “It’s taken a lot of work. And money. Can’t afford any bad publicity right now, if you know what I mean.”
“Gracie’ll be fine. Don’t worry about her. I’ll take care of it.” Just like he always did. He’d learned how to manage his mother.
Wind rustled the pine needles. Ben’s gaze drifted back to the pool, the shimmering water. He could see himself and Paige there. His arms wrapped around her slick, wet skin…
Bryce gave him a suspicious look. “Don’t get any ideas about Paige. Got it?”
Too late. He’d already gotten ideas. One glance at the pool’s glassy surface and he couldn’t stop thinking about how great it’d be to meet her for a midnight rendezvous, swimsuits optional.
“Seriously. She’s had enough assholes disappoint her.”
Ben slipped off his glasses and leveled Bryce with a glare. “I know you’re not calling me an asshole.”
“I’m saying she doesn’t need a fling.”
“Who said anything about a fling?” He’d had plenty of those. It was time for something different in his life.
His friend didn’t seem to agree. “You’re here for a week, then you go back to your world. We both know there’s no place for her in your world, Noble.”
Why couldn’t he decide who and what fit into his world? “I have to say, I’m a little hurt that you don’t think more highly of me. You don’t think I’m worthy of your little sister.”
“I didn’t say that.” He sighed. “She doesn’t have anyone else to look out for her, that’s all. She never has.”
Ben nodded. He got it. Bryce had been the only one who’d looked out for her.
Well, maybe it was time for him to lift that burden off his friend’s shoulders.
* * *
Ben set out the saucers and cups the way he’d seen Gracie do hundreds of times. The kitchen of their three-bedroom guest cabin offered more than he ever would’ve thought, extra-tall hickory cabinets, stainless, gleaming stone countertops, professional-grade appliances, and Bryce had it stocked with all of their favorite things, including Gracie’s jasmine and lavender tea.
The teakettle whistled, and not a moment too soon, because he heard the Escalade’s wheels crunch in the drive. They’d been out shopping all afternoon, poor Julia, and now he was on a mission to tell G
racie about Paige and convince her that it wouldn’t be a big deal.
Good luck with that. Gracie had a talent for making everything a big deal. Hearing the wheels of J’s chair grind up the wooden ramp, Ben quickly set out the milk and honey and gave one last glance at the table. Here we go.
The door opened and Gracie pushed his sister into the room, bags and boxes from all those fancy stores piled high in her lap. Good thing J had the chair. Where else would Gracie stack all of her purchases?
“I told you, Mother. I don’t like the silver shoes. I liked the red ones.”
“The red ones were so noticeable, Julia, darling. They were overstated. There’s something to be said for subtle elegance, you know.”
J gave their mother the you’re-an-idiot look reserved specifically for Gracie. “Oh, like people don’t already notice me. Hello! I’m in a wheelchair, Mother! Pretty sure that puts me way past subtle.”
Gracie uttered a long-suffering sigh and started to unload the packages from J’s chair.
At least they’d had an afternoon of shopping. Shopping seemed to be one of the only things that could loosen Gracie up.
He sauntered over. “Hey there. Anything left in the stores for all of the other poor divas?”
J rolled her eyes. “There wouldn’t be if she had anything to say about it. She wanted to buy me a fur coat, Ben. A. Fur. Coat.”
“It was on sale,” Gracie snapped.
“Yeah. For three thousand dollars.”
“Ouch.” He winked at her. “I’ll just go out and shoot somethin’ for ya. Make you your own fur coat.”
“Don’t be vulgar, Benjamin.” Gracie walked toward the kitchen table. “What on earth?”
Ben swept out his arms and bowed. “I made tea.”
But instead of smiling and saying thank you like any normal mother who was grateful that her son had turned out to be such a gentleman, she crossed her arms and tilted her head. “What do you want?”
“Nothing.” He turned up the charm in his smile. “Can’t I make my mother and sister some tea?”
J’s eyes narrowed like she was calibrating her BS detector.
Keeping her distance from the tea spread, Gracie glared at him. “I was not born yesterday, young man. I am onto all of your shenanigans. You forget I raised you.”
“I have some news, that’s all.” He pulled a chair away to make room for J at the table. Then he moved to the other side, pulled out a chair, and gestured for his mother to sit. “You’d best sit for this.”
Keeping a wary eye on him, Gracie sat straight and tall in the chair. “Really, Benjamin. Just come out with it, already.”
He waited for Julia to wheel herself to the table. Well, waited to give himself a minute. Every time he even thought about Paige, his pulse kicked up, his forehead got all hot, and he couldn’t let his mother see how much that woman shook him.
“Well?” Julia reached for the teapot and poured herself a full mug. “This better be good, Benny. I’m expecting something earth-shattering.”
Earth-shattering. That was one way to put it. Earth moving would be even better. At least the earth would move when he got his hands on Paige…
Heat pulsed through him. Okay. Now’s not the time…He pulled out a chair and slouched next to J. “Guess who our rafting guide will be?”
Gracie folded her long arms on the table and tapped a nail against the wood. “I couldn’t begin to guess.”
“Denzel Washington!” J yelled with mock enthusiasm. “No, wait! Tony Romo!”
He gave her a look. “Okay, smart-ass. It’s none of your pretend boyfriends.” God knew she had hundreds of them. “It’s Paige.”
“Paige?” Gracie’s lips curled with disdain. “That waitress girl?”
“That’d be the one,” he answered in a cheery tone.
“No.” Gracie’s palm smacked the table. “Absolutely not. The girl can’t even carry a stack of plates! How on earth can she guide a boat down a river?”
Ben rose and poured her tea. Even added the exact amount of milk and honey to bring some sweetness. “Bryce assured me she’s the best.”
“Tell him to find someone else.” His mother’s lips puckered with stubbornness.
“There is no one else.” He scooted the tea closer to her. She’d never be able to resist the aroma.
Sure enough, Gracie picked up her mug and took a sip.
“Oh, this is gonna be gooooood.” J scrubbed her hands together. “And you were talking about my pretend boyfriends. I do believe you’re blushing, Ben Noble.”
There was no denying it. His face felt like a thousand fire ants had bitten him.
“She’s incompetent.” Gracie set down the peace offering and pushed it away.
“So she’s a lousy waitress. She only works there once in a while to help out her family.”
J’s eyes got all big. “So if her family owns the café, that means she’s related to that hot redhead.”
Don’t get any ideas, missy. “I would assume he’s her much older brother.”
“Hmmm.” J raised her cup to sip and bounced her eyebrows. “Maybe she’ll give us a proper introduction.”
“Not if I have anything to say about it.” And he’d have plenty to say. Trust him. J was still too young and naïve to understand men. And since he was one, he knew exactly the way they thought.
Gracie pushed back from the table and paced. “If there are no other guides available, we’ll have to cancel. There must be another company we can—”
He jumped out of his chair and squared off with her. “What are you so afraid of, Mother?”
Her gaze avoided his. “I already told you. She’s incompetent.”
Yeah, and he was Santa Claus. He didn’t have to be a mind reader to figure out Gracie’s problem with Paige. She knew him well enough to know he saw something in her. “You’ve never seen her on the river. If Bryce says she’s the best, I believe him. She’s the best. The trip has to be flawless and he guaranteed me she’d deliver.” That was stretching the truth, but Gracie didn’t have to know. “So you need to behave. Be polite to her. Don’t make any scenes like you did at the restaurant. Do we have a deal?”
“Fine.” His mother’s lips slithered into that smile he hated, the one that said she was about to pull one over on him. “I’ll agree on one condition.”
Shit. “What’s that?”
“You keep your interactions with her strictly professional. If I so much as see you flirt with that girl, our deal is off.”
“Good luck with that,” J said around another slurp of tea.
He stared into his mother’s scheming eyes and curled his lips to accept the challenge. “Deal.”
Even as he said it, he knew there was no way it would stick. Gracie wouldn’t be around all the time. Besides, he never let his mother have any say in who he did or did not flirt with.
Deal or no deal, he’d get to know Paige on his own terms.
Chapter Nine
Paige had gone through the pre-rafting-trip spiel hundreds of times with hundreds of customers, but as she walked into the Walker Mountain Ranch sitting room, she braced herself the way someone might for an impending car wreck, tightening her upper body into a rigid posture, pulling in a stabilizing breath. She eased the front doors open quietly and stealthily snuck across the foyer, edging her way along the wall until she could hide behind the rock fireplace and get a read on who would attend the meeting.
She peered across the sitting room and there she was, Gracie Hunter Noble, sitting on one of the leather couches, her back as straight and stiff as a two-by-four. Some dark-haired, pale guy Paige didn’t recognize sat next to her.
Bryce perched in the chair across from them, and even with the distance, she could read the pained look on his face. At least he saw Gracie for what she was, a royal pain in the ass.
“Hey.”
Ben. It was Ben. Coming from the direction of the patio doors behind her.
Stop fluttering. Just stop it, she comma
nded her heart, but that thing had always had a stubborn streak.
Her eyes shifted left and right, but before she could escape, a large warm handprint in the center of her lower back buckled her knees.
“Whatcha doin’?” He sidled up next to her, his hand still lingering against her, his spicy scent wrapping around her.
What was she doing? Convulsing. Practically gasping for air because his large, capable hand pressed against her and, even though she couldn’t forget the humiliation he’d caused her at the gala, she also couldn’t forget how it’d felt to kiss him, those sly, smiling lips claiming hers, coaxing out that surge of warm, tingling want from the vastly neglected regions of her body.
Seemingly oblivious to her inner chaos, Ben glanced down in that lazy way of his, soft brown eyes lit by the glow of the soft chandelier lighting overhead. “You look…different.”
Usually she didn’t care much how she looked, especially considering that she spent her days out in the sun and wind, out tending to horses that didn’t care much how she looked, either. But standing next to him—so close she could feel the warmth of his body—made her acutely aware of every detail about herself, the small scar over the bridge of her nose from when she’d crashed her mountain bike, the freckles across her cheeks, the cracks in the dry skin on her hands…
“Sorry.” One side of his mouth lifted. “I meant to say you look nice.”
Except the word sounded confused, like he wasn’t quite sure exactly what he was looking at.
“I like the new look,” he tried again.
Her body went stiff and she stepped away so he couldn’t touch her. He thought she was trying to impress him?
Blood rushed to her face. Hardly. So typical of a wealthy bachelor. She’d dressed up and put on makeup and he assumed it was all for him. The pulsing in her cheeks verged on a nuclear meltdown. “Your mother made it clear she likes things a certain way.” So there. She hadn’t spent two hours getting ready for him. She’d done it all for his mother.
Ben slipped in front of her. She only came up to his chin, but he lowered his head until they were nearly eyes-to-eyes, nose-to-nose, lips-to-lips. “The only person who values my mother’s opinion is her.”
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