by Elena Aitken
“You do not.” Astrid dropped to the bed.
Carmen spun to look at her friend. With her long braids pulled back in a bandanna and an oversized cable knit sweater worn over ripped jeans, she looked every bit the woodsy hippy throwback she was. And despite their differences, Carmen loved her. Astrid had moved in with her almost a year ago, when Morgan, a mutual friend of theirs, moved in with the outdoor activities director, Bo. Carmen made a mental note to talk to Bo about finding something for her parents to do next week.
“I do,” Carmen said, focusing on the conversation. She winked at Astrid and pulled a soft sweater over her head.
“Like a date?” Astrid had sat up and was listening with rapt attention. Carmen going on a date was big news. “Please tell me it’s a date. Or even just a fling. You know how I feel about boyfriends. But boys…they’re all right.”
Carmen laughed. “It’s hardly a date,” she said. “I’m just taking Trent’s brother, Dylan, out for a drink to show him the Lodge. He’s here for a few days and—“
“Wait.” Astrid jumped up. “You’re telling me that you’re going out with Trent Harrison’s brother? That’s juicy.”
“It’s not.” Carmen wiggled into a worn pair of jeans and turned to look at herself in the mirror. “It’s nothing. Just a drink.”
Astrid let out a low whistle. “Whatever you say. But by the way you’re getting ready I’d say it’s a bit more than that.”
Carmen froze before putting on lip gloss. She capped the tube and made a point of putting it back on the dresser. “It’s nothing,” she repeated and walked out of the room.
Astrid was hot on her heels.
“Besides,” Carmen added. “Weren’t you telling me that I needed to have more fun?”
Astrid laughed and together they walked out the door. “I did say that, you’re right. Go have fun.” They reached the fork in the path—one way led to the bonfire, the other direction, back to the Lodge. The two friends parted ways, and Astrid called back to Carmen, “And don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
Carmen laughed and shook her head. That didn’t leave a lot of options, she thought with a smile.
She still had time, so she took the long way through her favorite trail back to the Lodge. So late in the season there wasn't much of a risk of bears, and although she probably should be more concerned with cougars, Carmen had always thought the risk was worth the reward. There was nothing better than a quiet evening walking through the trees, listening to the sound of the owls calling in the distance, it was Carmen’s little bit of therapy and if all it took to keep her grounded, was being alone in the mountains at night, even for a few minutes, she’d take it.
She was enjoying her walk, and too soon she arrived at the main lodge. It’s not that she wasn’t looking forward to spending time with Dylan; she was. And under any other circumstance, she’d probably be really excited about it. But with Trent’s words looming over her, she couldn’t shake the heavy feeling that clouded over her.
When Carmen walked into the Grill, she didn’t immediately see Dylan, and waving off the hostess’s help, she scanned the room herself.
“Carmen.”
She turned in the direction of the voice and saw Dylan standing and waving his arm in her direction.
A heat filled her, and traveled through her body the way it had earlier when she’d seen him. She smiled and walked towards him. Regardless of why she was there, she made the split-second decision to enjoy herself, and that wasn’t likely to be very difficult.
“Hi, Dylan,” she said as she approached his table. He towered over her, and even dressed in a more relaxed sweater and jeans, he was still an imposing presence. A thrill ran through her, and she flinched, hoping he hadn’t noticed. “I hope your presentation went well and it wasn’t too thrown off by the lack of the projector. I really am sorry.”
“Please,” he said and waved her protests away. “It wasn’t your fault at all. And if it wasn’t for you, I don’t know what I would have done.” He smiled and Carmen noticed a dimple in his left cheek that she hadn’t seen before. “I should be thanking you,” he said. “And I plan to. I’m glad we could make this work.” Dylan held out his hand and gestured to the empty seat across from him.
“Me too,” she said as she slipped into the seat across from him and waited for him to sit as well. He gestured to the waitress, who came over and they placed their drink orders. He surprised her by ordering a beer.
“I’m usually a whisky man,” he said. “But there’s something about being out in the mountains—it brings out my inner mountain man.” He grinned and Carmen laughed. She found herself relaxing in his presence. There was something about Dylan that was easy and low pressure, and despite the flutter in her stomach every time he looked at her, or maybe because of it, Carmen couldn’t help but feel that her evening might turn out all right after all.
“How did your meeting go today?” She knew it was a lame question, but for lack of anything better to say, it would have to do.
Dylan didn’t seem to think it was lame, though, and his face lit up as he said, “It actually went really well. I think we’re going to be able to secure the Braxtons and everything will stay on track with the project dates, which is great because after coming up to the Lodge, I’m more excited than ever. It’s really great of you to offer to show me a few things. There’s so much more I want to know about how things are done up here.”
Carmen sat back and smiled. “I’m glad it went well,” she said. “And really, I’m happy to help out.”
He surprised her by saying, “I hope there might be more to it than just helping.”
“Pardon?” She was pretty sure she knew what he meant, but she really needed him to say it.
“I like you, Carmen.” Dylan reached across the table and took her hand. Out of habit, she wanted to pull it back and tuck it away in her lap, but there was something comforting about Dylan’s touch and she found herself enjoying it. “And I know my big brother can be kind of pushy sometimes.” Carmen smirked. “Okay, he can be a lot pushy,” Dylan added. “So I hope you didn’t feel pressured in meeting me tonight.”
Carmen forced the smile to stay in place. If he only knew the half of it, she thought. Dylan didn’t need to know that his brother had more or less strong-armed her into meeting him. He especially didn’t need to know that, since she would have been happy to go out with Dylan all on her own.
“I like you, too,” she surprised herself by saying. The words were immediately followed by a blush. She yanked her hand back and covered her face. “I can’t believe I said that.”
Not only was she breaking every rule she’d ever made for herself about her career and climbing the ladder honestly, Carmen was also acting like a complete lovesick idiot in front of the one man she’d actually found herself attracted to. The whole situation was more than just a little messed up.
She looked up into his grinning face. “I’m sorry,” she said.
“Oh, don’t be.” Dylan tried not to laugh. “It’s nice to know I’m not the only one lacking in dating etiquette,” he said. “That is what this is, right?”
Carmen leaned back in her chair and fidgeted with the water glass in front of her. “I thought it was more of a ‘get together’ thing,” she teased. “In fact, you should probably know that I don’t date. Ever.”
She didn’t miss the flicker in his dark eyes before he looked away. Was it disappointment? Defeat? Carmen wanted to sink into the floor and disappear. She racked her brain for something to say. Anything to get him to look at her again with those amazingly deep eyes that captivated her.
“Which isn’t to say—“
“That’s okay, I don’t—“
They spoke at the same time. He smiled and held out his hand to her, urging Carmen to continue. “Ladies first.”
She smoothed her hair back from her face, lifting it into a ponytail before letting it fall free again. “I was just going to say that it’s been a long time since I�
��ve been on a date. But you probably figured that out all on your own.” Carmen laughed at herself and took a sip of water. “What were you going to say?”
He smiled, showcasing that amazingly gorgeous dimple. “I was just going to say that we make quite the pair since I haven’t been on a real date in years. Which is probably why my brother was such a bully about having us go out.”
Carmen blanched at his choice of words, but chose to ignore them.
The waitress came and delivered their drinks. When she left, Carmen lifted her glass of wine and held it out. “A toast then,” she said. “To the non-daters’s, non-date.”
She’d thought he would laugh at her joke, or at least smile again, but instead his face flipped down into a frown. As she was taking a sip of her wine, Dylan put his beer down and examined her.
He stared at her for a long moment, deciding what to do. They were both obviously uncomfortable with the idea of dating, and she’d pretty much told him she didn’t date. But looking at her, Dylan knew he wasn’t going to let a little bit of insecurity on either of their parts ruin their night.
He was drawn to her, there was no doubt. Every time he looked at her, he felt this incredibly powerful urge to reach out and touch her. Take her hand in his and never let go. It didn’t make sense, but there was something so compelling about her, he didn’t know what to say or how to act. Which was apparent by his behavior up till that point.
“I’m sorry,” he blurted out while she was taking another sip of her wine. “I can’t toast to that.” She lowered her glass and looked at him with a strange expression. Before he could change his mind, he pushed up from his chair and stood next to the table.“
“Dylan, what—“
He held out one finger and said, “Don’t go anywhere. Just give me thirty seconds. Please.”
When she nodded, he turned and walked out of the restaurant. Once in the corridor of the main lodge, Dylan looked around frantically. Now what? He’d had this great, albeit poorly formed idea, but it would’ve been even better if he’d taken even a second to think it through.
Further down the hall was a gift shop. In the other direction was the lobby. Dylan racked his brain for something, anything he could do to show her that he wanted to be on a real date with her. But it had to be fast. He couldn’t stand in the hallway all evening. She probably already thought he was crazy. If he didn’t hurry, she’d leave altogether and he wouldn’t get another chance. He sprinted to the gift shop, hoping on the off chance there might be a flower, or something that would pass for a first-date gift.
“Good evening,” the girl behind the counter said.
He nodded in her direction and scanned the shelves.
“Can I help you find something?”
“Do you have flowers?”
“As in, fresh flowers?” The girl raised an eyebrow. “I have postcards of flowers, a package of wildflower seeds, and a—“
“But no flowers?”
She shook her head. “There’s a little flower shop in the square, but it would have closed at five. They mostly do weddings and—“
“Never mind,” he said, and then added, “Sorry. I’m not trying to be rude, but I need something for a first date and I was really hoping you’d have flowers.”
“What about chocolate?”
“Yes.” Dylan followed the girl down one of the crowded aisles and checked out the selection of gourmet maple syrup flavored treats. “This is all you have? Nothing in a box wrapped in a ribbon?”
“It’s not Valentine’s Day, sir.”
He thought the girl was going to laugh at him, and really, if he wasn’t in a panic that Carmen was at that very moment getting up from the table and walking out, he might have laughed at himself, too.
Dylan must have looked panicked, because the girl took pity on him. “Look,” she said. “If I were you, I’d take two of these.” She pointed to a few of the dark chocolates. “I can wrap them in some tissue for you. And if your date really likes flowers, why not give her one of those.” She pointed to a display of stuffed toys, with some plush daisies with embroidered faces, sticking from the top of the rack. “They’re kinda cute,” she added.
“Done.” Dylan snatched a gluey-green flower—the color reminded him of Carmen’s eyes—and met the girl at the cash register where she was almost finished wrapping the chocolates. “Can you charge it to my room?”
“Of course.”
He could barely stand still long enough to give her the information and sign off on the receipt before he grabbed his purchases and darted back to the Grill.
To his relief, Carmen was still sitting at the table, her back to him as he forced himself to slow down and walk through the restaurant.
Dylan, play it cool, he told himself in an effort to slow down his thoughts. He took a deep breath as he approached the table and slid into his seat.
Carmen looked up from her glass of wine and the shock on her face was quickly replaced by a smile when she saw the goofy flower and small package in front of him.
“I should have given these to you earlier,” Dylan said. He handed the gifts to her and was rewarded by the sweet sound of her laughter.
“What is this? You didn’t have to—“
“Yes I did,” he said. “On a proper first date, it’s customary to bring flowers or chocolate.”
“But, I—“
“You don’t date,” he said, ready for the objection. When she’d said that earlier, he’d chosen to ignore it. As a rule, Dylan didn’t date either, but there was something about Carmen that was making him reconsider every self-imposed rule he’d ever placed upon himself and he was hoping she’d do the same. “But maybe you could pretend you do, just for tonight,” he said. “And maybe, this could be a real first date.”
She didn’t object right away, but tipped her head and unwrapped the package. When she saw what was inside, she laughed again and Dylan joined in.
“I know it’s not a box of chocolates or anything, and I would have preferred to get you roses or something, but I did the best I could with what I had to work with.”
“It’s perfect,” she said. When she looked up into his eyes, they were full of humor and he knew he’d made the right choice. “Besides, I hate roses.” She held up the stuffed flower. “Daisies are my favorite. Especially blue ones. And how did you know that maple syrup chocolates are my weakness?”
“Just a guess.”
The waitress chose that moment to reappear and take their orders.
“I haven’t even had a chance to look at the menu,” he said. “Assuming, you’d like to join me for dinner.” He turned to Carmen.
She smiled and nodded. “I’d love to,” she said, her eyes never leaving his. “After all, there is typically dinner on a proper first date, right?”
They stared at each other for a moment, forgetting the waitress was still standing there. It wasn’t until she cleared her throat that he reluctantly took his eyes away from Carmen, who looked down and fidgeted with her napkin.
“What’s your special tonight?” he asked.
“It’s a beautiful pan seared—“
“I’ll have that,” Carmen said.
Dylan laughed. “Me too,” he said.
The waitress shook her head, scribbled some notes on her pad and walked away.
“It doesn’t matter what it is,” Carmen said. “The food here is excellent. I know the chef, and he’s never made me a meal I haven’t enjoyed. Besides, she would have stood there all night if we didn’t make a decision.”
“I trust your decision.” He reached out and in a bold move, covered her hand that was holding the flower. Her eyes flew up and met his, but she didn’t move. “And I don’t really care what it is, I’m just glad this is going better. Now that we’ve agreed that it is indeed a date.”
There was a flicker of something in her eyes before she looked down at her lap, and for a moment Dylan thought maybe he’d pressed too hard. But when she looked up again, it was gone. He coul
d stare all night at those amazing eyes, and watch the way they sparkled when she laughed. Never had he enjoyed just being with a woman. The only problem was it was a terrible time for him to get involved with anyone. Especially when he’d be returning to the Springs to get the resort ready for the opening date. He hardly had time to date anyone, let alone get involved with a relationship.
He pushed the thoughts out of his head and instead focused on the beautiful woman in front of him. It didn’t matter if he had time or not; he’d think about that if and when it became an issue. For the moment, he didn’t need or want any thoughts or responsibilities interrupting his evening. He was just going to enjoy every moment of her company.
CHAPTER FOUR
Halfway through her second glass of wine, Carmen realized she wasn’t just having a good time, she was genuinely enjoying herself. She’d also managed to completely forget the reason she was sitting there. Well, almost.
“Trent tells me you’re up for his job when he leaves,” Dylan said.
It was an innocent statement and probably made in an effort to make easy conversation, but it stopped Carmen cold. What else had Trent told Dylan?
“I’m probably not going to get it,” she said cautiously. “It’s kind of a long shot, really.”
“That’s not what I hear,” Dylan said. “In fact, Trent said you’re absolutely fantastic. So, if they’re basing their hiring decision on merit, it sounds like you’re a sure thing.”
Carmen looked down and started fidgeting with her napkin. She folded the hem into an accordion pattern. “I guess we’ll see,” she said.
“There are other options if you don’t get the job.”
Something in his voice caused Carmen to look up again. “What do you mean?”
Dylan shrugged and glanced away. “I guess I was just wondering, if for some crazy reason you don’t get the general manager position,” he said, “what are you going to do?”
Carmen had never considered the possibility of what she’d do. Mostly because she’d assumed she wouldn’t get the position so she’d just continue in the role she had. She shook her head slightly. “I don’t understand,” she said. “I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing. Why wouldn’t I?”