Goodbye Gifts_The Steamy Version

by Elena Aitken

  A strange look crossed his face, and in that instant, something about his expression reminded her of Trent. “I wasn’t trying to start anything,” Dylan said quickly. “I guess that was just my stupid way of asking you how long you planned on staying at the Lodge?”

  When he smiled, and his boyish dimple reappeared, Carmen felt a wash of relief. Dylan was so different from his big brother, but that little glimpse was a little too similar for her liking. “I honestly haven’t given it much thought,” she said. “I like it here. But mostly, I like my career. I’ve always been really focused on getting ahead. It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

  “Really?”

  “You sound surprised.”

  “I am a little bit. It’s refreshing to meet a woman so driven.” He rolled his beer bottle between his hands. “A lot of women I meet seem to be only interested in finding a husband. Preferably one with lots of money.”

  She laughed at the way he rolled his eyes. “Well then, you’re hanging around the wrong sorts of women.”

  He looked directly in her eyes, and reached for her hand. A thrill shot through her but she tried not to show how he affected her with just one simple touch. “I plan on remedying that,” he said, never losing eye contact.

  They sat in silence for a minute, neither of them willing to look away first. Finally, Carmen knew she’d have to be the first to speak.

  “Now it’s your turn,” she said. “Tell me something about you.”

  He smiled lazily and tipped his head. “What do you want to know?”

  “Well, I know you have an older brother, who from what I can tell so far, is your complete opposite. I also know you’re involved in business together. He’s the management and you are the…”

  “I’m the brains.”

  “Obviously.” She smirked. “So tell me about your project. Trent hasn’t mentioned much.” Of course she hadn’t asked, but she didn’t bother telling Dylan that. “All I know from what the two of you have mentioned is that it’s a resort in the mountains, centered around some hot springs.”

  Dylan took a long pull on his beer, leaned back and crossed his leg over his knee. “That’s a pretty simplified view of it, but yes. Basically, I discovered these therapeutic hot springs a few hours west of here. Have you ever heard of a town called Cedar Springs?”

  She shook her head.

  “Neither had I,” he said. “It’s really just an old logging town with a handful of locals who are trying to hang on to their homes, but the really remarkable thing is that there’s this amazing hot spring up in the hills. It’s bigger than most of the springs around here, and there’s actually three separate pools.”

  “Three?” Carmen leaned forward, genuinely interested.

  “Three. And they’re all grouped together,” he said. “And there’s some local folklore that says the water in the pools has healing properties. People have actually come from all over the world to soak in the pools and cure their diseases—arthritis, chronic fatigue, you name it.”

  “No way.” Carmen leaned back as the waitress came and delivered their food to them. Neither of them touched their meals right away. Instead, Carmen asked, “Okay, well, if it’s a world-famous pool, then how is it that the town isn’t already overrun with tourists?”

  Dylan smiled and crossed his arms over his chest. “That’s the best part,” he said. “The land was privately owned and up until recently, the rancher wouldn’t allow anyone to access his land. Those who did want to soak in the springs had to do it late at night, and sneak in and out of the fence he’d put up. He was known for chasing people off his land with a shotgun on more than one occasion.”

  “No way.”

  “It’s true,” Dylan said. “Fortunately, he never actually shot anyone.”

  “No kidding.” Carmen picked up her fork and started poking around at her meal, which looked to be a stuffed chicken breast with some sort of mashed vegetables. Her mouth watered at the aroma coming off it, and she could no longer resist whatever Bruno had created in the kitchen. “So,” she said. “If the rancher was so dead set against letting anyone on to his land to use the pools, how on earth did you get a hold of it?” She sliced a piece of chicken and put it in her mouth.

  Instead of answering her right away, he tipped his head and watched her for a moment. She should have been self-conscious with his eyes on her, but Carmen actually liked it. She smiled and took another bite of her meal.

  “Looks good,” he said, his voice low.

  “It is. You should try some.” She waved a piece of chicken around on her fork, teasing him with it. Dylan just laughed and took a bite of his own meal. The more time she spent with him, the more she realized how much she enjoyed that sound and just how awesome it was that he wasn’t afraid to laugh, especially at himself.

  She waited until he was done chewing the food in his mouth before she said, “You haven’t told me yet how you got the land from the old rancher.”

  “He died,” Dylan said simply.

  Carmen almost choked on her water. “What? That’s terrible.”

  “Well, it is and it isn’t,” he said with a shoulder shrug. “He was an old man and he passed away peacefully in his sleep. His son inherited all the land and fortunately for Trent and me, he didn’t want anything to do with it. We got it for a good price and we’re really excited about bringing the Springs resort to the town. I think it will be a huge boost to the local economy, provide a lot of jobs and with any luck at all, help a lot of people feel better.”

  He seemed so passionate about his project, Carmen couldn’t help but get swept up in it. It would be nice to have such a strong passion for something. It was similar, she supposed, to the way she felt about her work at the Lodge. It was important to her to do a good job, to leave a mark. Whatever type of mark she could leave on a huge, well-established resort hotel. She pushed away the doubt and tried to refocus on her date. She was enjoying herself too much to let negative feelings creep in and ruin things.

  “It sounds fabulous,” she said, and meant it. “It must be really exciting to finally see it happening.”

  “It is.” Dylan took another bite of his meal and dabbed at the corners of his mouth with a napkin. “This is fantastic,” he said. “I can’t remember the last time I had such a great meal.”

  “I told you, you can’t go wrong with Bruno. He’s the best chef in the Rockies.”

  “I wonder if he’d consider a move?”

  Instinctively, Carmen bristled. He couldn’t take Bruno from the Lodge. He belonged here. And not only that, the Lodge needed him. Events were booked months and sometimes years in advance based on Bruno’s menus and availability. If the Harrison brothers thought they could steal Bruno, they’d have a fight on their hands. Carmen straightened in her chair. “I don’t think Bruno would consider a change.”

  “What if the deal was right?” Dylan laid his napkin across his plate and locked eyes with her. “One thing I’ve discovered during my time in the business world is that people will do all kinds of things you didn’t expect them to do. You’d be surprised.”

  He had no idea how close to home his comment hit, and she wasn’t about to let him know. Hadn’t she herself just agreed to something all for the sake of the promise of a new title and with it, more money?

  Carmen shook her head. “No. It’s not happening.” She wished she felt as confident as she sounded. The truth was, she had no way of knowing if Bruno would take a different job offer or if his loyalty to the Lodge was as strong as she thought it was. “He wouldn’t leave.”

  “Would you?”

  The question was so pointed and so unexpected, Carmen didn’t have a chance to think about her response before she said, “We’re not talking about me.”

  She looked down at her plate, her appetite gone. Her stomach churned with the thought of Dylan and Trent poaching the staff from Castle Mountain Lodge. Was that really why Dylan was here? Was that why he was sitting with her, pretending to be on a date with her? She
rubbed her temple and tried to clear her thoughts.

  “Are you okay?” he asked. “Do you have a headache?”

  Carmen looked up and met his concerned gaze. “You know what…I’m not feeling great all of a sudden. I should probably get going.”

  She stood to leave, but Dylan reached out and grabbed her hand. Her heart stopped for a second. He really had to stop touching her. She couldn’t seem to form a coherent thought when the heat of his hand was on hers.

  “I didn’t mean it, Carmen.” He looked so disappointed that for an instant, Carmen considered changing her mind. “I didn’t mean it. I wouldn’t try to steal Bruno from the Lodge,” he said. “Or anyone. That’s not the way I operate. I really hope I didn’t give you the impression that I would do something like that because that’s not how I choose to live my life or handle my business dealings. I’ll always be straight with you.”

  The guilt swirled in her stomach, and for a moment, Carmen was afraid she’d be sick. “I believe you,” she said, and she did. He looked so genuine it was hard to think he could lie to her.

  “He’s such a part of the Lodge,” Dylan continued. “I wouldn’t dream of trying to take that away.”

  “I said that I believed you,” she said.

  For a moment, they just looked at each other. Something in his eyes made her believe him. That was easy. But there was something else, too. Maybe it was the enjoyable evening they’d had together.

  “Carmen?” Dylan let go of one of her hands and reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, but he didn’t remove his hand. Instead, he cupped her cheek and drew her face toward his. The kiss was soft, but far from sweet. The heat in his lips shot straight to her core. When he pulled away, it took her a moment to open her eyes again.

  “Why don’t you sit down again?”

  For a second, she considered it. She wanted nothing more than to spend more time with him, especially after that kiss. But the unrelenting swirl in her stomach and the genuineness in Dylan’s face made up her mind. She obviously wasn’t thinking clearly where Dylan was concerned, and she needed a bit of space before she did or said something she might regret. And if he didn’t let go of her soon, there was a very real chance of that. She wiggled her hand away from his.

  “I really should be going,” she said. “I’m not feeling very well and I totally forgot that my parents are coming in the morning and I need to make sure their room is all set up.” It wasn’t a lie. With everything that had happened with Dylan, she’d completely forgotten about her parents.

  “I’d love to meet your parents,” Dylan said.

  She almost sat back down from the shock of it. “Um, no,” she said. “I don’t think so.”

  “Why not? I’d like to know more about you and there’s no better way to get to know someone than by meeting their family.”

  “I really don’t know, Dylan. They’re only here for a short time and you don’t know them. They can be quite…well, frustrating.”

  He chuckled. “I’m sure they’re great.” He squeezed her hand and Carmen knew in that touch that he felt the same connection between them. Which meant she was in trouble. He was gorgeous, smart, and made her smile more than she had in a very long time. But her instincts were telling her it wasn’t a good idea to have any kind of relationship with Dylan Harrison, not if it meant she was going to feel the way she was feeling.

  Carmen’s instincts had never been wrong before and things with Dylan could only get complicated, especially if he wanted to meet her parents. The last thing she needed them thinking was that there was even the remotest chance that she was in an actual relationship. Especially since there wasn’t even the remotest chance that she was going to allow herself to be in a relationship.

  Dylan fought the urge to chase after Carmen. Instead, he stood, said good-night and let her leave. He surprised himself with how much he didn't want to see her go, but he was also smart enough to know when to step back. Something had spooked her. Maybe it was talking about the Springs, and what options she might have when it came to a job? Maybe it was their date itself? Whatever it was, it was definitely something he'd done or said. That much he knew for sure. Whatever he'd said about her parents, while maybe it was true, was not the real reason she'd fled. That much he knew for sure.

  He shook his head and reached for his beer. A smart man would cut his losses right now and walk away. But despite all his business smarts, when it came to Carmen, Dylan was quickly figuring out that he was not a smart man. She was one of the most engaging women he’d had a pleasure to have dinner with.

  A smile came to his lips as he thought of how passionate she got when he mentioned stealing Bruno for the Springs. He'd been kidding—well, mostly. But seeing her come alive and get fired up was worth it. At least it would have been if she hadn't left.

  Dylan gestured to the waitress, who came over and cleared the plates.

  “Can I get you anything else?” she asked and leaned in closely.

  The smell of her perfume was overwhelming when she was so close. He pushed back, needing a bit of space. “Just a beer,” he said.

  She winked at him and left. Dylan shook his head, unsure of what had just happened. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. There were two missed calls, both from Trent and a text: R u done? Is she on board?

  Dylan sighed. There was no way he was going to ask Carmen about working for them now. Especially if it jeopardized whatever it was that was going on between them. He tapped in a message of his own: Come for a beer at the Grill.

  Trent had to be finished with the Braxtons or he wouldn’t be harassing him. And that contract was more important than trying to steal Carmen away. Moments later, Dylan’s phone buzzed with the message.

  C U in 5

  Dylan had just long enough to order Trent a beer of his own, and run through the events of his date with Carmen one more time before his brother showed up, still wearing his suit.

  “Aw, you didn’t have to dress up for me,” Dylan said with a smirk.

  Trent took his jacket off and slung it across the back of the chair. “Okay, smart ass. I didn’t have time to go back to the apartment to change. Man, I’m not going to miss that staff accommodation,” he said. Trent took a deep pull of his beer. “I can’t wait until I can move into my own suite at the Springs. Please tell me the construction is almost finished.”

  “It is,” Dylan said. “Don’t worry about any of that. I told you I’d handle it.” He didn’t bother adding that he’d need the Braxton investment dollars if he was going to get the resort finished as planned. Trent knew things were tight, but he had no idea just how tight things were. And there wasn’t any point worrying him about it. “So, were the Braxtons happy with the proposal?”

  “They seemed to be.” He put his half-empty beer down. “I’m going to need another one of these.”

  Dylan waved over the waitress again. “Sorry to bother you,” he said. “But my brother here would like another beer.”

  The waitress bent low in front of Dylan, in a move that was not lost on him. “How about you?” she purred.

  It took Dylan a moment to register the shift in the girl. She hadn’t flirted at all with him while Carmen was sitting there; in fact, he'd hardly noticed her. But maybe, thinking back on it, she’d given him a few signals after Carmen had left, but either he was really out of practice, or just completely clueless since he hadn’t picked up on it. It was probably the latter. “Sure,” he said cautiously. “I’ll have another.”

  “Coming right up.” She backed away and winked before turning and wiggling her hips all the way to the bar.

  Trent let out a low whistle. “Looks like someone has an admirer,” he said.

  “I’m not interested.”

  “You’re kidding, right? That’s Jessica, and I have it on good authority that she—“

  “Doesn’t matter. I’m not interested.” Dylan held up a hand to ward off his brother’s explanations on what exactly made Jessica so special. �
�I don’t have time to date,” he said. He flashed back to Carmen and the conversation they'd had about their non-date. If she gave him the chance, he may have to reconsider his policy.

  But hadn't he already? Dylan rolled the beer bottle between his hands and remembered the way she'd smiled when he handed her the flower and chocolates. Her face lit up with the goofy gifts. The distinctly first-date gifts. Things with Carmen were becoming way too complicated for a situation that was supposed to be simple. But complicated or not, he couldn’t help himself. He wanted to spend more time with her. He just had to convince her of that.

  “Earth to Dylan.” Trent waved a hand in front of his face. “Hello.”

  “What? I was just thinking.”

  “About Jessica?”

  “No.” Dylan tipped his beer back, draining it.

  “Whatever,” Trent said, dismissing him. “Did you secure Carmen?”

  Dylan sat up and put both hands on the table. “Pardon me?”

  “Whoa, calm down.” Trent held up both hands and raised his eyebrows as if his brother had totally lost his mind. “I meant did you secure her for the Springs. Weren’t you supposed to be taking care of that for me tonight? You did say you’d ask her, didn’t you?”

  Embarrassed, Dylan looked down at the tablecloth and fidgeted with the coffee spoon.

  “You did ask her, didn’t you, Dyl?”

  “Not really.”

  “Not really? What the hell does that mean?”

  “I didn’t have a chance.”

  “Over dinner? You didn’t have a chance to ask a simple question?"

  “We were busy talking about other things."

  “Oh,” Trent said, dragging out the word. “I see what’s happening here.”

  “No you don’t.”

  “Oh, yes I do.” Trent sat back and crossed his arms over his chest. “You like her.”

  Dylan matched his posture, but couldn’t find the words to protest the truth. Instead, he stared at his older brother, challenging him to look away first.