Goodbye Gifts_The Steamy Version

by Elena Aitken

  Jessica returned with two new beers. She sat them down in front of the men, raised her eyebrows and retreated without saying anything.

  After a minute, Trent shook his head. “There's nothing wrong with that,” he said. “As long as you know it's not going to last."

  "I thought you wanted me to go out with her." Dylan eyed his brother suspiciously. "And that's all we're doing."

  "That's good," Trent said and took a swig of his beer. "Because you're right, I did want you to go out. I wanted you to have a little fun, stop working for a few minutes. Have a fling. That's why I suggested Carmen. She doesn't date. I thought maybe she'd be interested in a fling too."

  "I don't do flings."

  "Well, you don't do relationships."

  Dylan picked up his beer and examined the table. "Neither of us does,” he said quietly.

  "And for good reason, little brother. I taught you well."

  "You taught me something alright." Dylan rolled his eyes when his brother wasn't looking but he couldn't stop thinking about what Trent had just said. He suggested Carmen? What did that mean? Carmen had asked him out.

  Trent narrowed his eyes and regarded his brother. “Why do I get the impression there’s more to this? You like her, don't you?”

  “Trent," Dylan warned.

  “That's it, isn't it? You like her." Trent slammed his beer down on the table. "Leave it to you to screw up a fling."

  "It's not a fling and—“

  "But you like her."

  “Drop it,” Dylan growled.

  Trent opened his mouth to say more, and for a moment, Dylan thought he might have to remind his brother that although he might be older, he was not stronger. Wisely, Trent shut his mouth and opted for another taste of his beer.

  “I’ve gotta go,” Dylan said. He abruptly pushed away from the table and stood. The room was too hot to sit in. He had to move, had to get some fresh air and clear his head. He had too much going on to let his thoughts get clouded by a woman.

  “You invited me.”

  Dylan didn’t bother arguing with him. He threw some money on the table and left. Without thinking about where he was going, he walked to the end of the corridor, and straight out the doors into what looked to be a bricked courtyard area. He hadn’t had time to explore the Lodge fully, and who was he kidding, he still hoped Carmen would be able to show him around. In fact, he’d looked forward to the prospect of seeing the sights with a beautiful woman by his side. Trent didn’t need to know what he may or may not be feeling towards Carmen. Especially since Dylan couldn't figure it out himself.

  The courtyard was lit with only a few lanterns hanging from the trees. His eyes adjusted to the dim light and he started walking. The space held a few benches and tables that looked like they’d been put there for picnics or card games among the guests. As he walked, the space narrowed into a path that led to a pond, with a rocky waterfall at one end. It was just far enough away from the main lodge to be quiet, and he could only barely see the lights from the main building, but the few lanterns there were provided enough glow that he wasn’t sitting in complete darkness.

  He picked his way up the rocks, to a flat boulder where he could sit close to the water but not get wet. The sound of the water flowing over the stones into the pool below soothed him, as he was sure it was intended to do. Dylan leaned back on his hands and gazed up at the stars that covered the night sky in a splatter. The only other place he’d seen such a display was in Cedar Springs.

  There were a lot of similarities to the two places, but as much as he was enjoying Castle Mountain Lodge, Dylan pictured the Springs differently. It would be more serene, with a spa-like atmosphere. The environment would promote healing, both spiritual and physical. It would be a focus on the individual self, not the way the Lodge focused on couples. The perfect place for a man who avoided relationships.

  From everything Trent had told him, Castle Mountain was gaining a reputation for love. More and more weddings were being booked, and couples were escaping to the mountains to rekindle the spark that daily life may have eroded. And he’d heard his share of stories about love discovered at the Lodge, too. So why hadn’t Carmen found love? The thought popped into his head before he knew it.

  He ran one hand through his hair and tried to focus again on the Springs, but it was no use. Carmen occupied his every thought. Her piercing eyes that held so much depth. He wanted to know everything she was thinking. Every guarded secret she held. Never had a woman captivated him so completely. He wanted to know more. No, he needed to know more.

  Dylan picked up a loose pebble and tossed it into the water. Up until an hour ago, he'd actually thought he might be able to have that chance. Even if it was a purely platonic relationship and she allowed him to take her up on her original offer to show him around, he'd take it. After all, he wasn't lying when he'd told Trent he didn't do flings. He didn't. For him, it was all or nothing with women, which is why it was almost always nothing. He picked up another pebble and threw it in, watching the ripples along the water. The problem was, every time he was within a foot of Carmen, all he wanted to do was pull her into his arms and claim her mouth with his. And that was hardly platonic.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Carmen put a cup of coffee in front of Morgan and slipped in to her own seat across from her at the small table in the lobby. They’d claimed two wing backed chairs in a quiet corner in front of one of the windows. Far enough away from the front desk business, and yet still within sight of the door since Carmen was expecting her guests to show up within the hour. After ending their date the night before so abruptly, she’d spent all her waking hours, and even some of her sleeping ones, thinking of nothing but Dylan Harrison. And she’d only come up with one conclusion—she needed advice from a friend.

  “Thank you for meeting me here,” Carmen said. “I know it would have been nicer to meet anywhere else. I feel like I spend my whole life in this room.”

  Morgan laughed. “It’s a good thing it’s so beautiful in here then.” She added a packet of sugar to her coffee. “Seriously, it’s no problem. I understand.”

  “If I missed my parents’ arrival, I’d never hear the end of it.” Carmen shook her head and added her own sugar. “Trust me, this is a small price to pay. And I did want to talk to you about something.”

  Morgan stirred her coffee and leaned forward. “This sounds juicy,” she said. “Do tell.”

  “Relax. It’s not that big of a deal.” That was a lie, Carmen thought, but didn’t say. It was a big deal; at least, for her it was. All she’d been able to think of was Dylan Harrison with his disarming smile and the way her body thrilled when he touched her.

  “It wouldn’t happen to be about Trent Harrison’s little brother by chance, would it?”

  Carmen did a second take at her friend, who was trying unsuccessfully not to smile. “How did you—“

  “Astrid.” Morgan smiled apologetically. “She mentioned that you were going on a date. So of course I had to know all the details.”

  “It wasn’t a date.”

  Her friend tipped her head and raised her eyebrows. “Okay,” Carmen admitted. “It was sort of a date. But like I said, it’s no big deal.”

  “By the look on your face, I’d say it’s a big deal.” Morgan took a sip of her drink. “A very big deal. Now spill.”

  There was no point putting it off. After all, that was the whole point of asking Morgan to meet her. She desperately needed some sense knocked into her. She took a deep breath. “Have you met Trent’s brother yet?”

  Morgan shook her head. “Up until yesterday I didn’t even know he had a brother.”

  Carmen nodded. “Well, he does. Obviously. Anyway, he’s here right now for some business meetings for that new resort they’re opening.”

  “Oh yes,” Morgan said. “I do remember Bo saying something about that. They’re developing some hot springs or something.”

  “That’s it.” Carmen tasted her coffee, trying to calm her
self. “And as you’ve heard, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Dylan.” That was putting it mildly, she thought. “He’s very…nice.”

  “Nice?” Morgan raised her eyebrows.

  “And handsome.”

  “Ahh, and there it is,” Morgan said, with a smile. “The real reason for our little coffee date today.”

  Carmen dropped her head into her hands. “Yes. It’s terrible.”

  Morgan had been taking a sip of her own coffee and for a second, Carmen thought her friend might choke on it. She sat up in her chair and waited while Morgan got a hold of herself. “Terrible?” Morgan repeated, when she regained control. “Why on earth would meeting a handsome man be terrible? It’s about time you met someone.”

  “Because I’ve told you a million times, I don’t want a relationship.” Carmen stared at her friend as if she had suddenly sprouted a tail. “Seriously, do you ever listen to me?”

  Morgan waved a hand in Carmen’s direction. “Cut it out. You know I listen to you. Now tell me what’s really going on. And you better make it quick, because if your parents show up, I get the feeling you won’t really feel like sharing this bit of information with them, too.”

  “Ugh.” Carmen dropped her head to the table. “My parents are a whole separate problem.” She sat up. “But I really can’t think about that right now. I need your help with Dylan.” Morgan made a motion with her hand that basically told Carmen to spit it out. “I think I like him.”

  “And that’s a problem, how?”

  Carmen closed her eyes for a moment, debating on how much she should tell her friend about Trent’s offer. In the end, the need to confide in someone won out.

  “Well, besides the fact that I don’t have any time at all for a relationship right now, I may have agreed to go out with him as a sort of favor.”

  “A sort of favor?”

  Carmen leaned across the table and lowered her voice. “Trent asked me to take Dylan out as a favor. Something about him working too hard and needing to have some fun before things got crazy with the Springs. The thing is,” Carmen swallowed hard before continuing, “he kind of told me if I did it, I would have a better chance at getting the manager job.”

  Morgan’s hand flew to her mouth. “He did not.”

  Carmen nodded.

  “Like a prostitute?”

  “Oh my God, Morgan. No!” She took a quick look around to see if anyone had overheard. She lowered her voice and added, “It’s not like that at all. Trent just asked me to take him out. Show him around the Lodge a little.”

  Morgan gave her a sidelong glance and took another sip of her coffee. “I honestly can’t believe you agreed to that.”

  “I know.” Carmen dropped her head into her hands and rubbed at her temple. “But honestly, he didn’t give me much of a choice and I guess I didn’t see what the harm was.”

  “But now?”

  “Now I think I might like Dylan,” she mumbled.

  “And you don’t want him to find out and think it was all fake,” Morgan guessed.

  Carmen looked up into her friend’s eyes and nodded.

  “So tell him,” Morgan said. “If you want to see where things could go with him, be honest. Nothing good can come from keeping secrets if you want to be together. But I don’t get it, Carmen. Didn’t you just say you were too busy for a relationship? Not that I don’t think it’s awesome you’re interested in someone, but if it’s not going to be serious, does it really matter?”

  Carmen shrugged and fiddled with the handle on her mug. “So honesty,” she said. “Or say nothing?”

  “I think it depends on what you want. There’s probably no harm in it if you never plan on seeing him again.”

  “Awesome.” Carmen rolled her eyes.

  “Sorry I can’t be more help,” Morgan said. “But for the record, I’m all for a relationship.” She smiled and Carmen recognized the glow in her friend’s face. It’d been there since she and Bo finally made their own relationship official and moved in together. She couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy. It might be nice to have that, too.

  A commotion at the front door caught her eye and she sighed. “You’re not the only ones who’d be happy with me in a relationship.” She nodded towards the entrance where her mom and dad were busy turning down the efforts of the bellboy while simultaneously arguing with each other as they dragged their suitcases into the lobby. “Here comes the heads of the ‘marry Carmen off’ committee now.”

  Morgan laughed. “I’m sure they’re not that bad.”

  Carmen raised her eyebrows, causing Morgan to laugh harder.

  “Maybe you should introduce them to Dylan,” Morgan suggested between giggles. “At least that way they’d think you were settling down.”

  “Right.” Carmen stood and straightened her blouse. “And they’d be planning the wedding before they even left. No thanks.” She turned to Morgan and gave her a quick hug. “Thanks for the chat. Now, wish me luck.”

  “You got it.”

  Carmen loved her parents; she really did. And she reminded herself of that fact as she crossed the lobby towards them. She’d hoped to head them off before they got to the check-in desk, but her mother had beaten her to it.

  “We have a very important reservation,” her mother was saying to Joe, the customer service clerk on duty. “If you look it up, it should be under Carmen Kincaid. That’s K-I-N-“

  “I got it, Mom.” Carmen flashed an apologetic smile to Joe, who grinned back and turned to the next guest.

  “Carmen.” Her mother turned to her and frowned. “We expected you to meet us.”

  “I am meeting you, Mom. I’m here, in the lobby.”

  “Well, you could have—“

  “You look good, kid,” her dad said. Carmen turned and let her dad hug her. It didn’t matter how old she got, or how long it’d been, nothing felt better than a hug from her dad.

  “She looks too thin,” her mother said.

  “Thanks, Mom.” Carmen stepped out of her dad’s arms and grabbed an envelope she’d slid into a drawer behind the desk earlier. “I already checked you in. Come on, I’ll take you up to your room so you can get settled.”

  “Did you get us the suite?” her mom asked. “I was really hoping we could stay in one of those fancy suites like where Gage Mitchell stayed when he was here. Bill, he was the star of Extinction. And that new Western show. I can never remember the names of these—“

  “Tumbleweed,” Carmen supplied.

  “Tumble-what?”

  “Tumbleweed,” Carmen repeated. “That’s the name of the show.”

  Her mother waved her hand. “Whatever. It doesn’t matter. Did you get us one of those suites? I hear they’re quite fancy and have their own living rooms and—“

  “Linda, I’m sure whatever room Carmen got us will be fine,” her father interrupted. “We’re just happy to be here, kiddo. It’s been too long.”

  Carmen grabbed the handle of a suitcase and started walking towards the elevator bank. “It has been awhile.” She tried not to do a mental countdown of how many hours she had left in their visit, but the idea of spending some time with Dylan and away from her family was becoming more and more appealing by the second.

  Dylan forced himself to focus on the task at hand, which at that moment was dealing with his general contractor. He glanced one more time out the window at the sunny fall day. He'd been in his makeshift office, an empty boardroom that Trent had given him to use, since six a.m. He'd already decided to work at least until one o'clock before taking a break because he knew exactly where that break would take him, and once he found Carmen, he was pretty sure he wouldn't be returning to the office. At least that was his hope.

  With a sigh, he pushed thoughts of Carmen out of his mind for the moment and dialed the number for Jake Mentz, his head contractor working on the Springs, returning his call. He already knew what Jake was going to want. The same thing he'd been wanting to know for the last few weeks—when he was going to
get paid. And Dylan would have an answer for him, too. Just as soon as Trent showed up with the signed contract from the Braxtons. But Dylan couldn't put off the call any longer.

  The phone rang only once before Jake picked up.

  "Harrison."

  "Hey, Jake. Sorry it's taken me a few days to get back to you. I've been trying to get some answers about that issue we were talking about."

  "By issue, you mean my paycheck?”

  Jake never minced words, which is one of the things Dylan had liked about him from the beginning.

  "That's pretty much it."

  "Tell me some good news then, Harrison. I have a whole crew that's looking to get paid here next week and I can't keep sitting on promises."

  Dylan rubbed the bridge of his nose. He had two choices. He could tell Jake the truth, that the funds were close, but not confirmed. Or he could take a gamble that Jake would take his crew off the job and walk out. Well," he said after a moment. “I have good and bad news.”

  “That doesn’t sound like what I want to hear, Harrison.”

  Dylan sighed. “I’m sorry, Jake. The good news is, the investor is closer than ever to signing.”

  “But?”

  “He hasn’t yet.” Dylan braced himself for the contractor’s response.

  There was silence, and then Jake said, “You know I’ll have to stop work, Harrison. I’m sorry.”

  Dylan was afraid of that. The promise of money was just not the same as actual money. “I get it, Jake. I do. It should only be a day or two at most,” he added.

  “Let me know, Harrison. As soon as you have the funds, I’ll get my guys back on the job. But—“

  “I know.” Dylan ran a hand through his hair, tugging on the roots. “I’ll talk to you soon.”

  He hung up the phone and Dylan looked out the window in an effort to slow his thoughts. He needed to secure the Braxtons and fast. If Trent found out work had stopped on the Springs, it wouldn’t go over well. He hated to lie to him, but maybe he could just avoid the topic altogether and as soon as the Braxtons signed, everything would be back to normal. Trent better come through with the contract because without it the Springs was in real trouble. Not to mention himself. He picked up the phone and pushed the button for Trent.