“I have to tell you,” Ben began as they walked around marking the land they needed trees cut from, “I love doing all of this stuff around the property, but it sure is nice to have some help. I’ve been doing this for a long time, and although I get the occasional college kid to help, they’re not really interested in what they’re doing. It’s simply a paycheck.”
Riley nodded. “I had to do plenty of things in the service that weren’t what I wanted to do, but I had to give it my all.”
“But you enjoy working the land out here, don’t you?”
Again he nodded. “I missed the mountain air. We spent so much time in the desert that I would often lay in bed at night and try to remember what the air here smelled like. It kept me sane more times than I care to admit.”
“There’s nothing like this anywhere in the world,” Ben said as he inhaled deeply. “If we get the land cleared and graded before we get any snow, we’ll be ahead of schedule. We still need to find someone to design the place based on our specs, and I’m hoping to have it done by June.”
Riley was impressed with the older man’s enthusiasm. “That’s pushing it a bit, isn’t it? I thought that there wasn’t a rush for this.”
Ben shrugged. “Well, there wasn’t at first, but now…well… Hell, Riley. I want to ask your mother to marry me.”
Riley wasn’t sure why he was surprised, and yet he was. “O-kay,” he said slowly. “And what does this have to do with the barn?”
“I’d like us to be the first couple to get married here. I waited a long time for Corrine, and if it were up to me, I’d marry her on Christmas, but I know she needs a little more time to adjust to our new relationship. I hope you’re okay with it too.”
“Honestly, Ben, I couldn’t be happier for the two of you. I’m just a little surprised, I guess. I always wanted her to find someone to love her, but now that she has, it just feels a little strange.”
“I know what you mean. I still walk in the door here every morning and feel a little shocked when Corrine comes over and kisses me.”
Riley didn’t want to think about that aspect of his mother and Ben’s relationship. “I really am happy for the two of you,” he finally said. “So what do we need to do to make this whole barn thing happen?”
“Well,” Ben said hesitantly, “I really could use someone to work with me.”
“Like a crew? Do you still keep in touch with the guys who bought your company?”
Ben shook his head. “I’d like to keep costs down. I was thinking maybe you could help me. I know you’ve got the skills to do it, and really, I think it would mean the world to your mom to know we built this together for her.”
Riley didn’t know what to say. That would mean staying here longer than he had originally expected. Even though he had no real plans for his future, and he’d stopped feeling so anxious to escape since he and Grace had gotten involved, could he really stick around that long? Oddly enough, the idea didn’t make him break out in a cold sweat like it used to.
“Sure,” he said easily, still expecting a panic attack to seize him. “I don’t think it will be a problem. I still want to head to Florida for a week to see some friends, but other than that, my schedule is wide open.”
Ben’s smile widened. He walked over to Riley, and they shook on it. “Let’s get these measurements done so the tree guys can get in here and get started.”
* * *
Grace felt dead on her feet. They had a full house, and the guests were a bit more demanding than their usual clientele. It seemed like no matter how much food she prepared, someone always needed something more or had a special request. When the last guest finally left the dining room, she all but sagged to the floor.
“Oh dear. They are a handful, aren’t they?” Corrine said as she began clearing the table.
“I didn’t think they’d ever stop eating,” Grace said, her head still swimming from all of the requests. “I’m going to have to go shopping again tomorrow. They wiped out all of the desserts. Even the ones for the rest of the week! I know they’re guests, but we may have to find a way to limit what we offer without coming off as being strict or stingy.”
“Either that or bake more,” Corrine said with a laugh.
“I may have to move my bed into the kitchen at this rate.”
Together they finished cleaning the dining room in companionable silence, and while Grace did the dishes, Corrine set up for breakfast. “Why don’t you sleep in tomorrow morning and I’ll take care of breakfast?” she suggested.
Grace turned to her and frowned. “Why?”
“Because you put in a long day. You deserve a morning off once in a while. Trust me, the holidays can be hard around here, and from now until after New Year’s, it’s going to be nonstop. Take the morning, Grace. You definitely deserve it.”
The thought of sleeping in was very appealing. The thought of sleeping in with Riley was even more appealing. The only problem Grace saw was that she would have a hard time sneaking him out of the basement if Corrine was already up and taking care of stuff before they came up. Basically, that meant she’d get to sleep in, but Riley would have to leave before Corrine got up.
That wasn’t appealing at all anymore.
“We’ll see,” Grace said. “My body clock doesn’t let me sleep in anymore.”
When everything was in its place, Grace wished Corrine a good night and padded to the basement. She hadn’t seen Riley since before dinner, and all she wanted to do was soak in the hot tub and relax before crawling into bed and sleeping.
At the foot of the stairs she came up short. Candles were lit all around the room, and music was playing softly. The blankets on the bed were turned down, and if she wasn’t mistaken, she could smell Chinese food. “What in the world?” she whispered as she stepped farther into the room.
Riley came toward her. “It was crazy up there tonight with that group, and I figured you didn’t take time—or rather, you didn’t have time—to sit and eat your own dinner, so I picked some up for you.” He motioned toward the bag sitting on her small bistro table in the corner.
Taking Grace by the hand, he led her to the table. “I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I stuck to the basics. We can have a mini buffet.” She thought he was going to start taking food out of the bags, but he kept her hand in his and led her over to the bed. “Then, I plan on giving you a relaxing massage to help erase all of the stress and tension from the day.”
She almost purred at the thought.
Still walking, he led her over to her dresser, where she noticed her bathing suit was on display. “This is really just for show, because after the massage, I plan on us going to the hot tub and finishing what we started several weeks ago.” He waggled his eyebrows at her and smiled when she began to laugh.
“And then…” he said dramatically, “we’ll come back here, dry each other off, and”—he led her over to her small refrigerator and opened the freezer—“we’ll finish off the night with some cookie dough ice cream.”
Unable to help herself, Grace tugged on his hand and pulled him to her as she went up on her toes and kissed him. It didn’t matter to her if they didn’t eat dinner or do any of the other things that Riley had planned. No man had ever taken such care or been so considerate, and she was simply overwhelmed by his kindness.
This wasn’t one of their usual frantic, fast-paced kisses. No, this time Grace wanted to show him tenderness and take the time to just appreciate and explore him. Her tongue lightly traced his bottom lip, and at the same time, as he opened for her, Riley’s arm slowly banded around her waist to bring her in close.
Their lips gently sipped at one another and their tongues touched shyly. It was a most erotic form of foreplay.
Riley reluctantly lifted his head. “Damn, Grace,” he said, resting his forehead on hers. “I want you so much right now. I was proud of myself for pu
tting all of this together, and you’re blowing my carefully crafted attempt at romance to shreds.”
He said the words lightly, but Grace knew that he was right. He had put a lot of thought and effort into creating a wonderful night for her, and she needed to let him take the lead. Sighing, she hugged him and rested her head on his chest. “I just wanted to show you how much I appreciate all that you did. This was a wonderful surprise.” She raised her head and looked at him. “Thank you.”
Smiling, Riley stepped back, once again took her by the hand, and led her to the table where he promptly began dishing out food.
They ate and talked for what seemed like hours. Grace told him about Corrine’s offer to let her sleep in tomorrow and asked for suggestions on sneaking him out of the basement so that he could spend the night.
“That’s easy. You go up first and distract Mom in the kitchen. I’ll come up a few minutes after and go to my room and come out a bit later.”
“Done,” Grace said, relieved that they had found a solution. Riley told her about his conversation with Ben about the barn. “So you’re going to build it with him? Seriously?”
Riley nodded. “I actually enjoy construction. Before Ben sold his business, I used to work with him over my summer breaks. I always imagined that when I came home, I’d work for him. I was a little disappointed that he’d sold the business, but I totally understand why he did.”
“Your mother is going to be thrilled you’re doing this project together.”
“That’s what Ben said.”
Grace wanted to ask how he felt about staying here at the inn. The fact that he was willing to work on a project that would improve business might mean he had given up his campaign to get Corrine to sell. That would be wonderful for her friend, but it really didn’t change Grace’s plans. Sure, she might not be in such a rush to leave, but she would eventually. A bed-and-breakfast of this magnitude was out of her reach, but she now knew that she wanted to go in that direction.
It couldn’t be around here, because she wouldn’t want to be in competition with the Snowflake Inn or Corrine. Who knows? She might head back to New York and see about doing something upstate. She was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn’t notice right away that Riley was standing next to her. She looked up in confusion.
Holding out a hand to her, he pulled Grace to her feet. “Before we get too full, I want to make sure you get your massage.”
Grace looked at the clock and saw it was nearing nine o’clock. “As much as I love the idea of it, Riley, it’s getting late. We can do this another time.”
He shook his head. “We get to sleep in tomorrow morning, so we can stay up late tonight.” He flashed her a wicked grin before leading her over to the bed.
“I guess you have a point there,” she said sexily, leaning in to kiss his neck.
“Uh-uh,” he admonished. “None of that.” Without another word, Riley began to undress her. His hands moved slowly, seductively, but they were all that touched Grace. When he had her down to nothing but her panties, he instructed her to get on her belly on the bed. She readily agreed. Once she was situated, Riley straddled her thighs and began to work on her back.
This time Grace really did purr. Riley’s hands were pure magic, and it was as if he knew the exact spots that were bothering her because he hit them all. In a matter of minutes, she felt like nothing more than a limp noodle.
It didn’t take long for Riley to realize Grace was almost too relaxed. He climbed off the bed and stood beside her. “Okay, now that we’ve gotten all of those tense muscles loosened up, let’s hit the hot tub and soak for a little while.”
She whined in protest because she was so comfortable. It was cold outside. Even though she knew that between the heat lamps and the hot water, she’d be fine, the thought of getting to and from the warmth was making her not want to go. “It’s cold out there, Riley,” she said sleepily.
Leaning down, he flicked his tongue against her earlobe and felt her shudder. “I promise to keep you warm.”
The thing was, Grace really wanted to get into the hot tub. Even before she’d found Riley, she had been fantasizing about it all day. So with a sense of determination, she forced herself off the bed and stood before Riley in nothing more than her panties. With her hands on her hips, she looked him square in the eye and said, “Just remember what you promised.”
In that moment, he would have promised her anything. Her hair was in sexy disarray and draped over her shoulders to the swell of her breasts. Her skin was flushed, and her eyes had that sleepy look he loved so much. His throat was dry, and his tongue felt like it was the size of his fist. He couldn’t have formed a single syllable if he tried, so he simply nodded.
With a lazy smile, Grace began getting dressed again for the walk to the hot tub. When she stood at the base of the steps and looked at Riley, she noticed he hadn’t moved. “Well?” she asked playfully. “Are you coming?”
A deep, throaty laugh that was practically a growl came from him as he stalked toward her. “Not yet, but soon.”
* * *
Much later, they were sitting in Grace’s bed propped up on a mountain of pillows and sharing the cookie dough ice cream. “I have to admit,” she said after licking the spoon, “I was a little afraid we’d wake the guests while we were out there.”
Riley chuckled. “We? Sweetheart, that screaming was all you.”
She swatted his arm playfully. “And whose fault was it that I was screaming?”
“That’s your big defense? That I made you do it?” She nodded and dug in for another spoonful. “Hey! How about you let me have some of the ice cream?”
Grace shrugged. “I guess you should have gotten two spoons. You snooze, you lose. You know that.”
With a lightning-quick move, Riley had the spoon and the ice cream out of Grace’s hands. Before she could even react with more than “Hey!” he’d put them on the table and had her pinned beneath him. “I didn’t want my own spoon,” he said lightly. “We were supposed to be sharing.” He nipped at the sensitive spot by her pulse on her slender throat and felt her buck beneath him.
“We’re both only children, Riley,” she said breathlessly as his mouth began to roam to her collarbone and the swell of her breasts. “You know we don’t share well.” Grace was certain she was trying to prove a point, but as Riley’s hands joined the journey his mouth was on, she couldn’t remember what it was.
“Is this how I have to distract you to get what I want?” he asked gruffly, quickly returning his attention to the creamy skin of her belly.
She gasped and then settled as he moved lower. “You can have whatever you want.”
Chapter 9
The demanding guests had left, and while everyone was thrilled to have a little more peace and quiet around the inn, it didn’t last long. Word had gotten out about the rehab of the rooms, so they had a lot of traffic from curious townsfolk coming through, including the local newspaper that wanted to do a feature story on them. Along with that came the surprising news that Grace’s cooking was getting a lot of buzz as well. Soon they were receiving reservations solely for dining. Corrine had contemplated the option but hadn’t wanted to commit to it yet. Soon enough, they also were getting a lot more room reservations, and she and Grace both had the sneaking suspicion that they were from food critics coming to check them out.
It was an exciting time around the Snowflake Inn. Corrine sat back and wondered at how she had been managing the inn on her own for so long when suddenly four of them were working full-time around the place—and they were all busy. It did her heart good to have Riley home and to see him taking an active role around the inn. He didn’t seem distant and full of resentment for his childhood home anymore.
Out of the corner of her eye, Corrine saw Riley talking to Grace in the kitchen. She smiled. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that Grace was largely responsi
ble for her son’s sudden interest in the business—a positive interest in the business. Corrine had no idea where any of it was going to lead. All she knew was that right now, at that moment, life was good.
Doing her best to stay undetected, she hid in the shadows and simply watched the younger couple. Riley was smiling at Grace while she talked to him. She was putting together some sort of gourmet potpie while she spoke, and Corrine admired the natural ease with which Grace worked and moved. Looking at Riley again, she realized that a lot of the tension she had noticed in him when he’d first arrived was now gone. He smiled more, laughed more, and was easier in his own skin. As a mother, all she’d ever wanted was for her son to be happy. She wasn’t sure if he had been happy in the military, but looking at him, she knew he was now.
“It’s not nice to spy on people,” Ben said quietly from directly behind her. Corrine nearly jumped out of her own skin, but Ben wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close against him. “What’s so fascinating?”
“Look at them,” she whispered. “They think they’re so clever and secretive, but you can’t hide that.”
“Hide what?” Ben looked confused. He checked out the kitchen over Corrine’s shoulder and saw Riley standing and talking to Grace. Nothing out of the ordinary.
“Oh, for crying out loud,” Corrine sighed. “You honestly are going to stand there and tell me you don’t see it?”
“Corrine, sweetheart, you’re going to have to be more specific.”
“Fine,” she huffed. “Riley and Grace have gotten…closer.”
It took a minute, but finally Ben caught on. “Ooohhh…” He looked closer at the couple and then nodded. “Okay, now I see it.”
“I wish they weren’t trying to hide it. I think it’s wonderful that they’re a couple and that they’re falling in love. Maybe now Riley will stay, and eventually he’ll want to take over the inn because Grace is here, and then it will go to our grandchildren and stay in the family. And then maybe—”
Ben cut her off. “And that’s why they’re keeping it a secret.”
Mistletoe Between Friends / The Snowflake Inn Page 21