Tangled with the Tight End (Evergreen Lake: Under the Mistletoe)

Chapter 18

eighteen

NORAH

The road winds in front of us as Gabriel steers the Jeep toward the lodge. This has always been one of my favorite places to observe wildlife. A squirrel sprints across the road, stops, and waits on its haunches as we drive past. This is their land, not ours. That’s what I love about Evergreen Lake. The community is small, so we take up less space, leaving the animals ample room to roam.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watch him. His hands grip the steering wheel at the nine and three o’clock positions, likely because there’s more snow covering the roads the higher elevation we travel. Even under his coat, I sense his hard muscles flexing as he steers. His jaw is covered with a 5 o’clock shadow as if he woke up and stumbled out of bed.

I know that feeling. After he left last night, I wandered through the house wondering what in the hell I was doing. Not ten minutes, hell not five minutes before we were making out, I was declaring the possibility of a hook-up off-limits, and with one touch, I threw in the towel at standing strong.

There’s something about him that demands my attention, and it’s going to be my downfall.

Even today, I’m breaking my rules. I told him we needed space so that we didn’t confuse a vacation fling with anything else, specifically so I could build up my walls and protect myself from falling for him. And he barges into my shop, growls at Sawyer, and sweeps me off my feet.

Mine? I shift my attention out the window. He doesn’t mean that. Okay, fine. He means for the next week or two, he doesn’t want me running off with Sawyer so he can indulge in no-strings sex. No strings-hot as a fucking inferno-sex. But that’s where it ends.

“Norah?” His voice is a deep rumble.

“Yes?” I turn my head to face him.

One corner of his mouth inches upward. “Do you know you’re beautiful, when you’re fretting.”

I roll my eyes and cross my legs. “You’re full of shit.”

“No.” The stern cadence of his rebuttal draws my attention again. His jaw is tight as he shakes his head. “I’m not. You’re beautiful whether you’re stomping out of my brother’s house pissed off at me or pondering how to get rid of me.”

“I’m not….”

His eyes meet mine for a second, and I swear there’s a flicker of hurt before it flashes away as fast as it appeared. “Yes, you are. You’re sitting there trying to figure out your next move to blow me off, but it’s not going to work.”

That’s what I’m afraid of. The words fly through my head, but I keep my mouth shut. He flips on the blinker and turns into the lodge’s parking lot. “What exactly are we doing here?”

“In this car or at the lodge? Or as a couple?”

My eyes narrow into slits. “At the lodge?”

Not that I want his answer. It’s bad enough he’s tossing us out as a couple when he’s been adamant that he has no intentions of settling down in Evergreen Lake. He has both feet outside the door to return to Kansas City, and he knows this is where I want to be.

But I’m not sure I want to know what we’re doing at the lodge either. If it involves him trying to convince me to get naked, my clothes will be off faster than a cheetah runs. He makes me weak.

“Nothing dirty.” He shoves the gearshift in park and leers at me. “Unless you beg me.”

“You’re a ridiculous tease.” Damn him anyway. He’s hot as sin and backs it up with both words and deeds. I’ve never had someone openly flirt with me this way. And I’ve sure never had multiple orgasms in one sex session. More like one every three months if I had enough to drink and there was a full moon.

He grabs my hand and laces our fingers together. It shouldn’t feel this perfect. “I have a private dinner set for us in the restaurant. Champagne and lobster.”

“Why?”

“Because I want to spoil you. I don’t think you’ve had nearly enough of that in your life. Let’s go.” He grins and squeezes my fingers. When I grab the door handle, he clears his throat. “I’ll get the door.”

“If you insist.” I rest my hands in my lap and wait.

When I step outside, a cool, brisk wind whips at my hair, and then his hands are on my face, and his lips cover mine. I whimper and step into him, pretending to myself that I’m using him to keep warm. Lies. All of it is lies. I kiss him back as his strong arms encircle me. His solid body pressed into mine.

Shit. I’m in so much trouble.

He pulls back. “You’re beautiful with your eyes shining as they look up at me. With your perfectly kissable lips swollen from my kiss,” he growls. “And that whimper. Fuck if it doesn’t make me want to take you right here and make you forget your own name.”

Space. My heart hammers in my throat. I need space. This may be how he talks to all the women he beds, but this is not reality to me. I can’t survive him paying this kind of attention to me and not fall in love with him. And then what? He happily returns to his carefree life, and I’m left miserable and alone in the cold with only my log fireplace to warm me at night.

I step back. “Let’s eat. I’m starving.”

“As you wish.”

For fuck sakes, he did not just quote my favorite movie. I knew he was an asshole when I met him. I walk briskly to the front entrance as he trails behind.

After stomping my feet on the lobby rug, he whisks me away from the direction of the dining room and leads me down a hallway and to a private room. The space is warm and inviting but only big enough for an intimate party.

The one table is laden with a bucket of ice and champagne. Two flutes with silver covered patterns. “Get comfortable so I can feed you.”

I stop with my hand on my coat’s zipper. “You aren’t feeding me.”

“No?” His eyes dance. “Too bad.” He chuckles as he discards his outwear and removes the dome lids from the stainless-steel platters. The lights are low but bright enough to make out everything in the room.

My mouth waters as lobster, shrimp, steak, steamed vegetables, and salad are uncovered. Who does this? Who woos a lady he has no intention of seeing again. Tears prick my eyes. Son of a bitch. I straighten my spine. This is all a game to him, and I’m not falling for it. For him. I’m stronger than that.

I pull out my chair and watch silently as he fills my plate and prepares his, joining me across the table. “Why Lips & Hips?”

The small fireplace in the corner dances with flames and crackles, adding to the ambience.

My hand freezes on the fork. “It was called Evergreen Lake Bistro when my parents ran it, but I wanted something more fun and trendier.”

“Like you.” He nods and opens the bottle of champagne, pouring each of us a glass. “It fits the place. Cute, smart, and easy to remember.”

“Thank you.” Heat covers my cheeks again.

“Do you want to expand more than to the lodge?”

“I hope to. There’s a few towns close by that typically don’t come here to do their business, so they would provide solid opportunities for expansion.”

“Are they large enough to support your business and the others already established?”

We eat between questions as some of the tension eases from my shoulders. I can talk about business strategy any day. “Yes, at least two of them would.” I shrug. “The third, I’m not sure about. They have mom-and-pop places that do both breakfast foods and baked goods. Not as many options as I provide, but I’m not sure there’s room for both without one running the other out of business.”

He rests his elbow on the table. “How many people in the town and surrounding area?”

For several minutes, he peppers me with questions as we toss over the pros and cons. It doesn’t take long to discover that his love for business management wasn’t something he did just to play college football. He took his studies seriously.

“Not that I’m in any rush. If I expanded, it’ll be first at one of the other two larger towns.”

“Tell me about those locations. Do they have empty buildings? Are they solid construction?”

Thirty minutes later, I’m stuffed and buzzing from the two glasses of champagne.

“I’m sorry.” I glance outside as the shadows grow in the room. Maybe it was longer than I thought. I glance at my watch. An hour? How did we talk about my business for over an hour? “You must be bored.”

“Bored?” He frowns. “I was the one asking the questions, and when I retire, I’d like to do something with that business degree of mine.”

Right. When he retires. My shoulders sink. Don’t get wrapped up in something with an expiration date. Remember the reason you can’t be together. Or one of the reasons. “What drew you to football?”

“I was athletic as a kid. Everything came easy, so I played all the sports. It wasn’t until high school that I focused on football, track, and weightlifting. I was obsessed with improving every week, and Marco followed in my footsteps.”

“It must’ve been nice to have someone so close to you doing something you loved.”

“Yes.” His eyes grow distant for a second, and then, as if he shook the past away, he smiles. “It was. It was fun, and I loved beating him.”

“Did you miss him when you went to college?”

He winks. “Until he got there. Then he was following me around again.”

“I didn’t realize you went to the same college.”

“We lived together for the two years we were on campus together. Then I was drafted.”

I lay my forearms on the table. “That’s nice. I always wanted a sibling. That’s why I want a….” I snap my mouth shut. He doesn’t want to hear about my desire for a large, close family.