3
Lily pulled in a deep breath. The smell of the fresh air was amazing, just as Ethan had said. She found herself doing it several more times on the hike down the trail.
Lily wasn’t someone who enjoyed hiking… or being out in nature, but Stacy encouraged her to step out of her comfort zone on this trip. Coming to Montana was about getting away from her life in Texas and finding herself again. After seven years in a relationship with someone she thought would be her forever, she didn’t know who she was anymore. She had gotten comfortable. Their weekends had been spent hanging out at home.
Lily was usually holed up in her office trying to write her next book while Scott would be out golfing or at a work event.
She scowled. Now she wondered how often it was a work event, or if he was out with Mindy.
Fortunately for her, being a romance author meant she could go anywhere and not worry about missing work. Writing was her full-time job, and she was lucky enough that she could leave on a whim without worrying about being fired.
Stacy had been right. Going on the hike was good for Lily. Plus, looking at the muscular calves of Ethan didn’t hurt. Damn, that man was sexy, and he knew it.
Their conversation at the bar came back to her. It had been brief, and she high-tailed it out of there without taking a chance to talk to him. But she was there to find herself again. Not to find another man to live a mediocre life with.
They must have gotten close to the resort because her cell phone pinged with a text message now that they were in range of a cell tower and Wi-Fi.
She dug her phone out of her pocket to find a text from Stacy.
Stacy: How was the hike? I hope you had fun. Meet any cute strangers?
Lily: I need to call you and fill you in.
The dots danced across the screen showing Stacy was typing.
Stacy: Oh, this sounds juicy.
She chuckled. Stacy was always up for the latest gossip, and it was about time Lily filled her in on Ethan.
Lily: Stand by.
She pushed her cell phone back into her pocket and made her way across the lawn with the rest of the group. They went through the double doors of the resort, and she let out a satisfied sigh at the welcome air conditioning.
“This concludes our hike today. There is a list of more activities you can sign up for on the wall over here.” He gestured at a bulletin board with a list of resort activities. “It was funhanging out with all of you today, and I hope you enjoy your stay at the Wintervale Resort.”
Several of the other hikers went up to Ethan and asked him questions. Lily met his eye over their heads and she gave him a tight smile before speed walking to the elevator. Something about being in close distance with the man was nerve-racking. She punched the button to the elevator and stepped inside as soon as it opened. When she got back to her room, she let out a sigh of relief and set her water bottle on the little table before kicking her tennis shoes off and calling Stacy.
“All right. Fill me in. What happened?” Stacy immediately asked upon answering.
“Don’t hate me.”
“Okay…” Stacy dragged out the word.
“Yesterday, when I was on the phone with you, I got distracted because I saw this hot guy mowing the lawn. He caught me staring.”
“I knew something happened!”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t truthful. But I’m filling you in now. So I went to the local pub instead of eating here at the restaurant because I wanted to avoid running into him. Well, turns out, he frequents that pub and showed up. The only available seats were next to me, of course. And you called me while I was there and mentioned dicking. He heard the entire conversation.”
Stacy laughed loudly. “Oh, this is juicy. This better be in your next book.”
Lily rolled her eyes. “Oh please. Nothing has happened to warrant a romance novel. And nothing will.”
Stacy chuckled. “Okay, continue. Was he on the hike?”
“He was the guide. He’s the adventure guide at the resort.” Lily huffed. “Stacy, I’ve signed up for so many activities while I’m here. He’ll probably be the guide for every single one.”
“Phew. Is it getting hot in here?”
