“So, you’re a virgin.”
He gives me a sidelong glance then bursts out laughing. “You think because I’m a math geek, I’ve never had sex? I think that might be the funniest thing I’ve ever heard.”
I cock a brow at him. “Glad I can entertain you. Let’s circle back to what you were saying about Ash and normal circumstances.”
He coughs to clear his throat. “Yeah, I was saying it’s reasonable for Rhonda to expect Ash to stick around long enough for them to get to know each other. And why shouldn’t she? That makes perfect sense.”
“But?”
“But Ash and I travel. We talked about this, how we’re home only a few months out of the year. That’s not normal circumstances.”
It’s like he’s actually on my side. I didn’t know a guy was capable of agreeing with a mere woman. Jake always took the opposite view, no matter what I said. He probably thought it made him superior, but it only made him an ass. “I get what you’re saying. I just hope Rhonda gets it.”
He meets my gaze with the sincerest look in his eyes. “Look, I don’t want your friend to get hurt, especially if my brother is careless with her feelings. That would be terrible. I’ll talk to him, get him to manage expectations. Rhonda deserves to know where things are headed.”
Manage expectations? That’s exactly what I thought she needed. Well, this is turning out better than I hoped. Color me satisfied.
Out of the blue, he submerges his whole body then whips his head up out of the water and smooths his thick,dark hair back with both hands. I swear, it’s almost like I’m seeing it in slow motion. Yeah, it’s that hot. I have no idea why he did it, but dang, he looks so darn good, and he’s being incredibly sensitive. It’s a lethal combination, and a girl has only so much willpower to say no when everything inside of her is screaming, YES!
And speaking of managing expectations—I expect he’ll be inside me soon if I don’t leave now.
I close my mouth and gather my composure. “Good. I’m glad that’s settled.” I step out of the tub and pick up my phone. “What’s your number? I’ll send you a text so you can let me know how your conversation with Ash goes.”
“What name should I put with your number?”
That’s right. I’ve never told him my name. Do I give him a fake one? Maybe, but that would make things complicated, and I hate complicated. “Madeline, but everyone calls me Maddie.”
“Good to know.”
He gives me his number, and I send the text. With that out of the way, I gather my wine bottle, the wrapper from the chocolate bar, and my plastic wineglass, then tell him good night.
“Have a good night, Maddie.”
I can’t help it. I give him one more long look, probably too long. All the wrong kinds of thoughts are swirling in my head, but with a deep breath, I force myself to turn and walk away. As I head to the elevator, I have one last thought on my mind.
My pillow is about to get a real workout!
CHAPTER 15
Riggs
This will be a Saturday to remember.
Even I’m surprised at how many snowmobiles showed up at our primitive camp. I’ve counted forty-three so far, and someone said more are still coming. But, like Ash pointed out, not all of them are from National Discovery. Executives from nine companies that buy our products are here with their families.
With Rhonda by his side, Ash is entertaining the adults. They’re all taking turns lying on the beds in the shelter. Whenever we do these kinds of events, the beds are one of the first things they ask about, and if they get to try them, they’re always surprised at how comfortable the nets are. We have a unique way of setting them up so they’re as tight as a trampoline, yet they still form to the shape of your body. That took years to perfect.
Ash asked Maddie and Rhonda’s friends—Glen, Randy, and Damon—to help out. They seem pretty happy to be a part of this. Glen and Randy are building a fire outside the shelter in front of the table and chairsMaddie and I made, while Damon is building a fire inside the shelter between the beds. Looks like they know what they’re doing. I’m not surprised. They’re real country boys.
As usual, Elsie thought of everything—well, almost. She worked everything out with the lodge and even got permission for the fires. She also hired a catering company to serve hot chocolate, hot apple cider, and plenty of coffee, along with doughnuts. They brought everything here on sled trailers pulled by snowmobiles.
The executives’ older kids came on their own snowmobiles. The younger kids rode in small, fully enclosed carriage trailers on skis that were towed by their parents’ snowmobiles. The pods hold two kids each and look like something out of Star Wars. They’re super cool.
Tons of camera and sound equipment are being set up by the network people. It seems like a lot for such a small project, but what do I know?
Elsie had a large crate of supplies delivered to the lodge. Ash and I were trying to figure out how to get it to the camp when Maddie and Rhonda met us in the lobby. I wasn’t sure Maddie would come, but I was secretly hoping she would. We were running late, so we decided that Ash needed to head to the camp to greet everyone. Rhonda went with him, which left Maddie and me behind to try to figure out how to get the huge crate to the camp.
While I was staring at it, scratching my head, Maddie was looking at the large floor-to-ceiling windows, or what was on the other side rather. “What about those rescue sleds?”
