AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Hey!” Jameson yells. I jerk back to myself and glare at him.
“What the hell, man!”
“We’ve been talking to you for the last couple of minutes, trying to pull you out of whatever has your attention. Are you okay? Do you need us to drive you home?”
“What! I’m not a child. I can drive myself.”
“Humph!” he snorts. “You can’t even carry on a decent conversation.”
“I’m not in the mood to chat.”
Fern trades glances with Jameson. Then she comes to me, patting my arm. “Really, Max. We just want to know if you’re okay. You seem a little out of it.”
Staring down into Fern’s sympathetic eyes, I groan. “I met the woman I’m going to marry. That’s all. And I’m not sure but I think she kinda hates me right now. Maybe because I was acting like a judgmental dick. It’s not me. I don’t know why I was acting like that.”
Fern’s lush mouth turns down. “Oh my gosh. I knew it! I knew she was perfect for you.”
“Why do you look like you’re sucking on lemons then?”
“Because…Aster is nothing like what you thought and she’s dealing with a lot of pressure right now. You kinda started off on the wrong foot with her and I’m afraid that it’s gonna be hard to win her over.”
“Yeah. I had a feeling.” I whirl and pace around the over-sized studio. “Maybe you could tell me some stuff about her. Give me a clue what I’m working against.”
“I can’t do that. If you want to get to know her, you’re gonna have to do it on her terms. All I’ll tell you is that she’s got a lot of stuff in her past that drives how she reacts to things. So step carefully.”
Nodding, I reach over and hug her, chuckling when my brother growls at me. I stare at him over her dark head. “Gimme a break. I’ve got my own girl I need to win. I’m not interested in Fern.”
He pulls her out of my arms and both of us laugh at his grouchy face. “And I trust both of you. But still….don’t touch her.”
Fern rolls her dark eyes, patting his arm. “You’re just a big teddy bear. Stop trying to be all alpha.”
He leans over and unfortunately for me, I hear what he says. “I’ll show you alpha as soon as we get home.”
“Ugh! Please. Go home and never say shit like that in front of me again.”
Fern giggles but Jameson picks her up and throws her over his shoulder, stomping out of the room. “That’s it! I’m done. See ya later, brother!”
“Right. Yeah. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I grab the address for the cabin off my phone and head out to my truck, plugging it into my GPS. I know this mountain like the back of my hand but that doesn’t mean I’ve seen all of the newer cabins.
The drive is relatively quick in my big truck but I’ve still got time to think about the woman I’m looking for.
Aster. I don’t even know her last name. Surely, I’m not in love with a woman who is so different from any woman I’ve ever met. I don’t even know her favorite flavor of ice cream. Don’t know if she’s a vegan like half those women out in California.
I know better than to ask her that one, though. California doesn’t seem to make her happy. Which is great for me. It shouldn’t take too much to convince her to stay.
My head is a mess. I want to get to know her. I feel like I need her. My body is electrified.
Her dark blue eyes. Lord, I’ve never seen eyes that color. Like rich sapphires. The deepest blue. Sprinkled with little sparks of gold.
“Get yourself together, man.”
I pull up to the cabin and study it, grabbing my clipboard. My eyes narrow while I take inventory. The roof looks good and solid. The chimney might need a little rehab. It looks to be leaning a bit. The log cabin exterior is solid. No work there. But the trees are too close to the house and they’re gonna have to be cut back.
I stomp onto the porch and knock on the door, waiting. Finally, the door swings open and all my idiotic thoughts slam to a halt.
My heart dances a jig in my chest. I reach up a hand and rub it.
