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“For what?” I asked, stepping back to let her in.
It wasn’t snowing, but it was cold. I shut the door quickly behind her.
She stopped a few feet inside and stared. “This place is… quaint.”
That meant she hated it. Not that I cared. It was a little mining cottage, built in the first years of the town. It had been updated–like a bathroom instead of an outhouse–and I found it perfect. It was just me and I didn’t need much, especially on my rental budget. I never cared for the massive mansion I grew up in. I was an only child and so the nine bedrooms were a little excessive. But we were the Hunters and needed to have the best of everything. Including views. Kitchens. And large quantity of bedrooms.
“What’s the dress for?” I asked, breaking her from frowning at my living room/dining room combination.
“The holiday party, of course. I told you about it on the phone.” She held it out and I had no choice but to take it. She tugged off a leather glove, then the other. Her coat was black, long and cashmere. Her boots were suede, a surprise for this wet weather. Her hair was the same shade as mine, but while mine was in a sloppy bun, hers was styled to appear wind-blown, as if she’d been out zipping around on a snowmobile and came inside looking perfect.
“Right.” She was expecting me to look at it, so I unzipped the bag and laid it over the back of my couch.
It was emerald velvet and from what I could tell it had a deep V.
“It’s very pretty. Thank you.”
“Cheney will wear a matching tie, of course.”
“I’m not going with Cheney,” I said immediately.
“Cheney is expecting you.”
I crossed my arms, frowned. “That’s his problem, not mine.”
“Evelyn, it’s the annual Hunter family holiday party. You can’t go without a date.”
I had to wonder if she was going deaf, if she needed ear candling or if she was playing dumb. Maybe she was actually insane because she expected me to fall in line with Cheney as my date. That he was in charge of my inheritance.
Nothing I said about Cheney was going to change her thoughts. To her, I was going to the party with him. I was going to marry him and have his babies and we were going to lounge about and lavishly spend money. My money.
It made no sense. Cheney was just a guy. His family was wealthy with their mine. The one that stripped the mountainside and was most likely an ecological disaster.
I went to the front door and opened it. Even someone as obtuse as my mother got the message, I wanted her to leave. “If you like Cheney so much, Mother, you take him.”
30
SILAS
“You’re back.”Mav slapped me on the shoulder, then pulled me in for a brotherly hug. “Good to see you.”
“Thanks.”
The James Inn looked like a mountain lodge, with the thick log walls and river rock chimneys. Oversized windows offered views of the entire valley from every angle. There were ten suites in the main building, plus a few small cabins for those wanting more privacy. With an event space for weddings and other celebrations, the place would be busy. Like the other inns Mav had built from scratch, I was sure this location would be a hit.
The soft opening was in a few weeks. In the meantime, all the furniture was in. All that remained was staff training and stocking last minute items that were lost in shipping. It looked good and as CEO, I should care.
Right now, I didn’t give a shit. Eve was going to fuck some stranger?
No fucking way.
“I didn’t know we were meeting today,” he said, his brain working through his calendar.
“We’re not. I’m here for Eve,” I said, looking around as I brushed snow off my shoulders. I was impatient. Frustrated. Horny.
Where the fuck was she? No way in hell was she sleeping with some asshole. Yeah, the virginity thing was just a cam room ploy to get a guy’s dick hard–and it fucking worked–but she wasn’t sleeping, ornotsleeping, with anyone but me.
I needed to touch her. Lick her. Fuck her good and hard and hearmyname coming from her lips so she’d forget whoever the asshole was who’d started sniffing around.
