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“Ha ha, you know eventually you’re going to run out of age jokes.”
“That wasn’t an age joke, that was a speed joke. Keep up. Unless you can’t…”
“Oh man, the hits keep coming,” he grumbled, but his expression was all smiles. “What did I do to deserve this abuse?”
“Hey, you showed up at my party. You should have prepared better.”
“I thought this party was for all the employees. My apologies. I didn’t mean to crash.”
“Oh, it is, but it’s also my party.”
“That doesn’t make much sense.”
“It doesn’t have to.”
“I see.” His arms tightened, drawing me closer, pressing my body lightly against his. The heat of him seeped through my dress, and I was electrically aware of how close his lips were to mine. “In that case, I suppose I’d better keep an eye on you, Ellie. Something tells me you’re trouble.”
I laughed, tossing my head back. He had no idea. “I’ve heard that before,” I teased.
“I believe it.” He didn’t look put off at all, as if he rather liked the idea that I might be trouble.
The slow song ended and a faster one kicked off. Jake rolled his eyes and glanced to the side, as if he were considering escaping again.
Deciding to give him a break, I slipped my hand back into his. “Come with me.” I tugged him toward the balcony doors, and he followed willingly.
I didn’t realize how muggy the atmosphere had become inside until we passed through the doorway. Outside, the air was cool and refreshing, the moon huge and brilliant in the sky. It bathed the valley of trees and mountain peaks in the distance, leeching everything of color and setting a dreamy backdrop.
“Ah, so this is where everyone over the age of twenty-two went,” he commented, glancing around the deck.
It was large enough to accommodate a wedding with seventy-five seats, the ski hill in the background. Right now, there were a dozen picnic tables spread around, with people sitting in small groups and chatting. The music was still audible, but much quieter than it’d been inside. I tugged Jake to the point of the balcony, shaped like the bow of a ship pointed over the forest below.
“This is quite the place,” he admitted quietly, leaning against the railing. My eyes swept over the bulging muscles concealed beneath his shirt and a hot coal of desire burned in my stomach.
“Top of the line,” I agreed. “It’s already booked out for most of the weekends this winter, and half of next winter, too.”
“Is that what you do here? Book the events?”
“I do a little of everything, I guess you could say.” I switched the topic before I had to tell him too much. “What brought you here, out of the Air Force?”
Jake cleared his throat, as if he were uncomfortable with the question. “I was ready for a change,” he answered after a pause.
“Fair enough,” I replied. If neither of us was in the mood to go into details, there were other things to occupy us. “Come on, I want to show you something else.”
I slipped my fingers between his again and he squeezed lightly, following me along the railing to the edge of the deck, where a set of stairs led down to the ground. I tossed our bottles in the trash on our way out, curious if anyone noticed us leaving, but no one was looking. We walked along a pine needle-covered trail for a short distance, catching glimpses of moonlight through the tall trees overhead.
“You’re not dragging me off into the woods to kill me, are you?” He joked after a few minutes.
“Of course not, I’d never do something so cliché.”
“And this isn’t some kind of prank, like tie the new guy to a tree in his underwear?”
That made me chuckle. “Okay, who have you been hanging out with? You’re very suspicious for a guy on a moonlit walk with a girl.”
“Sorry, maybe I was in the military too long. My faith in humanity only goes as far as I can throw a person, and that isn’t far.”
“Well, rest assured I have no nasty surprises in store.”
“No surprises?”
