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Oh shit, is she going to fire me over this?
Her eyes get this faraway look in them as she smiles widely. “Julian Long slept in my bakery. Yes!”
I laugh in surprise when she does a fist pump.
“I don’t like it,” Scott says with a frown.
“Wow,” Trish says as she puts an arm around me. “I’ll make you a deal. I’ll teach you everything I know about the bakery business and you teach me everything you know about bagging a hot mountain man.”
I laugh. “Deal.”
Epilogue
Abby
Three months later…
It’s autumn in the Greene Mountains and I doubt there’s a more beautiful spot on the planet right now. The colors are stunning. Reds, oranges, yellows, browns, mixed with green everywhere you look. Even the streets are colorful with all of the leaves that have already fallen.
It’s a crisp sunny day and I’m hiking up Bearskin Mountain with my amazing man.
“Have you ever saved anyone on this mountain before?” I ask as I turn back to look at him.
Julian is walking behind me on the trail with Charlie wandering a few feet behind him. It never gets less shocking to see him. It’s been three months of being together every day and I still get stunned by his beauty whenever he looks up and those mesmerizing blue eyes land on me.
“Just once,” he says. “A college girl got heatstroke and I had to carry her down.”
A pang of jealousy hits me. “I bet she loved that.”
He shrugs those massive shoulders. “She was pretty out of it. I don’t think she realized what was going on.”
Now I just feel bad for her. She had a gorgeous muscular mountain man saving her and she wasn’t awake to enjoy it.
We continue up the path and I have this warm happy feeling in my soul as I look around at all of the spectacular scenery. The mountains are breathtaking. They stretch out into the horizon with snaking rivers cutting through the trees and there’s a sparkling lake off in the distance on the south side. It’s a natural paradise.
The bright blue sky stretches on forever over our heads with a few floating cumulus clouds that look like big balls of white cotton candy.
I’m in love with this place.
The Greene Mountains really feel like home now.
I have an amazing boyfriend who is attentive to my every need and a job that I’m really starting to like.
Getting up at five AM isn’t so bad when you love every single day. I bounce out of bed every morning and get to work with a smile on my face.
Scott trained me on every station and I learned so much from the little weirdo. Trish’s speedy training style didn’t blend well with my methodical learning style, so I was so relieved when we found a better solution. When I could get him to stop talking about movie theories, he was actually pretty good and I learned a lot. We even became friends. Well, friendly work acquaintances is probably more accurate.
Now, I’m whipping up Danishes, rolling out dough, and baking cookies all at the same time. Trish is thrilled with my progress and she even told me this week that I was the most promising employee she’s ever had! I was ecstatic.
“Look at the bald eagle,” Julian says, pointing at the sky.
I stop with a gasp when I see it gliding high over the mountains. It’s gorgeous. Just when I think this place can’t get any more magical, the leaves start to change colors or a beautiful animal crosses my path, and my mind gets blown all over again. This place is full of surprises.
But nothing has been more surprising than Julian.
We get along so well. I have no doubt that we’re soul mates.
He’s always talking about the future. A home, kids, growing old together. He sees it so clearly. I love to hear him talk about it.
He asked me to move in with him two weeks ago and I immediately said yes, because god, who wouldn’t want to live with a man like him?
Julian has an amazing house with a slow-moving creek running through the backyard. The mountain views are stunning, but my favorite thing is the giant porch that wraps around the house. There are hammocks, rocking chairs, and comfy couches scattered around it. I love spending time out there reading Trish’s smutty romance books.
I only get a few chapters in until Julian comes out, scoops me up in his muscular arms, and carries me inside to reenact the dirty chapters.
We’re so in love.
I can’t believe that I could still be back in Sacramento working at my cheapskate uncle’s used car dealership and sharing a place with seven roommates.
It pays to be bold.
Charlie wanders off, catching an animal’s scent and sniffing along the path once we get to the peek.
It’s chilly up here, but I don’t mind. I know once we get home, Julian is going to start a fire in the fireplace and I can curl up on the couch under a blanket with a warm cup of coffee. Julian will join me and then it won’t be long before I’m getting warmed up in another way.
