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But now my nerves were jittery for another reason altogether. Being cooped up with Gage Russell had done a number on my body. His presence seemed to fill the cab of his truck. I’d tried to focus on his story about how he and Bo had met way back in elementary school and been friends since, but yeah…
All I could think about was him pulling off to the shoulder of the road, shifting into park, and tugging me toward him for a long, hot kiss. Our hands would start roaming and one thing would lead to another and then?—
“Oof.”
That sound came just a millisecond after my mind registered Gage flailing. He somehow made even falling look hot. How did he do that?
All those thoughts fled once Gage was on the ground. My suitcase was on its side next to him, the wheels still rolling. I gasped and looked around for help as I continued toward him.
What if he was hurt? Seriously hurt? Could we even get an ambulance up here? Probably not.Definitelynot in these road conditions.
“Are you okay?” I asked as I carefully but quickly planted one foot, then the other, onto the snow-covered sheet of ice. “Do you need me to call Bo?”
I already had it planned out. Once I was by Gage’s side, I’d dig out my phone. I just had to set down the bag and beers I was carrying. Judging by the number of vehicles in the driveway, Bo couldn’t possibly be the only one here. Surely, between them, Bo and his guests could help this guy.
“I’m fine,” Gage said. “Just a little sore.”
I’d made it to his side by then and I knelt, careful to balance my weight so I didn’t fall too. I set down the beer and cruller bag and looked him in the eye.
“What hurts?”
He turned toward me. At that point, it was clear he was perfectly fine. Our eyes met as I debated reaching beneath his coat and running my hand over his backside. Any excuse to touch him.
“What’s going on out here?”
A voice rang through the silence. I looked up. My boss was walking toward us, and here I was thinking about groping the guy who’d helped me up the mountain. My fallen hero.
“I just took a tumble,” Gage said.
He pushed himself to his feet, but it wasn’t easy. He probably thought I didn’t see the wince that briefly flitted over his face. I noticed that and the way his movements were stilted at certain points.
Hopefully, it was just a temporary muscle overwork, not a serious back problem. But as we walked toward the house, Gage and Bo exchanging barbs along the way, I also noticed his gait. This guy might be limping up the aisle.
But I had the training to possibly help with that. Did I volunteer that information? More importantly, could I maintain my professionalism when helping him meant getting him naked and putting my hands on his body?
3
GAGE
My back was hanging on by a thread. I knew that as I stood in Bo’s dad’s kitchen, laughing and trying to pretend I didn’t have a care in the world. But I’d busted my ass in front of the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen—a woman I was definitely trying to impress.
Now I was paying for it. And if I wasn’t careful, I’d be spending the rest of the weekend in bed, and not for the reasons I wanted to be there.
“You okay?” Jilly asked, concern softening her delicate features.
I nodded, but words wouldn’t come out, no matter how hard I tried. They just seemed to be stuck deep in my throat. That meant I was just staring at her. It was another one of those long looks that tugged at something deep in the core of my being. Not just an attraction. This was a woman I wanted to protect and keep safe. This was a woman I could easily fall in love with.
That thought took my mind off the pain briefly. What the hell? I’d just met her. Yeah, I’d been thinking lately that living alone in a cabin in the middle of nowhere might not be the lifestyle I wanted to keep as I grew older. But the womanstanding in front of me couldn’t possibly be past her mid-twenties. She wouldn’t want to shack up with an old fart like me.
“Can you keep a secret?” she asked, looking over her shoulder.
Sounds of voices and laughter carried in from the living room area, making it clear nobody was worried about the two of us. They probably hadn’t even noticed we’d lagged behind when they went to hang out on the couch, plates of food in hand.
“Sure,” I said. “Whatever you want to tell me is safe with me.”
I was hoping it was a confession that would lead to the two of us getting naked. Maybe these over-the-counter pain pills Bo grabbed from his dad’s medicine cabinet would kick in. Otherwise, she’d have to do all the work, and that definitely wasn’t how I wanted our first time to go.
“I’m training to be a massage therapist,” she said. “I can help you, but I don’t want my boss to know I’m in school.”
