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It took two solid days for them to set up for the Sierra Vista Cup, which was to start tomorrow at seven a.m. It had been an all-hands-on-deck kind of situation, with Milly at the helm. They couldn’t have managed without her, and everyone on the team knew it. Including his family.
They’d set up a staging area for the athletes with snacks and beverages, a designated spot for competitors to register and receive their numbers, and a viewing area for the spectators, surrounded by a mesh barrier that had banners from all the sponsors—all twelve sponsors, who pledged five figures each.
Over the past few days, Jax and his siblings had had several strategy meetings, each filling the rest in on how their respective teams were operating. But it had been Milly, with her spreadsheets and velvet touch, who smoothed out every detail so that it all came together to create a cohesive event.
His eyes automatically scanned Bigfoot’s Brews and, as if she were a homing beacon, he found her in a split second. She was at the far end of the bar talking with the owner of a local brewery who was delivering the extra kegs.
She was dressed in knee-high boots, dark jeans, and a blouse that had all these tiny buttons, which he wanted to undo—with his teeth. And those boots were the kind he would ask her to leave on in the bedroom. She’d worn her hair in a high ponytail—and he’d bet his life savings that it had been a conscious decision on her part to drive him crazy.
He wasn’t the only one to notice. When she walked into the room the entire male population stopped to appreciate a beautiful woman. And she was beautiful. And smart. And tenacious.
She had this dynamic energy that was inspiring and infectious. She led with an understated assurance that made people want to be around her. Then there was that quite poise about her that turned him inside out. He’d once mistook it for shyness, but now he knew better.
“I haven’t seen you smile that like that since you won your first competition,” Peggy said, approaching him.
Jax was behind the bar wiping down the counter. He had come in early to help set up for tonight’s opening. With only one restaurant at the lodge, and not a single vacancy, he knew tonight would be a madhouse. Normally, he’d be hanging with the other athletes, but tonight he wasn’t a participant, he was Sierra Vista’s head of sponsor and business development, working the event just like the rest of his family. He had a meeting at seven with a buddy who was a VP for the Xtreme Games, but until then he was free, so he’d offered to fill whatever slot needed filling and he’d been stuck with barback duty.
“I’m just practicing my bartender face.”
Peggy did not look convinced. “Either way, I’m just glad to see you smile.”
Peggy’s eyes locked on his in a way that made him feel like she could see right through to his soul.
Man, when did it get so hot in here?
“The other night we were talking about next chapters. What is your next chapter?” she asked. “I know you love what you do, but have you considered what comes next?”
He’d been considering it more and more as of late. Jax hadn’t felt this kind of comfort and rightness since that first night he’d slept at the Carmichaels nearly twenty years ago. Sierra Vista was home and somewhere along the way he’d forgotten that.
Snowboarding was a young man’s sport and, while Jax wasn’t old by society’s standards, he was quickly reaching retirement age. And he’d always told himself that when he went out, he’d go out on top.
He never considered any kind of sales position—he wasn’t a suit kind of guy and he never would be—but he’d managed to create partnerships with several companies in a matter of weeks while still being true to himself. And he was damn good at it. Almost as good at it as he was at snowboarding. Even more, he’d helped his family hold on to something that was a huge part of their history and, he hoped, a huge part of their future.
“Some of my best memories were made right here. I spent the first part of my life working alongside my family and I think, when it’s time, I’d like to spend the next part of my life doing just that,” he said, even as he felt his lip ache from running into Lucas’s fist.
Peggy rapped one finger on the bar top as if genuinely amused by his answer. “While I love to hear that, I was asking more about Milly and where she fits.”
Jax’s palms began to sweat. He’d managed to avoid conversations about Milly with his family. Actually went out of his way to avoid “the” talk. At first it had been because he didn’t like deceiving them, but lately it had been for another reason altogether. Because talking about Milly led to thinking about Milly and thinking about Milly led to him showing up on her doorstep at midnight. He told himself that it was just because he wanted her, but that want was turning into something much more powerful.
Man, he’d complicated the hell out of what was supposed to be a simple arrangement. And he’d known it was only a matter of time before Peggy wanted answers. And it appeared his time was up.
“We just started dating,” he said. “We’re not even thinking beyond the next few days.” Because then Jax would have to go back to his regularly scheduled life. And while his body was craving the rush of a win, his heart was craving something else.
Something he couldn’t have.
Milly was the kind of woman who deserved to be the center of a man’s world and Jax’s world didn’t allow for that right now. She deserved adventure and he wasn’t about to hold her back. She also deserved someone who knew how to love—and that wasn’t him.
“With Kent, all it took was a single look.”
He glanced across the room to see Milly, catching her mid-laugh, and his heart did this odd little jump. If he were the right guy, he could see how one look could do it.
“Don’t get too excited,” he warned. “My life is complicated and she’s still trying to figure out her next chapter. The last few have all been about her sacrificing everything for others. She has enough people pulling her in different directions. She doesn’t need another string to worry about.”
“I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” And with that Peggy walked off leaving him with alone with these unsettling feelings.
He was leaving. That was the plan. It had always been the plan. Their arrangement began with a clear understanding that they had an expiration date. So then why was this sense of urgency pressing in on his chest?
As if sensing his swirling emotions, Milly’s gaze roamed to his. Tilting her head in concern, she studied him. Instead of falling back into his usual life’s great attitude, he let her see his truth. They stood like that for several beats, walls down, staring at each other from across a busy bar and it felt like a page started to turn.
