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“I’m Gage Russell. Your boss, Bo, sent me to fetch you. If you want a ride up the mountains, better show your face. This train’s leaving in five minutes.”
Then, to give her some space, I walked over to the beer cooler. I’d grab one for later—for after we arrived at the wedding cabin.
I had a full six-pack in hand when I turned back to face the counter. I almost dropped it, though, when I got a look at the woman standing there.
Holy hell, was she hot. When Bo asked me to pick up his server, I’d pictured a kid. Someone who was eighteen at most and looked it. But the person standing behind that counter was pure woman. She was tall and busty—I could see that even with the purple unzipped coat she wore over a black sweater. Her long, caramel-colored hair hung down over her shoulders, and those full, dark-tinted lips looked like they were made to give a man pleasure.
“I thought you were a robber,” she said. “That knit cap looks like a ski mask rolled up. I’ve been listening to true crime podcasts all the way here. I guess they got into my head.”
I reached up, my fingers brushing across the cloth at my forehead. I’d completely forgotten I was wearing a hat. When combined with my large frame size, it was easy to see how someone might get spooked at the sight of me, especially after hours of listening to stories about murders.
I gestured toward the counter. “Is this yours?”
I was hesitant to approach, but I took a couple of steps in that direction, stopping with plenty of distance between us. If it bothered her, she didn’t show it. Instead, she crossed her arms over her chest and stared me down.
“I left a twenty on the counter back here,” she said, her gaze scanning the area. “Nobody was here.”
She snatched up the half-eaten cruller, which rested on top of a napkin. She grabbed a plastic bag from next to the register and slid both items inside, then reached for her drink.
“Good.” I gave a nod. “That twenty more than covered the cost of yours and mine.”
She’d turned as if to walk around the counter to meet me, but my words seemed to freeze her. She stared at me.
“You think I’m paying for your six-pack?”
I nodded. “I’m giving you a ride up the mountain, aren’t I?”
After a long hesitation, she seemed to accept that. She came around, letting me finally see the rest of her—the part that hadn’t been hidden behind the counter. Tight blue jeans covered the top half of her legs while tall boots took care of the rest.
I didn’t want to stare, but as she raced past me and toward the door, I did exactly that. I took advantage of the opportunity to soak her in. Mostly, that meant admiring her curves—what I could see of them with that coat that covered half her ass, anyway.
This was going to be a good, good day.
2
JILLY
The first twenty-four years of my life had taught me to be pretty darn independent. But getting up the mountain on my own was not an option. Not in that car. Not when the roads were as slick as they were today.
“Thank you for coming to get me,” I said as we pulled into the driveway of the gigantic cabin at the top of the mountain.
I finally let out the breath I’d been holding all the way up. We’d made it. We were safe. I didn’t care if I had to stay until the spring thaw. I was just grateful to be on solid ground.
“Why were you even out in this mess?” Gage asked. “The bar’s closed. You could’ve stayed at home, safe and warm.”
“I wanted my boss to see I was doing everything I could to get here.”
“But he wouldn’t have wanted you to risk it in these conditions,” the guy, who’d introduced himself as Gage, said. “If you’d called before leaving, he would have said?—”
“Don’t come,” I finished for him. “Yeah, I can be a bit stubborn when I want to be. That’s what my mom always said about me, anyway.”
Being raised by her alone had made it clear to me that I had to be self-sufficient. I couldn’t rely on a man.
“Like I said, I wanted to prove to him I’d done what it took to get to his wedding.” I shrugged. “It’s a new job. I want to impress my boss.”
Gage looked over at me with a strange expression. But then he shrugged and opened his truck door, slamming it and going to the back. He had both my suitcase and his overnight bag in hand and was heading up the driveway before I had a chance to get out. He didn’t even wait to see if I could make it across the icy driveway okay.
I snatched up my cruller bag and the six-pack and hopped out. That meant leaving my raspberry seltzer behind in his cup holder. No biggie. I’d just grabbed it as a way to calm my nerves.
