7. Ridge
7
RIDGE
The snow-capped mountains loom high as I drive toward Cherry Hollow, Lila in the passenger seat beside me. We need more food and supplies to see us through until tomorrow, and it seemed like a good time for us to get out of the cabin. The atmosphere is thick with tension after what happened on the couch. I was so damn close to kissing that pretty mouth, but Lila pulled back. And even though I want her more than ever now, she probably made the right call. I’m too old for her, too grumpy, and tomorrow she’ll be leaving Cherry Mountain for good.
There’s something bitterly ironic about it. I’ve been avoiding people for years, and the one time I let someone in, it turns out to be the most perfect woman in the world. Now I’m falling for a twenty-two-year-old city girl who I’m never going to see again after tomorrow.
Fuck, what a mess.
My thoughts keep going around in circles, and by the time we reach Main Street, my damn head hurts from thinking so much.
“This place is so cute!” Lila says, looking around as we exit the truck. “I feel like I’m in a Hallmark movie.”
It’s easy to forget how pretty a place is when you live there, but Lila’s right about Cherry Hollow. The quaint streets and colorful storefronts are even more picturesque in the snow, and our feet crunch against the sidewalk as we walk toward the grocery store.
“Have you always lived around here?” Lila asks, her neck craning in every direction, trying to take it all in.
“Grew up here.” My eye is instantly drawn to the opposite side of the street, and I point toward the familiar building. “See the pizzeria? That used to be my dad’s restaurant. We lived in the apartment above it.”
Lila’s eyes go wide as she follows my gaze. “Really? I wasn’t expecting that.”
“What were you expecting?”
She hums thoughtfully. “I’m not sure. I guess I just can’t imagine you living in a town.”
“You thought I was raised by wolves in the mountains?”
“Something like that.” She grins at me, and my heart leaps into my throat.
“Fair enough.”
We reach the grocery store, walking side by side through the chilled aisles. Lila stays close to me, and even though we’re just shopping, there’s something intimate about it. It’s almost like we’re a couple—making dinner plans, talking about what we need to buy. I fill our cart with treats, and when we reach the cashier, Lila reaches into her purse.
“Put that away,” I tell her pointedly, getting my wallet out.
“At least let me go halves?—”
“Not a chance, Lila.”
Before she can protest, I pay with my card and carry the bags of groceries outside while she follows behind, thanking me in her sweet little voice.
Fuck, I could listen to her speak all day.
We stop at Buttercup Bakery to grab a freshly baked cherry pie before heading back to my truck, walking so close together that Lila’s curves brush against me softly. She looks so damn sexy in her jeans and sweater, and I barely take my eyes off her until we’re back on the road, driving up Cherry Mountain.
“Well, I can see why you wanted to stay close to this place,” Lila says. “Not just the town, but the mountains too—it’s like something out of a fairytale.”
I grunt in agreement. “What about Denver? You like it there?”
“Sure. It’s a good place to live. Expensive though.” She shrugs. “The best thing about it is that Audrey lives there. I’ll miss her like crazy when I’m back at my parents’ house.” Her voice catches.
“I’m sorry,” I tell her. “That’s rough. You two sound really close.”
“We are.” She smiles wistfully out the window. “She’s been my best friend since kindergarten. A boy was trying to snatch my picture book and Audrey whacked him with her lunchbox. The rest is history.” Her eyes shine at the memory. “She’s been the one constant in my life. No matter what else is going on, Audrey is always there.”
It’s a relief to know that Lila has somebody she can count on, but I still hate the thought of her being stuck with her asshole parents in Colorado Springs. Knowing that she’s leaving this place to go live with them gnaws at me, and I’m still turning it over in my mind once we’re back at the cabin. Middy is curled up by the fire where we left her, barely rousing as we walk through the door, and I leave Lila to fuss over her while I cook lunch in the tiny closet-sized kitchen. But my brain is a million miles away as I shred the cheese and cook the macaroni.
Fuck, if only I could freeze time. Tomorrow is coming around so damn fast.
I wish she could stay. Hell, I’d give anything for even one more day with Lila. When she first knocked on the door in the middle of the storm, I wanted her gone. Now I don’t know how to go back to life without her. It’s crazy for a grown-ass man like me to fall so fast—forty-five years old and I’m acting like a teenager. All I know is I want Lila more than anything, and my stomach is twisting tighter with every passing second, dreading tomorrow.
“This smells amazing,” Lila calls when I finally bring out two bowls of mac and cheese a little while later. We eat at the table, watching as it starts to snow outside, flakes drifting lazily down to the ground.
“This might be the best mac and cheese I’ve ever tasted,” she says, taking an appreciative bite. I’m relieved to see that she doesn’t try to hide herself as she eats like she did at breakfast.
“Glad you like it. I have a lot of great recipes. One of the benefits of growing up with a chef dad.”
Lila smiles. “I’ll bet. Do your parents still live around here?”
“No.” The pang in my stomach is weaker than it used to be when I add, “They both passed away while I was in the military.”
She stops mid-bite, her face drooping. “Oh, Ridge…I’m so sorry.”
I shake off her words. “It’s alright. It’s been a while—I’m used to being alone these days. Well, until—” I cut myself off and take another bite of macaroni, scowling.
“Until what?” she asks, confused.
Until I met you, Lila.
Until you woke up my heart with that pretty smile.
I think it, but I don’t say it.
“Nothing.”
I can feel those big brown eyes on me, but I don’t meet her gaze. It would be a mistake to tell Lila how I feel about her. It won’t change anything. Hell, she might decide to leave early. It will be easier for both of us if I keep it to myself, even if it feels like my heart is about to explode every time I look at her pretty face.
After lunch, I get a call from the guys fixing my cabin. They already removed the tree and fitted a new window. Fortunately, the structural damage wasn’t significant. My cabin took the weight without buckling, and all that’s left is to patch up the hole in the roof.
“Should be ready tomorrow afternoon,” the man says. “Got my whole team on it.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it.”
He runs through everything they’ve done so far, but I’m only half listening. Lila is curled up on the couch with Middy on her lap, her nose in a book. She’s changed into comfier clothes—sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt—and my cock twitches at the sight of her. I swear this girl could make a garbage bag look sexy.
Once the man has finished talking, we end the call and I join Lila on the couch, my curiosity piquing when she automatically tilts the book so I can’t see it. Her eyes are darting across the page, and she’s nibbling her lip, cheeks pinkening as I watch her. I don’t want to disturb her, but I’m also desperate to know what it is on those pages that’s captivating her so much.
“What are you reading?”
Her gaze flickers toward me. “A romance book.”
“What’s it about?”
She swallows hard. “Um…it’s about a man and a woman who work for the same company. They’re rivals, and they hate each other until they end up stuck in an elevator together. It kind of goes from there.”
“Can I see?”
Her eyes widen, big as snowballs. “Uh, I don’t think it’s your thing.”
“Try me.”
Reluctantly, she hands me the book, and I scan the first paragraph.
…as Logan slid his hardness inside her. Ember panted with need as his thick cock pounded her, the sounds of sex bouncing off the walls of the elevator. “Oh, Logan! Yes!” she cried with abandon as their sweaty bodies slapped together…
I tear my eyes away from the page and glance at Lila. She’s biting her lip, her face flaming. “The whole book isn’t like that.”
“Oh.” I don’t trust myself to speak. My pulse is thrumming, heat flooding through me as I look at her.
“Actually, that’s a lie,” she says quietly. “Most of it is like that.”
Holy fuck.
She looked so innocent with her nose in her book and all the time she was reading smut. Knowing this pretty little angel reads dirty books turns me on like crazy, and my cock is throbbing as I hand it back to her.
“Thanks,” she says, immediately hiding her face in the pages, embarrassed.
“Looks like a pretty good book to me.”
She peers at me from over the top of the cover, and I see her eyes crinkle as she smiles. “It is.”
My heart spasms and I’m overwhelmed by the urge to lift her into my arms and carry her into the bedroom. I want to claim her sweet body. Make her moan my name as she comes for me. Raw desire is burning through my veins, the bulge in my pants growing harder by the second. In a few hours, it will be time for me to share a bed with Lila again. It was impossible to control my need yesterday, but something tells me that tonight will be even harder, and I suppress a groan, running a hand over my beard.
Goddammit, this girl will be the death of me.