Chapter 2
K elly flopped back on the bed in her room at the Wintervale Resort in Wintervale, Montana. What brought her to a different small town not much different from her own? Her best friend, Ava.
When Kelly approached Ava about wanting to leave town for a bit and experience another place, Ava said she knew just the place.
Kelly couldn’t hide her doubt when Ava suggested a small town, but she trusted Ava had a reason.
Her reason? She saw hot men in a video from a popular influencer who had visited Wintervale over the summer.
Ava grabbed Kelly’s hand and pulled her up into a seated position. “Come on, girl. Let’s go see the sights!”
Kelly looked around with an eyebrow raised. “We’re in Montana, Ava. This isn’t exactly what I had in mind when I said I wanted to get away.”
Ava smiled, her dimples making her look younger than their 26 years. “Trust me. There’s something special here.”
“Like hot guys?”
“Exactly!”
When Kelly had asked Ava to leave town with her, she didn’t expect her to jump at the chance so quickly.
But Ava had been acting weird for the last month, and Kelly suspected it had to do with Cole, Kelly’s twin brother.
Something had transpired between them, but Kelly didn’t know what, and she wasn’t about to pry either.
The three of them had grown up thick as thieves, but she had always seen the attraction between her brother and her best friend.
Secretly, she hoped they would end up together, but didn’t want to press the issue. That had to happen in its own time.
Kelly followed Ava out of their room and down to the lobby of the resort. People were everywhere, and the front desk staff seemed overwhelmed. They must have missed the rush of people checking in when they had arrived because it was nothing like this.
Kelly and Ava worked their way out of the building and into the chilly air.
“Holy cow. They’re busy,” Kelly said.
“Yeah. It’s surprising. I wonder if it has to do with that influencer,” Ava said. “Although she got hurt on the hike. But between you and me”—she looked around as if she was about to tell a huge secret—“I think she was faking the injury because in her next video she was doing a viral dance.”
They walked along the sidewalks and down the street toward some larger buildings not too far away.
It appeared to be the main part of town as several people were walking on the sidewalks between the resort and that street.
They passed by the different businesses, and Kelly made a note to visit each one while they were in town.
“Let’s go in there,” Ava said, pointing at Wintervale’s Country Store.
They stepped inside the store and looked around.
It seemed to carry a little bit of everything, and they walked through, looking at the different souvenirs.
There was a book section with Lillian Taylor’s newest book on display, announcing they had signed editions in stock.
Then they passed through the pharmacy and back toward the grocery section.
They each picked out snacks and bottled water to bring back to their room.
When they walked back toward the resort, they were each carrying a large bag of goodies to last them while they were in town.
“I think we went a little overboard on the snacks,” Kelly said.
“Impossible.”
Kelly giggled. “And we probably should have left this for our last stop so we could have checked out more stores.”
Ava shrugged. “It’s all right. We’ll have plenty of time to meander.”
They were almost at the front doors of the resort. A car out of the corner of Kelly’s eye approached quickly, and she screamed, chucking her bag at the car and jumping back to avoid being hit.
The bag landed on the hood, and the items scattered across it. The car had stopped, and then Kelly realized what she had done.
“Shit. Please tell me I didn’t just do that,” Kelly whispered.
Ava snickered beside her. “You’d think the car jumped out of nowhere with that toss of the groceries.”
Kelly and Ava were still on the sidewalk as the car had been pulling into a nearby parking spot. While she thought it was going to hit them, it had just been parking.
The car shut off, and the door opened, revealing a head of short dark brown hair. The man’s eyes met hers, and confusion marred his perfect features. He was, by far, the most beautiful man she had ever seen, and she just attacked his car with snacks. Heat crawled up her neck.
“Are you okay?” he asked. His voice came out low and washed over her, sending chills down her spine. “Was there a bee?”
The question was absurd, and he was clearly giving her the benefit of the doubt as to why she could have a reason for chucking an entire bag of groceries at his car.
“No, I’m sorry. I’m just really clumsy, and I fell.” Her face flamed.
Kelly stepped closer and began picking up the spilled groceries, trying to put them back into the paper bag, which had torn. The items rolled back out.
He leaned over and pulled several items off the hood of his car and watched in amusement as everything continued to scatter out of the bag she was still attempting to refill. If she willed it hard enough, it might just hold.
“I think that’s a lost cause,” he said.
Ava continued standing on the sidewalk giggling. Kelly shot a glare at her. “Ava, maybe you should go up to the room and empty the bag so we can use it to pick up these groceries.”
Ava only laughed more before nodding and disappearing inside the building.
“I think between the two of us, we could get these up to your room,” he said.
His voice came so close that she looked up quickly only to realize he was squatting next to her, picking up the loose items that rolled out of the bag as she still attempted to refill it.
She stood up and took a step away from him. “Um, that’s okay. I think I can handle it.”
He looked around. “I’m sure you can, but I can help.” He clearly didn’t think she could, and he would be right. There were way too many items for her to carry in one trip without a bag. Between the two of them, they might be able to do it, but Ava should be down soon to help.
“My friend will be right back. She can help me.”
He tilted his head. “Seriously, I don’t mind. Let me help.”
Kelly looked around. There were a lot of people moving between the resort and the stores down the street.
They weren’t exactly in a secluded area, but she was in a new place, and she didn’t want this guy to see which room was hers.
She wasn’t used to having to worry about her safety with a strange man.
Storyville was a small town where she knew all the locals.
But here, she didn’t know if this guy was some big-city slicker who was here to prey on women. He was at the resort after all.
“No offense,” she said. “But I don’t need you to see where I’m staying.”
A small smile crossed his face. “I can respect that. Perhaps it would make a difference if I let you know I’m the head chef here and my family owns the resort. I’m Miles Blake.”
So, he was also a small-town guy. “Oh. Um, I’m Kelly.” She looked around. But maybe he was lying, and it was just a line he used. “I’ll still wait for my friend.”
He gave a single nod. “Okay. Well, it was nice to meet you, Kelly.”
“You too. I’m sorry again about the—” she gestured at the car.
He chuckled. “It’s all right.”
She watched as he disappeared inside the resort. Not even a minute later, a man wearing a green polo with the resort logo came out carrying a paper bag.
“Hi, ma’am. Miles asked me to bring this to you.” The man bent down and helped her put her items into the new bag. Once they finished, he stood up. “Would you like me to help you to your room?”
She shook her head. “Oh no. I’ve got it, but thank you. I have a question, though.” She paused for a moment. “Does Miles really work here?”
“Yes, ma’am. He’s one of the owners.”
Kelly smiled and thanked him again before they went their separate ways. She went up the elevator to their room and walked down the hallway. When she let herself inside, Ava was lying on the bed scrolling on her phone.
“Ava! What the heck? I told you to come back down with a bag.”
Ava giggled. “I thought you two might need a moment together. He was hot.”
Kelly rolled her eyes. “Not that it matters. I made a fool of myself.”
“Some guys like that.”
Kelly snorted. “Right.”