5. Gemma
Chapter Five
GEMMA
I crossed the parking lot in front of Misty Mountain Café, pausing to spin and look behind me. I was still soaking in every view to be found here. This little coffee shop was situated on a slight hill off of Main Street in Diamond Creek with enough elevation to offer a view of the mountains and a slice of the bay in the distance.
I was still getting accustomed to the long days here. It was June and the sun wouldn’t set until after ten p.m. It was evening now, and the sun was only beginning its slide down in the sky. Sunset lasted for hours here in the summer. At the moment, there were the early glimmers of a watercolor sky and the fading brightness of late afternoon.
Turning back, I glanced at the new sign on the café. Cammi must’ve had that mounted at some point during the day today. I smiled. The renovated Quonset hut was adorable. Windows had been cut into the sides of the structure, and the front, where the door was on the long end of the cylindrical shape, was all windows. Walking inside, I glanced around at the artwork hung on the walls in the already crowded space milling with customers and guests. In addition to her incredible coffee, Cammi had partnered with Daphne for baked goods and updated the sandwich menu.
As I glanced around, a voice came from over my shoulder. “Hey, Gemma!”
Turning, I found Susie Winters smiling at me. Her brown curls bounced and her matching brown eyes crinkled at the corners with her smile. I’d met Susie through Cammi, encountering her occasionally at the coffee shop in the short time I’d been in town. Come to think of it, almost everyone I’d met so far had either been from students coming to my yoga classes, or people I met here.
“Hey, Susie, how’s it going?”
“Good, good,” she said quickly. “Doesn’t it look great?”
“It does, and I love the new sign outside.”
Susie’s husband, Jared Winters, approached, looping his arm around her waist. “You’ve met my husband, right?” Susie asked.
“Just once, good to see you again,” I responded with a nod to Jared.
“If you haven’t been out fishing yet, you need to go,” Susie added.
Jared’s grin shifted from her to me. “Just let Susie know if you’d like to go, and you can hitch a ride on one of our trips.” I knew from Susie that Jared and his two brothers ran a fishing charter business.
“I’ll make sure to do that,” I replied.
Susie was drawn away into another conversation, so I threaded my way through the crowd to say hello to Cammi who was standing by the counter. “Love the sign,” I commented.
“Jessa painted it. She’s the one who does the tables too,” Cammi explained, gesturing over to a table nearby.
I looked in that direction, seeing a woman with wavy brown hair standing beside yet another handsome man. Alaska was crowded as far as the rugged, handsome man quotient went. Outdoorsy was definitely the vibe.
The tables here were whimsically painted and fun. Cammi explained to me they served as a way to show off Jessa’s artwork, which she sold out at one of the galleries near Otter Cove Harbor.
“I need to get out to the galleries one of these days,” I commented.
“You should. Would you like coffee or some food? I even have wine and hard cider tonight,” Cammi said with a smile. “And it’s all on the house.”
“I’ll take a few of those,” I said, pointing to a cluster of pastries on a tray. “A small glass of the cider would be nice too. I’m driving, so I can just have a taste.”
One of Cammi’s staff poured me a glass and passed over a small plate. Cammi was already swept into another conversation. I was scanning the room to see who else I knew when I heard a voice low at my shoulder. “Hey, Gemma.”
A prickle raced down my spine the second I recognized Diego’s unmistakable voice—warm with a hint of gruffness. Turning, I found him looking his usual delectable self. His dark hair was slightly rumpled, but then that always seemed to be the case. His green eyes stood out against his sun-kissed skin. The man’s chiseled jaw and cut cheekbones were too much.
His eyes searched mine briefly, and I thought I recognized an answering flare of heat in his gaze. “Hey,” I said, a little breathlessly.
“You tasting Delia’s cider?” he asked
I peered down at the glass in my hand. Looking back to him, I replied, “Um, I’m not sure.”
“It must be hers. Cammi’s serving from the brewery tonight, and they only bottle Delia’s. You’ve been up to the Lodge restaurant, right?”
I shook my head and took a swallow of the cider, savoring the fresh apple flavor that slid across my tongue. “I keep meaning to get up there, but I haven’t yet.”
Diego held my gaze for a long moment. “I’ll take you then. The food is excellent, and you can meet Delia. The lodge gives you another pool of customers for your yoga classes. There are plenty of staff between the restaurant and the lodge itself.”
“Is it busy during the summer? I thought it was a ski lodge.”
Diego held his finger up when a waiter passing by with a tray asked if he wanted anything. He took several of the small finger sandwiches and his own glass of cider before returning his focus to me.
“It’s primarily a ski lodge,” he explained after a swallow of cider. “During the summer, they run hiking trips and function as a regular hotel. They send us plenty of business for our flight service.”
“Aren’t they your competition?”
I took a bite of a pastry, closing my eyes and letting out a little moan at the flavor. It was filled with brie and a burst of cranberry flavor. “Oh, my God, that’s good.”
When I opened my eyes, he was staring at me intently. “You could do that again,” he murmured.
While nothing he said was inappropriate, there was a naughty hint to his words. It felt as if sparks scattered over the surface of my skin. Trying to play it cool, which I was utterly terrible at, I commented, “You should taste one.”
He took one, while I enjoyed another. After a moment, he nodded. “Very good. To your question, the ski lodge isn’t really competition. They cater to a different type of tourist. Sure, they are Alaskan tourists, but the people that book there want to be close to town. The people that stay with us are more after the pretending as if they’re in the middle of nowhere vibe.”
I couldn’t help but giggle at that description. “Pretending? Aren’t you all pretty far out there?”
Diego finished another bite, and I found my eyes lingering on the motion of his throat when he swallowed. Good Lord. I even thought this man swallowing was sexy. This wasn’t even sane. Heat prickled over the surface of my skin, and my pulse hummed along.
Oblivious to my internal state, he stayed on topic. “You’ll have to come out there. It’s only twenty minutes away from town. It does have the feel of being isolated though. More than half the drive is on a gravel road. It’s pretty high end and a really nice place. Plus, we have Daphne’s cooking. As you can see from her sandwiches, we’ve got it good.”
“Oh, is there a restaurant there?”
Diego chuckled. “No. That would be nice though. It’s a restaurant grade kitchen, but we only serve the guests there.”
Elias, Cammi’s boyfriend, approached. He appeared to hear the tail end of our conversation. “That’s the only thing I miss.”
Glancing to him, Diego flashed a grin, sending butterflies into flight in my belly, even though he wasn’t grinning at me. “Of course, you do. But you know you miss me more,” he teased.
“No, he misses losing to me and cards,” Gabriel, another pilot there, offered when he stopped beside us.
The guys lapsed into an easygoing and teasing conversation, and I wondered what it was like to have that kind of friendship. Although, I had friends where I grew up, Portland was a big city, and my struggles in school tended to leave me feeling insecure most of the time. My closest friends were from softball, and we’d all been splintered by what happened with our coach. I still stayed in touch with a few of them, but the tension from that episode lingered. Several of us shared the uneasy bond of being the target of his attention, while others didn’t. That dynamic created a strange fracture in our relationships. I hated how the situation continued to ripple through my life.
Nora, another pilot and Flynn’s sister who I’d met at yoga classes with Daphne, wandered over and cast a smile. “How is yoga going? I need to come to more classes,” she said apologetically.
“I’m actually pretty busy. I’m finding ways to cater to the tourists for the summer.”
“Oh, you should give us your flyers. We’ll hand them out to our guests. We have a running list of things that we tell them about, so if anyone wants a yoga class, we’ll send them to you.” Nora’s eyes brightened. “Would you do classes out at the resort? Maybe once a week.”
I pondered that for a moment. “I could certainly do that. We would need to make sure there’s space. Once a week would work.”
Just then, Flynn and Daphne meandered over. “Those little pastries you made are incredible,” I said.
She flashed a smile in return, smoothing her hand over her auburn hair, which was pulled back in a twist. “I’m glad you like them.”
Nora nudged Flynn in the side. “I have an idea. Why don’t we pay Gemma to come out and do a yoga class once a week for guests? Maybe one evening a week?”
Flynn glanced to me. “If you think it’s worthwhile, it’s fine with me.”
Daphne clapped her hands together. “I love this idea.” She looked between Flynn and Nora. “We should schedule it on one of the nights we don’t serve guests dinner. Gemma can stay after and have dinner with us.”
“Oh, well, it’s a done deal if you’re cooking,” I interjected.
The night passed quickly, complete with a few prizes given away in a raffle for fishing trips and the like. Nora also convinced me that I needed to go dipnetting for salmon with her. I wasn’t sure I completely understood what it was, but she promised me it would be fun and that I could watch since I hadn’t been a resident for a full year yet. Although I hadn’t been in Alaska too long, I’d quickly discovered there were strict regulations around fishing and hunting and that one wasn’t considered a resident until they’d lived here for a full year. Not that I did much of either, but there were signs aplenty warning tourists to be aware of the laws. Nora explained dipnetting was exactly as it sounded—dipping a net in the water to catch salmon.
I was acutely aware of Diego the entire evening. He wasn’t always at my side, but my eyes searched him out again and again and again. It didn’t help that he was so easy on the eyes. My girl parts also thought the view was excellent, but I managed to keep my cool. I ended up offering to help Cammi clean up afterwards.
Daphne, Nora, and the guys from the resort also helped. Daphne effectively bossed all of them around. The sun was slipping down behind the horizon by the time I walked out to the parking lot. Cammi called goodbye from the door, and I waved over my shoulder. When I got to my small car, I found Diego’s truck parked right beside it.
I even recognized the back of him now. He was leaning over to put something in the back of his truck, and I took the moment to admire his muscled ass. The man had one fine ass. Every inch of him was fine. He straightened and closed his truck cap, turning just as I stopped near my car and hit the key fob to unlock it.
We didn’t speak and simply looked at each other for a moment. The air felt lit with a charge. “Need some help,” Diego finally asked, a grin teasing at the corners of his mouth.
Startled, I looked down at the paper plate I held in my hand. Cammi had given me a few of the leftover pastries. “I think I can handle it,” I managed when I looked back up into his teasing eyes.
Opening the passenger door, I set the plate on the seat and placed my purse beside it. When I closed the door, I pressed my hands against it, as if it could somehow anchor me while this intense and inconvenient desire for Diego did cartwheels through my body.
I hadn’t noticed that he had walked between our vehicles and was standing only a foot or so away from me. My pulse rioted, and butterflies tickled my belly.
There didn’t happen to be anyone else in the parking lot at the moment, and we were shielded by Diego’s truck from the view of the coffee shop.
“I wanted to kiss you the other day,” he said, his low voice sending a hot shiver over my skin as it prickled with goosebumps.
“You did?” I squeaked.
This was shocking to me, and I didn’t know why. I was always surprised to think anyone might want me. The reasons behind that were something I didn’t like to ponder.
He nodded slowly. “I’d like to kiss you now.”
He stepped a little closer, and air was suddenly hard to come by as my pulse went absolutely wild. I could suddenly think of nothing other than kissing him.
“What do you think about that?” The mere sound of his voice sent sparks pinwheeling through me.
I realized he was giving me an out, but also pushing me to tell him what I wanted. And, oh, how I wanted to kiss him!
I took something like a breath, although it wasn’t much use with my lungs doing a poor job. “I’d like that,” I finally replied in a breathy whisper.
I wasn’t a breathy girl. I was practical and logical and carved my own path in life. I didn’t get all fluttery over a sexy guy who wanted to kiss me. Except, apparently, I did with Diego.
“Let’s test that theory then,” he murmured, taking another step until he was right there in front of me, every masculine, muscled inch of him.
Diego’s presence was a potent force. I could feel all of him, the power and strength contained inside his strong body. He moved, almost lazily. In a corner of my mind, I marveled at him, thinking he must have way more experience at this than me. It was just a kiss.
And we hadn’t even gotten to the kiss yet. The mere anticipation of it had me feeling as if I were leaning on the edge of something, about to topple over. He lifted his hand, his thumb tracing along my jaw and then around my lips. His eyes searched mine as my insides turned molten.
He said something, but my brain couldn’t absorb it, right before dipping his head and brushing his lips across mine. That subtle touch was like lightning in my body, sizzling hot and sending fire licking through my veins.
My breath was followed by a shameless moan escaping from my lips. He brushed his lips over mine once more, sending another bolt of lightning through my system. My brain cells scattered, and I curled my arms around his shoulders, flexing into him just as his hand slid around to cup my nape. He angled my head and took command of our kiss.
I felt the heated path of his palm slide down the center of my spine, coming to rest above my bottom, his fingers splaying. He emitted a soft growl right before his tongue swept into my mouth.
Diego obliterated all memories of prior kisses. His mouth was deliciously teasing as his tongue glided against mine before he drew back and dropped kisses on each corner of my lips. I was already in danger of melting as rapidly as ice under hot sunlight. When he did that, I whimpered, my fingers digging into the corded muscles along his spine as I pressed closer.
Along with that fiery heat dancing through my veins, there was a tug low in my belly, and my pulse thundered through my body. He played with my mouth with lazy teases of his tongue and lingering kisses.
I could hardly believe it as I plastered myself against him, my nipples tight and achy, and wet heat slick between my thighs. His lips blazed a path away from my mouth, pressing hot, open kisses along the underside of my jaw, his teeth grazing the side of my neck.
“Diego,” I pleaded, rocking my hips restlessly against him.
The sound of a car door in the distance punctured the haze of fierce need clouding my mind. Diego lifted his head, but he didn’t step away, keeping me held in a full body clench against him.
Sweet hell. I wanted to stay in this singular spot in the universe for the rest of my life, held tight against his strong body.