Chapter 3
3
LUCAS
T his had been a stupid idea. I should’ve stayed at my cabin, where I’d been working all day after learning the state was talking about blocking off this road. I’d rather be snowed in at my cabin than at the show home that doubled as my office these days.
But no matter how hard I tried to focus on my work, I couldn’t stop thinking about a certain woman. And eventually, I’d hopped into my truck and headed this way. After climbing onto this barstool and watching the hostess take a group of four to a booth, I turned my back to her, trying to plan my next move.
“Hi.”
The voice behind me jerked me from my thoughts. A female voice. The voice that belonged to the angel who’d been on my mind since that morning.
Darby was her name. During the four-minute drive from the crash site to the lodge, I’d learned that much. That had given us very little time to get to know each other, and it didn’t help that I sucked at making conversation. She’d said very little too, probably because she was so stressed about the crumpled-up fender on Betty White.
I looked over my shoulder at her and a weird sensation flooded my body. It was an unfamiliar feeling. It felt like…
Home.
“Hi,” I said. “Thought I’d stop by for a beer since the road’s closed.”
What the heck did that mean? She’d probably assume I was saying I couldn’t tackle the drive across the city line to get alcohol, making this my only choice. Beer had nothing to do with why I was sitting here right now, though.
“Your friend called about my car,” she said. “I tried to call back, but I didn’t get an answer.”
Oh yeah. She probably thought I was here to update her on her vehicle. No, I said I was here for the beer. Maybe she was hoping I had some news. Or she could be making conversation.
Christ. How was it possible I sucked so much at interacting with women? I’d had my fair share of one-night stands back in the day and had even made a semi-relationship last for a few months here and there. It wasn’t like I was completely new to it.
“He lives above his shop,” I blurted. “So the snow won’t stop him from working on it.”
Working on it? I was no expert, but I had serious doubts Brock could get her white sedan back on the road again. The front end looked like a soda can after a fistfight with a trash compactor.
She chewed her lip thoughtfully as she stared straight ahead. “Worried” was the best way to describe her expression. Her features weren’t relaxed at all, and those beautiful big eyes were narrowed as she seemed to think through her situation.
“How am I going to get back and forth to work in the meantime?” she asked.
I glanced toward the far end of the restaurant—to the big plate-glass windows that lined that wall. The sun had set a good hour ago, but thanks to the lights on the inn’s roofline, I could clearly see how heavy the snow had gotten.
“Have you looked outside lately?” I asked.
I nodded toward the window. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her looking in that direction. By the time I fully shifted my gaze to her face, her eyes had widened as she took in the scene.
The snow was coming down pretty hard. Big, white, fluffy flakes. Luckily for most of the diners in this restaurant, it wouldn’t matter. The majority were staying in this lodge for tonight, I assumed. And the locals seated to my left knew how to get up the mountain in snow. We had vehicles equipped for it.
But even we could get hosed up when the weather got really bad. If not for this need I had to see Darby again, I’d be seated on my couch in front of my giant fireplace right this very second.
Darby shifted that wide-eyed gaze back to my face. “All the rooms are booked solid.”
“I have a comfortable couch,” I said.
What was I doing? Never in a million years would I have offered my home to anyone I’d just met—or anyone at all unless they were really down on their luck and needed my help. But I didn’t let anyone close enough for that to happen.
Offering my couch to this woman seemed natural, though. In fact, I’d probably give her my bed and I’d sleep on the couch if it didn’t make her feel uncomfortable. In an ideal world, I’d be in that bed with her.
“I couldn’t impose,” she said. “I’m sure my boss will have to set something up. There’s a family over there who just came to ski for the day. They didn’t expect to get stuck. And some of these locals will probably end up trapped here too.”
I shook my head. “We’re used to it. Not a single one of these guys would be here if we thought we couldn’t get home.”
That included me. As much as I wanted to spend time around this beautiful brunette who was sliding her way into my ice-cold heart, I would not risk getting stuck in any business owned by greedy guys like Alex Jewell and Brandon Brighton.
“I think you’re needed at the thingamabob over there,” I said, nodding toward the podium visible just over her shoulder.
Darby was a hostess here. She told me that on the drive over. Her name and her job were all I knew about her, even after two conversations. Well, that and the fact that she named her car after a deceased celebrity.
She gasped and turned to see the small group that had formed near the hostess stand. Then she spun back to me briefly and said, “I may take you up on your offer. Don’t go anywhere.”
I didn’t know what time she got off work, but I’d wait. I’d wait until the end of time if it meant getting a few more minutes with this woman.