Chapter 8
CHAPTER 8
ARLAND
O n my way back home, I was consumed by thoughts of the enchanting woman who had waltzed into town and into my bed. Her kiss was like a shot of adrenaline to the soul. The taste of her still lingered on my tongue, a constant reminder of her moans echoing through my big, empty house.
The woman was something special, a fascinating, ravishing creature that had been a breath of fresh air. Those cornflower blue eyes would haunt my dreams until long after she left Sun Valley. Strangely, she’d been great conversation as well.
Her maturity had astounded me. I hadn’t felt like I was talking to someone so much younger, and frankly, I wasn’t worried about the age difference. Within five minutes of meeting her, I had forgotten all about it.
I wasn’t even convinced I’d hear from her again, but even if I did, at most, we’d probably just wind up setting the sheets on fire a few more times, then she’d be moving on. It didn’t sound like she’d be staying past the peak winter season, which meant that no matter what, our time together would be limited.
A good thing, since she was definitely a woman I might have been able to develop feelings for and I didn’t do that anymore. I hadn’t allowed myself to get close to another woman since my wife had left me for my brother twenty years ago.
That betrayal had changed the way I loved, even though she and I had only been married for two years and they hadn’t even been particularly good years. No woman, not even one as captivating as Mimi, was ever going to change that.
Relationships and I were done with one another. I had since forgiven my brother and my ex-wife—or at least, I’d been working on it over the years—but I still had no intention of trying marriage or even having a serious girlfriend again.
Not forgiving would only hurt me—life experience had taught me that—so I tried every day not to hate them for not just being honest with me. But I would never be able to fully move on from walking in to find Smith balls deep inside my wife, and the worst of it had been that Lisa had acted like it was my fault.
I’d been twenty-five years old, for God’s sake, working hard to provide the kind of life for her that she’d always wanted. As it turned out, however, she hadn’t wanted that life with me anymore.
In a way, it had been a relief when she’d left, but even so, it had made it impossible for me to let women in that way. Despite how tumultuous and distant our marriage had been, I’d still trusted Lisa. I’d married her thinking she was it for me, that she and I would live out our days together, and when that hadn’t happened, I’d put the whole marriage thing behind me.
People said to try everything once, and I’d done that. I’d also decided that it wasn’t for me, which meant that I was always careful not to get too close to anyone.
Mimi was the first woman I’d met in the last two decades that had even made me feel like I might be able to eventually care about her, if I were so inclined. It was laughable to think about her that way, though.
She was a nomad. Albeit a new one. She would be blowing through town and she’d be gone before I knew it, and that was without even touching the subject of how I felt about developing feelings.
As I pulled into my garage and locked up for the night, I wondered how different my life might’ve been if I’d never met Lisa in the first place. Perhaps I would have been single all along, and at this point, I might’ve found myself fantasizing about taking a stunning young wife, and I might’ve pursued the possibilities with my nomad.
Or else, if I’d married someone else, Greg and I might’ve been in the same boat. I might’ve had three teenagers stomping through the house, their teenage angst filling the large spaces between these walls.
Scoffing at the thought, I shed my clothes once more on my way to my bedroom, grabbing another shower and brushing my teeth before I climbed into bed stark naked. The rest of the weekend passed in something of a blur.
We were busy at Everwood and Greg and I took his kids skiing. He’d thought they might enjoy it. I’d always been the cool, fun uncle to them, but it looked like not even spending time with their favorite funcle could pull them out of their hormone-drenched spirals.
They’d eventually sat and contemplated the sadness of living while Greg and I had enjoyed the slopes, and then he’d taken them home to brood in peace. Grateful that I could escape it all back at my place, I’d gone home, thoughts still centered around Mimi as I’d prepared for the week ahead.
Before I even knew it, it was Monday morning and I was on my way to the resort. Bright blue skies graced the town to start the week. Sunlight glistened on the snow-topped mountains and the streets were finally dry.
Our days were definitely getting colder now, and I stopped by a local coffee shop to pick up a few different hot drinks to take to the office. Today was the day our first three staff members would be starting, and I was excited to meet them.
Their arrival meant the official opening of the resort was imminent, and since this was a passion project for me, I was more pumped about everything than I had been since I’d started my first business. Everything about the resort was exciting, even something as simple as showing our first three employees around.
Yet even as my tires crunched along the gravel road leading up to Everwood Chalet, my mind kept wanting to slip to the night I’d spent with Mimi. No matter how often I refocused on the day ahead, she’d made me feel twenty-five years younger, taking me back to the days when my libido had well and truly been raging.
I hadn’t struggled with near constant erections in many, many years, but it’d certainly been a fucking struggle this weekend. The memories of those curves under my hands threatened to undo me, images playing through my mind of her half naked, writhing under my mouth while I feasted on her slick, pretty pussy.
I groaned as I pulled into my parking space next to the main lodge, my dick hard enough to hammer nails. Although I knew there had been lots of progress made here over the weekend, I hadn’t even noticed any of it on my way in.
Instead, I was horny as hell, my brain soaked in lust and my body paying the price for it. Snap out of it, man. You’re not a teenager anymore. What the hell is wrong with you?
Sighing, I forced myself to focus on what was going on around me and I took a quick look around. From here, I could see that the lodges were coming along nicely. Most of the roofs we’d wanted to repair seemed to be done and the pathways between them all were almost completely paved.
Small decorative touches had been added to the space outside the main doors, new fountains brought in to make a feature of the entrance and several signs affixed to the side of the building. The majority of them were to lead people toward our ski-storage area or to the trailheads for those who would be coming to stay in the summer.
It’s really taking shape.
When I finally checked in with myself again, I realized my hard-on had subsided and I nodded, reaching for my door handle and pulling it open. I doubted that would be the last time today that I would have that problem, but at least it’d passed for now.
This really is ridiculous.
On the other hand, I felt pretty good. Granted, the unexpected erections were an inconvenience, but I also felt younger. Rejuvenated.
The combination of hooking up with Mimi and seeing a literal childhood dream come true in Everwood Chalet seemed to be doing wonders for me. I even grinned as I collected the coffees and headed over to the lodge.
As a child, my parents and I had often vacationed right here in town, staying in one of the many resorts despite the proximity of our own home. Occasionally, we’d venture out of Sun Valley to explore different areas and go skiing on someone else’s mountains, but most years, we’d spent our Christmas break at a resort that used to be right down the road from where I was right now.
The place hadn’t made it, falling into disrepair over the years and eventually shutting their doors, but as a kid, owning a place like that had been my ultimate dream. For the longest time, I’d all but forgotten about it until this opportunity with Brian had come knocking.
And now, just a few months later, here we were, about to open what would hopefully become the next iconic Sun Valley ski resort. I pushed open the double doors and walked into our reception area. A flare of approval shot through me when I noted that the floors had been installed and they were busy building our expansive front desk.
Above the whirring of drills and the occasional pounding of a hammer, I heard voices from down the hall and I followed them. In the wing of the main lodge that stretched out in the opposite direction of our offices, we were in the process of installing conference rooms and business facilities.
Only one of the conference rooms was currently operational, and that was where I found Brian. I knocked swiftly on the half-open door, striding in without waiting to be invited and shutting it behind me to drown out the racket being made by the construction crew.
Brian was sitting at the large wooden table with three young women, which meant I was the last to arrive for this meeting. At least I came bearing gifts.
Thinking back to the day on which he’d told me about them, I did a quick replay in my mind of who would be doing what. Elizabeth, marketing. Gabby, admin. Mariam, Brian’s sister, my assistant as well as heading up Operations and HR.
Brian stood up when I walked in. Smiling politely, he motioned at the women each in turn. I’d been so caught up trying to remind myself of who was who that I hadn’t even taken a look around the table yet, but I glanced at them now—and almost dropped the coffees when I saw Mimi looking back at me from where she was seated next to two other girls.
For a moment, I thought I might’ve been hallucinating. After the inordinate amount of time I’d spent thinking about the woman, it wouldn’t have been impossible, but the jolt that rocked through me as her gaze met mine made me realize that she was real.
It was really her and she was really here, which meant… Oh, no.
Fuck. Please just don’t let her be Brian’s sister. Please. Please. Please.