Chapter 20
CHAPTER 20
ARLAND
M ariam’s sweet scent intoxicated me all the way back to Sun Valley. On every inhale, I was aware of her, like she’d somehow become an essential part of the very air I was breathing.
Last night with her had really been something. Part of me didn’t even want to take her back to her condo. I wanted to keep her right here with me, take her back to my house instead and tell her to stay there.
But I couldn’t.
The two of us disembarked the plane together, her small, warm hand in mine all the way back to her condo. I glanced at her when I parked in front of it. “I’ll see you in the office in a bit. We can’t have Brian seeing us arrive there together.”
Those blue eyes softened as they looked into mine. She turned to face me fully in the passenger seat of my car. Her hands were held firmly in her lap as if she was struggling to keep them there. “I wish we could’ve gone together.”
“Yeah, me too, Mims. See you later?”
“See you later.”
I leaned forward, my hands catching her face. My fingers slid into her loose, dark blonde hair while my thumbs rested just in front of her ears. “Can I kiss you?”
A playful smile curved only the corners of her lips. “Is that even a question?”
A low groan sounded from somewhere in my throat as I slanted my lips over hers, kissing her deeply and already feeling my slacks get a little tighter. This girl had awoken the teenager who evidently lived inside me.
No matter how many times I’d had her just last night, it was never enough. My need was never fully sated.
Mariam’s fingertips touched my cheeks, gentle and exploratory as she slid them across my jaw. I shivered, kissing her a little harder before I lifted my mouth away from hers. My voice was throaty when I spoke again.
“We need to stop now. Both of us have to get to the office, and more importantly, we have no idea where Brian is. He could even be coming here to welcome you home.”
Her cheeks were deliciously flushed, her lips slightly swollen. She nodded. “I know, but it sucks. Goodbye, Arland Stone. I’ll see you later.”
She turned away from me immediately, as if she was afraid she would change her mind if she lingered. Then she opened the door and climbed out, striding into the building without a backward glance. I sighed as I watched her go, unable to stop staring at the soft sway of her hips until she was out of sight.
Fully aware that I was completely caught in her spell, I turned over my engine and headed to my house to freshen up before I went to the Chalet. Our team had a big meeting this afternoon about the upcoming opening weekend, and I needed to get my head in the game.
By the time I walked into the conference room, Mariam was already there, and as soon as I caught sight of her, her hair now pulled up into a messy bun right on top of her head and her gaze focused on her laptop in front of her, everything else faded away for just a moment.
She was so beautiful, so vivacious, and alive, and a breath of complete fresh air. I fought a smile, averting my gaze from her as I squared my shoulders. “Good morning, everyone. I hope you had a great Thanksgiving, but as you know, we need all hands on deck starting right now.”
Gabby, Elizabeth, and Mariam all looked up and nodded. I took a seat.
Brian grinned. “Right, if you don’t mind, I’m going to jump right in. We have to finish planning out our pre-launch dinner party, but we also have to discuss hosting an event the day after the opening. We’re already fully booked for that first weekend and we even have a wait list, so we want to make sure that it’s a truly memorable stay for all our guests.”
“I’ve been thinking about this,” I said, having received an email about it from him last week. “With the new slopes we’re opening up, I’d like to host a sporting event. I’m thinking like a ski contest. It’ll be great for entertainment. And the remainder of the functions that weekend will be focused on the lodge itself. This will be a fantastic way of shining a light on the ski-in, ski-out aspect of the Chalet.”
“I like that,” Brian said after thinking it over for a beat. “I’m not sure how we’d pull something like that together, but I can look into it.”
I waved him off. “I’ll do it. I have connections to several pro skiers and I’m sure they’ll take me up on the invitation. Let Mariam and I handle the contest.”
Brian glanced at his sister, who nodded at me, and he nodded in turn. “Alright. That sounds good. Gabby and I are handling the bookings and we’re looking into alternative accommodation for folks who want to attend the opening even though we’re full up.”
Elizabeth jumped in next. “I’ve been creating a bit of hype on social media and we’re gaining more followers by the day. In terms of traditional marketing, we’ve got several travel reporters coming out over the next couple weeks to do features on the place and the billboards are going up as you’re driving into town.”
“It sounds like we’re in good shape,” I said, glancing at Mariam. “Where are we on entertainment and catering for opening night?”
I’d seen her looking over some quotes on the plane, but I hadn’t gotten around to asking about them. Frankly, I’d been too busy gazing dreamily at her like a love-drunk idiot.
She smiled as if she’d heard the thought but kept her expression polite. “Several of the vendors I’ve requested quotations from have responded. So far, only two vendors are completely unavailable. I’ll narrow it down to the top three on both fronts today and then I’ll forward those quotes to you both.”
“Thank you,” I said.
Brian shot her a triumphant grin. “I knew you were going to kick ass at this job. That goes for all of you, by the way. Thanks for all your hard work and keep it up. For now, I think we’re done.”
Wishing I could’ve been so openly appreciative of Mariam’s efforts, I said thanks to all of them and we broke up the meeting to go get busy with our actual work. Mariam walked out with Gabby and Elizabeth, and I was happy to see that she seemed to be making friends with them.
Maybe it would help convince her to stay longer.
After the time we’d spent together in Austin, it seemed unlikely to me that our spark would’ve gone out by the end of January. Preferring to be proactive about things, I was already trying to think of ways I might convince her to prolong her time here.
On the other hand, I knew how much it meant to her that she was finally doing the traveling she’d always wanted to do. It made me feel like a selfish asshole for wanting to keep her here, but I was still trying to work out the alternatives.
In the meantime, I had a ton of work to catch up on after the weekend and Brian and I were having dinner tonight, so I needed to get it done at double speed. The remainder of the afternoon flew by, and I found that Mariam was still constantly on my mind.
She was working with Elizabeth this afternoon, which meant I didn’t see her again. It was a bummer, but it was better that way. If she’d been in here with me today, I wouldn’t have been able to keep my hands off her.
Until I worked out how to do that while we were alone in my office, it was definitely smarter for us not to be alone behind closed doors. At precisely six, Brian knocked on my door, his eyes slightly tired but he still had a smile on his lips.
“Are you ready to go?” he asked.
“Yep.” I hit save on the document I’d been working on and powered down my laptop. As I stood up, I grabbed my phone, keys, and wallet, and fell into step beside him in the hall. “I’m glad we’re doing this tonight.”
“It’s been too long since we just hung out,” he agreed. “I’ll meet you at the bar?”
I nodded. “Sure thing.”
We walked out into the frigid evening air together, separating to climb into our own cars. All the way to our regular bar, I gave myself a pep talk, knowing how important it was that I didn’t let anything slip about Mariam.
The way I felt about her, I knew he was eventually going to find out. This wasn’t just a lust-fueled hookup anymore. Eventually, he would catch on, but for now, I’d promised her we’d keep it on the downlow and that was what I would do.
Our bar was packed, locals and tourists alike in every seat at the bar and at our regular table, but Brian and I made our way through the bodies, finding a spot in the corner. He grimaced as he looked around.
“I’ll go grab our first round and order the appetizers, but silly season has officially arrived. Wish me luck.”
I chuckled. “I believe in you. You will succeed in your quest for alcohol, brother. I just hope you brought some extra patience.”
He grinned at me. “I don’t even have the regular amount of that stuff.”
Spinning on his heels, he marched his way to the counter and happily managed to catch the bartender’s eye. It still took much longer than usual, but after a while, he came back to our cocktail table and slammed down a pitcher of beer, producing two glasses from his other hand.
“One of these days, it’s going to be our bar that will be so busy.” He grinned. “We should have a happy hour this time of year. Year-round also works, but definitely for Christmas.”
“Agreed.” I picked up the pitcher and poured our beers, looking around and trying to envision this many people in the bar area of the main lodge.
At the moment, it was little more than a shell with some shelves on the wall, but the carpenter custom making our bar had promised to have it done this week and the rest was simply window dressing. I glanced at Brian. “Are we really fully booked for the opening weekend?”
He nodded. “Almost all season, actually. Opening through mid-January at the moment. The wait list is filling up nicely too.”
“I can’t believe we’re so close.” I recalled the day he’d pitched all this to me for the first time, and the truth was that I honestly hadn’t been sure we’d pull it off before Christmas. Raising my glass, I held it out toward his. “To making the impossible happen.”
He laughed and clinked his glass against my own. “We’re not quite there yet, man. But sure. It does look like we’re going to do it.”
“It sure does.”
He took a deep drink of his beer, eyes roaming around the bar before they came back to mine. “How have you been? We really haven’t had much time to catch up lately.”
“I’m good. Just lots of family time at Thanksgiving. Lillian still can’t stand the sight of Lisa and she and Smith are still acting like they’ve never done anything wrong. They also ruined Fiji for me, but I don’t want to get into it.”
“Like the whole island?”
“The whole damn place.” I shook my head. “But whatever. They’re not worth thinking about.”
He let out a dry chuckle. “Fair enough. I’d still like to see the look on Lisa’s face if you ever show up there with a special lady friend, though. Any prospects on the horizon?”
“Not really. Nothing that’s at that stage yet, anyhow.” I might just be smitten with your sister, though. Stay tuned.