Chapter 8 #2
“Oh, uh …” When Stella pauses, I look at her to find her eyes on mine. “That’s okay. I’m sure Ridge wants to do that alone—or with someone. Just not … me.” She swallows harshly. “I’ll get back before the snow starts, I’m sure.”
Stella holds her hand up to wave before turning again, but this time, she starts to actually walk away. I know my mom isn’t going to let this go, but it’s still worth a try.
“Well, guess I’d better get going before all the trees sell out,” I utter, turning on my heel. I don’t even turn away before my mom’s hand is on my arm.
“Hold your horses, boy,” she warns. “You’re taking her with you. It’s the polite thing to do.”
I stare at her in disbelief because why in the hell would my mother want any of her sons to hang around a woman like Stella, who is here, acting like our land is a piece of fucking meat at the grocery store? She doesn’t get it. To Stella, all her and her colleagues see is dollar signs.
“Mom,” I grumble, “she’s annoying. I couldn’t give two shits about a tree.
I’m doing it for you though because for some reason, you hate the thought of me enjoying not having to water a goddamn tree or sweep up its damn pine needles.
Now, you want me to take her?” I jerk my chin up the driveway, where Stella is getting farther and farther away. “She’s the enemy.”
“And that right there is why I want you to take her,” she explains.
“If Riley took her, he’d fall in love, and I don’t trust her just yet.
If Tucker took her, he’d melt the first time she spoke to him, and she’d take our land.
” She pats my back. “But you, Ridge? I know damn well that she’ll never get anywhere with you when it comes to this shorefront.
But it’s almost Christmas. And instead of being back in the city with her friends and family, preparing for the holidays, she’s here, working on something that she’ll never win.
The least you can do is take the damn girl to the tree farm. ”
I open my mouth to tell her another reason why I don’t want to take this woman with me, but she gives me her signature look. It’s the look that says, Shut the fuck up, boy, and do what you’re told. I created your ass.
“Fine,” I gripe.
Soon, I’m groaning and sulking as I make my way toward my truck. Just before I get to it, my dad emerges from the other side of the boat, where he was rechecking the blocking for the tenth time.
“Where are you off to?” he hollers.
“Crabby Jon’s,” I say, sounding as unimpressed as I actually am.
“Oh fuck,” he mumbles. “Have fun with that.”
“Yeah. Right,” I say before climbing in my truck and slamming the door.
It’s one thing to enjoy getting under Stella’s skin. It’s another to go to a fucking Christmas tree farm with the woman and pretend like I don’t absolutely hate her.
I fight back a shiver when I hear a truck driving closer to me as I head back up the driveway that leads to the lobster pound owned by the Adams. I’m a New Yorker, so cold winters are nothing new to me, but in New York, I’m not trudging through no-man’s land with the cold ocean air whipping in my face the way I am right now.
My fingers, even now in my pockets, feel like they may fall off. I should have taken those mittens.
From the corner of my eye, I see Ridge’s truck rolling beside me and hear his window rolling down. I don’t stop walking though, and I don’t turn to look at him either.
“Go away, Outlaw,” I say, taunting him—because who names their boat Eastern Outlaw? I mean, for real.
Even if the name is pretty hot …
“Get in,” he calls, sounding much less than impressed.
I tap my chin thoughtfully. “Hmm … let me think about it. Nah, I’ll pass,” I say, cringing inwardly because I’m sure Victor would kill me if he found out that I rejected a ride from one of the key people I’m supposed to be getting close to for this land.
I can’t help myself though. I already thought the man was a dick, and after last night, when he played me like a fucking piano …
yeah, no way am I getting in the truck with this motherfucker. Hell no.
“Look, my mom is watching,” he practically growls. “So, if I drive off and leave your ass walking, she’ll show up at my house later and tear me a new asshole.”
I turn toward him, still keeping my legs moving as I trudge along the paved driveway and laugh. “You mean I get to turn you down and make your mom mad at you?” I give him a little smirk. “Consider me sold.”
His eyes narrow, and there’s absolutely no humor on his face. “I’ll throw you over my shoulder and strap you in the front seat of my truck, Fireball,” he warns me with a narrowed gaze. “Do not tempt me.”
I look forward, knowing that if I can just get around the corner, his parents won’t be able to see any of what’s about to happen, and so I won’t look like a lunatic.
I’m not getting in the truck with this man—especially not after he made me feel like a complete fool last night.
Over my dead body will I allow myself to look like a fool again.
Because that’s what Ridge Adams does—he makes me turn into a fucking idiot.
I walk a bit faster and crane my neck to see that the wharf is no longer in sight. When I glance at Ridge, he glares.
“Don’t even think about it,” he hisses, knowing exactly what I’m about to do.
I’m not going to let this man throw me over his shoulder when I could just walk the whopping half of a mile back to my rental house. Ridge is not the one I need to be focusing on to get this land. In fact, he’s the only one I know I will never get anywhere with when it comes to sealing this deal.
So, I do what any sane woman would do when an asshole of a man is driving alongside her—even if he is insanely good-looking.
I run.
I run really freaking fast and hope that if I cut through the woods, it’ll connect to the rental’s driveway, and I can get inside and lock my door, all before Ridge Adams catches up to me.
“What the fuck?!” he calls behind me.
The faint sound of a truck door opening and slamming shut has me picking up my pace. I don’t think he’d chase me, but then again, he just threatened to throw me over his shoulder, so who actually knows?
Seeing a small opening through the woods, I dart off the driveway and head into the trees.
I hear his feet crunching right behind mine.
My heart races so hard that my chest actually hurts, and my legs suddenly feel shaky from the anticipation.
I can’t explain this feeling that’s filling my body, knowing he could catch me at any given second. It’s like fear …
And excitement.
I’ve had a lot of clients, but this love-to-hate shit we have going on? This is a first. And hopefully a last, too, because it’s extremely inappropriate.
I turn around for a split second to see he’s almost caught up to me, but when I look forward again, I see my own driveway is less than ten feet away.
I’m nearly there, just a little further and—
My thought is soon interrupted when my foot catches on a tree root, and my body begins to launch forward.
I brace for impact, though I’m pretty sure the embarrassment is going to hurt much more than my body hitting the ground. But as I’m about to smash into the cold earth, a set of rugged arms wraps around me, pulling me backward to a hard chest, covered in a thick sweatshirt.
Even once I’m back on my feet, Ridge’s arms remain around my waist. My chest is heaving, and I don’t even know if it’s from running, almost falling, or being this close to a man I truly can’t stand.
“Jesus Christ, you’re fast,” he murmurs, huffing out a breath against the back of my head.
I hate the way my skin tingles and how butterflies take flight in my stomach when he’s so close.
I don’t even know this man; all I know is that he listens to his mother, he seems to enjoy being on his boat, and he’s a douchebag.
Other than that, we’re strangers, and yet, every single time we’re remotely close, my legs turn to limp noodles.
I step forward to pull out of his hold, but instead of releasing me, he spins me to face him and plants his hands on my upper arms.
He gazes down at me, his blue eyes cutting mine like a knife. My brain threatens to go foolish again, but I fight it off, knowing that he’s toying with me, just like he did the other night.
“Thank you so, so much for grabbing me like a damn stuffed animal, asshole,” I grumble, glaring up at him. “You do realize you’re, like, twice my size, right?”
The corner of his lips pulls up the tiniest bit. “I think the correct thing to say would be thank you, Fireball. Maybe next time, I’ll let you eat shit on the ground instead.”
“Please do; it’d be better than being this close to you.”
His smirk only grows with every word that comes from my mouth as I attempt to tell him to piss off.
“Is that any way to talk to the man who just saved you?” He tsks me. “Also, that’s certainly no way to do business, is it, sweetheart? Being all mouthy like that surely won’t get you any closer to getting what you want.”
He may like to play with me, but I’m also aware that when he chased me through the woods, his mother wasn’t even in sight anymore, yet he did it anyway. So, maybe I have the ability to play with him too. And I’m going to find out.
I stumble a few feet backward, pushing my back against a tree and bringing him right along with me.
As I cock my head to the side, my lips curve up.
“We both know you’re not going to be my client.
You’re too much of a stubborn asshole for that.
” I shrug. “Besides, I’ve never had a client chase me through the woods just to get his hands on me. ”
“Yeah, well, have to try to keep my mother happy,” he mumbles sharply. “I’d rather be doing anything besides this, trust me.”
“Your mom couldn’t even see us anymore, big guy.” I bite down on my bottom lip. “It’s obvious that you’re just too … obsessed. Business and obsession don’t mix, you know.”