Chapter 17
SYLVIE
The drive back to the lodge was blissfully peaceful compared to our earlier journey to town.
The kids were completely wiped out after playing hard all evening and getting so much fresh air.
Alder was slumped against his window, half-asleep and mumbling something about wanting hot chocolate for breakfast, while Aspen had gone completely quiet, staring out at the passing snow with the glazed expression of a child who had just enough excitement for one day.
I was grateful for the quiet, but mostly because it gave me the opportunity to steal glances at Kent without being obvious about it.
If I angled myself just right in the passenger seat, I could catch glimpses of his reflection in the window.
Every time we passed under a streetlight, his face would be illuminated for a brief moment.
I found myself getting lost in admiring just how ridiculously handsome he was.
How was it possible for a human being to look that good?
Even tired and slightly windblown from our evening at the market, he was gorgeous in a way that made my stomach flip.
Strong jawline, those dark eyes that seemed to see everything, the way his hair fell just slightly across his forehead when he wasn’t perfectly groomed.
Although I was pretty sure it was a thousand-dollar haircut that made him look perfectly messy in the sexiest way.
He’d worn jeans. Designer, but still, he rocked them.
I realized I knew very little about him.
Like what did he do? Was being rich a job?
Did he just kick around the country all the time?
I knew he was definitely not used to the small-town thing.
The poor man was so far out of his element. But he adapted. He showed up.
It wasn’t just his looks that had me stealing glances.
It was the memory of how he’d been with me earlier.
He showed a side of himself I would have never imagined existed.
When I had broken down in the gazebo and dumped all my fears and worries on him he handled it like a champ.
He didn’t try to fix anything or tell me what I should do.
He hadn’t dismissed my feelings or suggested I was being silly for caring so much about something as simple as a tree farm.
I could only imagine how silly my troubles must sound to him. He was mega-rich and dealt with billions, not thousands. That was loose change for a Bancroft, from the sound of things. But that didn’t matter to him.
He’d just held me like I needed to be held, given me a steady rock to cling to when I was feeling completely adrift.
There had been something so solid and reassuring about his presence, something that made me feel like maybe I didn’t have to carry all the weight of my family’s problems on my own.
I hoped he saw how special the place was.
We were worthy of an investment. His family had the money. He could save us.
When we pulled up to the lodge, the kids roused themselves enough to stumble out of the SUV and mumble sleepy goodnights. I hugged both Alder and Aspen.
“Thank you for going with us, Aunt Sylvie,” Aspen said, wrapping her little arms around my waist. “That was the best night ever.”
“Yeah, it was awesome,” Alder agreed, though he was swaying slightly on his feet. “Can we go again tomorrow?”
“Oh, buddy, I don’t think any of us can handle that much excitement again,” I told him. “But there will be other fun things coming up. We’ve got plenty to do. We’ll keep you busy.”
“Goodnight,” Stacy said.
“Goodnight,” I told them all.
Stacy quickly ushered the twins up the lodge steps, throwing me a meaningful look over her shoulder that I interpreted as, “we’ll talk about the Kent situation later.” I could tell by the expression on her face she was not happy to leave me alone with him.
I offered her a smile. “Goodnight,” I said again, more of a command than a farewell.
Kent started to follow them inside, but I turned to cross the driveway toward the garage where my apartment was located.
“Where are you going?” he called after me.
I paused and shrugged at him. “Home. To bed.”
He frowned and looked back at the lodge. “Wait, where do you live? Not in the garage?”
I chuckled and shook my head. “I told you, I live above the garage, not in it. Remember?”
Instead of just saying goodnight from there, Kent strode back across the driveway to where I was standing.
“Well then, I guess I’d better walk you home properly,” he said with exaggerated gallantry.
“Can’t have you traipsing around in the dark in the middle of the night. A polar bear might come along.”
It was such a ridiculous gesture. My “home” was literally less than a football field away. I couldn’t help but laugh. The garage apartment wasn’t exactly a treacherous journey requiring an escort. But there was something charming about the way he made such a production of it.
“I don’t think I’ve ever encountered a polar bear out here,” I quipped.
“Dire wolf. Grizzly bear. I imagine there are all kinds of dangerous creatures roaming about.” He smiled.
“The occasional grizzly,” I replied.
The smile faded. “Wait. Seriously?”
“Mostly black bears, but yeah, sometimes the big fellas show up. Some mountain lions. I swear I saw a wolverine once, but everyone says I’m crazy.” I narrowed my eyes. “But I know what I saw!”
His mouth had dropped open as I spoke. “You’re serious.”
“I am. But mostly the only scary things are the black bears, but if you tell them to go away, they usually do. As bears go, they’re not so bad.”
“You talk to the predator that could rip you limb from limb?” Kent asked.
“A black bear is going to struggle to tear me limb from limb. I’m scrappier than I look.”
He smiled in amazement. “That, I believe. Guess it’s a good thing you’ve got a big, strong man to protect you. I would hate for you to break a nail while fighting off a bear.”
It was funny because I didn’t have nails. I did manual labor for a living. Long nails were dangerous and caused more pain when they got hung up on something.
I caught the proud little smirk he tried to hide as we made the short walk to my door.
“My hero,” I said, still grinning as I fished my keys out of my purse.
I was still laughing as I put my key in the lock and turned back to thank him for the escort. But my words died in my throat when I found him standing much closer than I expected, one hand braced against the wall above my head in a move that was undeniably sexy and made my pulse jump.
Holy moly.
What was I supposed to do? I could barely breathe. Did I look sexy? Maybe I should flutter my eyelashes.
“What are you doing?” I asked, though my voice came out like I had just run a hundred miles.
He looked absolutely gorgeous in the soft glow of the porch light, all sharp angles and shadows that made me want to trace the line of his jaw with my fingertips.
Instead of answering immediately, he nodded upward. I followed his gaze to see a small sprig of mistletoe hanging from the exterior light fixture above our heads.
Who put that there? I had a sneaking suspicion it might have been Stacy’s handiwork. She had a tendency toward romantic meddling, especially when she thought it might benefit the family business.
Kent and I looked into each other’s eyes. The air between us changed, becoming charged with something electric and inevitable. I was about to say goodnight, to step back and maintain some semblance of the boundaries I knew I should be keeping, when he leaned down with slow, deliberate control.
The kiss started soft and light, just a gentle brush of his lips against mine that was so tender it made my heart skip.
But it also made me want more, made me lean into him in a way that he apparently took as encouragement.
He cupped my cheek with his free hand, drawing me closer, and deepened the kiss until I was dizzy with it.
When we finally broke apart, our breath fogged in the cold air between us, creating little clouds that mingled and disappeared. He reached behind me and opened my door with a smooth motion that suggested he’d been planning that move.
“Shit,” he breathed, his voice rough in a way that sent heat pooling in my stomach.
“What?” I asked, though I was having trouble forming coherent thoughts with him standing so close. He smelled like winter air and something distinctly masculine that made me want to bury my face in his neck.
“I never made another reservation for tonight.”
The admission made me giggle, partly from nerves and partly because the practical concern seemed so mundane after the kiss we’d just shared. “The room is still yours. You never actually checked out, remember? I had Stacy charge your card—the normal rate.”
“But it’s all the way over there,” he said in a husky tone. There was something in his voice that made it clear he wasn’t really talking about the inconvenience of walking to his room.
The implication hung in the air between us. I felt my cheeks warm despite the cold. For a moment, I was seriously tempted to invite him into my apartment. The evening had been magical, he’d been wonderful with me during my emotional moment, and the kiss had been…
Well, the kiss had been the kind that made a woman forget about practical considerations and responsible decision-making.
But even as every nerve ending in my body was urging me to throw caution to the wind, some small voice of reason in the back of my mind was reminding me that I barely knew this man.
Yes, he was charming and gorgeous. But he was also a wealthy stranger who’d shown up out of nowhere and would probably disappear just as suddenly.
I wasn’t the kind of woman who made impulsive decisions about men, no matter how good they were at kissing.
And I had a feeling he was exactly the kind of man that made those kinds of decisions.
He was a player. The realization was actually freeing.
I didn’t have to worry about a girlfriend back home.
Instead of stepping aside to let him into my apartment, I kissed him again—just once, quick and soft—then stepped back and shook my head.
“I’m a country girl, Mr. Bancroft,” I said, trying to keep my voice light even though my heart was racing. “It’s going to take a lot more than one good kiss to trick me into letting you into my bed.”
“Bed?” he asked with mock innocence, though his eyes were dancing with mischief. “I just wanted a nightcap.”
“Uh-huh,” I said, not buying his innocent act for a second. “Sure, you did. Goodnight, Kent. Thank you for protecting my body on the treacherous journey across the driveway.”
I stepped through my doorway and closed the door gently but firmly, leaving him standing on my little porch. Then I leaned back against the door, pressing my hand to my racing heart and grinning like an absolute idiot.
I was in trouble. Big, serious, heart-stopping trouble.
Because that kiss had been everything I hoped it would be and more.
And the way Kent had looked at me, the way he’d held me earlier in the gazebo, and the way he’d made me feel like I mattered was all adding up to feelings that were far more complicated than they should be for someone I’d known for less than two days.
Through the door, I could hear his footsteps walking downstairs. Part of me wanted to open the door and call him back. I wanted to throw my usual caution to the wind and see where the evening might lead.
I touched my lips, still tingling from his kiss, and wondered what I was getting myself into.
Whatever it was, I had a feeling there was no going back now.