Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
Isla
Someone needed to pinch me.
Here I was, sitting in the hot mountain man’s truck on the way to his cabin in the woods for a weekend.
What am I doing?
Having fun, bitch! Let loose.
“So, Arden, tell me more about yourself.”
He gave me the side-eye and shrugged his shoulders. “I work in security and have a dog named Fred. I’m thirty-eight years old,” Arden grunted.
He sounded like he’d rehearsed his answer. But I carried on. I’d make him smile, eventually. “Thirty-eight? Nice.” I grinned. “I’m twenty-five. But age is just a number, right? I think it’s adorable that you have a dog! What kind is he?”
My excitement level ticked up a notch. I loved dogs, especially the big, furry, slobbery kind.
“A German shepherd.”
“Oh my God! I love those dogs! With the pointy ears and handsome physique, I bet Fred is a stunner.” I wiggled in my seat, and my face lit up with a smile.
“A stunner?” Arden made a noise, which sounded like a grunt or a grumble, or, I say, a chuckle? “He’s a dog.”
“So? Dogs are beautiful. Have you ever watched a dog show? Those people are serious about their dog grooming.”
Arden said nothing. He stared out the window, steering the truck effortlessly through the winding roads, even as snow began to fall and the sky darkened.
Yet it didn’t deter me.
My mother once told me I could talk to a wall, and I’d still have more to say when I finished. Nothing wrong with being good at making conversation. “Anyway, enough about dogs. I flew from Vermont to be here. When I saw the ad for the auction, I couldn’t resist. So many hot men up for grabs.”
Arden again said nothing, only gave me a slight nod of his head.
So I continued. “I needed some fun in my life, you know what I mean? I work way too much, at least my friends think I do, and they’re probably right, but when you run a business, something always needs to be done.
I’ve never been to Montana before, and I love helping veterans. It means a lot to me.”
Arden inhaled sharply but again gave me no words. He pulled into a driveway, a large cabin looming in the distance amid the clouds. As he drove on the concrete, I wiggled in my seat and clapped my hands. “Wow, this is your cabin? It’s beautiful! Like something right out of a movie,” I gushed.
“Thanks,” Arden grumbled before parking the truck and killing the engine. “I’ll grab your bags and meet you by the front door.” He was out of the truck a second later and at my door, opening it for me.
“You’re such a gentleman,” I said as I hopped out. Snow fell in swirls around us, the small flakes landing on our clothes and hair.
Arden shut the door and headed for the trunk.
I looked up at the sky, stuck my tongue out, and swirled around in a circle. It’s something I’d always done since I was a little girl when it snowed outside.
Arden walked to the front of the truck, his arms full of my bags, and I could’ve sworn I saw a ghost of a smile grace his lips.
But he was back to serious in seconds, walking past me toward the front door.
I followed like a puppy dog, but I was determined to break down this man’s walls, even if it took me all weekend.
He opened the door, and I could hear barking from somewhere in the house. “Fred’s in his crate. I’ll bring him out to meet you. But first, let me show you your room. Follow me upstairs.”
Confusion washed over me. Aren’t we sharing his room?
Or was that too soon? Too awkward? I wasn’t sure how this was supposed to work. But what I knew was the attraction, the sexual tension, whatever you want to call it, it’s there between us. And only getting stronger…
I said nothing as he led me upstairs. He showed me to what I assumed was a spare bedroom, but there wasn’t a bed. It was a blow-up air mattress. Oh no. No, I didn’t want to sleep on an air mattress.
I wanted to sleep in his bed.
“This is a nice room, but I thought I’d be sleeping in your bed?”
Arden shot me a funny look. “No, why would you think that?”
“I won a weekend with you. I just assumed I would be.”
He shrugged like he couldn’t care less. Yet he wouldn’t look me in the eye. What is going on with him?
He ran a hand over his beard, revealing more silver hairs underneath. “Honestly, I was going to stay in a hotel, and you could have the cabin to yourself.”
“That’s a terrible idea!” I sputtered. “I wanted to win a weekend with a mountain man. Don’t spend it alone. Besides, tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. Who wants to spend it alone?”
He scratched the back of his head and sighed. “Listen, I joined this auction because of the cause and because the mayor’s wife wouldn’t stop hounding me. I just want to get this all over with and go back to our regular lives.”
“I think you’re lying.”
“What?”
“Exactly what I said. I think you’re lying. Maybe when you joined, you felt that way, but now? Now you don’t. I see the way you look at me, Arden. Men who aren’t interested don’t look at me in the same way.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t date or do relationships and love and all that crap. I only love my dog, and that’s about it. Believe me, love leads to loss, which leads to pain. And I’m all set.”
I stood in front of this tall, broken man, his shoulders sagging, a sad look etched across his face.
Who hurt you?
“I’m sorry, Arden. But not all love is a loss. Some love is really beautiful.”
“Yeah, well, not in my world.” He turned to go, and I grabbed him by the arm, tugging him back toward me.
“Please, just let loose and have fun for one weekend. And when it’s over, we can say our goodbyes and be done with this all.”
Arden spun back around, his eyes wild, his chest heaving. “You really think it’ll be that easy? To just say goodbye to each other?”
My heart rate doubled. “I mean, I think so. Why not?”
“Because I…”
I waited for him to finish.
Sexual tension sparked between us like fireworks.
I searched his eyes for clues, answers, anything for a hint of what this man could be thinking. There was no way he didn’t feel whatever the hell this was between us. The air was thick with it, the intensity so thick and heady.
And then, without another word, Arden grabbed my face with both his hands and kissed me.