Lily and the Mountain Man (Spring in the Mountains #15)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

Lily

“This piece is breathtaking.” I ran my fingers delicately over the intricate flower pattern of the serving dish.

I flipped it over and read the label. Royal Worcester, Virginia Pattern, Made in England.

“No way! It’s the real thing! I’ve wanted this set for such a long time!

” I turned to my best friend Whitney and held up the label for her to see.

Her eyes grew big as recognition flashed across her face. “Get out!” She took the plate from me, her fingers running over the printed company name.

“The whole set is here!” I looked over the stack of plates, teacups and saucers, along with a creamer and sugar pot. “It’s in decent condition. No major scratches or damage.”

“It’ll look great in your collection,” Whitney mused as she handed me back the plate. “It’s listed for a buck fifty, but I bet you could talk him down to one hundred.” She nodded towards the older guy sitting on a stool, watching the surrounding shoppers carefully.

“I’ll have to work my magic.” I fluttered my eyelashes and smiled.

We both laughed knowing I damn well wouldn’t be flirting. It wasn’t my style nor was I good at it. Now Whitney on the other hand…

“You mean I’ll have to work my magic.” Whitney winked. “It’s in the bag, girl.”

She grabbed the price tag and headed towards the man selling, while I admired a few more pieces on his table.

Whitney and I loved antique shopping for the shop we owned together.

Most of the time we found lots of unique pieces to bring back and sell, Whitney specializing in furniture while I had an eye for the finer things, like delicate China sets.

But sometimes, we kept things for ourselves.

And I mostly certainly planned on keeping this set for my own collection.

A few minutes later, Whitney ambled over with the man in tow, and I scored the set for only ninety-five dollars.

We high-fived each other before tucking my new China set in our cart and making our way to the next table display. They organized the sale today like a flea market, with each seller having their own table display to sell from.

We moseyed from table to table, picking up a few more items for our store. Whitney found a retro style chair and ottoman she fell in love with and couldn’t decide whether she should sell it or keep it.

After grabbing a quick bite to eat, we loaded Whitney’s car and climbed in.

While our shop wasn’t open today, we would unpack our items and set them up on the sale floor.

We spent our two closed days, Sunday and Monday, doing all the shopping and business-related tasks, with Whitney running the store alone on Tuesday, me on Wednesday , and then the two of us together on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

“I think this was one of the best sales we’ve gone to in a long time.

” Whitney mused as she turned the key forward in the ignition.

Yet the engine didn’t roar to life. It sputtered and screeched.

Whitney tried, and the sound grew louder until the motor spewed out smoke from the hood and everything went silent.

“Shit.” Whitney turned towards me. “That’s not good.”

“Definitely not.”

“Let’s get out and call someone.” Whit said before we both hurried from the car. She pulled out her phone and opened Google, her fingers flying over the letters of the keypad. “I’ll call a tow to bring us to the auto shop. Then we can uber from there or something. Hopefully, one is around.”

“Okay. Sounds like a plan.” I said, trying to stay calm for her, though she rarely lost her cool.

About fifteen minutes later, a tow truck pulled in the lot, the name on the side reading Ryker’s Towing.

The truck parked next to Whitney’s car and when I looked up, a tall beast of a man jumped out and strode over.

I swallowed hard, my thoughts disappearing into thin air. Who is that?

He wore a formfitting black t-shirt with a pair of jean overalls, only one shoulder clip fastened.

His dark hair was cut short, buzzed on the sides, and ink covered his exposed skin on his arms and neck.

He was covered in grease from his hands and fingernails to his large grease covered construction boots.

He couldn’t be more opposite of me, his hard to my soft, his rough to my delicate, but none of that mattered. If anything, it turned me on even more.

I snuck a quick glance at my friend, who looked as cool as she always did, nothing seeming to faze her. She smiled and held out her hand for a shake. When he wrapped his large hand around hers, his eyes never left mine.

I looked down, right, left, any way I could to avoid his intense gaze, my body reacting in a way it never had before around a handsome man. Because God damn, was he handsome. Holy shit.

The sexy man held out his hand towards me, and I took it so I wouldn’t look like an idiot just standing there, but when our skin collided, my God. He stole my breath away.

All I could hear was the sound of my blood rushing through my ears as his hand swallowed mine, my skin tingling.

And then his stare.

So intense.

I nearly panted, afraid drool might slip down the side of my face if I wasn’t careful.

When I realized both Whitney and him were looking at me as if they were waiting for something, I blurted, “Sorry, I’m Lily.”

“Nice to meet you, ladies. I’m Ryker. Let’s get you hooked up and back to your day. You can wait in my truck.” He waved a hand toward the passenger door before shooting me a wink.

Did the insanely hot mountain man just wink at me?

Alert! Alert!

A sweat broke out across my forehead. Did it suddenly get hot outside or was it just me?

“Thanks, Ryker!” Whitney slipped her arm through mine and dragged me toward the truck. “Oh, my god, Lil, did you see he winked at you? Fuck he’s hot.”

I laughed and shook my head. “He’s just being nice.”

“No way is he just being nice. He didn’t wink at me.”

“Okay, okay, whatever, it means nothing.”

When we reached the truck’s door, Whitney motioned me in first. “You sit in the middle. He’s wants you.”

I rolled my eyes as I lifted myself into the truck and scooted over the seat. “You’re being ridiculous.”

But as much as I told myself it was nothing, I couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t.

It nagged at me like a pebble in my shoe.

“That man looked at you like he could eat you. For breakfast, lunch, and dinner.” Whitney closed the truck door and trapped us in with Ryker’s scent.

Grease mixed with a hint of sandalwood and sweat. I’d bottle it up if I could.

It was addicting.

“If I were you, I’d let him.” Whitney elbowed me in the side playfully and heat rushed through me, my cheeks growing hot.

“He doesn’t want me. That’s crazy. We don’t even know each other.”

“So?”

I laughed just as Tyler opened the driver’s side door and popped his head in. “Doing okay ladies?”

A beat of silence fell between us until Whitney quickly jumped in. “We’re good.”

When he closed the door, Whitney giggled and poked me. “Are you afraid to speak to the man?”

My cheeks were so hot they felt as if they were on fire. “Sorry, my mind goes mush around him.”

Whitney broke out into hysterical laughter. “I knew it! You’ve got it bad!”

“Okay, okay, shhh! He’s hot. What can I say?”

“That and he looks at you so intently my damn panties would melt straight off.”

“Whitney!”

“Oh, my sweet, innocent Lil. There’s nothing wrong with being a sexual creature. We all are.”

And before I could open my mouth and utter another word, Ryker opened the door and climbed behind the wheel. His entire being took over the cabin of the truck and I could no longer function.

How would I ever survive the ride to the auto shop?