Chapter 5
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“You forgot your glasses,” Nolan says as he drives away from the hotel. “Do we need to go back—”
“I don’t need them for this.” Dammit, even his inquisitive, slightly confused look is sexy. Is there anything about my new boss that’s not? His insatiable need to be uber organized and track life by the minute. Oh, right. That’s completely unsexy. “They’re reading glasses. With blue blockers.”
“You needed blue blockers for dinner?” he asks.
“No, but I didn’t want to risk losing them.
I only have two spare pairs with me. If I make it out of Alaska with all three, it’ll be a miracle.
” The horrified expression on his chiseled face is priceless.
I’ve known this man a matter of hours, and already, I love riling him up.
“You probably have your readers in labeled cases in your desk drawer?”
“They’re not labeled,” he mutters.
“But they are perfectly in line, aren’t they?”
“Let’s focus on the website,” Nolan says, his tone exasperated enough that I let it go.
“If you’re still up for shop talk? It’s well after midnight on the east coast. You have to be tired.
I’m still confused why you want to see the building site.
We’ve barely broken ground. What could it possibly add to the website?
I’ve sent you renderings and blueprints for the structure. ”
“For one, please don’t question my process. My answer is far too messy for your strait-laced brain to handle, and I don’t want to break it.”
“My brain’s not—”
“For two, I’m a night owl by nature. My brain is just waking up, and I don’t want to waste the inspiration. We don’t have time for that.”
Nolan’s mouth opens and closes twice before he finally settles with a nod.
A brief silence falls between us as we travel down a nearly deserted downtown strip.
The short few blocks are lined with coffee shops, restaurants, and enough gift shops to appease an overbooked cruise ship.
Each building has its own unique character and charm built into the architecture.
They all feel so authentically Alaskan. It reminds me of a Hallmark movie set.
“I get it now.”
“Get what?”
“How each of the J-Squad wives ended up staying in North Haven. This place is cute as a fucking button.” If I wasn’t deathly allergic to winter, I might consider staying myself.
My gaze snags on Nolan again, his blue eyes meeting mine for a second that feels entirely too charged.
Vanessa’s words about finding my own Alaskan man echo mockingly in my head.
“If you send me your preferred work hours, I can adjust the itinerary to be more accommodating to your…creative process.”
“No can do, boss. I don’t keep a typical schedule. Not one you can squeeze an itinerary out of. But rest assured, I work my ass off and I’m incredibly good at what I do.”
“So Tony says.”
“My brother wouldn’t lie to you.”
“He did omit a few things,” Nolan says.
“Like how I do some of my best work when the rest of the world sleeps? Yeah, I don’t operate like a normal human.”
“I think he knew better than to share those particular details with me,” Nolan says, and I can’t quite tell if he’s trying to be funny or serious.
His blank expression gives away nothing, so I decide a little reassurance won’t hurt anything. Not if I want to make sure I still have a job come morning. “Don’t worry, Mr. Barnes. You’ll have a stunning website that’ll knock the socks off of your investors by the time I’m finished.”
“You’re aware we’re on an incredibly tight deadline?”
Ah, serious it is.
“I like a challenge. In fact, I prefer one.”
“Good. It’s going to be one. Tony might’ve warned you I’m a bit of a perfectionist?”
“He didn’t, but I get the sense that you’re coiled really tightly.”
“That’s not what I—”
“It’s okay. I can work with it,” I say, my eye catching a bright neon green and orange trailer. “Oh, what’s that food truck?”
“Rocco’s Tacos.”
“Is it any good?” I ask as he slows all the way at a four-way stop.
“Haven’t tried it yet. Heard…mixed reviews.”
Nolan makes a left and we begin climbing uphill, away from downtown. Within three blocks, the houses thin out completely. Though I haven’t reviewed ninety percent of what Nolan emailed me, I specifically remember the building site being somewhere flat, and on the east side of town.
“Why are we heading west?” I ask.
“I need to check on Gary.”
“Who’s Gary?”
“My dog.”
“You have a dog?”
“That’s what surprises you about me?”
I think back to the dog hair lightly sprinkled across the backseat of his truck earlier. Maybe he’s not wound quite as tightly as I thought. “Dogs aren’t really the neat, orderly type.”
“Not everything in my life is neat and orderly, Ms. Harper.” There’s a devilish edge to his words that I may or may not be imagining.
My lady bits tingle, imagining exactly what other areas of his life might border on the slightly less organized, wild side.
“Oh?”
He flashes me a smirk before slowing once again. There’s a no trespassing sign hanging from a gate, and he turns right toward it.
“Aren’t you a little young to be one of those old men sitting on their front porch with a shotgun, waiting to yell at the ornery kids on your lawn?”
“I like my privacy,” he admits, putting the truck in park and hopping out to unlock the gate.
It occurs to me, as we drive along the bumpiest road I’ve ever traveled on, that this man might very well be luring me to my death.
Aside from the few fibers of dog hair in his truck, I have no proof Gary exists.
If Tony hadn’t vouched for my new boss, I might be a little more concerned for my safety.
Ah, screw it. Life’s too short to live scared.
“Guess you don’t really need to a sit on your porch with a shotgun,” I add as I spot a clearing in the trees at the top of the hill. “Bears’ll get those kids before you ever could.”
One corner of Nolan’s mouth lifts, causing a tight coiling of my own, this one low in my belly.
“It’s a little far out, but it’s worth it.”
I follow his nod, and I’m stunned speechless.
The Bering Sea stretches out for miles. Mountains line one side for a long stretch before giving way to the open waters.
A string of boats is tied to a dock, but otherwise, it’s open waters.
The sun hovers above the horizon, much higher than it would be at home at this late hour, casting its glow on the gentle waves.
Nolan leans over the center console, but it’s not until his thumb hooks beneath my chin that I notice him. Our eyes meet and hold, and I’m lost in another sea of blue. The intensity in those stunning orbs is potent enough to cause an orgasm. It almost does.
“Bree?” he says, his voice low and quiet.
I wet my lips, completely confused how he went from serious to about to kiss me, but too caught in the whirlwind moment to care.
“Yeah?”
He pushes his thumb up against my chin, closing my parted lips. “If you’re done drooling over the view, I need to check on my dog.”