Page 8 of A Very Grumpy Mountain Man

By the time we finish eating, the sun has dipped, casting golden light across the living room and kitchen.

Sienna stretches and checks her phone. “I should probably get going. The stain still needs to dry, and we got a good amount done today.”

My stomach sinks a little. It’s Friday, and if I don’t do something, I won’t see her again until Monday. Two whole days without her smile, her laugh, the way she lights up the room just by existing? I can’t do it. Iwon’t.

“Wait,” I say too quickly.

She pauses halfway to the door and turns to look at me, one eyebrow lifted in question. “Yeah?”

I run a hand through my hair, pacing away from her before turning back. I feel like an idiot, like I’m in high school again and about to fumble asking my crush to prom.

But I’ve never felt like this before, and I don’t want to waste it.

“Do you want to have dinner with me tomorrow night?” I blurt out, unable to look away from her now that it’s out there. “Like—not as your boss. As just… me. Kye.”

Sienna’s eyes widen, and I can practically see the gears turning in her head. “You mean like… a date?”

“Yeah. A date.”

The silence stretches between us. I feel like I’m holding my breath underwater, waiting to see if she’ll pull me up or let me drown.

Then she grins. “I’d love to.”

Relief slams into me like a wave, and I let out a shaky laugh, tension bleeding from my shoulders. “I’ll pick you up at five?”

“Perfect,” she says, a soft glow in her eyes that makes me feel ten feet tall.

I walk her out to her car, and she pauses with her hand on the door.

“Thanks again for the job, Kye,” she says softly. “I didn’t think I’d find something like this so fast. You kind of saved me.”

I shake my head. “You’ve got that backward. You savedme.”

Her smile falters for a second, something tender crossing her face. I wonder if I said too much again—but then she nods once, climbs into her car, and waves as she pulls away down the gravel driveway.

I stand there long after the purr of her engine fades. As the mountain breeze rustles through the trees behind me, I know one thing for certain.

This isn’t a crush.

This isitfor me.

Sienna McKay is going to be my everything—I just have to make sure I don’t screw it up before she realizes it too.

SIX

Sienna

The momentI woke up this morning, I was already thinking about him.

Kye.

I rolled over in bed, my heart doing that ridiculous fluttery thing it always does whenever Ithinkabout him. Which, lately, is all the time.

He asked me out.On a real date.Not a "hey, let's grab a bite while we work" thing. Not a "we’re already together, so might as well eat" kind of moment. A real, proper, nervous-grin-on-his-facedate.

I don’t know how I managed to stay calm when he asked yesterday. The second he said, “As just me… Kye,” I nearly melted into a puddle on his kitchen floor.

I’ve been floating ever since.

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