Page 10 of Fearless Mountain Man

Her eyes widened, and I immediately regretted my words. I didn’t want to scare her. That was the last thing I wanted to do.

“Is it dangerous?” she asked.

I shook my head, dislodging water as I waded in deeper, getting closer and closer to her. I’d stop soon, but it wouldn’t be easy. I wanted to keep going until I was within kissing distance of her. Until I could wrap my arms around her and pull her toward me.

“It’s just not something I’m personally into—swimming in the pond alone,” I finally explained.

“Oh yeah, you have a pool,” she said. “Why would you come out here when you could swim laps in your backyard?”

That wasn’t it. I’d have no problem hopping my fence, walking to the pond, and going for a swim. It just wasn’t something that had ever occurred to me.

“I haven’t gone for a swim in—gosh, three years,” Ana said. “We went to the beach, a group of friends and I, before we all lost touch.”

“Are you originally from Las Vegas?”

She nodded. “Born and raised. It just seems like everyone’s drifted apart. We were high school friends, so that makes sense. Some went off to college—they were already at college when we went to the beach. It was a summer thing. I don’t know…” She sighed and looked over at the boat. “I guess it’s partly my fault. I haven’t made an effort to stay in touch, really. All I do is work.”

I definitely saw that in her. She was tightly wound. The wine hadn’t even helped that much. She just seemed like she was anxious to rush on to the next thing she had to do. Even when she wasn’t rushing, I felt that edginess in her.

“I breathe better here,” she said. “The air just seems clearer. It has nothing to do with air quality.”

Yeah, I got it. When I stepped outside in the morning and inhaled, it was like refilling my lungs with fresh air. I felt clean afterward. I’d spent time in dozens of places across the world over the course of my life, but nothing compared to Seduction Summit.

“You know what they say about all work and no play,” I said. “This town makes it easier to find that balance. I hear a lot of people saying that.”

She tilted her head slightly. “Your logger friends?”

I was standing only a few feet from her now, feet planted solidly on the ground. That meant I could make out the finer details of her beautiful face, thanks in part to the moon lighting up the area.

“Not just loggers,” I said. “Their girlfriends and wives. People I meet who work at the various restaurants and shops around town. It’s a small town, even though it’s growing. The tourists make it look bigger than it is, but the locals get to know each other pretty well.”

“I always said I’d live in a small town someday. I watch those romantic movies at Christmastime. They make it look so charming. The big Christmas tree on town square. The little gazebo. The quirky neighbors…”

Yeah, we didn’t have any of that. But I wanted to sell her on our town, so I kept my mouth shut.

“Lots of real estate opportunities here,” I said. “People are hungry for rental cabins. Investors are eager to buy them up and turn them into an investment.”

“I’m sure you have plenty of real estate agents here in town.”

I shrugged. “No idea. There’s always room for one more, though.”

Now she tilted her head in the other direction. “Are you trying to convince me to move here?”

“What if I am?”

Silence stretched between us. We continued to stare at each other. I didn’t even want to breathe for fear of taking away from whatever this was we were sharing.

Something was shifting. I had a feeling we both knew in that moment that nothing would ever be the same. There was no turning back from whatever was about to happen.

“I’m just saying, there are worse things you could do than move to a beautiful town like this and date an amazing guy like me.”

Her mouth fell open slightly, and I was aware in that moment just how drawn to her I was. I wanted to kiss her more than I’d ever wanted anything in my life. It took everything I had to stay planted in this spot until I was sure she was open to my advances.

“Is that what you want?” she finally asked.

“Hell yeah. I’d love to see where this could go. But with you leaving town…”

I didn’t finish that sentence. I had no idea if she was leaving town tomorrow or three weeks from tomorrow. Three weeks would be ideal—it would give me time to convince her to stay. But if she was leaving anyway, three weeks would never be enough.

---