Page 50 of Moonlit Colorado

“Better than whatever was just going through your mind,” she said.

The woman did have a point. My mind had just been imagining how nice it would be to kiss her breathless, right here on the trail, then strip her and lay her down on a bed of leaves to have my way with her.Bad boy.

We started walking downhill again. “Imagine a guy who was born to send a filet mignon back to the private chef on a yacht. That’s my brother.”

Grace snickered.

“He’s getting hitched next week. His bride, Bristol Harcourt, is the daughter of my dad’s business partner. It’s more of a merger than a marriage. I’m not looking forward to it. I leave on Friday for a long weekend in Manhattan. I’d much rather stick around here.”

“A New York wedding sounds glamorous though.”

Behind Grace, a breeze made the aspen leaves quake. The air smelled fresh and pure. But she put all of that natural beauty to shame. I had no doubt Kip and Bristol’s wedding would be expensive and elaborate, but all the glamor I could need in the world was right here.

I had my impulsive moments. This was one of them.

“Come with me,” I said.

Her mouth pursed in a small frown. “Where?”

“To New York for the wedding. Be my plus-one. It’ll be a lot more fun if you’re with me. You’ve never been to the city, so I can show you around. You’re my guide to Silver Ridge, I’ll be your guide to NYC.”

“Would I be going as your friend? Or as your date?”

There was a right answer here. Agood behavioranswer.

But that didn’t sound very satisfying.

Whenever I analyzed a potential investment, I paid attention to the numbers, but my final decision was always by gut instinct. Everything inside me said that Grace was a good bet.

“I’ve been trying to be friends with you,” I said. “Turns out I’m not that great at it.”

Grace bit her lip. “I should probably say no.” But she had that glitter in her eyes. I’d seen it before, and I knew what it meant.

“You want to say yes. I can tell.”

Grace laughed and shook her head. “I will think about it.”

I reached for her hand, lacing our fingers. “And I’ll be thinking about all the ways I intend to spoil you when we get to New York.”

FOURTEEN

Grace

This man was killing me.

The things he said. And the way he said them. Dane was over the top and completely sincere at the exact same time. How was that even possible?

I had sworn off dating, and then here came my greatest temptation, testing my resolve to within an inch of its life. What I kept wondering was,why me? Was this good karma? Had I been a saint in a former life or something? I did try pretty hard to do the right things and give all I could to other people and all that. But come on.

He wanted to take me to New York City. A place I’d been dreaming of visiting ever since I’d seen the skyline in movies and wondered,Can that really exist?

Exactly what I kept wondering about Dane.

He held my hand all the way down the trail and as we entered the lobby. I felt everyone’s eyes on us. For a girl who was fine disappearing into the background, it was a strange and uncomfortable feeling.

The hotel manager, Tobin, raised a hand and came out from behind the reception desk. “Morning, Ms. O’Neal. How’s your stay so far?”

“No complaints.”

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