Page 72 of One Little Mistake
I’m out of my chair and at Lanie’s side before she can utter another word. I don’t miss the scowl Preston throws at me.
“The roof collapsed again … entire crew … GG can’t afford … I thought I could handle this.”
I only catch bits and pieces of her conversation, but I’ve heard enough. She is going to talk to me.
“Fucking stubborn woman. I told her to let me help. Tell her I’ll be there tonight. If she doesn’t like that too fucking bad,” I growl as I walk toward Preston’s front door.
I hear the murmurs as I storm off, but I don’t give a shit at this point. Lexi needs help, and she’s getting me.
Chapter 28
Lexi
It’s been twenty-seven days since I’ve seen him, but my body knows the second he steps into the lodge. GG has been great about giving me space, but now that Easton’s here, I’m wondering if I should have talked to her sooner.Isn’t that why you came home?
After his gaze roams over my entire body, he turns his attention to the lodge, and I see his eyes go wide.
I cringe because he hasn’t even seen the worst of it yet.
“Why the hell didn’t you ask for help sooner, Lexi?” He’s as pissed off as I’ve ever seen him. That’s good. Pissed off Beast I can handle. Sweet Beast is when I lose my panties.
“GG wanted to take care of it ourselves.”
“She’s eighty fucking years old, Lexi. She can’t be climbing onto a roof …” He spots the ladder in the great room. “Please tell me you’re not using that thing?”
“I had to get up there to see if there was any water damage.”
Easton steeples his fingers and places them under his nose. Moving slowly through the space, he shakes his head at the condition of the lodge. I know he’s trying to stay calm.
Stop being sweet, Easton.
“How did it get this bad? Honestly, Lexi, parts of this building should probably be condemned.”
“Ugh,” I scoff. “It isn’t that bad.”Is it?“Okay, I know it’s bad, but notcondemnedbad.”
“Hear me when I say we will talk, Locket, but first, we need to make this place habitable. And we’re probably going to need a couple of crews to get it done quick.”
Even as he’s speaking, I’m shaking my head. Fear grips me when I realize GG’s going to lose the lodge. “No, East, you don’t understand. I’ve had to cancel all the reservations. No reservations means no income. We can’t afford to hire a crew even if I could get one out here. They’re all working other mountains right now.”
Gripping the back of his neck, he rolls his shoulders, then removes his jacket.
“Grumpy, there ya are. I’ve been waitin’ for you to show up,” GG says happily as she enters the lodge. “What took ya so long?”
“I wasn’t invited,” he says under his breath.
“Nonsense. You never need an invitation here, Grumpy. Come, let’s get you set up in your room. It’s late; you can talk about everything else in the morning.”
I watch in horror as she leads him toward my room. I didn’t think this through. The only place he can sleep is in Lanie’s bed. Lanie’s twin bed that’s right next to mine.
* * *
“Are you awake?” Easton asks, even though he’s been staring at the side of my head for the last five minutes.
The utter ridiculousness of my life forces me to laugh.
“What? Are we doing the live action version of our texts now?” Turning my head, I can just make out his facial features in the moonlight.
“It’s the only time you’ll talk to me. Behind a door, through text, in the dark.”
