Page 14 of My Mountain Man Grump
I gape at her legs, unable to look away until she moves the dress and crouches over and I draw my gaze up to her eyes.
They’re blazing with anger, and once again I’ve managed to annoy this woman while she’s managed to give me a raging hard-on.
“Sorry.” I bring a hand to my eyes and turn away, finally remembering to be a gentleman even though every instinct I have is to stride over there and do un-gentlemanly things to her.
I need to get a grip.
“This is a public trail,” I say in my defense.
I hear the rustling of fabric behind me.
“You can turn around now.”
When I turn, she’s got her dress on. The cotton fabric sticks to her skin in wet patches. Her cheeks flame red in an adorable blush, and she sticks her chin out defiantly.
“I had a quick swim,” she says unnecessarily. “In case you thought I was waiting here for you.”
So there it is. She’s still annoyed at me for what I said last night, as is her right to be. But I hate the way she’s looking at me like I’m the enemy. I’ve seen Carrie smileat nothing, I’ve seen her dance in the kitchen when she thought no one was watching. I don’t want to be the grump who keeps ruining her good mood.
I raise my hands and try really hard not to look at her boobs.
“I’m sorry for what I said yesterday.”
She folds her arms, and I risk a glance down just to see what those beautiful orbs are doing. They’re making her dress wet from the wet fabric of the bra, and I hate that I interrupted her moment in the sun. If I’d been walking not running, I might have come upon her quietly, and I could have left her in peace after having a good long look at her breasts.
“Which part? When you accused me of corrupting your daughters by painting their nails, or when you accused me of poisoning your daughters by giving them a cupcake, or when you accused me of being in cahoots with your grandma and coming up here to try to win you over because a grumpy rude mountain man is a real catch?”
I wince at her words and run my hand through my beard. When she puts it like that, there’s no denying I’m an asshole.
“All of it.”
Her hands tug at the wet patches on her dress, making her breasts wobble.
Eyes up Cole, I tell myself.
“I’m sorry.” I let out a deep breath and try again. “You didn’t know the rules of the house. I should have been there.”
She puts her hand on her hips and cocks her head. She’s listening, but she’s still cross at me. And I desperately don’t want Carrie to be cross at me.
“I’m sorry my gran tricked you. It was a horrible thing to do. I’m sorry I’m not the man you thought I was. And I’m sorry I took it out on you when it’s Gran who’s created this mess.”
I’ve never done so much apologizing in my life. Her expression softens, and she lets out a long sigh.
“All I wanted was an adventure.” She shakes her head sadly. “This is the first time I’ve left North Carolina. The first time out of the state and I get sucked in by a granny pretending to be a man. No wonder my sister was worried about me. I’m as gullible and naive as she thinks I am.”
Carrie gives a self-depreciating laugh and shakes her head.
“I’m sorry your gran is scheming to find you a wife you don’t want. But I truly had no idea she wasn’t genuine, which goes to show how much I know about men.”
Carrie bites her lower lip, and a wave of emotion sweeps though me. Her trusting nature is sweet, and I’m truly sorry it hasn’t worked out for her.
“Don’t be so hard on yourself. Gran can be very convincing.”
Carrie presses her lips together, and a blush creeps up her neck. “Yeah. I sent her a picture of my boobs.”
My mouth drops open, and I allow myself a glance at the boobs in question. She’s just mentionedthem, surely that’s allowed. “You sent her a boob pic?”
Carrie puts her hand over her face and peeks out between her fingers. “Don’t judge me. I’ve never done anything like this before, ever.”
