Page 315 of The Parkers' Handsome Holiday
“No, he’s still around,” Bailey sighed, pursing her lips. “But I did win the whole maintenance thing. Your job is safe, and Ian and I have come to a certain understanding.”
I shook my head. Of course there was plenty of work that I needed to do around the resort, but I wasn’t sure that going back there while Ian was still around was the best course of action. Bailey had won one battle with him, but it didn’t mean that she had won the war. And I had a feeling that Ian would be doubly pissed about her relationship with me, given that he had no way of removing me from Brooks Mountain now, not without her say-so.
“Don’t worry about Ian,” Bailey said, as though reading my thoughts.
“How can I not worry about Ian?” I sighed.
“Because I’m telling you not to,” Bailey said firmly. “He’s my brother, and the only reason he’s at all worried about who you’re with is because it’s me. That makes it my problem to deal with, not yours.”
I didn’t exactly agree with her, but I didn’t know how to argue with her either. Instead, I just sighed again and took a sip of my beer. “How have things been at the resort anyway?” I asked her. “Level with me, how much shit has piled up on my plate?”
Bailey looked hesitant and then shrugged. “There’s a few things,” she said evasively. “I’m sure Gretchen will have the full list for you as usual. I did what I could.”
I raised an eyebrow at her. “How much did you do?” I asked her.
“There were a few things,” Bailey admitted. She grinned sheepishly. “I Googled a few things, actually. But I wouldn’t have actually done anything if I didn’t think that I could handle it. I learned that lesson the first time, when I knocked out the power at half the resort.”
I laughed and shook my head. “You should have called me,” I told her. “But I’m glad you could handle it.”
We continued chatting as we ate, and I was glad when the conversation turned away from Ian. I still couldn’t believe that it was so easy to chat with Bailey. In fact, the only people in my life who had ever been this easy to chat with were Ethan and…Beth.
So when Bailey asked if I wanted to go back to her place with her, it was too easy to want to say yes. Oh, she didn’t ask it like that, with the promise of something more. She just asked if I would come check on something at the resort, and once we were there, she asked me if I wanted to come in and see what she had done with the condo.
I cleared my throat. “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea,” I told her.
“Why?” Bailey laughed, putting a hand on my arm. “Are you afraid that you wouldn’t be able to keep your hands off me?”
I could feel myself flush, and I was glad that the parking lot was as dark as it was, lit only by a few lights near the condos. “No, of course not,” I said, and when I glanced over, I thought I saw a flash of disappointment on her face. “But isn’t Ian staying with you?”
“Oh no,” Bailey said, shaking her head. “He decided that it would probably be best for him to stay in one of the other condos for the week. I have the space, but it just has been, strained, I guess.” She frowned, gnawing at her lower lip for a moment.
I grimaced. “I’m sorry I put you in this position,” I told her quietly.
“What position?” Bailey asked in surprised.
“I should never have kissed you,” I said, even though the words, coming from my mouth, felt like they had jagged edges that tore me up even as I spit them out. “I should have been more professional. You’re my boss, and – “
Whatever else I was going to say, whatever other foolish excuses I could make for why I should never have kissed her, were lost as Bailey leaned across the truck and tugged me into a fierce kiss.
I groaned and threaded my fingers through her soft, blonde hair. Somewhere in the back of my head, the warning bells were still ringing, reminding me that there were a dozen reasons why I shouldn’t be doing this. I wasn’t ready for a relationship after losing Beth, let alone a relationship with my boss, let alone a relationship that Ian didn’t approve of, let alone a relationship with Bailey. But I just couldn’t stop myself.
Bailey carefully slid across the bench seat and straddled me, her body hot where it pressed against mine, every curve pushing into me. My hands slid lower until they caught at her hips, pulling her closer to me. She rocked down against me, and I was instantly hard in my jeans. I groaned again, head falling back against the seat with a muffled thud.
Bailey laughed breathlessly. “Now, will you just shut up and come inside?” she asked.
I knew all the reasons why we couldn’t do this, all the reasons why I should go home. But it was only too easy to agree.
CHAPTER 31
BAILEY
I knew that Adam and I hadn’t resolved everything yet. I could tell that he was still holding back. I knew that it was probably partly out of the pain of having lost the mother of his child. Maybe I should ask about her. So far, I had only heard of her from Ethan, and he hadn’t really told me much. But I couldn’t think of a way to ask, and anyway, it still didn’t feel like it was totally my business.
And there was of course the nagging question of Ian. He still wasn’t happy with me running the mountain on my own, and he definitely didn’t approve of me sleeping with one of my employees. We hadn’t spoken again about those terrible things that he had said about Adam that first day that he had found out, about how I deserved someone better than him. There were a million things that I wanted to say to defend myself, but I was afraid that if I brought up the topic of Adam at all, Ian and I were both sure to get too upset with one another and say things that we didn’t fully mean.
I might not agree with Ian on everything, but he was still my brother. I was sure that he would come around if I just gave him time. It was just a matter of keeping Adam and Ian away from one another until Ian had a chance to accept that this was the way things were going to be now.
For now, I tried to push all those thoughts out of my mind. It was surprisingly easy to do with Adam following me into my condo. I couldn’t help but shiver as I imagined the way his eyes would stroke down my body as he watched me climb the steps. How far would I get to take things, once we were inside?
