Page 11 of Seeking the Mountain Man

All I could think about was Will Threader and the way he looked at me that night. It was imprinted on my brain.

“It’s going to be fine,” I assured her as we stepped out of the elevator of the coworking space I used as my office address. Mostly, I worked from home, but this was where I held all my client meetings. “I ran a full background check on Phoenix, and you’ve talked on the phone.”

“No video chat, though,” she said, stopping to turn to face me. “He doesn’t want to spoil the surprise.”

“Remember, you don’t have to marry him if it doesn’t go well,” I said. “You meet at Scoreboard, have a glass of wine—”

“I don’t drink,” she said.

She kept missing the point. “You have some tea or coffee or soda and see if there’s chemistry. If so, the town pastor will marry you Sunday afternoon.”

“Do you think my parents will find me?” she asked.

Poor girl. She was twenty-one years old, but her parents treated her like she was personal property. She was their only child, and they’d pinned all their hopes on her, to the point that they’d pushed her to date the son of their friends from the country club. It was little more than a modern-day arranged marriage.

Cherry came to me for help. My idea was to find her a man, quick. Someone looking for a bride. Someone in an area of the country packed with eligible men and few options.

That was what took me to Blackbear Bluff last week. I had a hunch that the grump Will mentioned might be open to a blind date bride situation. So I reached out. And he’d jumped at the idea—especially when he got a look at the beautiful young woman standing in front of me.

Three taps behind me almost pulled me out of the conversation. I ignored them, intent on finishing what I had to say to Cherry.

“Seriously, if you need me to go with you, I can sit in a corner of the bar and watch,” I said. “Make sure he’s not an axe murderer or anything.”

Her eyes widened. “You think he could be an axe murderer? All those guys work for a logging company, you said. Axes and tree chopping go together, right?”

“It’s an old expression,” I said. I made a mental note never to use that one again, especially in reference to loggers in Blackbear Bluff.

“If you’re fixingthatguy up, I might have a friend who’s interested,” Cherry suddenly said.

Confused, I looked at her, at which point she pointed to something behind me. I turned in the direction of the glass. It was the same glass someone had been knocking on just minutes ago. The man on the other side of it was not someone I’d want to matchmake with someone else. Not now, not ever.

“Will?” I asked nobody in particular.

He probably couldn’t hear me through the glass, but there was an earnestness to his expression, and his eyes were pleading. What I really noticed, though, was the way he was dressed. He wore a button-down shirt and dress pants.

I’d never seen him like that. Granted, I’d only ever seen him in one outfit—the one from the night I met him. I’d also seen him wearing nothing at all, though. That counted for something, didn’t it?

“Do you need me to stick around to make sure you’re safe?” Cherry asked in a teasing voice.

I shook my head. “No, it’s okay.”

My heart threatened to pound right out of my chest. I held the door open for Cherry and stood there long after she’d passed through it, just staring at the man who’d haunted my every waking—and sleeping—thought since I’d left town almost a week ago.

“Hi,” he said, not budging from his spot.

“Did you come all the way here from Blackbear Bluff?” I asked. Stupid question, but I was still trying to process the fact that he was standing in front of me.

He held up his hands as though in surrender. “I don’t want you to think I’m a stalker or anything. I just had to see you again.”

Relief flooded me. He had to see me again. That was good, right? But wait. Why did he leave in the first place?

“I don’t understand.” I shook my head. “I woke up, and you were gone.”

His pleading expression changed to one of confusion. Those gorgeous gray eyes I’d gotten lost in that day were still filled with emotion, though.

“You just left without a word,” I said.

The confusion that remained on his face had me doubting myself. Was it possible I had this wrong? Suddenly, his expression changed, his brow relaxing. And then he was laughing. Throwing his head back and laughing so loud, a guy on a scooter passing by turned to look.

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