Loving Lies(13)

We talk business for a good hour and enjoy a fine meal. Carol is closer to my grandfather’s age, so it’s sort of cute when she starts to flirt with me. I play along but it’s clear we both know it’s a game. We already have the mineral report for around the resort but after seeing that lake I know we really need to find out what’s under the surface. At the end of the meal she promises to call in a favor with one of her geological survey guys who might be able to give me a full scope of the mineral deposits for the lake area. Another hour of torture awaits me. Lust boils through my body and I find myself wandering into the bar only to discover no Alyssa.

I’m praying she’s not chickening out, but there’s not much I can do about it if she is. We didn’t exchange cell numbers and I can’t very well knock on her building to ask to speak with her without getting her in trouble. I order one beer and down it and head back outside, hoping for once for a cool night breeze. No such luck. The heat might have died down, but not by much and all my body can think about is being up close and personal with Alyssa which makes my jeans hotter and damn uncomfortable.

It’s only when I start down my road that I see a light on in one of the buildings further out, which, if I recall from my tour with the McCaids today, is the winter maintenance building. Relying on instinct I head in that direction. The large building abuts the forest and houses their winter gear. The door is unlocked and I step inside. At the back of the building I can hear someone rearranging things so I head quietly in that direction.

Alyssa comes out with her arms full of boxes and cobwebs in her hair. She looks sexy as hell.

“Hi.”

She screams and drops the boxes and I can’t help but laugh. “Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to scare you. You’re late for our date.”

Her gaze darts back toward the office she’d come out of. “Shit. Sorry, I’m sort of busy and I totally lost track of time.”

“I see that. Can I help?”

“Oh my god, that would be great. I need to move all the stuff out of this room tonight to make way for my equipment.”

“Equipment for the bar?” I ask, wondering why they’d relocate stuff from the bar to somewhere this far away.

“No, silly. Noah checked with Donald and he said I can use this office for the summer for my photography.”

“Oh. So you’re setting up a photography lab?”

“If I’m able.”

I walk over and help her arrange the boxes she’d dropped on the floor to a cabinet on the other side of the room. I step into the office and realize there’s more to this woman than I first thought. She’s funny and determined and watching her get her stuff organized makes me realize there are layers to this sexy woman that are begging for discovery. The question is, do I want to get to really know her if I’m planning to love and leave her?

An hour later we’re finished. We’re both covered in cobwebs. Alyssa isn’t afraid of spiders and easily killed a good dozen while we shuffled things around, but the minute I mentioned walking home in the dark and the possibility of bears around here, she went rigid. I told her all our racket would keep them away, which appeased her.

“I don’t know about you, but I need a drink after all that.”

“That sounds good.”

She locks up the building and I take her hand in mine, almost expecting her to withdraw it. She doesn’t and it makes me smile.

“I’ve got beer and more beer. Hope that’s okay?”

“Anything at this stage will be heaven.”

I open the door to my cabin and let her enter. Once she’s inside, I lock the door. It’s the turn of the lock that makes her turn around with that deer-in-the headlights look.

“I can unlock it if that makes you feel better.”

“No. I guess I’m good.”

I walk back to the door and unlock it. She cracks a smile that goes straight to my heart. “Let’s get a drink and sit. Your feet must be killing you.”

“You have no idea.”

“Actually, I do. I used to wait and serve drinks at my local bar for years. It was either my feet killing me or my back if I had to work a double-shift.” I go into the small side kitchen and haul out two beers. I twist off the cap and watch as she yanks the ponytail out of her hair.

“It’s good tips, so I’m not complaining.”

“I hear you. Mine were good enough to help pay for my first year of college.” I’m revealing more than I probably should, but there’s something inviting about Alyssa that causes my defenses to crumble.

She takes a swallow and I find myself checking her out. She’s still got a cobweb in her hair so I move closer and pick it out for her, causing us both to chuckle. “I didn’t know you had a thing for spiders.”