Just This Once, Contemporary Romance (Last Frontier Lodge #3) (23 page)

She looked down at her hand curled on the railing. A blue sapphire winked under the sun. Aidan’s arm was warm around her shoulders. When she glanced up at him again, a spray of seawater hit her in the face. “What the hell?”

She looked down to see a whale’s tail disappearing under the water. She glanced back up at Aidan. His black curls were dripping with water, and his blue eyes were sparkling.

***

Aidan walked across the deck at the back of the lodge. The sun was high in the sky and the deck was filled with family and friends. Ellie had arrived today for a week and was currently helping Delia get a buffet table set up. Gage and Garrett were dueling at side-by-side grills, trying to see who could grill the most salmon in the shortest amount of time. Aidan held two beers as he made his way to Becca. She was sitting alone at a table in the far corner. She’d insisted she had some work to do. Her head was bowed over her laptop. She was so focused she didn’t notice his approach. He sat down across from her and waited. Oblivious to his presence, she pushed her glasses up her nose and kept typing.

His mind spun back in time. Almost ten years ago, he’d sat down across from Becca. He’d never stopped wanting her, but until last year, he’d thought his longing would go unfulfilled. Yet, here they were. He grinned as he looked over at her. Oscar came bounding up the stairs onto the deck from where he’d been playing and raced straight to their table. Becca finally looked up, straight into his eyes.

“Oh! I didn’t even hear you sit down.”

“I noticed.” He slid one of the beers across the table to her. “Think you’ll be done working anytime soon?”

Her smile was sheepish. She slowly closed her laptop and slipped it into its small bag. “Done! I had to review a few legal briefs. I promise I won’t work anymore while we’re here.”
 

She pushed her glasses up again, and his heart clenched. He reached across the table and gripped her hand. Her eyes met his, and she smiled slowly.

Oscar interrupted the moment by putting his paws on the edge of Becca’s chair and climbing up to lean his head against her shoulder. She curled an arm around Oscar and rubbed his neck.

A while later, the gathering had moved inside the lodge restaurant. Aidan leaned into the corner of a booth with his arm across Becca’s shoulders. He looked around at the cluster of friends and family scattered around the restaurant. Garrett and Sawyer were deep in the middle of a game of cards at a nearby table. Ginger was holding Marley and Gage’s little baby girl, Holly, who was sound asleep amidst the low hum of conversation surrounding her. Aidan’s eyes landed on Gage, his old friend. Their days in the Navy SEAL’s had created an unbreakable bond forged through gritty trust and toughness. Gage was leaning against the bar, his arm curled around Marley’s waist, his hand hooked in her pocket. Aidan considered that when he’d first heard about Gage and Marley, he couldn’t quite believe it. He’d pretty much given up on the idea he could forge the bonds necessary for love after years of dangerous missions. He’d figured it was the same for Gage, but then he’d seen Gage with Marley.

Even though Aidan had all but handed his heart to Becca the first time he saw her, he simply hadn’t considered he’d have a chance. Even then, he wasn’t sure he’d know how to navigate the tricky waters of a relationship. He was knocked out of his reverie when Ellie slid into the seat across from him.

“Are you two going on out the fishing charter tomorrow?” Ellie asked.

“Of course!” Becca replied. “I’m determined to catch a king salmon.” She nudged her elbow into Aidan’s side. “I’ll catch it, and you bring it in, ‘kay?”

He chuckled. “Works for me.”

Ellie looked around. “Where’s Oscar?”

“He’s not allowed in the restaurant,” Becca explained. “Gage is pretty flexible, but he can’t bend that rule.”

Ellie sighed. “Oh right.” She looked between them, her eyes tearing up. “I’m so glad you two have him and each other,” she declared. She swung her gaze to Becca. “You have no idea how happy I am. I didn’t think Aidan would ever let anyone into his heart, but with you, it was never a question.”

Becca’s eyes widened. “Huh?”

Ellie, who Aidan knew to be far more perceptive than she let on, shrugged. “He had a thing for you forever. I was just waiting to see how long it took you two to figure out you were meant for each other.”

Becca’s eyes angled up to his and back to Ellie who merely shrugged again.

Later that night, Aidan came out of the bathroom in their hotel suite and looked across the room. Becca was wrapped in a robe and leaning against the windowsill. He walked up behind her and slipped his arms around her waist. The moon sat low above the mountains, its silvery light casting a shimmer over the water in the distance. The stars were scattered like bright diamonds across the sky. He felt the rise and fall of her breath. She tilted her head back, her eyes snagging on his. His heart tightened, a wash of emotion racing through him. He dipped his head and caught her lips in a kiss. When he pulled back, her words were so soft, he might have questioned them if he didn’t know them to be so true. “Love you…”

~The End~

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Please enjoy the following excerpt from
Falling Fast,
the next book in the Last Frontier Lodge Series!

(Excerpt from
FALLING FAST
by J.H. Croix; all rights reserved)

Chapter 1

The snow swirled around Ginger Sanders as she raced toward the bottom of the ski slope. A motion in the trees caught her eye and next thing she knew, her ski caught on its edge and she was tumbling down sideways. Several rapid bumps, and she came to a stop. She brushed the snow out of her hair and looked around, her eyes landing on a pair of skis immediately to her side. She slowly looked up, her gaze traveling up, up and up until she found herself staring at what had to be the sexiest man she’d ever seen. His body was well-defined under his fitted, high-performance gear. All muscle and nothing else.

The human god looked down at her. He pushed his ski goggles up his forehead. Amber eyes with thick lashes met hers. His hair almost matched his eyes, brown gilded with gold. His features were elegant and strong at once, angled cheekbones, a blade of a nose, and a full, sensual mouth. As the man knelt down to check on her, Ginger was struck speechless. She’d like to have blamed her tumble in the snow, but truly it was just this man. Where the hell did he come from? She’d never laid eyes on him, and she knew most everyone in Diamond Creek, Alaska. He must be a tourist visiting Last Frontier Lodge.

She took a breath and pointlessly ran a hand through her hair as if she could somehow straighten the wild locks damp with snow. The human god’s face came close to hers when he was at her level. Her breath hitched and her pulse took off at a gallop.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Um…yeah. I think so.”
 

The man glanced at her skis, which were resting at an odd angle on the ground. She really was okay, although her legs weren’t too comfortable with the skis stuck to them.

“Let’s get you out of these skis, so you can get your feet under you.”

Before she could think, much less form a word, the sexy and quite helpful man quickly adjusted her skis and unfastened the bindings. He even carefully slid her skis off. Still kneeling, he caught her eyes again. “Now that you can move, how are you?”

Ginger stretched her legs out and wiggled them. The cold snow underneath her was starting to seep through her ski leggings. She looked up into those amber eyes, trying to ignore her racing pulse, and nodded. “I’m fine. Just a little tumble.”

He held his hand out. Normally, she would have ignored it and clambered up herself, but this man seemed to have practically hypnotized her. His large hand curled around hers and steadily pulled her up. When she was on her feet, she looked up again and tried to gather herself. She couldn’t keep acting like a fool who didn’t know how to talk.

“Thank you.”

She was dying to know who this man was, but she was so flustered, she couldn’t seem to say anything else.

His amber eyes held a subtle gleam as he watched her. He reached an arm over and brushed snow off of her shoulders. “You have, uh, a bit of snow on your back,” he said gesturing to her back.

“Oh, oh, right. She pulled her gloves off and shook her coat. As she tried to reach around, she realized she had snow pretty much everywhere, including all over her bottom. She brushed it off and stomped her feet. When she looked up again, she could feel the flush racing up her neck and face.

Shit. Don’t blush like an idiot. What the hell is wrong with you? You don’t notice men. They are in the no-zone. Get a grip and act normal.

As she was frantically trying to herd her scattered thoughts, Gage Hamilton, her best friend’s husband and the owner of Last Frontier Lodge came skiing over to her side. He stopped and looked down, his gray eyes warm and concerned. “You okay? Saw you fall there.”

Gage’s question nudged her out of her trance, a thread of irritation rising. She hated having anyone concerned about her. She was independent and could take care of herself. She didn’t need to be fawned over all because of a silly fall. “I’m perfectly fine,” she said archly.

Gage’s eyes crinkled with his smile. He glanced to the man whose feet she’d landed by. “How’s it going, Cam? Getting a feel for the trails yet?”

So the human god had a name. Cam. Ginger wondered what it meant that Gage seemed to know him.

Cam nodded. “It’s going great. I’ve had a chance to ski every downhill trail so far. I was thinking of switching to my telemark skis and heading out on the backcountry trails this afternoon.”

Gage grinned. “Perfect. We’ve got a good mix of trails out there. You’ll find some easy cross country trails and a few challenging ones where you’ll need those telemark skis.” Gage glanced to Ginger. “Have you two met?”

Cam looked between her and Gage. “If you count her landing at my feet as meeting, then yes.” He met Ginger’s eyes straight on. “Cam Nash,” he said with a nod.

If Ginger didn’t know better, she’d seriously think Cam had special powers. Whenever he looked directly at her with those warm amber eyes, her belly fluttered and a soft buzz of electricity swirled between them. She suddenly realized she was just standing there. Gage and Cam were looking at her expectantly. Right, it was her turn to actually speak, something she usually had no trouble with. She was a speech therapist for crying out loud. An undergraduate degree and two graduate degrees had given her absolutely no training on what to do when a man robbed you of the capacity to speak by his mere presence. Once again, she gathered herself and called upon her manners.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Ginger Sanders. Are you here for a visit?”

Cam shrugged. “Not exactly. I took a job here for the winter.”

Gage nodded enthusiastically. “Cam is a world class skier and backcountry guide. Can’t believe we lucked out and signed him on for the season. He’s getting our ski school up and running and will hopefully help me expand our backcountry trails.”

Oh. Dear. God. Cam would be here all the time. She’d hoped this was a passing encounter with a sexy tourist who she might see once or twice more. But no, he’d be here all the time. Maybe this was just a weird thing from her fall. She’d be fine in a few minutes. She’d better be. She was at Last Frontier Lodge all the time. Gage’s wife, Marley, was her best friend, and the lodge had become one of the hottest local spots in town since it reopened. She couldn’t be mooning about over Cam. She wouldn’t. With her pulse running wild and butterflies twirling in her belly, she managed to smile politely.

“That’s great! You’ll love it here.”

A whole two sentences and she ran out of words. Under usual circumstances, she would’ve happily stood with Cam and Gage and chatted about Diamond Creek, how awesome it was to have Last Frontier Lodge up and running again, and so on and so forth. Instead, she glanced around quickly for her skis, only to find them held in Cam’s hand. “I, uh, should get going.”

She reached for her skis, promptly knocking one loose from Cam’s grip. He caught it easily. “I can carry these back if you need,” he offered.

“No thanks, I got it.” Her words came out rapidly. She practically snatched the skis from his hands and ran up to the sprawling back deck of the lodge. She must have looked like an idiot running in her heavy ski boots, but she didn’t give a damn. She was all kinds of rattled by Cam Nash and needed a few minutes to pull herself together.

She put her skis away in the small shed Gage set aside for friends and family and made her way into the lodge. She shook her jacket off and looped it over her arm as she walked into the kitchen. Her friend, Delia, was in the middle of kneading dough. She caught her eyes. “Okay if I use your bathroom?”

Delia nodded. “Of course!”

Ginger walked into Delia’s office. Delia managed the kitchen and reception staff for the ski lodge, so she had one of the few private spaces downstairs in the lodge. Ginger stepped into the small bathroom and closed the door behind her. Leaning her hands on the edge of the counter, she stared in the mirror. Her shiny brown hair was a wild mess. She carefully brushed her fingers through it in a vain attempt to straighten it out. She took a deep breath and tried to slow her pulse. Cam Nash had gone and proved her wrong, and he didn’t even know it. By the mere age of twenty-eight, she’d been married and divorced. Her divorce had been full of ugly secrets spilling out, mostly the long list of acquaintances her ex had screwed around with. She’d thought she was good and done with men after that.

She’d committed herself to a life of freedom from men. Oh, she believed in love and happily-ever-after. Just not for her. It had all been going swimmingly. She’d found it quite easy to avoid men. No one she encountered appealed to her in the slightest. It wasn’t because there weren’t attractive men around. She lived in Alaska, which was filled to the brim with rugged, sexy men—so many they had a damn calendar for them. She figured she’d developed a convenient immunity. Until Cam. Even now, a full five minutes away from his presence, her skin was flushed and her belly fluttered at the thought of his amber eyes.