“Check-in isn’t ‘til twelve,” I grunt. My voice comes out hoarse, like it hasn’t been used in a while. I want to say something else—something that isn’t about the fucking check-in time—but being so close to this pretty little redhead has me tongue-tied.
“It is?” She looks mortified, keeping her gaze on the wall. Her cheeks are flaming the same color as her hair. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know…”
“Was in the email I sent.”
“Shoot. I’m sorry. I guess I missed that part.” There’s a beat of silence. Then the girl backs out of the bathroom. “I’ll…I’m sorry, I better let you get dressed, I, uh…yeah…”
She scurries into the living room, closing the bathroom door behind her. I take a second to remember how to move. My heart is racing, blood pumping a hundred miles an hour as I quickly pull on the fresh clothes I brought over. I don’t know what’s happening to me. In all my forty-six years, my body has never reacted like this. All it took was one look at this girl, and now it feels like my damn skin is on fire.
Who is she?
And why does it feel like I’ve been waiting my whole damn life to set eyes on her?
3
RUBY
I waitin the living room, my cheeks burning as I fiddle with the sleeve of my sweater. It’s dark green with a giant reindeer on the front, its nose a big red bobble in the middle. Not the kind of thing I’d have worn if I’d known I was about to meet the world’s hottest mountain man.
Ugh, why didn’t I read the email properly?
I just assumed check-in was at ten. Big mistake. He must think I’m a total idiot. Heck, I don’t think I’ll ever forget the deep scowl on his face when I opened the bathroom door to find him half naked and dripping wet. It’s an image that’s impossible to shake from my mind. He looked so grumpy, like I just poked the bear. But somehow it only made him hotter.
The man comes out of the bathroom, pulling me from my thoughts. I assumed he’d look a little less sexy with a shirt on…turns out that was another dumb assumption on my part. He’s wearing a red flannel shirt and jeans, water still running from his gray-streaked hair. His thick muscles bulge beneath the fabric, and I swear I have to stop myself from drooling.
God, he even smells good.
Like pine and peppermint.
“I’m sorry again about walking in on you,” I say as the man closes the bathroom door behind him. The living room feels impossibly small now he’s standing in it, the sheer size of him sucking all the air from the room. It feels like he’s bearing down on me, and I have to force myself to breathe.
“It’s fine.” The man grunts the words like they cost him effort. Something tells me he’s not much of a talker.
“I’m Ruby, by the way,” I say, eager to fill the silence.
“Ivan.”
The name suits him. Strong and blunt.
“Nice to meet you.” I smile at him. “So, you own this place?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s really cute!”
“Thanks.”
His gruff, one-word answers aren’t giving me much to work with. I should let him go, but I’m not ready for him to leave. Being around him is stirring something in my belly, shaking me up like a snow globe.
“Do you live near here?” I ask.
He nods, gesturing toward the window to the left. “My cabin’s about a minute that way.”
“Huh…” I frown in confusion. “Is the shower here just really good or something?”
“I don’t usually shower here,” Ivan says. “Only came today ‘cause the pipes froze at my place.”
“Oh, that sucks. Well, come over and use the shower here anytime!” I sound a little too eager, and I can’t help cringing at myself as Ivan quirks a brow.
