CHAPTER 1
Addie March clicked her pale pink fingernails against the oak desk, her eyes on the Wilderness Adventure Park homepage. Or more accurately, on Noah Hayes. On his bronze back as he bouldered up the cliff edge like a freaking Olympian. Was bouldering an Olympic sport? It should be, the way he did it.
She opened the photo of the zip line. Her second choice. There was no Noah, but that shouldn’t influence her decision, should it?
Argh.
Of course it shouldn’t. Noah wasn’t her boyfriend. He wasn’t even her friend. He was her boss. Not only her boss but also thirteen years older than she was. And sure, he was nice to look at. And kind and attentive. Or at least, hehadbeen attentive before theincidentlast week.
A shudder rolled down her spine at the memory of Noah’s flashback. One second, they’d been standing by the desk talking. Laughing even. The next, she’d nudged his shoulder and suddenly he’d been on top of her on the floor, looking at her like she was an enemy.
She shook her head. It had scared her, but also, it wasn’t his fault. He’d just gotten out of the Marines. And he hadn’t hurt her. Hewouldn’thave hurt her. Because he was a good guy. She didn’t need to have known him long to know that.
So he didn’t have to avoid her.
She lifted her gaze to the window behind her desk. To the thick line of trees that surrounded the adventure park. There were mountain bike trails, a zip line, bouldering and rock-climbing walls…even camping cabins.
None of which was her idea of fun. Not that Noah or his partner, Colt, knew that.
What had she said in her interview? The outdoors was her second home? Hell, she might even have thrown in a comment about mountain biking being a weekly Sunday event with her dad.
Ha. She’d never been on a mountain bike in her life. Her father hadtriedto get her to go with him once when she was twelve. She’d told him she’d watch from a log with a mug of hot chocolate. He’d never asked again.
But she’d wanted this job. She’d wanted to move from Bozeman to Amber Ridge because it gave her just that little bit of distance from her parents and her hometown. She loved her mom and dad but relied on them far too much.
And everyone said things that weren’t entirely true to get a job…right?
She did havesomehobbies. Starting books she never finished. Collecting cute coffee mugs she never used because she always used the same one with the weird-looking sloth on it. And chocolate. Chocolate was definitely a hobby.
She reached over and grabbed a mini Hershey’s Kiss from her chocolate jar. Yes, an entire jar of chocolate, because running out was not an option. She had everything from mini Reese’s Cups to Snickers Minis. She’d even picked upsome huckleberry truffles because you couldn’t live in Montana without loving their famous huckleberry chocolate.
She popped the Kiss into her mouth. But that was it—she was stopping after one because she was trying to curb this chocolate addiction. Or at least minimize it in the first half of the day. Chocolate after twelve felt more respectable.
She rose and stepped into the front desk area. The cabin had recently been renovated to include an airy reception area, a smaller office space with a million drawers and files, and a second office which had been converted into a kitchen. The place was perfect.
But right now, what she needed was fresh air. Tomorrow, this place would be open to the public and crawling with people, which meant today was the last day of peace. The team was doing their final day of training, and Jules was making sure the food van was stocked and ready to go.
Food van…hmm, that didn’t sound like a terrible place to be.
The cool mountain air slipped over her skin as she headed outside to gaze over the mountains.
God, it was beautiful here. She’d been in Amber Ridge less than a month and she already didn’t want to leave.
They’d situated the food van in a section that was flat and open and right in the center of the park. The guys had lain down some new grass and brought in picnic tables. It was great. The entire place was great. The fact that they’d been able to fix it up in just a couple of months was actually pretty amazing.
She was almost at the van when a crunching noise sounded in the trees behind her.
She stopped and turned her head.
A month ago, the small sound wouldn’t have bothered her. But this last week…she’d been getting the creepy feeling that she was being watched.
It was hard to explain. A prickle at the back of her neck. The hairs on her arms standing on end. And right now, she was experiencing both those things.
Her heart beat faster as she scanned the trees. There was no one there. Because there wasneveranyone there.
She shook her head. She was being silly. After living in the same town, in her parents’ home, for her entire twenty-two years, she was just nervous to be somewhere different. Which was exactly why she’d needed to move out for a bit.
When she reached the food van, the smell of freshly ground coffee hit the air. Oddly enough—well, odd to other people—she’d never been a coffee person. She liked thesmellof coffee, but the taste? Absolutely not. She was a hot chocolate girl through and through, and she’d die on the chocolate-over-coffee hill.
