“Now, sit your pretty ass down, and I’ll bring you a tray.”
CHAPTER 14
WILLOW
Holy.
Fucking.
Shit.
My hot mountain man lumberjack boss just kissed me.
Like—actually kissed me.
Not a dream.
Not a fantasy I cooked up because I’m lonely and cold and living in a cabin on a mountain.
It happened.
His mouth on mine.
Brief.Yes.
But it was real.
“What smells so damn good?” Mack asks, bursting through the lunchroom door like the world didn’t just tilt on its axis.
Maybe it didn’t for him.
But for me? It absolutely did.
I’m stunned, but I remember he told me to sit, and I do.
I sink down into the chair, hardly aware of anything around me.
For a man built like a mountain himself, Thatcher McCrae’s lips are impossibly soft. Warm. Way too memorable for a kiss that lasted less than a heartbeat.
I catch myself wondering—ridiculously—if he uses ChapStick.
Or some kind of secret mountain man skin care routine women would sell organs for.
Andy, Arthur, and a half dozen more guys form a long line inside, boots thudding, voices rising, hunger obvious, waiting for their turn at the little spread I set up.
I guess life just barrels forward whether I’m ready or not.
Mack lingers near me, setting a bottle of water down by the chair to my right like he’s trying a little too hard.
“Smells really good in here, Willow,” he says, flashing a grin. “You do something special today?”
“Oh—um—it’s just soup and chicken salad,” I reply.
“Just?” He laughs. “How’d you know that was my favorite?”
I chuckle, shaking my head. “I didn’t. But I hope you like it.”
“I’m sure I will.” He leans back against the table. “So, how’re you liking Woodhaven so far? Everything okay?”
