“Hi, Arden. I’m Isla.” Her voice washed over me, so bright and bubbly, and a tingle ran down my spine. “Nice to meet you.”
This woman had me in a chokeholdalready. How?
But I couldn’t show it. Not a chance. I had no clue who the hell she was. And it annoyed me that she could break through my walls already.
“Hi,” I grumbled. “Ready?”
“You bet I am. We’re gonna have fun,” Isla said, so much conviction in her voice, I nearly believed her.
“Okay. Let’s go.”
And the weekend had started.
CHAPTER THREE
Isla
Someone needed to pinch me.
Here I was, sitting in the hot mountain man’s truck on the way to his cabin in the woods for a weekend.
What am I doing?
Having fun, bitch! Let loose.
“So, Arden, tell me more about yourself.”
He gave me the side-eye and shrugged his shoulders. “I work in security and have a dog named Fred. I’m thirty-eight years old,” Arden grunted.
He sounded like he’d rehearsed his answer. But I carried on. I’d make him smile, eventually. “Thirty-eight? Nice.” I grinned. “I’m twenty-five. But age is just a number, right? I think it’s adorable that you have a dog! What kind is he?”
My excitement level ticked up a notch. I loved dogs, especially the big, furry, slobbery kind.
“A German shepherd.”
“Oh my God! I love those dogs! With the pointy ears and handsome physique, I bet Fred is a stunner.” I wiggled in my seat, and my face lit up with a smile.
“A stunner?” Arden made a noise, which sounded like a grunt or a grumble, or, I say, a chuckle? “He’s a dog.”
“So? Dogs are beautiful. Have you ever watched a dog show? Those people areseriousabout their dog grooming.”
Arden said nothing. He stared out the window, steering the truck effortlessly through the winding roads, even as snow began to fall and the sky darkened.
Yet it didn’t deter me.
My mother once told me I could talk to a wall, and I’d still have more to say when I finished. Nothing wrong with being good at making conversation. “Anyway, enough about dogs. I flew from Vermont to be here. When I saw the ad for the auction, I couldn’t resist. So many hot men up for grabs.”
Arden again said nothing, only gave me a slight nod of his head. So I continued. “I needed some fun in my life, you know what I mean? I work way too much, at least my friends think I do, and they’re probably right, but when you run a business, something always needs to be done. I’ve never been to Montana before, and I love helping veterans. It means a lot to me.”
Arden inhaled sharply but again gave me no words. He pulled into a driveway, a large cabin looming in the distance amid the clouds. As he drove on the concrete, I wiggled in my seat and clapped my hands. “Wow, this is your cabin? It’s beautiful! Like something right out of a movie,” I gushed.
“Thanks,” Arden grumbled before parking the truck and killing the engine. “I’ll grab your bags and meet you by the front door.” He was out of the truck a second later and at my door, opening it for me.
“You’re such a gentleman,” I said as I hopped out. Snow fell in swirls around us, the small flakes landing on our clothes and hair.
Arden shut the door and headed for the trunk.
I looked up at the sky, stuck my tongue out, and swirled around in a circle. It’s something I’d always done since I was a little girl when it snowed outside.
