Page 11

He leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “So this will work out perfectly. I made an appearance on Blind Date for Life in February. Long story, but I only did the show to help my brother. Now they all think I want to be a reality show star or something. They’ve offered me my own show, and I—”

“They offered you a spinoff? Seriously?”

“Yeah. And the director is hounding me.” He points to the phone. “That’s who’s been calling me constantly. He won’t accept no for an answer, which is too bad, because I’m not changing my mind.”

“Just you? You’d be the bachelor on the next Blind Date for Life?”

“Huh-uh.” He gives me a sexy-as-hell little grin, clearly enjoying my reaction. Against all better judgment, the words tumble out.

“I have to say, you’d be pretty good at that. I watched you on the show. You’re made for the camera.”

“You did not.”

“I did. My roommate is addicted and had it on, so I saw what you did for your brother, and it was pretty noble as I recall.”

“Damn straight. Creed and Lyssa are married now.” He looks at me pointedly for a half second. “So you’ll help me get the press, and hopefully Derick, the director, off my back, and we have a deal?”

I hold up my hand. “Not so fast.” It sounds like I’ll be doing all the work. “What exactly will you do to hold up your end of the bargain?”

“Everything and anything at all. I’ll distract Mrs. Helmsley, maybe a few of the other judges.”

“How exactly do you intend to do this?”

“Details, details. I can’t give you all my secrets,” he teases. “Put it this way: there’s no harm in a little sweet talk, and maybe a few gifts.”

I tsk, tsk him. “Didn’t take you to be the bribing kind, mountain man, but okay.” I grin, reaching over to shake his hand. “Deal. I’ll accept all the help I can get, and I’ll fight off the media for you.” I start to get up, but Gideon reaches out and clasps my arm, sending a sharp current racing up it.

“One more thing.”

I settle back into the couch. “I’m listening.”

“Since we have this deal locked in, and you need to practice, we should probably move you closer to civilization. My place is still very private, but you’ll be closer to the Grizzly Grind. It’s too remote for you out here.”

“Agreed. Thanks to your mom and her fabulous kitchen space, I’ll be practicing a lot. And bonus, you probably have at least two bedrooms.”

Gideon sets his jaw and looks toward the narrow hallway, as if the answer might change if he stares long enough. “It’s the same set up as here, without the stairs. One of each, bed and room.”

I purse my lips. “Hmm.”

“But it’s a much bigger mattress. And we’ll probably have another storm rolling in, and you could lose power and—”

“Get scared.”

“And then you’d forget how to turn on the generator.”

“And I’d get eaten by a bear in the process of trying to figure it out. Let me get my things together. We can be out of here in twenty minutes.”

I head for the stairs to pack and hear Gideon say, “You got it, Curvy Spice … saw the hashtag on your posts. Suits you.” He clears his throat. “I’ll grab the rest of that pie.”

Chapter five

She didn’t say a word about me spooning her all night. Maybe she didn’t notice, or didn’t mind. Either way, having her stay at my place was a stroke of something—genius or stupidity, I haven’t decided which. I just know waking up beside her felt too right, and that’s a problem.

We skip the drive to my cabin first, and I pull into the gravel lot of the Grizzly Grind with her suitcases in the back of the cab.

“Looks like she added more pumpkins.” Lila gestures to the front windows. “You can never have enough.” She stares out the passenger side. “I love that your mom goes all out decorating for the holidays. Mine does too, but not quite like that.”

I quickly round the front of my truck and open Lila’s door. She’s wearing boots, but it’s still slippery, so I keep my hand on the small of her back to the entrance. As soon as we’re inside, Lila closes her eyes and takes a deep breath through her nose. “This scent is to die for.” She drops her head back, taking another breath, staring up at the ceiling as if the smell is coming from the heavens. “Straight cinnamon, coffee, and sugar. I could build an entire menu around that smell. Wish I could inject it into my veins.”