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“I’m not trying to buy the town,” he says defensively. “I’m offering to buy sound businesses. I’m not trying to change anything.”

“Oh, I’m supposed to believe that?” I say with a contemptuous laugh. “You corporate types are all the same. You buy everything up and turn it all to crap while mercilessly squeezing every cent of profit from it you can. People end up paying more for less and everything turns to shit!”

“We’re not like that,” he says, pulling a business card out of his pocket.

I laugh when he hands it to me. “Keaton Holdings? That’s your company name? I hate it already.”

I glare at him as I tear it into a million pieces.

“I’d dramatically throw it over the bridge to make a point,” I shout, “but us locals love our mountains and rivers and I refuse to litter.”

I shove the pieces into my pocket as I glare at him.

“But as soon as I see a garbage, the pieces are going right in there where they belong.”

He takes a deep breath and lets out a long sigh as he looks at me. “I think we got off on the wrong foot.”

“You think?” I snap. “You should leave before my foot ends up in your ass.”

“So, no dinner?”

I cross my arms and glare at him. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

His shoulders drop in disappointment.

“The exit is over there,” I say, pointing to the old train tracks. “Or, you can jump off the bridge, which would be even better for everyone.”

He sighs as he wipes his hands on his jeans. “Alright. It was nice meeting you, Ivy.”

“I wish I could say the same,” I say, turning on my heels and marching into the lodge. I slam the door and lock it.

My heart is pounding as I wait for him to leave. After a few seconds, I peek out the window and see him walking along the tracks, hands in his pockets, head hanging low.

“Damn it,” I whisper as disappointment settles in my bones.

Finally I meet someone I like and he turns out to be the worst man on the planet.

My love life must be cursed.

CHAPTER THREE

Dane

“Why would you go bungee jumping?” my sister Kendall asks as I slump down at my kitchen table.

“For fun,” I say as my brother Travis strums on his guitar on the couch. “New experiences. Adrenaline rush. The usual reasons.”

Kendall frowns at me over her laptop and then continues typing. “Sounds stupid.”

“It’s not stupid,” I say, although I probably would have agreed with her this morning.

But that was before I saw Ivy working there. It was like time stood still when I saw her sitting on the bridge, her legs fearlessly dangling over the side, her long blonde hair rippling in the wind. The sight of her seized me. It was like nothing I’ve ever experienced before.

When she turned around and I saw those gorgeous blue eyes, I knew we belonged together. I knew I had to have her. I knew she was already mine.

“Dane,” Kendall says, snapping her fingers in my face.

“What?” I ask, getting yanked out of my daze.