Chapter Ten

Sandi sat in Dom’s empty office. Waiting. She’d been in there for nearly a half hour by herself with no word on when or if he would return. She’d been summoned by email—for which she was grateful since she’d spent the past two weeks avoiding all unnecessary human contact—about some new super rich clients. She hoped it was an easy assignment that didn’t require an additional guide. Every time she had to work with someone else during the past few weeks, that someone else had turned out to be August.

She was sure he’d orchestrated it that way, but it didn’t matter. She was determined to maintain a professional demeanor and distance. Distance was good. It had allowed her to stick around Wilde Adventures a little longer and fall in love with outdoor adventures all over again. The rest of it—meaning August—she would forget. Eventually.

“What the hell is this meeting all about?”

She froze at the sound of August’s voice coming from the open door behind her. One, two, three, she counted and then turned. “Don’t know. I’m still waiting for Dom.” There, short and to the point. And completely professional.

“You’re involved too?” His voice was equal parts disbelief and disgust, neither of which she understood, so she answered with a nod. August walked further into the room and sat down. Right beside her. “He tell you anything about this meeting?”

Sandi shrugged, keeping her eyes trained on the window ahead and the snow capped peaks in the distance. “Some super rich clients.”

“It’s not like I own the place or anything,” he grumbled while Sandi held in a smile. Dom knew how to get his friend all twisted up. “So, uh, how have you been.”

Really? “I’m fine.”

“Good,” he said, turning to her so his green gaze was focused on her, “because I’m not.”

Sandi stood, “August—,”

“Good, you’re both here.” Dom breezed into his office just as cool as you please, like he hadn’t totally set this up. The bastard. “Martin Glimpman plans to take his family on a weeklong adventure vacation and he wants Wilde Adventures to do it.” Dom looked so pleased Sandi had to repress the urge to roll her eyes.

“How many?” August was perched on the edge of his seat, green eyes boring into Dom.

“Martin and his newest wife plus all five Glimpman children.”

“Not to state the obvious but we don’t have an aircraft big enough for that many people.”

Dom smiled. “I know. Glimpman is a recreational pilot and will get his family to the starting point, about seven miles west of Huntress Mountain.”

She groaned. That meant ninety minutes in a plane with no one but August. Could this day get any better? “When will this family vacation start?”

“Tomorrow. Go home and pack, rest and be ready for a week with what I’m assuming will be whiney ass billionaires.” He cut an amused look at August, who scowled.

“Very funny, jackass.”

Dom shrugged and looked at her. “I thought so.”

Sandi smiled as she stood. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” She quickly left the office, needing as much time away from August before a full week of nonstop togetherness.

* * *

“How long do you think we should wait?” August sat on the ground right next to Sandi, taking a moment to drink her in. Those blue eyes and unruly brunette waves blew in the breeze.

Sandi looked down at her watch. “If Glimpman didn’t crash, I think it’s safe to say he isn’t coming.”

Her words were tinted with defeat and that confused him. “Why would you say that?” He was rich so he knew, sometimes something more important came up and everything else had to wait.

“It’s been an hour and we haven’t received word that he’s running late or dead or whatever.” She pointed at the sky. “And it looks like we’re in for another of those surprise storms, unless you knew about it?”

August shook his head as a rush of heat flamed over his face. “It was supposed to be clear skies all day.” He’d checked and double checked the weather, but he was finding that Alaska didn’t give a damn about weather predictions.

“Right.” She stood and dusted off her butt and August tried not to look, but he missed her. He missed that butt and everything attached to it. “We should probably get going. A few weeks back I spotted a cabin. We should head there.” She began walking and August scrambled to his feet and caught up with her.

“And what will you do if the Glimpman’s arrive?”

“Tell them it’s polite to call when you plan to be more than an hour late with a storm coming in. Besides do you really think a recreational pilot would know how to handle himself in this?” She pointed to the clouds, now a dark greyish-blue and moving quickly.

Probably not. “Okay let’s get going before the clouds open up.” They forged ahead in silence, eating up miles of thick muddy forest floor. Finally he could see the cabin in the distance. Thankfully because his thigh muscles screamed. It was one thing to do this on dry ground but the conditions today were like walking through sludge.

“Finally,” Sandi said on a heavy exhale as she pushed the cabin door open. She collapsed on the ground while her chest heaved as she fought to suck in air. August joined her and for a few minutes the only sound was the rain pounding on the roof and their heavy breathing. “We need to get a fire going.”

August watched Sandi, every move had a purpose. She didn’t waste a motion as she dug out items to get the fire going. Every move made him sorrier, more regretful of the things he’d said to her. She was exactly who you wanted by your side when shit got real. “I’ll help in a minute.”

“I’m fine.”

Of course she was. It was clear Sandi did not need or want him. Or his help. He would change her mind. He had to.

“You should probably get out of those clothes and put them in front of the fire,” she told him as she removed her own clothes.

August wished she was undressing for another reason, but that didn’t stop him from enjoying the delicious view of her round backside as she shimmied the wet denim down her shapely legs. “You just want to see me in my underwear,” he grinned.

She ignored him and laid her clothes close to the fire, before pulling out a protein bar and eating it. “I think we’ve been set up.”

He frowned and sat up. “What do you mean?”

She turned to him. “What I mean is, don’t you find it a little odd that a billionaire wanted to meet us here and mysteriously never showed up? Or that he went to Dom who is more the business end of things?”

August let that roll over in his mind. He had thought it odd. “I just chalked it up to Dom always bringing in new clients. But why?”

She gave him a look that told him she thought he was an idiot. “To get us to talk or reconcile, something like that. I’ll bet Mandy was in on it too.”

He smiled as he thought about it. This was something Dom would do and August could kiss him for it. “But a week without the both of us?”

Sandi rolled her eyes. “Obviously I wouldn’t stay out here a full week and I’m sure he knew that.”

“What if I wasn’t ready to go?”

She shrugged. “Then I assume you’d find your way home.”

Silence settled again since August had no response to that. But the more he looked at her and saw how rigid and withdrawn she was, the more he wanted to draw her closer to him. “Are you going to hate me forever?” He held his breath and waited for an answer to a question he hadn’t even planned on asking.

“I don’t hate you August.” Her words were simple. Matter of fact.

“Then what?” Because he really needed to understand what she was feeling.

“Angry. Disappointed. Hurt.”

Well, damn. Now he really felt like a world class jerk. “Sandi, I’m sorry.” He blew out a long breath. “I overreacted and struck out, but god you have to know I didn’t mean it. We were getting so close and I let it mix with my baggage and threw it at the nearest target. You.”

“Okay.”

He looked at her in disbelief. He wouldn’t believe it was that easy. “Okay, you forgive me?”

She gave him a sad smile. “No. Okay I’ve heard your explanation.”

“But you don’t forgive me?”

She shook her head at him but those blue eyes were so sad it tore at his heart. “I can’t August. Do you know how hard it was to open up to you, hell to anyone after Christopher? But I did. I let you in and you hurt me.”

“So that’s it? No forgiveness and no second chances?”

“No. I’m not strong enough for that yet August. I can’t be the punching bag for your issues. I have my own.”

When she put it like that, how could he argue with her? “I miss you Sandi, okay? And I’m in love with you.” He growled. “I didn’t mean to, didn’t really want to thanks to my baggage, so I didn’t handle it well. All I could think of was that you were hurt, and then you weren’t and well, that was my relief.”

That pulled a smile from her. “Relief? That’s new.” Then she froze and turned to him. “You’re in love with me?”

“Yes.”

“No.”

August smiled. “Yes Sandi. I love you and I think you love me too, and if I hadn’t been such an ass, you’d say it back to me.”

* * *

“So sure of yourself, are you?” Sandi struggled to understand the words August was saying to her. He was in love with her. How was that possible?

“Not sure of me. Sure of us.” He finally stood and slowly removed his wet clothes. “All this time I had without you, gave me plenty of time to think. About us and the time we spent together. We were falling in love and it scared the shit out of me.”

One side of Sandi’s mouth kicked up in amusement. “Imagine how I felt? The last guy I loved was killed by an avalanche. The next one accused me of trying to kill his best friend.”

August sucked in a breath. “Sandi,”

She held up her hands. “I know, but still.” Her blue gaze begged his green one to understand. “Your outburst gave me the perfect excuse to put some distance between us. You broke my heart August.”

He knelt before her, his wide chest radiating more heat than the fire just a few feet away. “My heart broke everyday without you.” His voice broke at the end and Sandi felt herself caving.

“Mine too,” she whispered, unable to maintain the lie in the face of his brutal, gut wrenching honesty.

“So let’s put ourselves out of this misery. Be mine Sandi.”

She sighed as the tears that she’d held in check since the conversation started began to fall. “I’m already yours August. If I wasn’t it wouldn’t hurt so bad.” Sandi placed her hand over his heart, felt the rapid pace beat underneath her palm.

“Sandi,” he groaned and cradled her head. “Tell me.”

She bit her lip and took in those glittering green eyes, shining with love and affection. For her. She took a deep breath. “I love you, August.” He laughed and pulled her in for a kiss that was hot enough to set the whole forest ablaze. “If you hurt me again, I’ll make sure your body is never recovered.

August laughed. “Love and murder all in one sentence? I couldn’t love you more if I tried.” He kissed her again, his hands caressed her thighs as they moved toward her center. “Move in with me. I’ll kick Dom out and he can live with Mandy.”

She pulled back and looked at him. “You know, for billionaires, you guys sure are cheap. Living together? Come on!”

His fingers slipped inside her damp panties and stroked over where she throbbed for him. “That’s how we keep the money, babe. You’ll be happy for that when we have eight kids running around the place.”

“Eight?”

At her surprised expression he laughed and leaned forward to lick her bottom lip. “Don’t worry, we’ll get married before we start making babies.”

“Married,” she choked out. “We’ve hardly dated!”

“I know. We’re dating as of now. Officially.” He kissed her again and sank a finger into her moisture.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yep. And a year from now we’ll be married.”

Sandi smiled at the sexy, arrogant man she’d given her heart to. He would certainly make life interesting. Exciting. “I guess I’m ready to start this adventure with you August.”

“Damn straight.” He smiled at her and kissed her until they were naked and screaming in ecstasy. “Mine,” he growled as he thrust into her body.

“Forever,” she whispered in response.

THE END