Cora wasn’t sure what she’d expected of Garrett’s house. It sure as hell wasn’t a palatial estate with a paved circular drive. Nor a kind of home that looked like it would be featured in the tourism bureau magazine. It had the appearance of being rustic, with its walnut logs fashioned into a log cabin style, but it was warmer than the log cabins she’d been to and one heck of a lot larger. His home was a combination of wood and stone with a slate roof. Golden exterior lights glowed near the front door.

The house was on its own private lane. She knew he had money. After her interview with him, and learning that he owned the ski resort, that was a logical deduction to make. But this kind of wealth had never crossed her mind. It was rather unnerving and a little frightening.

Garrett parked his truck near the front door and got out, coming around to the passenger side. He opened her door and held out his hand.

“Cora?” he said.

“Uh right, sorry.” She put her hand in his and let him help her out of the truck cab before turning to grab Milo from the back.

“I’ve got him,” Garrett said.

Milo didn’t hesitate to go into Garrett’s arms. Nor did Elmo. The small pup bounded into the man’s arms.

“This is your house?” Milo asked, wide-eyed. Cora knew the feeling.

They walked up the steps to the wide front porch crafted of stone. It had obviously been made to weather the winters here and still managed to be esthetically pleasing. There was a wooden bench and some matching chairs off to one side. It would be pleasant to while an evening away watching the fireflies come to life as the sun set over the mountains. She could picture herself and Garrett after a long day, cuddling on the bench while Milo and Elmo raced around trying to catch the fireflies.

If she wasn’t prepared for the outside of his home, the inside was another animal entirely. It was massive and elegant. Directly inside the front door was a living room, or perhaps it was called a great room. There were soaring twenty-foot ceilings. One wall was comprised almost entirely of a bank of windows and the view was awe-inspiring.

It was a clear, unobstructed view of the nearby mountains. Even the forest outside appeared to have been cultivated to provide such distinct scenery, with the pine trees forming a small corridor with nothing but grass and wildflowers so that you could see the entirety of the mountain.

The floors were all golden walnut hardwood. The color made the room appear warm and cozy, even though her entire condo could fit in the giant living room. There were stone fireplaces and a huge chandelier made with antlers. The couches were masculine in design with deep seats in a tan leather that was butter soft to the touch.

Throughout her perusal, Garrett studied her.

“Your home is lovely,” she murmured.

“I’m glad you like it. I’m not here enough.”

Garrett set Milo and Elmo on their feet. Likely a bad move on his part. They began racing around the open space. But Garrett didn’t seem to mind.

“Milo, please, baby, you and Elmo need to slow down.” Her son was normally extremely well behaved but there were times when he was still a kid and proved it.

Then Milo squealed.

“What’s wrong, honey?”

“Look Mama, toys!” Milo held up a box of some blocks.

“Before you play with them, you need to ask Garrett first.”

Garrett walked over to Milo, leading him to a space near the window and Cora’s jaw dropped open. It was like a kid-sized wonderland of toys. Milo’s eyes were as big as saucers. Even Elmo had stopped trying to tug on Milo, as if he understood how big a deal it was.

“All of these are for you to play with when you’re here, squirt. Why don’t you and Elmo play for a bit while your mom and I get dinner ready. Think you can do that?” Garrett asked her son.

“All for me?” Milo clapped his hands and bounced up and down.

“All for you. Now, do we have a deal man to man that you’ll behave?” he asked.

Milo nodded.

“Good deal, bud. After dinner, you and I can play, okay?” Garrett said and grinned when Milo got all excited. Then Milo entered the land of toys with building blocks, a Fisher Price tool station and more like he was right at home.

When she would have protested leaving him alone in the room, Garrett waylaid her.

“He’s fine. They both are. Come on into the kitchen with me,” he said, taking her hand and tugging her with him.

Cora was bemused in spite of herself at Garrett’s nonchalance over how Milo and Elmo had used his great room like they were training for the Boston Marathon. Did he not realize that leaving a three-year-old and a puppy alone for any measure of time could spell disaster? She’d have to listen and check in on him. “You do realize this is my son, he who can break something in under a minute.”

“Just come sit, have a glass of wine, and tell me about your classes. How are things going at Matt’s gym?” he said, and his words carried an undertone of command.

Cora didn’t mind. Heaven help her, she was beginning to find his dominant nature charming and rather arousing to boot. The man did have a unique talent to ignite her internal combustion to meltdown temperatures.

The open, airy kitchen was connected to the great room. And the motif of golden walnut flooring continued. The cabinets were dark espresso-colored wood with ivory and gray marbled granite countertops and stainless steel appliances throughout. Cora could see herself at the stove baking cookies for Milo, Elmo lying contented in a dog bed near the huge oak dinner table. And Garrett coming in and sliding his arms around her waist.

“Something smells lovely,” she said and accepted a glass of wine from his hands.

“Everything’s ready but the noodles. Milo does like spaghetti with meatballs, right?”

“He loves anything with noodles, especially if cheese is involved.”

“There will be. Have a seat while I get the noodles going.” Garrett indicated one of the stools by the center island.

Cora climbed on the stool, knowing deep down she was sinking fast where Garrett was concerned.

“So how is the gym going?” Garrett asked, efficiently moving around his kitchen like he wasn’t a stranger to cooking.

“Good, I guess. Don’t get me wrong, I like it there. I just don’t like not being with Milo as much.”

“It has to be a difficult balancing act,” Garrett said, putting a pot filled with water on the stove and turning the burner on.

“It can be. I’m always worried that I’m not doing enough or, on the opposite side, that I’m worrying too much instead of just enjoying how well-adjusted and normal my kid is.”

“You’re a really good mom. I’ve seen the way Milo is with you and he thinks the sun rises and sets with you.”

“Thank you,” she said, blinking back tears as pleasure at his words spread through her.

“As for the job, Cora, if it’s not working out at Matt’s gym, you can come work for me. I know you’ve been resistant to it, but you’d be able to work during the day and bring Milo with you. We have an excellent daycare center with a ton of activities that he would enjoy. And yes we are in a relationship, but we could set a rule that while we are at the resort it’s all business. When we are here or at your place, we focus on just us and not work.”

“You really want me to work with you?” she said, contemplating his offer. Part of the reason she’d wanted the job as much as she had was because it would mean she didn’t have to work at the club too. It would give her more time with her son.

He came around the kitchen island and boxed her in with his big body. Cupping her chin, he lifted her gaze up to his. “I do.”

And then he kissed her. At first it was sweet, almost hesitant, but then he took it deeper, drawing the pleasure out, taking her under into a world where nothing existed but his mouth on hers. When he finally lifted his head, she was flushed with need.

“I’ll think about it. I owe Matt for giving me a chance. But let me see how it works out over the next week or so, then I will let you know.”

“Fair enough. Have you always wanted to be a yoga instructor?” Garrett asked, heading back over to the pot of now boiling noodles and giving it a good stir.

“No. I had never planned on becoming a yoga instructor. It’s good work. But when I was younger and in college I wanted to work in finance. I have a good head for numbers and earned a bachelor’s degree in finance.”

Garrett finished placing some rolls on a cookie sheet and glanced her way with a dark brow raised. “Finance, really? Why aren’t you working as an executive at a bank?”

“Ha, well, because life doesn’t always work out the way you think it will. The market crashed when I graduated. The internship I’d had at TD Ameritrade was supposed to turn into a salaried position when I graduated, but with the housing market crashing, the financial sector for that position had evaporated by the time I walked across the stage to receive my degree.”

“That’s tough. Do you still want to work in finance?”

“I don’t know. At the time I was devastated. I had student loans I couldn’t pay for and could barely afford the tiny studio apartment near campus waiting tables. But I like that I can work in smaller snippets of time while Milo is little. This time won’t come again with him.”

“I can see that,” Garrett said.

“What made you want to start the resort?”

“Well, it’s what I know. My family owns Brooks Hotels International. So I grew up being groomed to one day take over operations of the company.”

Oh wow! He hadn’t just made his fortune, he came from money. A lot of money. But he didn’t act arrogant, at least not where his wealth was concerned. He might have a big home with super nice furniture, but he was alone. This house was just waiting to be filled, filled with love and family and warmth.

“What happened? Why aren’t you running your family’s company?”

“Well, when I was eighteen I began dating a woman. She was older than I was and she was my first really serious relationship. We dated while I was attending business school, working on becoming the next Brooks to step into the role of CEO when it was time for my father to pass the baton. But shortly after I graduated, I wanted to take our five-year relationship public.”

“No one knew about the two of you?”

“No. She was one of my mother’s friends and twenty years older. When I questioned her about it, she made it seem—in front of my mom—like I had been making unwanted advances for years.”

“But you loved her, didn’t you?” she asked, sensing the hurt there.

Garrett’s gaze met hers and she saw a wealth of emotion in them. “Yeah, I did. It was only after the fallout that I came to understand I was only a diversion for her and she never loved me. She liked the idea of me, but not me personally. But because of her actions, I made the decision to join the army. My parents hated the idea, but my relationship with my mom became strained so it ended up being an easy choice. The army was where I met Spencer. And throughout our tour of duty he told me about his hometown of Jackson Hole. Once my enlistment was over, I headed here and fell in love with the area.”

Going on instinct, Cora slid off the stool, walked around the kitchen island, and wrapped her arms around Garrett. He moved her. It took strength of character to forge the life he had and he amazed her. His arms slid around her and she looked up at him.

“You’re pretty amazing, you know,” she murmured.

Warmth filled his cobalt gaze. “You think so, huh?”

“Yeah, I do.” And then she stretched on her toes until her mouth was an inch from his, so she could watch his gaze darken with desire before she brushed her mouth against his and felt her heart fall.

She wanted to say it was too soon. That it was an affront to Jeff’s memory that she could fall for Garrett so quickly. But that seemed to be how she was built. She and Jeff had met when she was waiting tables. He’d picked her up that night and had ended up spending the weekend with her. By Monday morning when he’d left for work at the fire station, she’d been in love. And they’d had four wonderful years together.

Just then Milo and Elmo came scrabbling into the kitchen and Garrett and Cora broke apart at his laughter.

“Oh you think it’s funny, me kissing Garrett?” She eyed her son with a small grin on her face.

“Uh huh,” Milo said, nodding his head.

“Well, I have plenty to spread around,” she said, scooping Milo into her arms and giving him playful kisses over his face. Milo squealed and giggled, causing Elmo to bark and prance around the kitchen.

“If you guys are ready, we can sit and eat.”

“Certainly,” she said, and took Milo over to the table. In one of the chairs near the head of the table was a booster seat for Milo. The man had thought of everything; buying him a car seat and toys and a booster seat. What else did the man have up his sexy sleeve?

She sat Milo down, then helped Garrett bring plates and drinks over to the table. She cut up the noodles and meatballs into bite sized pieces for Milo. He would likely be wearing half of the spaghetti before they were done.

Cora sat on one side of Milo with Garrett at the head of the table, placing Milo between them. As they ate, Milo and Garrett talked. She was charmed by the two of them. Her son was so very loving and open to the attention from Garrett. And he was good with her son. He didn’t promise him things, just asked him what he liked and answered Milo’s questions—not like he was put out by the million questions but with genuine interest in him.

It moved her. He moved her.

She helped Garrett with the dishes after dinner. Then he, Milo and Elmo played in the great room. Milo was having the time of his life getting to be rough with Garrett. Cora always tried to temper some of his rambunctious nature because boys had a tendency to like to beat things up.

But with Garrett, he was able to be a boy and launch himself at Garrett with no fear of harming him. And Garrett helped her son build a fort.

When Milo began yawning up a storm, it was time to get him home. She helped them clean up in the living room.

“We can leave the fort up for the next time you come over, squirt,” Garrett said, staying her hands when she would have started moving the blocks.

“Are you sure?” she asked.

“Yeah, it’s the most lived in this house has looked and I like it,” Garrett said.

He drove them home. And after the evening they had had, both Milo and Elmo fell asleep in the back seat. When they arrived at her house, Garrett carried Milo inside and up to his room for her. He left her in Milo’s room while he said he had to take an incoming call.

“Sure,” she said, never expecting that Garrett would be sorry that he couldn’t put Milo to bed. She watched him leave then gently changed Milo into his pajamas. It might take a while to get Milo to go down, but typically, when he wasn’t sick, once her little man was out he was down for the count and an extremely sound sleeper.

Once she had Milo in his spaceman pajamas, she tucked him in. Elmo leapt up on the bed and snuggled down with Milo. She looked at the two of them, the boy and his dog, and her heart didn’t feel big enough to contain her love for them.

Cora left Milo’s room and headed downstairs, hearing Garrett’s low voice.

“I can’t tonight but will make it up to you. I’ve got to go.” His voice floated up the stairs.

Who was he talking to? Because it sounded from his tone like he was talking with another woman. Was this just a casual thing between them then, where they were open to seeing other people? They’d never set parameters and he did give good woo.

Cora entered the living room as he ended the call.

“Something wrong?” she asked.

He turned toward her and the shadows were back in his eyes. But they vanished as quickly as they had appeared. “No. Just work. We have some problematic guests at the resort. But that comes with the territory.”

“I’m surprised that you’re not at the office more,” she said.

Garrett laughed then ran a hand through his hair. “It’s unusual for me too. But I’ve been burning myself out and needed a small vacation.”

“And yet you still answer your phone?”

He shrugged. “I don’t feel my employees should have to handle all of it. I built the resort so that I wouldn’t sit remotely in some office building, separated from the bulk of operations, handing down policies and decisions. I enjoy what I do, what I’ve built, and it’s not in me to not put in an honest day’s work.”

She approached him, shoving the niggling thoughts of another woman to the back of her mind. Sliding her arms around his waist, she said, “Are you done for the night? Because there’s another job that requires your attention…”

His cobalt gaze smoldered as his arms wrapped around her back. “I’m happy to report for duty.”

And then he lifted her into his arms and carried her up to her bedroom.