Chapter Five
Wonderful, he was wonderful.
And so incredibly not an option.
She hadn’t meant to flirt so hard with him. But once he started asking about work, she had to get him off the subject. So she’d traced her leg along the inside of his calf, pushing aside the voice telling her the responsible thing was to get up, thank him for the evening, and go. Since the responsible thing would have been to make their first and only meeting professional, clearly responsible was off the table for tonight.
The problem was that in distracting him, she’d also distracted herself. For one sweet second she’d forgotten why she was there, and what she needed from him.
Until he had to bring up her company again.
Prior to meeting him, she’d assumed Mr. Reede’s obstinacy had to do with money, pride, stubbornness—something she could reason with or overcome. But it was all about the principle, and keeping his life unchanged. Simply upping her offer wasn’t going to make Austin change his mind. And once he found out she’d been essentially lying to him, he’d only be more set against her, her family, and her father’s dream.
It was time to cool it with the flirting, go back to her hotel, and wake up tomorrow ready to work. At least she could tell Steven she’d made contact. That ought to buy her a little more time with the board.
She gave an exaggerated yawn. “Thanks for the company, but I’m beat. I should go.”
“Already?” Austin looked at her with that adorable line of concern settling between his eyes. He’s not on the menu, Sam warned herself before the scruff on his jaw could make her give in.
“I should get back before the snow sticks on the roads.” She signaled to a waitress for the bill and grabbed it before Austin could. She was pulling out her credit card when she realized how stupid that was. Did she want to hand him a business card while she was at it? She stuffed in way too much cash, waving the waitress away when she asked if Sam needed change.
“It’s all taken care of,” Sam said to Austin when he reached for his wallet, too.
Austin looked at her like she’d just confessed to being overrun with toe fungus. “You can’t do that.”
“Of course I can. Thanks, Mack,” she called. “Tell Connor that beet burger was A-plus. You should try it sometime.”
Mack snorted that Connor would probably poison her, and Austin said yeah, except they needed to keep her around to change the beer taps. Sam found herself laughing along with their teasing. She thought about her own nights out with colleagues and the few friends she rarely got to see. If she were back in Seattle she’d still be at work, ordering takeout, too busy going over the numbers again to stop and actually eat.
Outside the snow was coming down hard, coating the parking lot in a layer of white. The weather in Seattle was dependably gray. All they’d gotten this winter was rain and more rain and that dreaded wintry mix. She stood in the middle of the parking lot and tilted her face to the sky.
Snow clung to her lashes and melted down her cheeks. She could see it coming toward her, illuminated by the outdoor lights from the bar, but higher up where the lights didn’t reach everything was darkness. The flakes seemed to emerge straight from a dizzying abyss. She felt Austin come up behind her, the solid weight of him dangerously close. She knew how unfair she was being to him, and how much of her job she was putting at risk.
But she couldn’t make herself pull away.
“It’s beautiful,” she said quietly.
“I know.”
He pulled out a strand of hair that had gotten tucked in her scarf.
“Where’s your hat?” he asked. But it was more like a whisper, his lips brushing close to her ear.
“I forgot it,” she said hoarsely. Her mouth was dry.
He ran a hand over her hair, smoothing out the snow. “Do you want mine?”
Sam turned to face him. Her whole life, her whole career, was spent calculating risk versus reward. How much risk could the company assume when they bought new land? How much would they be rewarded for the chance they took?
She knew not every risk wound up being worth it. But zero risk meant zero gain. Wasn’t that the whole philosophy that had gotten her father’s company where it was? Knowing when to take the plunge. Damn it, Austin was gorgeous, even with a gray wool hat pulled over his ears. And he was funny, thoughtful, kind—
She wrapped her gloved hands around his scarf and pressed her lips to his.
There was a pause in which he seemed surprised—was she wrong? Surely he wanted this, too. And then his arms were around her and he was kissing her back. The voice in her head stating firmly that this was a very bad idea tasted sweetness and warmth, and for a moment there was only silence. The world, her mind, even the wind itself had gone still.
Then a burst of noise came from behind them. A couple walked out of the bar and headed to their car. It was the reminder Sam needed. Nothing about their situation had changed. She couldn’t get caught up in the romance of the falling snow.
“I should go,” she said, pulling away.
“I’ll walk you to your car.”
Sam laughed. The parking lot wasn’t exactly big enough to get lost in. She pulled out her keys and unlocked the Audi. It beeped, and the lights flashed.
“Oh, no.” Austin groaned.
“You can’t walk me that far?”
“Did you forget it’s snowing?” He held up his palms, catching the flakes.
“So?”
“So you can’t drive that thing in the snow.”
Sam glared at him. “I drive that thing everywhere.”
“Not on dark, windy mountain roads on nights like this. Get in the truck.”
“Which one?” she asked, looking around the lot. “They’re all trucks.”
“Exactly. Because people around here know how to drive in winter.”
“Ugh, what is it about men and cars?”
“I’m sorry, I’m just not that good at forgiving myself when I find out people I’ve been enjoying a perfectly lovely evening with wind up skidding off the road. Must be a man thing.”
“Lovely evening?” She raised an eyebrow.
“I take it back, I’m having a terrible time. Get in anyway and I’ll take you to your hotel.”
“I have to work tonight,” Sam said pointedly, not making a move toward his truck.
He smiled. “I’m not inviting myself in.”
“Are you sure?”
Austin raised his palm. “Scout’s honor.”
Sam couldn’t help herself. “Well, that’s disappointing.”
Austin dropped his hand immediately. “Good thing I was never a Boy Scout, so my promises don’t mean a thing.”
Sam tugged on his scarf. It was so tempting.
But she had to back away.
“I told you I’m not monogamous with my job,” she said. “But it’s still my primary relationship, and it’s expecting me tonight. Let’s go before these papers get wet. I don’t think my bag is waterproof.”
Austin unlocked his truck and brushed snow off the windshields.
Don’t invite him in. Don’t invite him in.
Sam tried to strengthen her resolve as he drove.
But Austin didn’t give her a chance to turn down any implied invitation.
“I can drive you back to your car when the streets are plowed,” he said as he pulled into the circle in front of the Cascade and waved off the valet attendant coming to take the car.
Sam unbuckled her seat belt. “I appreciate it. You’re right, that wouldn’t have gone so well in my car. You’re sure you don’t mind picking me up tomorrow?”
“Of course not. You have my cell, right?” Austin patted down his pockets. “I think it’s at home now—I’m bad at remembering to keep it with me. But for you, I’ll carry the little monitor all day.”
It was ridiculous, this mountain man who lived in the woods and went out without a cell phone. But it was attractive, too, the way he gave everything his full attention. Not once had he been distracted from her while they ate. His mind certainly hadn’t been anywhere else when they’d kissed.
Sam almost leaned over to do it again, her resolve draining away.
But she wasn’t the wolf for no reason. Before she could make an even bigger mistake, she pulled away, grabbed her bag, and slammed the door. She had no doubt he would have followed her in a heartbeat if she’d asked him to. But she couldn’t. It wasn’t fair, it wasn’t right, and there was no way it would end well.