Love Lessons (10 page)
Authors: Cathryn Fox
“And…that kind of tells me you do know me,” he explained.
“You’re kind of legendary around here. But I don’t
know
you.”
She folded her arms but when he slanted his head, the boyish, totally sexy way he looked at her weakened her knees. God, no wonder everyone was crazy about him.
Her gave her a lopsided grin that set off a chain of events inside her body, none of which she welcomed. “You think I’m legendary?”
She was about to put an end to this conversation when the skies opened up and did it for her. Cold hard rain pelted them, but Ryeland didn’t race to his Jeep like the pretty boy son of a rich lawyer who couldn’t look less than one hundred percent put together. Instead he stood there, like he had all the time in the world to annoy the hell out of her.
Rain plastered his thick hair to his head, pushing his bangs into his eyes. She nodded toward his vehicle. “You’d better get in your car before your gel runs.”
His grin widened and, despite herself, she couldn’t help but smile back. Score one for the townie.
“I’m not going without you.” Undeterred, he rooted his feet and folded his arms.
She tightened her grip on her paper bag, ready to tell him for the last time she wasn’t going anywhere with him. But before she could voice those words her box of tampons pushed through the wet brown paper and fell into a puddle with an undignified splash.
Ryeland’s gaze dropped to the ground and he scrubbed his hand over his jaw like he was trying not to laugh. She groaned low in her throat as embarrassment raced through her. Dear God, could this day get any worse?
Another rumble serrated the heavy air and Mel looked skyward, willing the next electrical bolt to hit her. Right between the eyes.
“Here, let me.” Ryeland bent to grab the wet box before the lightning had a chance to put her out of her misery. He picked the carton up and it dripped with muddy puddle water as he held it out to her. “I think they’re ruined. I can run you back to town if you’d like.”
She snatched the box and stuck it under her arm. “No, it’s fine.” Thank goodness she’d bought the individually wrapped ones, otherwise they’d have soaked up the puddle water and exploded in the box.
He jerked his thumb toward his vehicle. “Come on, jump in. At least let me give you a lift back to Stone Cliff. I owe it to you after what my friends did.” Water clung to his long lashes as he blinked them over those fascinating eyes while he waited for a response. She continued to glare at him, wondering what his game was. “Look, I’m not an axe murder or anything. Although I’m pretty sure you could handle yourself even if I was.”
She stole a glance at her watch. Dammit. She did a quick mental calculation. There was no way she could get to work on time now if she walked. “Okay, fine. But only because I’m late.” She walked past him and pulled open the passenger door. “One ride. Then we’re even.”
Mel slid in, pulled on her seat belt and stared straight ahead as Ryeland climbed in beside her. He started the engine, shoved the stick into first, and gave a shoulder check before he pulled back on to the road.
Loud music blared from his radio and she was thankful for the distraction. Hopefully the tunes would discourage him from trying to make conversation. The vehicle crested the hill and even though Mel kept her focus on the rain-soaked windshield, from her peripheral vision she caught the way Ryeland kept throwing glances her way.
“What?” she finally asked over the music and shifted to face him.
“It’s Mel, right?”
“Yeah.”
“What’s Mel short for?”
“It’s short for Mel.”
“Come on, Mel’s a guy’s name. I don’t want to call you by a guy’s name.”
“Then don’t call me at all.” She shifted uncomfortably, not about to tell him any more. She’d dropped her full name a long time ago. Melody was the young girl who had no control. Mel was the mature version, the one in full control of her life and her future.
“Is it Melanie?”
“No.”
He tapped the steering wheel thoughtfully. “How about Melva? Is it short for Melva?”
She couldn’t help but grin. “Melva? Do I look like a Melva?”
“No? Hmmm, okay maybe it’s Melba.”
“Like the toast?” She rolled her eyes and leaned her head back on the seat. “Yes, Ryeland, Mel is short for Melba.”
He laughed. “Wait, I got it. It’s short for Melody.” Before she could stop herself, her head jerked his way—a clear giveaway. She noted the way his glance moved over her face in a careful assessment. He nodded and grinned. “Yeah, that’s it isn’t it?” He pumped his hand in triumph. “Nailed it.”
“Yeah, you’re a regular Rumpelstiltskin, but I don’t go by that anymore.” She curled her fingers in her lap and wished she wasn’t so reactive, but lessons learned long ago taught her to act first, think later. “It’s just Mel now.”
Ryeland frowned. “Don’t you think someone should get to know a person before they pass judgment?”
Was he serious? People judged others all the time for no good reason. She was a prime example. And the truth was, she might not know him, but at least her assessments were based on facts, not rumor.
“You can’t hate someone if you don’t know them, right?” he pressed.
She stared at him and wondered what color the sky was in his fairytale world. Then again, who was she to judge what he believed? She spent most of her nights living in her own make-believe world. The stacks of unfinished stories piled high on her desk were proof of that.
When she didn’t answer, he turned the radio down and asked again, “You can’t, right?”
“Yeah, you can,” she shot back.
He gave a hard turn of the wheel and took the corner. “Okay, but you shouldn’t.” He cast her a quick glance. “I’m sure you’d agree with me there?”
“Yeah, I would.” She eyed him carefully, wondering where he was going with this. Perhaps it was best not to know.
“So it’s settled then. You’ll get to know me. Then you’ll see I’m not like my friends and there’s no reason to hate me.”
Mel squeezed the tampon box between her elbow and side little harder, the wet cardboard crushing under the strain. “I never said I hated you,” she corrected. “I said I didn’t know you.”
“Which brings me back to the fact that we need to get to know each other.”
“Look—” she began but then shook her head. “Wait, what? That doesn’t even make…” Her words fell off when he started to drive past the main lodge and toward the staff housing. “Stop, drop me off here,” she said quickly. “I don’t have time to go to my room. I have to work in…” She stole a quick glance at the dashboard clock. “Damn, I’m going to be late.”
Ryeland hit the brakes. “What about your clothes? You can’t go to work like that.”
She reached for the door handle. “I have a spare uniform in my locker.”
“Hold on.” Ryeland reached for her, but seconds before he touched her arm he caught himself. He pulled back, gripped the shoulders of his polo shirt and peeled it over his head. “Put this on. You’re liable to draw some unwanted attention if you don’t.”
She was about to protest but her gaze followed his and when she saw her nipples poking through her soaked tank top she groaned. “Thanks,” she murmured and quickly pulled the shirt on, but not before she noticed his hard, striated muscle and tanned skin. Ryeland had certainly grown up since the first time she saw him at the Cave all those years ago. He was hot. Hard. Cut.
In fact, his body was like a Plinko game, all those hard ridges and muscles guiding her gaze down to the thin line of hair that disappeared into his jeans.
“I’ll wash it and return it right away,” she managed to get out around a tongue gone thick.
“Then you’ll need my address.”
“No. I already know where your chalet is.”
That sexy, lopsided grin returned. “Well, now, would you look at that.”
“What?”
“It appears you do know quite a bit about me after all.”
She lifted her chin and countered with, “Which means there’s no reason for us to get to know each other better.”
His smile fell, and he suddenly looked like a puppy that had just been kicked. “But you still hate me.”
“No, I…” When she caught the glint in his eyes, the heated way he looked at her, she briefly shut her eyes and looked skyward. “You’re a little infuriating, you know that?” Jesus, could he pour it on any thicker? The guy was all sex and charm even when he wasn’t trying.
“Only a little?” His sexy laugh fell over her, and Mel noticed the way her body warmed in all the wrong places. “Wait until you get to know me better,” he teased with a wink. “I’m sure there’ll be lots of other things you’ll want to call me.”
“I can already think of a few.”
“Hey, be nice. I’m one of the good guys. You’ll see.”
Mel had no intentions of getting to know the infamous Ryeland Montgomery, a boy who’d recently graduated Canada’s Ivy League university in the top of his class and was on his way to law school to follow in his daddy’s footsteps, but she had no time to argue. She jumped from the Jeep and rushed along the stone walkway leading to the main entrance. As she hurried her steps, a strange tingle raced down her spine and the sensation that she was being watched prompted her to glance over her shoulder. Her gaze collided with Ryeland’s and they exchanged a long look. His eyes drilled into hers, tracking her every movement carefully.
Fighting off the strange way he made her feel, she pushed through the front doors, putting Ryeland Montgomery, his sexy body, boyish grin, and demands that she get to know him better out of her mind.
With her head low, she walked through the front foyer and dashed toward the dining room, all the while hoping to avoid a run-in with her boss. Water dripped from her bangs and she wiped her cheek on her shoulder. That’s when she caught Ryeland’s scent in the fabric. Dear God, he smelled good. Like the fresh outdoors, clean soap, and hard man all mixed together. If someone decided to bottle his scent, they’d surely make millions.
Jaelyn came in to the back staff lounge behind her. “Holy shit, Mel, was that Ryeland Montgomery dropping you off?” Her green eyes moved over the polo Mel was wearing and she pointed a manicured nail at the little alligator logo. “Is that his?”
“Yes and yes,” Mel said, tossing the wet tampon box into her locker before pulling his shirt over her shoulders. She was about to stuff it onto the top shelf of her cubbyhole when she caught his smell a second time. Unable to help herself she buried her face in the shirt and pulled in a breath. She drew it deep, savoring the aroma as it filled her lungs.
“Mel?”
Oh, God, what am I doing?
“Yeah?” she asked, throwing the polo to the back of her locker. She grabbed her clothes and slammed the metal door shut.
“What the hell is going on?”
“He gave me a lift because his friends soaked me. That’s it. And what’s really going on is I need to get dressed.” Dishes clanged in the dish pit outside the staff lounge as Mel paused and pointed to the dining room. “And I need to get out there before Judith realizes I’m late and cans my sorry ass.”
Jaelyn gave her an odd look but didn’t press for details about Ryeland, and for that Mel was thankful. Changing the subject, Jaelyn whacked Mel on the ass. “Hey, you don’t have a sorry ass. You have a nice ass. Not as nice as mine of course.”
Mel laughed. “Of course.” Jaelyn was a good friend, and even they were opposite in almost every way, she was the one person who could pull a smile from her, the one person she could count on when push came to shove. No doubt it was because her closest and only friend was also a lost soul. Except Jaelyn was a transplant who hadn’t grown up in Deerfield, which meant she was quite content to stay and work here, whereas Mel just wanted out of Dodge and to start a new life somewhere else.
After stripping, Mel pulled on her green work shirt, with the Stone Cliff logo over her left breast, tugged on her black dress pants, and wrapped her apron around her waist. She tied her wet hair back and stuffed her notepad into her pocket. She looked at Jaelyn, who was frowning at the reservation screen on the restaurant’s computer.
“What?” Mel asked.
“You’re working the first dinner shift on the back patio tonight right?” Jaelyn asked.
Mel stepped up to her and looked over her shoulder. “Yeah, why?”
“Because this just came in.” Jaelyn pointed to a name on the screen and arched her eyebrow.
“Shit,” Mel cursed under her breath.
Jaelyn puckered her painted lips, and cast a curious glance Mel’s way. “You sure you don’t want to tell me what’s really going on between you two?”
Single Titles
Firefighter Heat
Stone Cliff Series
Love Lessons
Weekend Cowboys
Bedding Down
Riding Bareback
Pleasure Games
Pleasure Inn
Eternal Pleasure