“Thanks for listening.” Since the divorce, I’d learned to feel grateful for every little thing in my life—help from friends or babysitting from someone’s mom.
He smiled ruefully. “I’ve been told I’m good at it.”
“It’s a great skill to have.” And I loved that I’d put him a little at ease. Hopefully, I’d put space between our unfortunate run-in in the kitchen the other night.
Clearly, he wasn’t interested, and I didn’t need the distraction.
“What do you think you’ll do?”
I hadn’t thought about going out with girlfriends in so long I wasn’t even sure what they did. “Maybe dinner or a wine bar. I’ll leave it up to Alice.”
“I’m sure you’ll have fun.”
“Just thinking about dressing up for a night out sounds amazing.”
Mac stood, and the room suddenly shrunk. I was attracted to Mac. He moved with confidence when he was working, and he exuded responsibility. He was the oldest brother, and his father gave him a lot of responsibility in the company. And he’d listened to me. Hanging out with him was dangerous. I was only going to like him more, and I couldn’t do anything about it.
Even if we managed to be friends, a part of me would always wonder what he’d be like in bed. Those confident hands roaming my body, finding the spots that made me hum and cry out. Suddenly, I was hot all over, and I wondered if he knew what I was thinking.
Mac stood in front of me. “You deserve some time away.”
I swallowed hard, wondering what he was doing.
“Excuse me. I just need to find the other box of tiles.”
“Oh, sorry.” I moved out of his way, feeling flustered and out of sorts. Mac made me forget everything, including my good sense and the reasons I couldn’t make a move on him. But I couldn’t forget that it was one-sided. There was a slim chance he was interested in me. I was a single mom who’d just come out of a divorce. I’d moved to a town where I didn’t know most people, and I was trying to renovate a house into a B&B. I was in over my head. I didn’t have time for distractions.
I spun on my heel, determined to disappear before Mac returned. Thinking about what was in my closet, I wasn’t even sure I had an acceptable outfit for a night out. Maybe I needed Kylie’s advice. I texted her on the way down the hall, asking for her help.
She immediately said yes, with about ten emojis. I smiled at her predictable response. It reminded me that I needed to focus on what mattered: my business, my daughter, and bonding with old and new friends. I needed to make Telluride my home again.
CHAPTER 4
MAC
I’d left the bathroom in search of a box of tiles I didn’t need because I wanted distance between me and Natalie. The more we talked, the more I was intrigued by her.
The fact that she was friends with Kylie Wilde was a little mind-blowing. I had a sense that something important had been under my nose this whole time. Which was ridiculous because I didn’t remember her hanging around back then. But when we hung out with the Wilde brothers, we went skiing, snowboarding, and four-wheeling. If it wasn’t fast, we weren’t doing it. And they never wanted their little sister along for the ride, much less her friends.
When we were older, Kylie was off-limits. There’s no way one of us would have gone after their little sister or her friends. Not when she had four protective brothers.
Pursuing Kylie wasn’t worth the trouble. Not that I was ever interested. She was a little too wild for my taste. I liked to have fun, but I was more cautious. My brothers liked to say I was boring. That I was born an old man, but I was just responsible. I was no different from other eldest siblings.
By the time I returned to the bathroom with the box of tiles, Natalie was gone. I shouldn’t have felt a sense of loss. I’d been the one to leave, but we’d connected through tidbits about her life she’d shared, and I wanted more.
I wanted to know why she’d moved home when her parents didn’t live here anymore. Why was she divorced? Where was Delaney’s dad? If I had a daughter, I’d be all in like Sam. Having a family was the one thing I’d wanted most when I’d gone away to college. My parents had been the best example of a loving relationship, and I wanted something similar.
I hadn’t lied when I said I didn’t care if my mom babysat. If it made Natalie’s life easier, I was all for it. Ever since she mentioned needing a safe place to stay, my mind had been spinning with the whys and hows of her story, but I didn’t want to push for it because I was afraid it would only draw me in more.
I knew my mom would fall in love with Natalie and Delaney. That’s just how she was, and she’d always wanted a daughter. I suspected having Alice in the family was fulfilling that particular desire, but I was positive she’d want to adopt Natalie when she realized her parents were gone and she had no family here.
I could help Natalie with the renovation and give her access to my family, but I didn’t need to get to know her. Talking to her today made me feel all these things for her, about her, and it wasn’t smart.
No matter how much I wanted a committed relationship, marriage, and even kids, it never worked out. I couldn’t forget that.
I spent the rest of the week in the bathrooms, finishing the tile. I could take a step back and merely supervise, but that wasn’t my style. I liked to work and keep my hands busy. Carefully cutting and placing tiles kept me occupied so I wouldn’t go looking for Natalie and ask her all the questions swirling in my brain.
One night, after everyone on my team had said good-bye and left, the house was quiet. Natalie didn’t let Delaney walk through the house when the bus dropped her off, so I never knew when she returned home. Usually, they stayed in their suite for the rest of the evening.
I relaxed, thinking I had the night to myself. It was quiet, and I could get a lot of work done. Maybe even shave some time off this renovation. Not because I was eager to move on to another project, but because I knew Natalie was stressed about the time line.
She needed to get the B&B open and accepting reservations to get money coming in. I never had to start a business since my dad had done the hard work with that, but I’d heard him talk about it enough to know that starting a new business was risky and difficult.
I couldn’t imagine doing it as a single mom.
“Natalie said I’d find you here.”
“Mom.” I startled, seeing her in the doorway. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m babysitting Delaney so Natalie can go out with the girls.”
I bristled at that characterization. I didn’t think of Natalie as a girl when I saw her nipples through that wet silk. I’d wanted to lick and suck every inch of her skin.
I stood, stretching out my stiff muscles before washing my hands in the sink. I leaned over to kiss my mom on the cheek, not wanting to transfer tile dust to her clean clothes.
“Natalie said you work late,” Mom said in a disapproving tone as I took the plastic bags she was carrying.
“Not as late as I had been.” Before I ran into an almost-naked B&B owner who got my blood pumping. “I’d love to finish the tile in here this weekend.”