Page 12 of Mountain Man Bodyguard (Mountain Men of Pineville #4)

CHASSIE

THIRTEEN MONTHS LATER

“You’re not going to some damn meet and greet. And?—”

“Kane. Love of My Life. Giver of countless orgasms and hours of shirtless wood chopping for my viewing pleasure. I’d be very careful what you say next.

Especially since I can still call this whole thing off with a text to Sophie.

” I held my bedazzled phone tightly in my hand as I counted silently.

Sophie was a friend and our wedding planner. And really it was an empty threat.

“What do you want me to say, Chas? ‘Yes, dear. Let’s cut short our honeymoon so you can spend a couple hours with your followers?” Kane’s blank expression would have made most people cave immediately. Good thing I wasn’t most people.

It was tempting to continue yanking his chain as I knew better than anyone that Kane London was and never would be the “ Yes, Dear,” partner I neither wanted nor needed.

Yes, he may be the man I never imagined myself growing old with, but now I couldn’t see anyone else standing by my side each day or spooning me on demand nightly than this gorgeous, kind man.

Yes, he could still be the arrogant alpha male with a bossy streak bigger than the Grand Canyon, but he was all mine. And thanks to my brother, I was his. Even though Finn had warned Kane off in the beginning, he now saw how right we were together.

“What if you postpone it a week? I’m sure everyone would understand. Just tell them your new husband wants you all to himself for the entire week.”

The opportunity to join a handful of my fellow perimenopause influencers in Miami for a pop-up event was just too good to pass up, even though it was last minute and landed smack in the middle of our honeymoon.

But meeting women who’d been my supporters, who’d been going through their own journeys and finding a supportive community to share their stories of painful struggles while finding solutions, would always be my life’s passion.

Kane knew this; he was just being stubborn.

“Or we could pick somewhere else to go for the remainder of our honeymoon. Someplace neither of us has been to before.” I offered.

“Or not, and we stay put in the place we both chose to spend seven days. And naked, I might add.”

“Is this the mountain you’re going to die on? Pun intended, by the way.” I huffed out.

“No, but it is the one I plan on living on for the rest of my life. With you. So, I’m willing to compromise.”

A series of sharp raps interrupted our first fight. Not really. We’ve had a few, and the make-up sex always left me plotting the next argument.

“Baz.” We said in unison.

We’d learned our lesson, and so had he after one occasion where we didn’t hear his knock and thought maybe we were just ignoring him. We were, and we’d been naked. On the couch.

The man hadn’t looked me in the eye since.

Kane took his time opening the door. “Kane. Please don’t test the grump. We want him at the wedding tomorrow, right?”

“Um, yeah. Sure.”

When Baz finally entered, his hair held a dusting of snow and his ever-present scowl was firmly in place.

We’d picked late November for our wedding knowing there’d be a possibility of snow. I mean, it was northern Idaho after all.And we were ready. The time of year no longer mattered.

“What’s got you darkening our doorstep today? You out of cat food? No, let me guess, your tux doesn’t fit?”

“My nephew promised his teacher I could play Santa in their school play.”Baz didn’t bother to shake off the snow from his hair, or his jacket, or his beard. If he was trying to plead his case, he was failing. All he needed was some padding and a larger jacket, and he was Santa Claus.

“Okay, I’ll ask. What’s wrong with that? You love your nephew, or I’m guessing you at least like him. What do you have to do? Do you have lines?”

The shock on the man’s face was priceless. Maybe he’d never considered he’d have to speak during the play, well more than the traditional, “HO-HO-HO. Merry Christmas.”

“Kane, I think he might need to sit down.”

“Hm? No, he’s got this. He’s battled scarier foes than a bunch of what are they? Fourth graders. I say, do it. You’ll score some points with your family. And your nephew.” Kane winked at me.

I was beginning to think there was something else going on that I had missed.

But we had a bigger issue to resolve. “Since you’re here, maybe you can help us with a problem.

If you had a career opportunity that was only going to happen on one day, you’d change your schedule around to make it happen, right?

” He may not have been looking me in the eye, but that didn’t stop me from giving him a smile. A hopeful, please be on my side, smile.

Kane let out a snort. “Baz could not care less about career opportunities. And this one is happening in the middle of our honeymoon, so as a man, and my friend, he’d vote with me. So, let’s just decide now, and tell them you’re very flattered, but you’ll have to pass.”

I knew Kane was right. I just didn’t want to give in too soon. I was hoping for his special brand of compromise. But now, I had to know what had Baz all in a tizzy, because yeah, he may look calm and stoic as ever, but that man was not happy about something, and I was going to find out why.

I’d come to like the big grump since I’d been living with Kane. I mean, a man who took in stray cats, and checked up on his friends, and created beautiful sculptures from scrap metal worth thousands of dollars to rabid collectors had to have other redeeming qualities.

“Baz, don’t listen to him. Maybe I can help you with the situation. What’s the real issue? You don’t like crowds? You don’t like Christmas?”

Kane sauntered over next to me. Oh yeah, he was already working on his next phase of compromise. And tomorrow, no matter what we agreed on today, we’d be surrounded by our friends and family as we became Mr. and Mrs.

Baz cleared his throat, and Kane and I both laughed.

“Don’t be jealous, man. You know you’re not that old.

You may find someone yet who can put up with your grumpy ass.

” Kane slapped Baz on the back and herded him to the door.

“Now, if you’ll excuse us, the soon to be Mrs. and I have some intense negotiations to attend to. ”

“I like crowds fine. And who doesn’t like Christmas? It’s the teacher. She’s, she’s…. Oh, forget it. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Baz stormed out. A drift of snow made its way through the door just as he slammed it shut.

“Well, that’s not a very jolly attitude. No wonder the teacher has an issue with him. Now, where were we?” I wrapped my arms around Kane’s neck and settled in close. “Now, about that compromise.”

“I’d say his attitude has nothing to do with anything. Baz is hot for teacher, and she’s got him tied up in knots.”

“How on earth would you know that?”

“I have my sources.”

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