Page 7

W hat the hell were you thinking?!

Chloe gritted her teeth and did her best to walk like a normal person, trying to ignore the enormously tall, ridiculously handsome man at her side.

Sure, it was the polite thing to do – offering to show a stranger how to find the place they were looking for.

But it certainly wasn’t the sane thing to do, given that she now felt like she was going to spontaneously combust. The guy was so hot that even his handshakes left her feeling like she needed a cold shower.

The logical option would have been to just tell him to either head left or right as appropriate and then let him find his own way, given that every store in this town appeared to be on the main drag.

It wouldn’t have been difficult for him to find the store on his own. She could’ve been free of this agony.

Instead, she was sweating like crazy – and she didn’t think it was just because she was having to walk at double pace just to match his insanely long stride.

She could tell that he was trying not to get too far ahead of her, but his height and his general no-nonsense, go-getter corporate demeanor meant that she was struggling to keep up.

But all of that wasn’t the worst part.

Oh, no.

The worst part was that Chloe herself had absolutely no idea whether they were heading in the right direction.

She would’ve sworn that turning left was the correct option, but now she really wasn’t sure at all.

Girdwood Springs was apparently full of charming old buildings – which, of course, was nice, but it made it difficult to find this specific charming old building.

Still, she supposed it could have been worse. The day was cool and the air was crisp and clean, and the trees were awash in a riot of fall colors that popped out against the deep blue sky overhead. Leaves crunched under her boots as she scurried along the sidewalk.

If she was going to die of embarrassment, then at least it was a nice day for it.

She chanced a glance up at his face. His expression was impassive, his eyes fixed directly ahead, but it wasn’t sitting quite right. There was definitely something going on beneath that cool exterior, and despite her better judgment, she really wanted to know what it was.

Her eyes drifted down to the lines of his clearly very expensive suit, which was still immaculate, despite everything.

He looked incredibly out of place here, strutting up the street like a grumpy male model who’d been zapped off the runway by some kind of alien teleportation beam and then dumped into a tiny mountain town in the middle of nowhere.

That being said, at least he was no longer lounging around on doorframes with the jacket slung over his shoulder. She’d almost imploded when he’d done that – and it had so clearly been unintentional on his part. He was just so effortlessly attractive that it almost hurt.

Her thoughts were turning less and less appropriate by the second, and she had even less idea of where this bookstore was than when they’d set out – she was in need of a distraction, and fast.

Given that she was technically the local here – relatively speaking – it really was on her to be hospitable.

“So, what is it you do for a living?” she asked. “Do you research family trees or something?”

He grimaced, obviously doing battle with himself for a long moment, before coming to a conclusion. “No. I’m a lawyer.”

Well, that explains the outfit. And the personality.

The answer, however, left her more intrigued, and she found herself continuing the conversation out of actual interest, rather than duty. “Do you usually go on road trips to places you’ve never been in order to research your clients’ histories?”

Okay, maybe it wasn’t the most polite way of putting it… but Ethan also wasn’t the most polite person she’d ever met.

“I…” Ethan seemed to be struggling with himself for an answer. Chloe raised an eyebrow as she watched a series of different expressions chase their way across his face.

“No,” was the answer he eventually seemed to settle upon, without elaboration.

O… kay.

Despite everything, Chloe felt just the slightest urge to be mischievous rising up within her.

Maybe it was just because Ethan was so obviously the absolute stereotype of a rich, arrogant lawyer.

Or maybe it was because she felt at such a distinct disadvantage, having to move at a brisk trot in order to keep up with him, despite the fact she was the one who was supposed to be showing him where to go.

But something about Ethan just made her want to ruffle his feathers.

“Oh, so this is just like… a personal favor then,” she said, raising her eyebrows at him. Maybe even wiggling them a little. “For a very special client?”

Ethan turned his head to look at her, and she couldn’t really tell whether he looked more baffled or affronted.

“I beg your pardon?”

“I just wondered if you had a personal stake in this project, or if it was all business,” Chloe said. Maybe, if she insinuated hard enough, he’d let it slip whether or not he had a wife or a girlfriend.

Not that she wanted to know.

“It’s… a little of both.” Ethan’s handsome brow knitted again. “It’s a complicated situation. One that I… probably shouldn’t… discuss.”

“For legal reasons.” Chloe nodded. “I get it. But I guess it’d have to be a pretty weird case for you to have to come all the way out to this mountain town and go searching through a bookshop for… something.”

Ethan opened his mouth, and Chloe cut him off with a quick laugh, holding up her hands. “No! It’s okay! I get it. It’s a secret.”

Another expression of discomfort crossed Ethan’s face. Chloe was beginning to wonder if maybe he had an acute case of indigestion.

That would certainly explain the attitude….

“No, it’s not a secret, and there’s no legal reason I can’t explain it,” Ethan finally came out with. “It’s more just… personal reasons.”

“Oh. Okay,” Chloe said, a little chastened.

Sure, Ethan might have had an attitude, but she did feel just the slightest bit bad now for prying into something personal, no matter how much fun it was to make him make ‘ I need antacid and I need it now’ faces.

“Well… if you do want some help finding what you’re looking for, I don’t have much on for the rest of the day. Just walking, like I said.”

Her heart skipped a little at the possibility of spending the day with him – she’d originally just offered to walk him here, but she was weirdly invested in this now.

“Just… helping me find the bookstore would be fine for now,” Ethan said after a moment.

He glanced at her, his lips twisting, as if he was trying to figure out what to say next.

Maybe they didn’t do small talk at slick, big-city law firms. “So did you grow up here in Girdwood Springs?” he finally asked.

“Me? Oh, no. I’m new in town. I literally just bought the vet practice,” Chloe said.

“But I’ve been here a few days. The place is so small it’s not like you need much longer than that to learn your way around.

In fact –” She broke off, glancing around.

Finally, she felt like she was getting her bearings.

“– There’s the bookshop right over there. ”

Ethan glanced at the shop, his face softening a little. “Thanks,” he said, before looking back at her. “So I guess if you’re new in town too, you wouldn’t really know much about the history of Girdwood Springs, or anything like that.”

“Nope. Sorry. Not a thing,” Chloe told him, shaking her head. “I just came up here to check it out when I heard the clinic was for sale, spent a little time looking around, and then ran back home to see whether I could convince the bank to loan me the money to buy it. It’s a beautiful town.”

“I guess so?” Ethan sounded like he’d never really thought about it.

But Chloe couldn’t help but notice he was looking around now, perhaps noticing the gorgeous fall colors and the brilliant blue of the sky for the first time – not to mention all the cute little shops they were walking past, with gorgeous displays in the front windows, brightly colored awnings over the sidewalks, and the crisp, fresh mountain air all around them.

“It is pretty,” he said thoughtfully after a moment. “I’ve never really been the outdoorsy type. I don’t come out to places like this very often.”

“Oh, me neither, but it was always a dream of mine,” Chloe said before she could stop herself.

Everything still seemed like it wasn’t quite real – she couldn’t believe Girdwood Springs would really be her home from now on.

“And to have my own vet clinic too – I never really thought it would happen. But here I am – well, I mean, not that I’ve actually properly opened the clinic yet, or made any friends here, or –”

“If you’re as good with all your patients as you were with Bella, then I’m sure the people will be happy to have you here, and your clinic will be thriving in no time,” Ethan said, cutting her off bluntly – not like he was trying to pay her a compliment, but like he was stating a rather obvious fact that she should have been able to figure out by herself.

Wow, Chloe thought, blinking. Even when this guy’s saying something that’s technically nice, he’s still somehow rude. I knew there had to be something to counterbalance the unbelievable hotness. Hot and nice? Dream on!

“Anyway, since we’re here, we should probably go inside,” Ethan said, gesturing at the building.

Chloe tried not to grimace – he was right, of course, but that only made it more annoying.

“Right. Sure,” she said, gritting her teeth in what was probably the world’s most tense smile.

Turning away, Chloe pushed open the wooden door, setting a tiny bell tinkling. She stepped inside… and could barely restrain her gasp.

On the one hand, she shouldn’t have been surprised that a lovely old building would have a lovely old interior. On the other hand, though, it was just so lovely that it took her breath away.