Page 77 of See You There

“This will be fine,” Dahlia laughed. “I’ve stayed in worse.”

“I doubt that,” Luke muttered.

Luke would be the first to admit he had grown up extremely spoiled. His mother was proud, that after they moved to Atlanta, her modest professor’s salary contributed, but his father was a billionaire. David Bloom’s children had enjoyed the perks that went with his lifestyle, including luxury vacations all around the globe.

Anne tried to curb the extravagances when she could. She was always concerned that David Bloom would warp her children’s perception of the world, but she hadn’t objected when he and James had gone to prestigious private schools and had their educations fully paid for.

He appreciated his mother’s efforts—but he also really appreciated the amenities at the Four Seasons.

A scrape of metal alerted him that Dahlia was wrestling her suitcase out of the truck bed. Luke crossed the distance and took it from her hands before lifting down the rest of their bags.

“Maybe the inside will be better?”

Dahlia shook her head at his gloomy expression and slung her duffel bag over her shoulder.

“Should have known you’d be prissy.” She tossed the words over her shoulder as she walked to the steps.

“Right. I forgot about all the dilapidated cabins in LA.,” Luke hid a smile. He’d known Dahlia for less than a week, and he’d only seen flashes of this version of her. Sassy, confident Dahlia. Hopefully, that meant she’d left Lia in Atlanta.

“Nope,” she said, reaching the top step. “But where I grew up, I saw a lot worse.” She let the cryptic answer hang in the air while she lifted the flowerpot to retrieve a key.

“How did you—”

“Are you coming?”

Luke realized he’d been so surprised by her actions that he was still standing by the truck. Hurrying up the steps with two of the suitcases, he reached her side just as the door swung open with a loud creak.

“Oh!” Dahlia exclaimed.

Luke straightened from setting down the luggage and froze. “Wow!”

Across from the front door, the entire back wall of the small cabin was composed of large windows displaying a view worthy of any tourist bureau promotional video. The Blue Ridge mountains stretched in a carpet of green all around them. Luke followed Dahlia through the back door onto a pine deck that spanned the length of the house.

The cabin sat near the edge of a rock outcropping, and Luke set his hands on the railing to look out over the drop-off. It felt as if the Blue Ridge Mountains completely encircled them. It was breathtaking.

“Not what I was expecting.”

“This is incredible,” Dahlia sighed, resting her elbows on the flat railing next to him. Her eyes traced the panorama and then turned to him, a cheerful grin lighting her face. Suddenly, his shirt was too tight, and his lungs weren’t inflating properly. She held his eyes for a minute, a flicker of something crossing them, before she looked away.

“I noticed some rocking chairs inside. They probably belong out here.”

“Right.” He cleared his throat and followed her back inside to where the furniture was stacked in a corner. Luke placed the heavy rocking chairs on the deck as Dahlia set the small outdoor table in between them. An awkward silence stretched as they stood next to each other in the mid-morning sun. As if they both realized, at the same time, how alone they were, together.

“I guess I should put my stuff away,” Dahlia finally said.

“I’ll let James know we arrived and figure out where the closest place is to get some food. I’m guessing not a lot of places deliver up here.”

Dahlia took the handle of her suitcase and walked down the small hallway to the left of the entrance. Luke heard her opening and closing doors while he left the message for James.

The cell service was excellent for how high they were on the mountain. Luke had just begun looking for food stores nearby when he heard Dahlia return with a funny expression on her face.

“What’s the matter? No soaking tub?” He joked.

“There’s only one bedroom.”

“Well, that’s… unexpected.” Blood rushed to his groin, a montage of fantasies playing in his mind. Behave, he ordered his body when he thickened.

Dahlia’s eyes strayed to the sofa. Luke sighed inwardly. He was going to need a month of massages when this was over. He gave her a reassuring smile.