Page 45 of Tempted To Be Mine

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LUCY

Iwas already awake when I heard the knock at the door. I hadn’t slept well. I was not okay with all the dreams I had about a certain six-foot-something green-eyed man and his strong arms.

I opened the door to find Jeremy standing there looking devilishly handsome. I almost groaned. Like the nonstop dreams weren’t enough. Now I had to deal with the real thing. He had two cups of coffee in his hands. There was a coffeemaker in the room, but I hadn’t bothered.

“Peace offering,” he said, holding one out to me. “And a proposition.”

I took the coffee because I wasn’t stupid enough to refuse caffeine. “What kind of proposition?”

“Sebastian and Bernadette are taking snowmobiles out this morning to scout the next shooting location. They invited us to come along.” He said it like he was suggesting we grab lunch, not venture into the frozen wilderness on motorized death machines.

“Snowmobiles.” I stared at him. “In the snow. In the cold. Where the animals live.”

“It’ll be fun.”

“Your definition of fun and mine are very different.”

“Come on, Lucy.” He used those damn eyes to break down my defenses. “When’s the last time you did something adventurous?”

“I got on a bush plane. That was plenty adventurous.”

“That was transportation. This is recreation.”

I shook my head, already retreating into the warmth of my cabin. “I don’t think so. The last thing I need is to break another bone out in the middle of nowhere.”

“You’re not going to break any bones. I’ll be driving. All you have to do is hold on.”

“Hold on to what?”

“Me.”

My face burned. I hoped he would attribute it to the cold air coming through the open door.

“I appreciate the offer,” I said carefully, “but I think I’ll stay here. Catch up on work.”

“You always say that.” There was a hint of frustration that made me pause. “You’re always working. Always catching up on emails or reviewing contracts or managing my schedule. When do you ever just… do something for yourself?”

“My work is for myself. It’s my career.”

“It’s my career too, and I’m taking the morning off.” He straightened up and was suddenly very serious. “Look, I know things have been weird between us. I don’t want them to be weird. We’re friends. This is something friends do. They go on adventures together.”

I wanted to say no. Every logical, rational part of my brain was screaming at me to close the door and hide in my cabin until it was time to go back to California. But there was another part that wanted to say yes.

I heard voices approaching. Sebastian and Bernadette appeared on the path, both of them bundled up and looking entirely too cheerful for this hour.

“Lucy!” Sebastian called out with a wave. “Jeremy said he was going to try to convince you to join our little excursion. Please say you’re coming. The trail we’re taking has some of the most beautiful scenery in the area. It would be a shame to miss it.”

“I really don’t think⁠—”

“The snowmobiles are very safe,” Bernadette added. “Excellent safety features. And the trail is well marked. I’ve already checked it out. And we have lots of bear spray.”

“See?” Jeremy grinned. “Even the safety coordinator says it’s safe.”

I looked at the three of them. Sebastian with his charming smile, Bernadette with her reassuring competence, and Jeremy with those green eyes that seemed to see right through all my excuses. If there was a definition of peer pressure, this was it. These three.

“Fine,” I heard myself say. “But if anything goes wrong, I’m blaming all of you.”