Page 27 of Auctioned to the Mountain Man

“You two are obviously meant to be together. So why isn’t he here?”

“You’re not making any sense right now.”

“I was a little surprised to see you two naked, but in my defense I thought you were home. Where were you anyway?”

“Evergreen Pass.” I stand up, refusing to acknowledge my wobbly legs. The weakness might be from all the sex and orgasms, or it might be because I’m feeling sick about the wayI left things with Fox and his family. But it’s too late to fix any of that now. I told him to leave me alone, and I know he will. Unless I sign up for another sex auction. The thought makes me shudder. “Why don’t I make us some pancakes and hot chocolate?”

“And you’ll tell me everything?”

“Maybe.” Definitely not ever telling her about the rich boy sex auction. But the thought of talking about Fox and all that transpired during our fake relationship that turned very real for a brief moment in time makes me ache.

“What’s wrong?” Kayleigh asks, following me into the kitchen.

“Just wondering if I made a mistake,” I mumble.

“You probably did.”

“Hey!”

“I love you, but I know you.” She wraps her arms around me from behind, hugging me tight, and I nearly break down. “Whatever it is, you can still fix it.”

“No, I don’t think I can.”

CHAPTER

SIXTEEN

FOX

Fuck this.

Halfway back to Evergreen Pass, I find my balls and turn the truck around. I knew Alida needed some time to cool off, but I’ll be damned if I’m giving her three goddamn years again.

I pull into her driveway and stomp through the knee-deep snow. I have half a mind to hire someone to plow just to piss her off. To show her that even if it drives her crazy sometimes, Iwilltake care of her.

Before I can pound on the door, it opens.

“Fox?”

“When I told you I’m never leaving you again, Alida, I fucking meant it.”

“I—”

“No. You’re not kicking me out of your life this time. I’ll sit out here all fucking day and freeze my ass off if that’s what it takes for you to realize this thing between us has never, for one fucking minute, been fake.”

“Okay.”

I’m stunned into silence. I’d come braced for a fight. “Okay?”

“It means yes.”

“Why are you wearing a coat?”

“I was coming to find you.”

I glance back at her car that’s still covered in a foot of snow. Unless Santa worked some magic while we were gone, it’s still out of commission. “Were you going to walk?”

“If I had to.”