Flawless River (Grizzly Bear Lake #2) - Ruby Shae Page 0,10

her size. Growing up in her parent’s world, she encountered some form of those types of people every day, but things were different now.

That didn’t mean she wouldn’t meet up with a rude guest every now and then, but that also didn’t mean that she had to put herself in Lael’s path. In fact, after today, she could probably ignore him most of the time, and when she couldn’t ignore him, then she’d deal.

She liked Lacey and Elle, and even Levi and Liam, but most of all, she liked the idea of having a place to call her own. Once she was moved into the cabin, she wouldn’t have any more use for Lael, and for the most part, he should leave her alone.

And if he didn’t…then she’d stick to her original plan.

She’d pack up her stuff and move somewhere else.

The equipment shed was closer than it looked, and she straightened her back a few feet away from the building. Her hair was secured at the nape of her neck with a rubber band, and she resisted the urge to pat it down. The t-shirt she wore clung to her back, but she didn’t allow herself to touch the hem.

She’d looked great when she’d left the hotel earlier, and the only thing that had changed since then was the fact that now she was roasting in the sun. And so was everyone else. If it bothered anyone that she looked uglier doing that, then that was their problem and not hers.

Stacey walked into the shed, and immediately cringed. Even though all the windows and doors were open, and there was a fan in every corner, there wasn’t much airflow in the place, and she understood why Lael had his shirt off. Either that or he was trying to pick-up women, but she knew he didn’t have to take his shirt off for that.

The crowd of women that had surrounded him earlier were down to two, and he was bent down tightening something on a bike while the two women communicated with each other without saying any words. They wanted Lael—wanted to share him—and were prepared to proposition him when he stood.

When one of the women noticed her standing just inside the door, the other woman curled up her lip and narrowed her eyes, as if warning her to stay away, but Stacey didn’t move. She wasn’t a threat to these women, but even if she were, she wasn’t leaving. Scurrying away whenever someone told her to was another trait she was leaving buried in the past, and to prove it, though mostly to herself, she moved farther into the room.

The movement caught Lael’s attention, and he glanced up at her with a huge smile on his face. She figured he thought she was another customer, and was just being nice, but then he stood, and, ignoring the women, walked across the room to greet her.

And oh god…he didn’t have six-pack abs.

They were eight pack abs, and they were glorious.

Honey dripped out of her core, dampening her panties, and she shifted her thighs to try and control the sudden ache between her legs.

“Hi Stacey,” he said. “You look great. Are you ready to go?”

His words made it sound like they were going on a date or something, and though they didn’t make any sense, she nodded.

“Yeah, I’m ready.”

She smiled, but she knew the gesture was strained.

“Great. I’m almost done here, and then we can head out, okay?”

“Okay.”

Lael walked back toward the two women, and kneeled back down next to the bike. He tightened something near the back tire, and then stood, taking a step back from the duo.

“Okay, ladies,” he said. “You two are all set. Have fun today.”

Before they could say anything else, Lael walked to the back of the shed and started closing the windows and turning off the fans. The two women watched his retreat and then turned to glare at her. Even though the situation wasn’t what they thought—she and Lael weren’t going to hook up—she decided to enjoy the moment, and flashed them a huge smile.

One of the women huffed, whispered something to her friend, and stormed out of the building. She second woman grabbed the handlebars of the bike and awkwardly steered it out of the building, but not before scraping up her leg with one of the pedals.

Stacey barely held in a laugh as the woman cursed under her breath, and she didn’t even care that the woman tried to insult her as she