Once Upon a Lumberjack - Maggie Dallen Page 0,1

here and locks up for the night.”

“Ah,” she said. “Nope, sorry. Not Rhonda. I’m just a guest here.”

“What can I get for you, not-Rhonda?”

Oh man. Had he meant for that to come out all low and sexy or was it just wishful thinking? She cast a quick glance in the mirror behind the bar.

Probably wishful thinking.

She’d been tossing and turning in bed for an hour before finally giving up the quest for sleep and heading out to the bar. Her blonde curls were a disheveled mess and she was wearing flannel pajama bottoms and a T-shirt.

She had a feeling even if she gussied herself up with makeup and the perfect blowout, she still wouldn’t be up to this guy’s standards. A guy like this probably dated the hottest of the hot, and while she would consider herself cute—maybe even pretty on a good day—no one ever insisted she should be modeling underwear on billboards.

Somehow knowing that put her at ease. There was no one to impress here. Just a fun, flirty new server. She grinned at him—that she could do.

“I came here to see if you guys had any aspirin back there, but I’m tempted to have a drink instead. A glass of wine might chill me out.” She gave him a questioning look. “Unless you’re closing up for the night?”

His grin widened and unless she was losing her mind, she was fairly certain his gaze warmed as his eyes narrowed on her like she was prey. He held up a drink that he must have been hiding behind the bar. “I’m just getting started. Red or white?”

“Red.” She watched him grab a glass and took the opportunity to ogle to her heart’s content.

This guy was utterly ogle-able.

“Can’t sleep?” he asked her when he handed her the glass.

He leaned over the bar again and his gaze was so warm, so affectionate, so…intense. Like she was the only person on the planet and he had all the time in the world for her.

It was more invigorating than caffeine.

She sighed. “I told a lie today.”

Whoa. Where had that come from? She hadn’t exactly intended for the hottie bartender to become her confessor, but there it was. His gaze was that powerful.

His eyes took on a mischievous glint as he wagged his eyebrows. “Do tell.”

She let out a sound that was half sigh, half laugh. What was she doing? Oh yeah, just spilling her secrets to a relative stranger. No big whoop. But the stranger in question had such kind brown eyes and he was looking at her like she was the singular most interesting person in the world.

Also, she needed a friend. Her own friends were safely tucked away in their cozy apartments back in New York, which was what she’d planned on doing this weekend as well. They certainly weren’t roughing it in the middle of Nowhere, Montana for some stupid office retreat.

Not that this lodge was “roughing it” per se… but the hiking? The gun shooting? The freakin’ riding of horses?

No, thank you. This was the kind of event she’d pay money not to attend.

But her hottie bartender was waiting for her to continue so she found herself spilling her guts. “I told my boss that I sprained my ankle,” she said in a mock whisper.

He nodded sagely. “Uh huh. And why did you do that?”

She dropped the whisper as she shrugged and took a sip. Mmm, delicious. “So I wouldn’t have to ride a stupid freakin’ horse.”

His brows shot up. She shouldn’t have been surprised by his surprise. Everyone here seemed to think horses were the best thing since sliced bread. Not that sliced bread was all that great, come to think of it.

She took another sip and shook her head. The whole world was bananas.

The bartender leaned forward and her attention was drawn to the flex of his muscles beneath the flannel shirt. She could so get used to flannel if everyone who wore it sported burly, sculpted biceps.

His voice held a note of laughter. “You told your boss you sprained your ankle to avoid riding a…” He used his fingers to do air quotes. “Stupid freakin’ horse.”

She nodded.

“And?” he prompted.

Ah. So clearly he didn’t see how that related to her current inability to sleep. She let out a small sigh. Silly man.

Leaning forward so far she was halfway over the bar, she smiled broadly. “So, I told them that yesterday and got out of the stupid horse riding. Instead, I stayed cooped up in my room and