Read Online Love at Last (Last Frontier Lodge #2) by J.H. Croix - Free Book Online Page B

onto tonight. Even though part of her, a big part if she admitted it, was thrilled Garrett wanted to see her, another part of her was nearly frozen with fear. She hadn’t been on a date since college. She had slammed the door shut on relationships for the last six years. It was overwhelming enough to have a baby on her own. Throw in the mix that her mother, whom she’d loved dearly, had been diagnosed with cancer and passed away within six months of the diagnosis, and Delia’s emotional cup had been full. Once she thought her father was doing better, she’d just been hanging on and trying to find a steady job she could enjoy that paid the bills. Diamond Creek had a lot to offer in some ways, but most of the local restaurants were family owned. Gage’s decision to reopen Last Frontier Lodge gave her an opportunity to do what she loved and paid well enough she could breathe easy for the first time in a long time.
    Along came Garrett, an entirely unexpected curve in the road of her life. Oh, she’d fantasized about the right man coming along. She just hadn’t figured he would be heart-stopping sexy and a high-flying, wealthy lawyer to boot. He was more the stuff of fantasy, and she wasn’t so sure it was a good idea to indulge those fantasies. She reminded herself again and again, he wouldn’t be here for long, and his life was in another world. Yet, she couldn’t resist taking a shot to experience more of what she felt with him. Even if it hurt her in the end, she didn’t want to go through life living small.

    ***
    Garrett looked across the table at Delia. She was so damn beautiful. Her honeyed hair fell in tousled waves over her shoulders, framing her face with loose curls. Her blue eyes made him want to dive in and forget himself. He tried to recall if he’d ever had a dinner date that didn’t involve business and came up with nothing. He only ever had dates to have a beautiful woman on his arm at business and social functions. Work ruled his life, including on the social plane.
    Dinner with Delia had nothing to do with work. He was curious about her, a curiosity foreign to him. He wanted to know her. He was quickly coming to learn why she was so beloved to her friends and family. She was warm, kind, funny and went at life putting everyone else’s needs ahead of her own. He admired the hell out of her for being a single parent. When the conversation offered an opening, he asked about Nick’s father.
    “If you don’t mind me asking, is Nick’s father from around here?”
    Delia’s eyes darkened, and she was quiet for a moment. “No, he’s not. He’s never been a part of Nick’s life. It’s an old story,” she said with a shrug. “I got pregnant in college. It definitely wasn’t planned, and that was the end of our relationship. I, uh, got pretty used to him not being around and honestly don’t really want him to be a part of my life, but it matters to Nick. Oddly enough, he called me today. Right out of the blue.”
    Her words were matter of fact until the end. Cold anger coursed through Garret just thinking what it meant for her and Nick to have the man who was his father simply not be there. He wasn’t sure what to say, but he felt he needed to say something. “I’m sorry. That, well, it sucks. Completely.” He paused, gathering his thoughts. “What did he want when he called?”
    She idly circled her wineglass in her hand, spinning the stem carefully. “He said his mother found out about Nick and wants to meet him. It took me so off guard, I didn’t know what to think. I did get to tell him what an ass I thought he was though,” she said with a bitter smile.
    Garrett watched her carefully. She seemed open to talking. At a time when he would have usually tried to find a graceful way to exit the conversation, he found himself continuing. “I bet that felt good,” he said with a wry smile.
    She shrugged. “For a minute. Doesn’t change anything for Nick though. Now I have to figure out