God, what a charmer. I shook my head, smiling despite myself. “You’re good with a line.”

Suddenly I felt the rough calluses on his palm as he circled my wrist with his hand and gave me a gentle squeeze. “Not feeding you a line here, angel.” He let go but trailed his fingers across the top of my arm before doing so. Goosebumps rose up all over my skin as I imagined him touching me elsewhere. My breath stuttered and, as if he knew the lustful territory my thoughts had wandered into, his eyes darkened.

“Fuck,” he huffed, seeming just as stunned by the attraction between us as I was.

“There you are!”

At the sound of Catie’s voice, I sagged with relief.

Relief because holding this attraction back was not easy. And we’d just freaking met!

Suddenly Catie and Kyle were there. Kyle stared at Gray with an assessing expression. Catie stared at him like he was a movie star.

And I rudely got up without introducing them. “Our table is ready?”

“Uh...” Catie tore her gaze from Gray. “Yes.”

“Then let’s eat. I’m hungry.” I gently pushed her away from the bar, and Kyle, who seemed to read my expression, helped me out by physically turning her around. I looked back at Gray as Kyle guided Catie to our table. “It was nice to meet you. Apologies again for today on the slopes.”

He shook his head at me. “Going to need a different kind of apology.”

I gave him a regretful smile because he was charming and for some bizarre reason I didn’t want him to think I was an aloof cow immune to that charm. “I’m afraid it’s the only kind I have in me to give.”

Before he could say anything else that might make me wish things were different I hurried across the restaurant to my friends.

Part of me was really pissed off I’d met Grayson King. But a bigger part of me was pissed off that I’d met him now. Pre-Darren I might have let Gray buy me a drink. I might have even let him come back to my room for a fling in the snowy mountains of Montana. Although I wasn’t anti-men, I was just anti-men for now until I got my shit together. After what I’d been through in my previous relationship no one would blame me for giving up on men entirely, but I wasn’t the type to give up hope so easily. I was an optimist. I still believed the love of my life was out there somewhere. Someone who would treat me the way Killian treated Skylar.

However, now was definitely not the time in my life to be looking for that. Especially not with some guy who lived an ocean away. Plus it was crazy to even consider that the feeling between me and Grayson King was more than just animal attraction.

“Okay, so who is that?” Catie asked as soon as I took my seat.

I snuck a peek at Gray sitting at the bar, staring down at the beer in his hand as if deep in thought. God, he was so freaking handsome.

“A ski instructor. I accidentally collided with him on the slopes today.”

“He is bloody gorgeous,” Catie said all wide-eyed and dreamy. She smiled apologetically at her husband. “Sorry, babe, just stating a fact.”

Kyle made a face and then turned to me. “He bothering you?”

“Of course he wasn’t bothering her,” Catie replied before I could. “That man is never bothering a woman.”

I chuckled. “Oh you know him, do you?”

“I know there’s not a woman alive who wouldn’t want him bothering her.”

“Well, you found her,” I retorted. “I’m not here for that. You know I’m not.”

She suddenly winced and I knew I’d reminded her of Darren. “Of course. Sorry, babe.”

“Nothing to be sorry for. If things were different he is definitely a man I’d…” I trailed off as I looked beyond my friend’s shoulder and saw Gray move away from the bar to join a very attractive woman. Disappointment settled in my gut as I realized he really had been feeding me a line.

“Player,” Kyle muttered, sounding pissed off and I dragged my gaze from Gray to find Kyle glaring in his direction.

“What?” Catie asked, about to turn around.

I hissed, “Don’t look.”

Kyle explained, “He was chatting up our girl, all the while waiting on his date.”

For some stupid reason it hurt.

I didn’t even know him but I felt this burning pang in my chest.

“Woman, you’re the most beautiful fucking thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”

I’d believed him. I’d stupidly, deep down, believed him.

“That doesn’t mean anything,” Catie said. “He was probably sitting waiting on his date and took one look at you and forgot about her.” She gestured to me. “It’s the Autumn Factor.”

Despite my disappointment, I smiled. “The Autumn Factor?”

“Aye, the Autumn Factor. You walk into a room and everybody forgets whatever the hell they’re doing. It happened to me when we met at college.”

“Oh, do go on.” Kyle crossed his arms and leaned them on the table with a teasing smirk.

Catie rolled her eyes. “Not in a sexy way, you perv. I had just never seen a girl as beautiful as Autumn in real life before.”

I felt my cheeks heat because I was terribly British and never knew how to deal with compliments. At five foot nine, I was tall, slender but with hips, an arse, and I wore a C-cup bra. My hair was a rich red-gold auburn and my favorite thing about myself. I got my hair from my dad. Killian had a different father so he had dark hair but we both got our dark brown eyes from our mum. We also were both gifted with her long, thick lashes. But while Killian had his dad’s slightly olive skin tone that made him look tan all year round, I got my dad’s pale skin. Alabaster and not prone to blemish. It was good skin. Plus nature had seen fit to give me my mother’s full heart-shaped lips.