I was still getting accustomed to the long days here. It was June and the sun wouldn’t set until after ten p.m. It was evening now, and the sun was only beginning its slide down in the sky. Sunset lasted for hours here in the summer. At the moment, there were the early glimmers of a watercolor sky and the fading brightness of late afternoon.
Turning back, I glanced at the new sign on the café. Cammi must’ve had that mounted at some point during the day today. I smiled. The renovated Quonset hut was adorable. Windows had been cut into the sides of the structure, and the front, where the door was on the long end of the cylindrical shape, was all windows. Walking inside, I glanced around at the artwork hung on the walls in the already crowded space milling with customers and guests. In addition to her incredible coffee, Cammi had partnered with Daphne for baked goods and updated the sandwich menu.
As I glanced around, a voice came from over my shoulder. “Hey, Gemma!”
Turning, I found Susie Winters smiling at me. Her brown curls bounced and her matching brown eyes crinkled at the corners with her smile. I’d met Susie through Cammi, encountering her occasionally at the coffee shop in the short time I’d been in town. Come to think of it, almost everyone I’d met so far had either been from students coming to my yoga classes, or people I met here.
“Hey, Susie, how’s it going?”
“Good, good,” she said quickly. “Doesn’t it look great?”
“It does, and I love the new sign outside.”
Susie’s husband, Jared Winters, approached, looping his arm around her waist. “You’ve met my husband, right?” Susie asked.
“Just once, good to see you again,” I responded with a nod to Jared.
“If you haven’t been out fishing yet, you need to go,” Susie added.
Jared’s grin shifted from her to me. “Just let Susie know if you’d like to go, and you can hitch a ride on one of our trips.” I knew from Susie that Jared and his two brothers ran a fishing charter business.
“I’ll make sure to do that,” I replied.
Susie was drawn away into another conversation, so I threaded my way through the crowd to say hello to Cammi who was standing by the counter. “Love the sign,” I commented.
“Jessa painted it. She’s the one who does the tables too,” Cammi explained, gesturing over to a table nearby.
I looked in that direction, seeing a woman with wavy brown hair standing beside yet another handsome man. Alaska was crowded as far as the rugged, handsome man quotient went. Outdoorsy was definitely the vibe.
The tables here were whimsically painted and fun. Cammi explained to me they served as a way to show off Jessa’s artwork, which she sold out at one of the galleries near Otter Cove Harbor.
“I need to get out to the galleries one of these days,” I commented.
“You should. Would you like coffee or some food? I even have wine and hard cider tonight,” Cammi said with a smile. “And it’s all on the house.”
“I’ll take a few of those,” I said, pointing to a cluster of pastries on a tray. “A small glass of the cider would be nice too. I’m driving, so I can just have a taste.”
One of Cammi’s staff poured me a glass and passed over a small plate. Cammi was already swept into another conversation. I was scanning the room to see who else I knew when I heard a voice low at my shoulder. “Hey, Gemma.”
A prickle raced down my spine the second I recognized Diego’s unmistakable voice—warm with a hint of gruffness. Turning, I found him looking his usual delectable self. His dark hair was slightly rumpled, but then that always seemed to be the case. His green eyes stood out against his sun-kissed skin. The man’s chiseled jaw and cut cheekbones were too much.
His eyes searched mine briefly, and I thought I recognized an answering flare of heat in his gaze. “Hey,” I said, a little breathlessly.
“You tasting Delia’s cider?” he asked
I peered down at the glass in my hand. Looking back to him, I replied, “Um, I’m not sure.”
“It must be hers. Cammi’s serving from the brewery tonight, and they only bottle Delia’s. You’ve been up to the Lodge restaurant, right?”
I shook my head and took a swallow of the cider, savoring the fresh apple flavor that slid across my tongue. “I keep meaning to get up there, but I haven’t yet.”
Diego held my gaze for a long moment. “I’ll take you then. The food is excellent, and you can meet Delia. The lodge gives you another pool of customers for your yoga classes. There are plenty of staff between the restaurant and the lodge itself.”
“Is it busy during the summer? I thought it was a ski lodge.”
Diego held his finger up when a waiter passing by with a tray asked if he wanted anything. He took several of the small finger sandwiches and his own glass of cider before returning his focus to me.
“It’s primarily a ski lodge,” he explained after a swallow of cider. “During the summer, they run hiking trips and function as a regular hotel. They send us plenty of business for our flight service.”
“Aren’t they your competition?”
I took a bite of a pastry, closing my eyes and letting out a little moan at the flavor. It was filled with brie and a burst of cranberry flavor. “Oh, my God, that’s good.”
When I opened my eyes, he was staring at me intently. “You could do that again,” he murmured.
While nothing he said was inappropriate, there was a naughty hint to his words. It felt as if sparks scattered over the surface of my skin. Trying to play it cool, which I was utterly terrible at, I commented, “You should taste one.”
He took one, while I enjoyed another. After a moment, he nodded. “Very good. To your question, the ski lodge isn’t really competition. They cater to a different type of tourist. Sure, they are Alaskan tourists, but the people that book there want to be close to town. The people that stay with us are more after the pretending as if they’re in the middle of nowhere vibe.”
I couldn’t help but giggle at that description. “Pretending? Aren’t you all pretty far out there?”
Diego finished another bite, and I found my eyes lingering on the motion of his throat when he swallowed. Good Lord. I even thought this man swallowing was sexy. This wasn’t even sane. Heat prickled over the surface of my skin, and my pulse hummed along.
Oblivious to my internal state, he stayed on topic. “You’ll have to come out there. It’s only twenty minutes away from town. It does have the feel of being isolated though. More than half the drive is on a gravel road. It’s pretty high end and a really nice place. Plus, we have Daphne’s cooking. As you can see from her sandwiches, we’ve got it good.”
“Oh, is there a restaurant there?”
Diego chuckled. “No. That would be nice though. It’s a restaurant grade kitchen, but we only serve the guests there.”
Elias, Cammi’s boyfriend, approached. He appeared to hear the tail end of our conversation. “That’s the only thing I miss.”
Glancing to him, Diego flashed a grin, sending butterflies into flight in my belly, even though he wasn’t grinning at me. “Of course, you do. But you know you miss me more,” he teased.