This date could be the one. Kinnections was successful, and boasted an extremely high percentage of marriages. Her husband could be waiting on top of that mountain and a bit of snow was not going to stop her from finally meeting him.
She inched her way up and came to a fork in the road. Where was the sign? Why was her iPhone suddenly silent? With a disgusted mutter, Riley grabbed her phone.
No signal.
Crap. Okay, the rink couldn’t be far. She mentally recited eeney meeney miney moe and took the right. The road emptied and twisted before her, flanked by thick woods. Huge, gnarled trees bent over and shook in the wind. Icicles dripped from branches and pelted ice drops at her windshield. Why did she suddenly feel like she’d dropped into Narnia? Riley downshifted, curving around another bend, and almost hit the brake at the sight before her.
Massive wrought-iron gates rivaling those in King Kong towered before her. Wicked spikes lined the top and blocked a row of ice-encrusted privacy bushes. She caught a glimpse of a towering, multitiered brick fortress as she reached the top of the road, and gently pumped the brake.
The tires caught, spun, and slid to the right. She pulled the wheel in the opposite direction but it was too late.
The rear end fishtailed and dropped her backward over the side incline.
The last thought Riley had was how pissed off she was that she’d miss meeting her future husband.
Then everything went black.
chapter 3
Dylan McCray stared at the unconscious woman on his couch and wondered if someone was playing a joke on him. After all, he’d just been hand delivered the woman he hadn’t been able to get off his mind or his dick for the past decade.
He swore softly and lay a damp washcloth over her forehead. He had no idea if it was the right thing to do, but he’d seen the move in enough films to figure it worked. Thank God she’d been lucky. Other than the bruise on her cheek, she didn’t have any bumps or breaks. The car was banged up, but her seat belt and the open ditch filled with snow had softened the blow. He shuddered to think of the circumstances if she’d hit the trees.
Her breathing was deep and even. Her heart rate steady. What the hell was she doing here? He’d decided to close the park once the snow began, so he hadn’t expected anyone. He assumed his blind date was canceled. The cell lines were down so he couldn’t call Kate, and in some weird type of power move Kate refused to give him a last name, so it wasn’t like he could even try and track down the mysterious woman.
He was getting ready to close up the gates when he caught the crash on his security camera. Thank God he’d seen it or Riley could’ve been trapped overnight. He hoped she didn’t have a concussion. He figured worst-case scenario he’d get the snowplow and drive her to the hospital. First, he’d try to wake her up and work from there.
What was the woman doing out in a blizzard? Anger twisted with fear and burned through his system, though he kept his touch gentle. For God’s sake, no one was out in this weather. The radio blasted the quick movement of the storm heading their way, and warned everyone to stay home. Of course, if Riley Fox was the same stubborn, frustrating woman she’d always been, no wonder she hadn’t listened. She had a God complex. It both fascinated and irritated him.
Besides getting him hot.
His gaze took in her softened features. She hadn’t changed. Dark hair with burgundy highlights was swept back from her high forehead and fell in long silky waves to her shoulders. She used to wear it scooped up in a no-nonsense ponytail that bobbed when she walked. Her face was well-defined, which made for an arresting vision that held a man’s attention and entranced him to look deeper. He remembered eyes the color of a soft violet, snapping with command and control. Her lips were thin but perfectly formed to a bow shape. Her jaw was too square, her cheekbones too blunt, her nose too sharp, her brows too arched. But all the features put together made her impossible to ignore.
Just as she liked it.
They’d shared a dormitory at Cornell for four years. He still pictured the way she marched down the hallways, backpack swinging, gaze directed ahead with a tunnel vision no beginning college students exhibited. She avoided sororities, beer pong parties, sporting events, and generally any social activity where there was alcohol, sex, and distraction. She graduated with a double major in business management and marketing, a minor in English, worked for the Junior Executive League, school newspaper, and published three articles in featured mass-market magazines.
She was a force of nature, but Dylan suspected underneath she was one big hot mess. Total control freak meets uptight workaholic. They’d almost killed each other when Professor Tagg paired them for the final project in sophomore year. Fifty percent of their grade and he almost quit. Almost.
He was too stubborn to let her win.
Even more so because of the heat between them.
Dylan shook his head at the memory. Unbelievable. One moment he wanted to strangle her, the next back her up against the wall, release the ponytail, and strip off that white prim blouse she always favored. It was almost as if the fighting was a crazy form of foreplay, but she’d die rather than admit it.
So would he.
Still, he’d fantasized that he could push her proper boundaries to make her scream. Beg. Come. For him.
His dick hardened but he shook it off and began pacing. Why the hell did it have to be Riley Fox to turn him into a horn dog? He had tons of money, a good disposition, looks, and a sense of humor. He’d dated so many women it must be in the triple digits, bedded many along the way, and not once had he found the lightning strike.
Maybe he never would.
But already, the air hummed like a live presence, and his blood warmed in his veins. Her scent swam in his nostrils and in his memory. Oranges and jasmine. Some intoxicating mingle of images involving juicy, ripe fruit trickling down his chin, soft floral blossoms, and pure sweetness.
The ridiculous poetry of his thoughts made him groan. Stupid. Her presence just brought back memories and surprised him. The moment she opened her mouth he’d be reminded of their inability to get through a two-minute conversation without wanting to kill each other.
She stirred in her sleep. Dylan walked back over and stared down at her. Was she sleeping too long? Should he wake her? He cursed under his breath and decided to shake her gently. Maybe help her along. He reached over.
Her eyes flew open.
Dylan jerked back from the sudden awakening like a vampire in a coffin. He watched her gorgeous eyes flicker, obviously trying to remember where she was and what had happened. He opened his mouth to calm her. Explain what happened in a soothing voice so she didn’t freak out on him.
He never got a chance.
She shot up to a sitting position, hair sliding over one eye, a scowl marring her brows. Her mouth twisted as if she’d either tasted or smelled something bad.
“You.”
Her voice slammed him with disdain and ice.
And just like that, Dylan was back in college with a woman who’d pushed every single button he owned and a few he never knew he had.
He treated her to a slow, insolent smile.
“Hey, darlin’. Long time, no see.”
The fury on her face from the familiar greeting made him feel a hell of a lot better.
Yeah. Maybe this would be more fun than he expected.
When Riley woke, she was struck by blinding white.
At first, she thought she’d died. Heaven was really pretty in a clean Rachel Zoe way. The vaulted ceiling, walls, and lush shag carpet were pure white. An elaborate four-tier chandelier dripped crystals and pearls, adding to the effect of elegance. A huge fireplace framed in marble took up the far end of the room. The sound of snapping logs drifted in the air. She rolled to her side and noticed she lay on a long white sofa, with matching wing chairs of the same color. At least heaven was color coordinated. She’d be so disappointed to be stuck in tie-dye.