Page 29 of Tempted To Be Mine

I looked up, suddenly very interested in the answer.

Bernadette shook her head. “No, never. I asked the staff the same question when I arrived to do my assessment. The lodge has been operating for over twenty years without a single animal-related incident.”

“Really?” The word came out of me before I could stop it.

“Really.” Bernadette’s expression softened, like she understood exactly why I was asking. “Everything around the lodge itself is quite safe. There’s enough human activity to keep most wildlife away. The animals know this is our territory, so to speak. They avoid it.”

I felt some of the tension in my shoulders release. Safe. The animals stayed away. I would not be eye-to-eye with a man-eating bear.

“The lecture is more about what to do if you venture beyond the immediate property,” Bernadette continued. “Some of the shoot locations are more remote, and we want everyone prepared. But here, at the lodge? You’re perfectly fine.”

“That’s good to know,” I said. The relief was almost dizzying.

“And if all else fails,” Bernadette said, reaching into her bag and producing a canister about the size of a small fire extinguisher. “Use this.”

She set the bear spray on the table in front of me. I stared at it for a moment, then picked it up.

“Keep it with you whenever you leave the lodge,” Bernadette said. “Hopefully you’ll never need it, but better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.”

“Thank you.” I clutched the bear spray like it was a lifeline.

Sebastian checked his watch. “One more thing before everyone heads off for the night. Tomorrow we have a late start time. We’re waiting for the sun to warm up the day a bit before we begin shooting, so feel free to sleep in. Enjoy your morning. Breakfast is available in the main lodge from seven to ten, but there’s no rush. Call time isn’t until noon.”

“Sleep in,” Jeremy repeated, like the words were foreign to him. “I don’t know if I remember how to do that.”

“Try,” Sebastian said dryly. “You’ll need your energy. The next few days are going to be intense.”

The dinner began to wind down after that. People finished their drinks, said their goodnights, and started filtering out toward their cabins. I gathered my layers and prepared myself for the trek back through the frozen tundra.

Jeremy waited for me, already bundled up in his own jacket. “Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

We stepped out into the cold together. It hit me just as hard as before. That bone-deep chill that made me question every life choice that had led me to this moment. But Jeremy offered his arm again. I took it, knowing he’d keep me on my feet.

Above us, the sky was impossibly clear, scattered with more stars than I’d ever seen in my life. No light pollution out here. Just darkness and diamonds.

“It’s beautiful,” I admitted.

“Yeah,” Jeremy agreed. “It really is.”

We reached my cabin first. I fumbled with the key, my gloved fingers clumsy, but eventually got the door open. Warmth spilled out, beckoning me inside.

“If you need anything,” he said, “I’m right next door. Seriously. Anything. Even if it’s three in the morning and you just want someone to tell you the bears aren’t coming.”

I laughed, but it came out a little wobbly. “Thank you. For today. For the shopping and the flight and all of it. You’ve been really kind to me.”

“That’s what friends are for. Get some sleep, Lucy. Tomorrow’s a new day.”

“Goodnight, Jeremy.”

“Goodnight.”

He waited until I was inside with the door closed before he walked away. I stood there for a moment, my back against the door, the bear spray still clutched in my hand.

I went through my nighttime routine on autopilot. I washed my face, brushed my teeth, and put on the fleece pajamas I’d bought specifically for this trip. The bed was soft, the down comforter heavy with the promise of keeping me toasty all night.

It was a strange day. Disorienting. Jeremy Blackwell, the man who couldn’t remember to charge his own phone, had spent the entire day making sure I was okay.