Seduction in seville, p.1
Rock Climbing Therapy: A Sweet Romantic Comedy (The Jane Austen Vacation Club Book 3), page 1
For my brother Mike,
Who provided a safe crash landing
After my divorce
Rock Climbing Therapy © 2023 by Lisa H. Catmull
First printing and ebook: May 2023
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Cover design: David and Lisa Catmull
Published by Saltair Press ®
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Epilogue
Bonus Chapter: Cliff’s POV
Sneak Peek: Holiday Therapy
Acknowledgments
Also by Lisa H. Catmull
About the Author
Chapter One
I said I’d try anything once.
My mistake.
My friend, Natalie, wheels her luggage beside me. “We’re going to have an amazing week.” She smiles hopefully.
I smile back, and she doesn’t notice how fake it is. “I wouldn’t spend Fall Break with anyone but you.”
The doors to the hotel open, and we roll our suitcases over the small lip. “Not just me. Cliff.” Natalie waggles her eyebrows.
I look desperately around the grand lobby. This place is nicer than I expected. “Keep it down. You have the loudest voice of anyone I know.”
She scowls. “Some of us are married, so we have to live vicariously through you when it comes to dating.”
“I know. I was married once, too, remember? And dating isn’t all that fun.”
Natalie winces. “I’m sorry, Kat. My bad.”
I smile at the desk attendant while Natalie fumbles in her purse for her I.D. We check in and grab our key cards, then flop in the lobby’s oversized armchairs.
Natalie puts out her hand. “It’s not your fault that your ex was a loser.”
“I picked him, so what does that make me?”
Natalie rolls her eyes. “A marriage Grinch. I thought you promised to stop being cynical.”
“Sorry.” I say that a lot. “I don’t mean to sound so cynical. You and Bryce are adorable. Scott never treated me like that. He certainly never sacrificed anything for me, the way Bryce does for you.”
Natalie’s husband wheels the rest of their luggage in the front entrance, and Natalie practically jumps out of her chair. “Hey, let’s check out our rooms and have some fun. We’re here to forget about Scott.”
Everything we’ve done for the last year has been to forget my ex, ever since he presented me with divorce papers during the Thanksgiving vacation last year, then pressured me to sign them quickly by Christmas. Turns out he wanted to be single before New Year’s Eve—tax reasons, he said—but really, so he could party with someone else—specifically, Trina.
Which it turns out he’d been doing for a while anyway, single or not.
Worst holiday season ever.
I take a deep breath. Right. Forget him. Try everything. That’s how I ended up taking rock climbing classes with my friends and meeting Cliff.
Now their husbands are all best buds with him, and they want to spend Fall Break here, at this luxury resort. If Cliff recommends it, they all jump at his suggestion. He knows all the best places to hike and climb and vacation and eat out and everything.
I’ll grant him that.
So my friends have adopted him, like a puppy, and I tag along because otherwise I’d never see them, but I get stuck with him every time we get seated.
An extremely attractive puppy. Cliff is as buff as a German shepherd and as eager as a poodle, but as smart as a beagle and as loyal as a golden retriever.
And he has impeccable taste. The view of the Rocky Mountains from the hotel lobby is breathtaking, and I can’t wait to hit the rockface outside.
Cliff appears out of nowhere. “Hey! Kat!” He grins and tugs me into his arms, like he does every time he sees me. He’s one of those people who gives the best hugs, just the right amount of pressure to feel good, but it never gets weird. I let myself enjoy it for a few seconds before I step away.
His fingers brush my shoulders as they slowly fall away. “Did you get your room?”
“Yes, thanks.” I glance down, and he’s holding a book. I don’t even ask, but Cliff answers my question.
“Ryder Hawk’s latest. It just dropped today, and it looks awesome. Can’t wait to read it when we have some downtime. I read the first couple of chapters already, and I’m hooked.”
Of course he has downtime. He has no responsibilities. He’s a college kid. I plaster on my smile for Natalie and her husband and try to make small talk with Cliff. “Oh yeah, what does he write?”
“He writes historical Westerns.” Cliff waits for me to laugh, so I do. “I hear he’s going to write a contemporary cowboy romance. I can’t wait. I’m a sucker for a good romance.”
“Are you?” I say without thinking. I’m so used to being polite that I can’t stop being socially appropriate, but I’ve got to stop because…
“I am.” Cliff smolders at me. He isn’t embarrassed to admit that he reads romance novels. In fact, he’s proud of it, like he’s all tender masculinity or romantic or something.
I stand to go to my room. “I’ll let you get back to reading.”
Cliff puts a hand on my arm. “The book can wait. I have all week, and you might like it. It starts out in Northern California. The author bio says that he lives in Sacramento. I’m from San Diego, so I feel connected, you know?”
“Sure.” I don’t really get it, since Northern and Southern California are nothing like each other. I shrug off his hand as I turn to look for my other friends. “You know what? I should drop my bag off in my room.”
Natalie and her husband are standing near the elevator now. Panic floods me. They’re going to leave me alone with Cliff. I try to catch Natalie’s eye.
Cliff is not a puppy. He’s a bloodhound, on my scent, and he’s got me cornered between the soda machine and the tea cart.
Cliff puts his hand next to mine on the carry-on handle. Right next to mine. “I’ve already dropped off my suitcase. I can take yours up, and we’ll see where your room is. Maybe it’s by mine.”
Wow, his eyes are intense. Blue like the ocean on a sunny day.
He steps toward me. One tiny step. We’re already so close, but now we’re close enough that I get a whiff of his aftershave.
And he smells good. I hate it when he showers. Is that cedar or citrus? Both?
He steps closer again, like he smells my attraction to him. Stupid bloodhound. Cliff’s thumb runs the length of mine along the carry-on handle, and my breath catches.
I tug ever so subtly at the handle. “I’m good. I got it.”
I’m too subtle. Nothing happens except that Cliff and I stare at each other for a long second with our fingers touching.
“Okay.” He lets go of my carry-on and settles into a chair. “If you want to read the book, it’s on Kindle. We can read it together on my phone when you come back downstairs. I’ll start over. I’m not very far yet and—”
“I’m good. Thanks. Romance isn’t really my thing right now.”
Cliff grins. “This one is a Western.”
“Uh. Enjoy.” I turn my back on Cliff and head toward the elevators, then press the Up button over and over again. I draw a deep breath to replace the smell of him with generic hotel odors.
This is going to be the worst Fall Break ever. My thumb still sizzles with electricity where he brushed it, and my stomach is folding in on itself.
“Do you have to shut him down so completely?” Natalie asks. “He’s perfect for you. What’s your problem?”
“Nothing. He’s a great guy, but he’s in his senior year of college,” I whisper. “I’m twenty-nine, which is practically thirty, and he’s what? Twenty? I don’t know. It would be like a teacher dating a student.”
I look over my shoulder. Cliff watches me unabashedly. He’s not reading anything on his phone.
“Yeah, but he’s not your typical student. I mean, his cousin owns a freakin’ resort, and he knows every climbing route between here and Denver. Besides, I think he took a couple of years off, so he’s older or something, more like twenty-four or twenty-five, and you just turned twenty-nine last week, so you’re only four or five years apart.”
I bite my lip and look over at the cozy arrangement of upholstered chairs clustered around a fireplace. I didn’t know about the gap years he took away from college, so I’m not sure how old he actually is.
Cliff grins at me.
Natalie continues. “So, he’s into you. That shows that he’s got good taste. Besides, he’s our climbing instructor, and you’re the student, so it’s the other way around.” She grins and nudges me. “Go, cougar.”
“Stop it.” I speak without thinking. “I’m not dating a baby.”
I glance guiltily behind me. That might have come out a little too loud—loud enough to carry across the grand entrance, all the way to the fireplace and the tea cart and the cluster of comfy chairs.
A smile slowly spreads across Cliff’s face as he stretches casually. Even from here, I can see his biceps bulge inside his t-shirt as he props his arms behind his head. It’s like he’s moving in slow motion on purpose, and I can’t tear my eyes away.
Yeah, rock climbing has been good to him.
The elevator bell chimes, and Natalie nudges me. “Are you getting in?”
“What?” I turn around. The metal doors are wide open.
“Going up?” She nudges me and stage whispers, “Or do you want to wipe the drool from your chin first? Who’s the baby?”
Natalie laughs, and I wheel my suitcase inside. I turn around and push the button for my floor over and over. My eyes meet Cliff’s across the grand lobby, and his smile widens.
I tip my head against the smooth metal of the elevator wall. “I think he heard us.”
The door slides shut, and Natalie’s husband fake coughs.
“What, Bryce?”
“You weren’t exactly quiet,” he says. “The entire hotel probably heard you.”
The elevator lurches, then gently glides up. “Well, I don’t understand why he is smiling.”
Bryce looks like he can’t decide what to say.
I play with the handle of my carry-on. “Just tell me. We’re all friends here.”
He laughs. “Cliff has been bugging me for months, trying to figure out why you won’t go out with him.”
I exchange a look with Natalie. “Seriously? For one thing, he hasn’t asked. But good, now he knows.”
Bryce shakes his head. “No, you don’t know Cliff. He hasn’t asked because he knew the answer would be no. But now he knows the only reason you won’t date him is his age. Not anything else.”
My stomach falls, and it has nothing to do with the motion of the elevator. “Do I need more reasons?”
“Well, yeah.” Natalie exchanges a glance with her husband. “You look pretty flustered for someone who doesn’t want to go out with him.”
I turn to Bryce. “It wasn’t that bad, was it?”
Bryce laughs. “Which part? The part where you stood so close to him that I couldn’t fit his book between you?”
“Or the part where you stared at his biceps across the lobby?” Natalie asks.
Bryce laughs. “Or the drool on your chin?”
Natalie nods. “Yeah, all of it looked like flirting from here.”
My cheeks flush bright red. “He was standing close to me.”
Natalie rolls her eyes. “You didn’t exactly move away from him. In fact, I swear you leaned in.”
“I didn’t want to be rude.” Which, according to my mom, is the worst thing a woman can be.
Natalie and Bryce exchange another look, and Bryce snorts. “Or you like him, and you won’t admit it.” The elevator chimes, and Bryce juts his arm across the doors so we can exit. “And now he knows he has a chance with you.”
Cliff has zero chance with me, but Bryce is right about one thing. I do know that look in Cliff’s eye. We’ve scaled plenty of rockfaces together, and he never backs down from a challenge. It makes him more determined.
After months of avoiding his subtle flirting and evading him when he almost asks me out, I’ve just let him know there’s only one reason I won’t date him—his age.
And he is going to make sure I know that he is a fully-grown man.
Chapter Two
My room is ridiculous. It’s almost as large as the one-bedroom apartment I’ve been renting since last November. There’s a fully furnished living room with a high-end entertainment system, a fully stocked dining area, a kitchenette with all the appliances, and a separate bedroom with my king-sized bed.
Then there’s the waterfall shower, the sauna inside the bathroom, and the hot tub on the balcony.
I want to live here and never go home, but how much does this place cost? I mean, I’ve been to some swank hotels with Mom, but I can’t imagine the tab for one night at this place.
And then there’s the whole Regency-era theme in the lobby and hallway and grand ballroom. And no sign of construction or maintenance or any reason why we’d get these rooms for free, like Cliff said.
But I don’t want to think about being in debt to him, so I pull out my phone and check my email and messages. Still nothing. The only thing I can do right now is wait, so I slip the phone back into my pocket.
I pull open the door and peek into the hallway. Cliff could be anywhere, and he’s nothing but a distraction. I really need to focus because my new gear shop is finally scheduled to open in two months, once I nail down the lease.
The coast is clear. I step outside and wander down the silent corridor. It costs money to keep a hotel this quiet.
My phone pings, and I eagerly pull it out. Maybe that’s the commercial real estate company. There’s an armchair across from the elevator, and I stop there to check my messages.
It’s not them, but it’s not someone I can ignore.
It’s my investor. My partner. The only person willing to take a chance on me.
My mom.
Mom: Do you honestly think you’re going to open that store on time?
Me: Still working on it.
Mom: I see you working on social media more than anything.
I draw a deep breath. So, it’s going to be one of those conversations.
Me: Yep.
Mom: Do you really think that’s the best way to spend your time?
Me: Until I have the lease signed, yes.
Mom: Another intern is leaving.
I close my eyes. Here we go again.
Me: Sorry to hear that.
Mom: I can pay you to run my social media accounts, and you don’t have to stay around there.
Me: Thanks for the offer.
Mom: You should be with your family. Save us all a lot of money and come home.
There’s a reason the interns keep quitting. She’s not the easiest boss.
Me: This store isn’t going to fail. Scott tanked the last one, not me.
Me: I’ll try to get someone to cover the store during Christmas. I promise I won’t miss the holidays with the family.
Mom: You have one month before I offer the job to someone else. Sonia leaves at the end of the semester. I need you to start as soon as you get home for the holiday break.
She adds some emojis to make it cute or soften the tone, like this job offer is a favor to me, but I know how many interns she’s fired. I know the way she burns out her friends.
I also know how many strings are attached to any offer that my mom extends. If I work as her personal assistant and run her social media accounts, she’ll finally own me completely. I decided to stop being her marionette puppet years ago.
