of black Spandex short shorts. “Which would you suggest?”
Lily stared at them. “Uh…I really couldn’t say—”
“No problem, I’ll wear one today, and one tomorrow.” Twirling away, she spared a moment to wink at Rock.
Rock, looking a little dazzled, shifted closer to Lily. “I could take on some extra weight for anyone who can’t handle it—”
“That’s very generous—”
“For a favor.”
Lily looked at him. “Which is?”
“My tent goes next to hers.” He nodded toward Rose and grinned, and Lily had to laugh.
“That’s not my decision,” she said. “It’s between you and her.”
“Hopefully, it’ll be my prize for making it through the day.”
She looked him over in surprise. So she wasn’t the only one nearly paralyzed with doubt. “Why wouldn’t you make it through the day? You’re the fittest one here.”
“Yes, but…” He grimaced, and spoke even more softly so no one could hear. “I’m indoor-fit, you know? Gym-rat fit. I’ve never spent much time outdoors, and I’ve certainly never spent four days straight walking through the woods.”
“You put down on your application that you’ve camped.”
Guilt flashed over his features. “Uh, yeah. I’ve camped. In my bathtub with G. I. Joe, when I was seven.”
“Oh boy.” Lily rubbed her forehead while Rock winced.
“Yeah, sorry about that,” he said. “So maybe you’d better tell me now.” He looked adorably nervous, this big hunk who’d camped with action figures. “Is this going to be too hard for me?”
“Are you kidding?” Lily gestured to Rose and Michelle. “I’m going to go out on a limb here and predict you’re still way ahead of the game.”
He flashed another grin. “Thanks.”
Lily moved to the front of the group, ready to go, but before she could say so, Michelle sidled close once again. “I’ve got to talk to you,” she said, sounding tearful. “I really don’t think I can carry everything…”
“You could lose any of the five pairs of shoes you’re toting,” Jack suggested.
“But I brought one pair for each day, and then an extra. I’m not repeating, Jack.”
“Tell you what,” Lily said. “You lose the shoes, and I’ll divide up your portion of the food and supplies between myself, Jack and Rock, who generously offered to help.”
Rose looked at Rock, shooting him a sweet smile.
Rock blushed.
“Great,” Jack muttered. “I get extra, and Rock gets lucky.”
“Oh, come on, Jack,” Michelle said. “Just help me here. After all, you like daddy’s money as much as I do.”
Jack shook his head. “There’s no arguing with you.”
They moved aside to fix her pack.
Jared shifted next to Lily, and she looked at him, already tired. “You have a request, favor or demand, too?” she asked in that voice she used sometimes, the one that said, Hurry because she was a little too busy for this.
But damn it, she didn’t want to discuss anything, especially not the kiss between her and Keith, or the fact that she wished it had been with Jared.
She really wished that.
He just arched an eyebrow.
At that, she had to let out a careful breath and remind herself that he couldn’t read her thoughts. “Is that a yes or no?”
He shook his head, looking quite comfortable in his own skin. “Nothing at the moment, thanks.”
“Uh-huh. But you’re reserving the right to make a later demand, is that it?”
His mouth curved, and he let their gazes stay locked for just a beat or so past what was comfortable.
Most definitely, he was thinking about the kiss.
And maybe, just maybe, he was thinking he’d rather it had been him, too.
He let her absorb that a moment, then turned away.
Lily let out another careful breath. Oh yeah, it was definitely going to be a hell of a trip.
4
AS LILY CHECKED and rechecked each person’s pack and straps, Jared moved to the front, just next to the trail-head sign. With some amusement, he watched his group’s fearless leader take control of the trip with clear-cut and concise directions and expectations for her guests, her fawn-colored hair pulled in a single braid that fell between her shoulder blades.
He loved how she looked, wearing cargo shorts low on the hips, fitted, but with enough pockets to outfit a third-world country, and two tank tops layered over each other, the top one with Outdoor Adventures’ logo over a breast. She was the picture of efficiency and completely in charge.
She did like to be in charge, his Lily.
He understood the need. In his life, which until recently had been consumed with work, he’d always been in charge, as CEO of an international, billion-dollar corporation that created and built parts for all things digital.
Until that control had been taken from him.
“Any last questions?” Lily asked, coming up next to him.
“Yeah.” He slid on his sunglasses and smiled. “Are you going to hurt me?”
She glanced at Michelle, flapping her lips at her husband, at Rock tying and retying his boots, at Rose applying lip gloss, and she sighed. “Somehow, I don’t think you’re going to be the one hurting.”
This close, he could see that there was something in her eyes, that light of vulnerability he’d seen last night, and also…nerves. “But you are,” he said. “Hurting.”
She looked away. “I’m fine.”
Yeah, she was pretty damn fine. But no matter what she said, she’d been hurt—the limp attested to that— and she wasn’t all better yet. He felt a hard tug of empathy, because he knew what it was like to want to get better, to try to prove everything was normal when it wasn’t. Yeah, he’d been there, done that and bought the T-shirt.
They began to walk, Lily in the lead. Her pack covered much of her from view. There was a light morning breeze which had loosened some silky strands from her braid. They flew about her head like a halo, which he imagined would piss her off but he liked it. He could see her ass, which was sweet, and her legs churning
