“The limp. You must be in some pain.”
“Oh. That.” The reminder slammed home all of her fears about this trip. “It’s nothing. A beer, I’ll take a beer.” She took a step back, came up against the wall with a crash. “I’ll take it to go.”
“Lily—”
“No.” She looked into his disconcertingly gorgeous eyes, and took a big step back—thankfully missing the wall this time—and an even bigger mental step. “Really. I’m sorry, I need to…” Get my bearings. “Go.”
She accepted the beer he bought her, thanked him, and ran upstairs, where she put herself to bed.
Of course she dreamed of him again. That was getting extremely unsettling, she told herself at 3:00 a.m. after waking up sweaty, hot and bothered for the second night in a row. Why did her attraction to him bother her so much she wondered.
Because she’d expected it to be Keith?
Yeah, that. She punched her pillow, flopped over, and told herself to dream about something more worth her time—such as the fact she had four great days ahead of her.
Please God, let them be great.
She gave her pillow one more punch for emphasis, and then closed her eyes. Mountains, she told herself. Think of the mountains, the wild animals…
Only problem, her brain didn’t obey, not one little bit. This time she dreamed about not taking her beer to go, but sitting downstairs with Jared, then making her way to his room, and then…
Oh boy, and then.
She should have taken Keith up on his offer for a drink with whatever else that might have entailed. It would have been easy, familiar, fast…and done.
Certainly if she had, she’d at least be sated by now.
And not still thinking, wondering, yearning about Jared.
3
JUST PAST DAWN, Lily stood at the trailhead at the basin of Balsam Peak and stared up at the vista of glory around her.
Doubt was killing her but she tried to swallow it. She could do this.
She could.
The summer hadn’t been a particularly dry one, and as a result, the green mountains seemed to pulse with life. The Sierras didn’t have a fancy name, or a photogenic centerpiece like other mountain ranges did, but man oh man, it was, in her opinion, one of the most fascinating combinations of jaw-dropping beauty and unique geology on this side of the Great Divide.
Being here, breathing in the thin but crisp, clean air, she felt great, and even greater when she realized she was way ahead of schedule.
That was old habit, being prepared beyond any shadow of a doubt. She credited that slight anal tendency in an otherwise carefree, wanderlust existence to the two years she’d spent as a Girl Scout as a young girl, when she’d been directionless and desperate to please. Her mother had worked around the clock, her father had been living in Europe somewhere, which had left her alone much of the time.
Too much of the time.
But she’d grown up fine. Or so she told herself. She was her own woman who didn’t need approval from anyone. Knowing it, she opened the tailgate on her truck, and also the shell, and began checking through the supplies she’d brought, dividing it into piles that she could help her guests load into their packs as well as her own.
“Looks heavy.”
Craning her neck, her gaze collided with Jared’s. “Not too heavy.”
He’d lost the business wear but was no less put together in his expensive-looking jeans and polo shirt. He wore hiking boots, which she sincerely hoped weren’t new, even though they looked it. His designer sunglasses were firmly in place. “Need any help?” he asked.
“Not yet, thanks.”
“How did I know you’d say that?” He gestured to the goods. “Looks like a lot of stuff to carry.”
“If you’re not up for it, you could always try a different type of vacation. Say a dude ranch.”
Uninsulted, he let out a soft laugh, then shoved his sunglasses to the top of his head, revealing that mesmerizing hazel gaze as he slid his hands in his pocket. He pulled out a folded piece of paper, stared down at it, then slid it back into his pocket.
“What’s that?” she asked.
“A list.”
She waited for more, but he offered nothing. “A reminder to pick up your dry-cleaning?”
He smiled. “No.”
“Ah. A reminder to have your housekeeper pick up your dry-cleaning.”
His smile spread. “You think I’m going to be a PITA.”
“PITA?”
“Pain in the ass. Your ass.”
Not exactly. She thought he was going to be a distraction. A sexy one. “Caught me.” She went back to separating the supplies into piles, but he didn’t take the hint and leave.
“It bugs you,” he said. “Our attraction.”
“No, it doesn’t.”
He just smiled a little knowingly, and she let out a sound that she hoped managed to convey her annoyance as she went back to her work.
Okay, so despite his pretty-boy appearance, he wasn’t prissy, or afraid of confrontation. Damn it. It didn’t help that he was right.
Their attraction bugged the hell out of her.
Fine. She’d get her revenge soon enough, when she planned to see him plenty rumpled, wrinkled and pushed outside his comfort zone. “One thing’s for sure,” she said. “You’re going to get those boots dirty.”
He looked down. “I’m not going to melt with a little dirt.”
“Okay.”
He lifted his head, his eyes locked on hers. Normally she appreciated direct eye contact, but with him, the look went deeper than casual, and pushed her from her comfort zone.
“You don’t believe me,” he said.
She lifted a shoulder, and looked away because she had the uncomfortable feeling he saw far more than she allowed anyone to see. “It’s your job to have a good time,” she said. “It’s my job to make sure you get that good time. I’ll do my job.”
“And I’ll do mine,” he promised. “I signed up for this trip willingly, Lily.” He gestured with his chin toward the mountains. “I want to do this.”
“Well, then let’s get the
