She bumped her shoulder lightly into mine as we started toward the trail map. “Just admit it already. You have a little thing for him. And maybe he’s got a big thing for you, if you know what I mean.”
“Yeah, I think I cracked your code,” I said with a smile and shake of my head. At this point, though, I honestly wasn’t sure if I had a thing for him. The man had been popping up a lot recently and I genuinely enjoyed spending time with him. And anyone with eyes could see how attractive he was. “Even if I did, I don’t know how to date anymore. I’m not ready to trust anyone. Everyone keeps secrets, and I can’t have my heart shattered again.”
That much, at least, I was entirely sure of. I hadn’t dated anyone since Hunter and he’d been my high school sweetheart, so I hadn’t had much experience before him either.
Miley glanced at me. “You’d figure it out.”
“I doubt it. I think I skipped the phase where normal people learn how to date.”
She scoffed. “You’re acting like you were raised in a cult.”
Headlights swept across the parking lot as another vehicle pulled in behind us. I glanced at it without even really meaning to, but then my heart skipped when I saw Avery’s truck—with Theo in the passenger seat.
Naturally, Miley noticed him too. “Speak of the devil and he shall appear.”
She said it in a sing-song voice, nudging me as the guys climbed out of the truck. My stomach did this annoying, fluttery thing at the sight of Theo only half-awake, but looking unfairly good regardless.
“You totally have a thing for him,” she muttered. “Don’t let Avery catch you staring, though. I don’t think he wants to share his new best friend.”
“I’m not staring. I’m literally just looking in their direction. Weareall here together. It would be weird if I pretended not to notice them.”
“Sure,” she agreed easily. “That’s why you’re staring. So you don’t look weird.”
The guys grabbed their backpacks and joined us. Theo fell into step beside me while Avery raced ahead and Miley made it her mission to keep up with him. Somehow, we ended up walking beside each other for most of the hike, the sky turning from black to a deep blue overhead.
“Thanks for joining me,” he said, smiling when I looked up to meet his gaze. “It’s nice to have some company for this.”
“It’s a beautiful hike,” I replied, sweeping a hand toward the rocky path. “You’ll see once we get clear of this. It’s the best view to wake up to.”
“The best, huh? That’s pretty confident. I’ve seen some pretty awesome views in my day.”
“None as awesome as what you’re about to see,” I said. “Trust me. Sunrise in the canyon is phenomenal.”
“Phenomenal? Now there’s a word you don’t hear every day, but alright, let’s hope I don’t die before I see this phenomenal view.”
“You’re ten minutes into a moderate hike,” I said. “You’ll be fine.”
“Unless a coyote gets me,” he muttered, grinning. “Lu would actually get a real kick out of that, though.”
Even though the predawn cold had turned his nose slightly pink in the gloom, he was somehow even more attractive for it. Thankfully, the fact that he’d mentioned an actual name wasso surprising that I managed to focus on something that wasn’t staring.
“Who’s Lu?”
“Oh, right. She’s my five-year-old niece.” He leaned a little closer to me. “She ran away once and her sister was concerned about her getting eaten by coyotes. If that does actually happen to me, at least Lu would feel like her original fears were justified.”
I chuckled. “Well, I hate to break it to you, but it’s unlikely you’re going to get eaten on this trail. It’s way too busy. You’ll have to find a different way to reassure your niece.”
“To be fair, she wasn’t actually eaten by coyotes. Hell, she didn’t even make it all the way down the first street before my brother found her.”
“She’s lucky.” I smiled. “Once when I ran away, I ended up sitting on the corner for hours, waiting for someone to come after me.”
“It took them that long to go looking for you?”
I groaned. “They didn’t have to go looking for me at all. It turns out that our kitchen window had a line of sight to my corner. They could see me the whole time.”
Theo laughed, the sound so warm and easy that I got all tingly when I heard it. “Kids, man. They’re the greatest. Why do we have to grow up? I bet you thought you were miles from home while you were sitting on that corner, all innocent and pouty.”
“I really did,” I admitted. “I packed myself a lunchbox and everything, fully ready to commit to life on the mean streets of Quartz Pass.”
