She didn’t tip, but she was aware of everything.
Of the length of him aligned with her spine. Of the scrape of his jacket against her sleeve. Of how easily her body seemed to remember the shape of him from those mere sixty seconds yesterday.
“Don’t overthink it,” he said softly.
Too late for that.
Her lungs felt too full. Her heart was too loud. The air between them was thick with everything they weren’t saying.
“Breathe,” he added, quieter now.
She exhaled slowly and let the string slip from her fingers. The bow snapped forward. The arrow cut cleanly through the air and struck the outer ring of the target with a solid thud.
Neither of them moved.
“Nice shot,” he said, but his voice was different now, rougher. His hand, which had hovered at her waist, finally settled there. It wasn’t necessary, but it felt like it belonged there.
Her breath hitched. The world narrowed to the warmth of his palm through the thin fabric of her shirt.
For one reckless second, she thought he might pull her back against him. She was ready for it. Hoping for it. Practically praying for it.
Instead, he stepped away, and the loss was immediate.
Cold air rushed into the space he’d just occupied, and her body registered his absence long before her pride could catch up. She lowered the bow carefully, fingers suddenly unsteady.
“Beginner’s luck,” she said, because she needed to fill the awkward silence.
“Nah,” he replied. “It was a clean hit.”
“Thanks.” But when she turned to look at him, his eyes weren’t on the target. They were on her.
The moment stretched—sunlight warm on her face, cool air at her neck, and Slater still hovering like he hadn’t decided whether or not he should move. All around them, other guests were laughing and talking and having a great time, but Evie was suddenly aware of how quiet they’d gone.
Their gazes were locked, but not in a battle of wills—something softer. And whatever they weren’t talking about had just gotten a whole lot harder to ignore.
“Evie, I…”
“Here,” she blurted out, practically shoving the bow into his hands. “It’s your turn. I don’t want to hog the equipment. Let’s see if you can get closer to the bullseye than I did.”
It was nervous chatter at best, but for a little while, she needed them to just be friends. There was no way she was going to push him for more, or maybe even hint at anything more while they were in the middle of the archery field. So for now, this was safer.
Or maybe she was just too afraid to find out what would happen if she took her boundaries off the table.
Chapter Five
After archery, Slater wanted nothing more than to find an excuse to leave Evie so he could be alone.
But he couldn’t think of one.
So once they were done, he figured the safest thing to do was to either join another group activity or…
“Do you have bike trails?” Evie asked, interrupting his thoughts.
“What?”
“Bike trails. I know you have walking ones, but you didn’t mention biking. The road leading from the resort to the town would be too dangerous to bike on, but I thought maybe you might have something around here on the property. I’m kind of missing my spin classes.”
“We have a gym. You’re more than welcome to use it.”
