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“What? You don’t believe me?”
“No,” she said around her ham and cheese and buttery bread. “I don’t.”
“You’re talking with your mouth full.” He grinned at her like he liked it, and Gina’s heart boomed heavily in her chest. She continued chewing, swallowed, and then took another big bite, her eyebrows going up.
“Fine,” he said with a sigh. “I was thinking about asking you if you still like hiking.”
Gina wished she hadn’t bitten off more than she could chew. She nodded emphatically, her jaw starting to hurt.
Blake nodded too and ducked his head. He wore his cowboy hat, a dark brown thing that had an extra-wide brim, and Gina had always had a soft spot for cowboys.Not true, she thought.You have a soft spot for Blake Stewart.
She finished her giant bite and looked at him. “What about you? Are there any new trails around here?”
“Not really,” he said. “But you haven’t been here for years.” He looked at her, his expression open and unassuming. “Maybe we could go on some of our former favorites.”
They’d hiked together in their young teens, before they’d started dating. Blake had kissed her for the first time out on a guided nighttime tour hike at The Discovery Center. After that, hiking with him held new meaning and she’d been so excited to head out into the hills.
“Yeah,” she said, her voice a bit pitched up. “I’d like that.”
Blake nodded again and took out his single-serving bag of chips. Being with him felt easy and natural, and Gina didn’t feel the need to stuff the country silence with words. After a couple of minutes, he wadded up his bag and cleared his throat.
“Things went okay this morning?”
“Yes,” she said, hearing the trepidation in his voice. “Were you worried I’d quit?”
He chuckled as he slid from the top of the table. “I was, yeah.”
Gina eyed him until he turned to meet her gaze. “I told you I needed this job.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Why would I quit then?”
“I don’t know.”
She gave him a sly smile. “You’re still not a good liar.”
He tucked his hands into his pockets. “I just don’t want you to be unhappy here.”
Gina slid from the table too, wanting to reassure him but not knowing how. “Blake.”
“Don’t, Gina.”
“Don’t what?” She stood directly in front of him.
“Say my name like that.” His dark eyes blazed at her, and she saw meteors falling through the black sky.
The alarm on her phone went off, and she fumbled to get it out of her back pocket. She only had ninety minutes left, and she had almost fifty sugar cookies to decorate. “I have to get back to the kitchen,” she said, silencing the alarm and looking up at him. “I’m afraid I’ll get lost on the way. Will you take me?”
Blake’s expression softened as a beautiful curve donned his lips. “Yeah,” he said. “Let’s go.”
Gina thought the most natural thing to do would be to slip her hand into his, the way she’d done many, many times in the past.
Later, her mind whispered.Right now, make the cookies perfect.
CHAPTERSIX
Blake listened to his brother’s fingers strum through the melody of a song they’d sung together countless times. He met Kyle’s eyes, and the two of them smiled. Blake needed this right now. Having just finished lunch—and emailing Mayor Botswan that he couldn’t talk today—he needed something to soothe his nerves.
