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He was a bit like magic in that respect, wiping away my troubles with a sweep of his arm around my waist, as he dipped me. His moss-green eyes pulled me in, and his laughing smile wouldn’t let me pull away even if I wanted to. And I didn’t want to.
After a few upbeat songs, the music slowed way down. Jax wiped his brow and pulled me close. “Thank goodness,” he said, his hands moving down my back. “I could use a break.”
“You should have said something.” I rested my hands on his shoulders, caught once again when his eyes met mine and held.
“I didn’t want to stop,” he said, pressing his fingers into my lower back and tugging me even closer to his hard body.
He felt good. Much, much too good. Anxiety snuck in, making me think about what came next. Did I want something to come next? No, absolutely not. I rested my cheek against his chest, knowing that was a lie. The closer we got, the more I wanted to wrap my arms and legs around him and hang on like he was the strongest tree during a hurricane.
But reality kept gnawing away at my dreamy mood. No good could come of anything with Jax. He was returning to New York, and I was well past my hook-up phase, which had been short lived and mostly unsuccessful. So, no fling. And Jax was definitely not the kind of man I needed for the long term.
Pissed off at myself for not being able to enjoy the moment and take it for what it was, I pulled away when the song ended. Harper and Raylen were setting the table while Addy set out a towering dish of corn on the cob. The sight and smell of my favorite foods couldn’t get me past how dangerous it was to spend more time with Jax.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and made a big show of looking at the time. It was only a little past eight, but I had to flee before I gave in to primal urges that I hadn’t felt so strongly in a very long time.
I made my excuses, saying it was going to be a busy day at Dr. Keller’s office, and I needed to get up earlier than usual.
“That never gets in your way of a good barbecue,” Harper said.
Jax took my hand, looking like I’d stolen his teddy bear. “You have to eat,” he said.
I shook my head. “Maybe next time. I just forgot how crazy it’s going to be tomorrow, and I really need a good night’s sleep.”
He already thought I was a Girl Scout, surely that was a good enough excuse. If he kept looking at me the way he was, I was going to cave. Then we’d keep talking and laughing and he’d either do something to piss me off again or worse, we’d get closer and closer until…
Pulling my hand out of his, I turned and all but ran for the front door.
Chapter 9 - Jax
I woke up in a good mood, probably from all the fresh air and outdoor activity, and decided I wanted to get more of it. I was sure I could find that scenic overlook that Luna took me to again. I drove our rental car to the base of the trails and parked in the same parking lot, certain I could find it if I started in the same spot. I also found a topographic map of the surrounding area in one of the drawers at the resort and felt confident I wouldn’t end up in an old mine shaft or need rescuing this time.
As I parked, I saw a small, blue car that looked like what I remembered Luna driving, and I almost turned around and headed back to the resort. We’d ended up having a great time last night, but I wasn’t sure I could handle her sunny disposition so early in the morning. I wanted to keep my good mood, not have it hammered out of me with all her hopeless optimism. Part of me thought it was kind of sweet how badly she clung to her lost cause, but most of me wanted to shake her and tell her to join reality. And I might have been a tiny bit put out when she took off before dinner again, cutting short my plans to get her alone for a moonlit stroll. She really put me on a roller coaster, and one that rode in the dark no less, never knowing if I’d be up or down where she was concerned. Now that my mind wasn’t addled by her soft body swaying against mine, it seemed like it was for the best that we kept our distance.
The chances were low it was her car, and if it was, the chances of crossing paths with her in this vast forest were even lower, so I set off with my camera ready. Now that I was thinking about Luna again, my reason seemed to fly off into the cloudless blue sky above. Just seeing a car that vaguely resembled the one she drove, and I was back on the roller coaster. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to see her again. I even considered turning around and hanging out in the parking lot to see if she showed up. It had to be all that clean air messing with my ability to reason.
I headed onto the trail, snapping pictures of whatever caught my eye. The small ferns that grew close to the earth were still damp, and I crouched down to get a close-up of the beads of dew on the curled fronds. Imagining a runner colliding with my hunched form, I could almost hear Luna’s voice telling me to be careful, just like when I bumped into her. I straightened and moved onward and upward, putting her out of my mind, at least for the moment.
As if all that obsessing over her conjured her, she came jogging around the bend a few minutes later, looking as fresh as all the dew-kissed greenery surrounding her. A smile stole over my face until she clearly looked horrified to see me, stopping dead in her tracks and even checking behind her as if she could escape my presence. That was supposed to be my reaction to her, not the goofy grin I struggled to douse.
“Oh, hi,” she said, shuffling forward until she was a few feet away from me. “Good morning.” As polite as ever.
“Did you just get started?” I asked.
She shook her head, letting a few strands of her shiny curls fall into her face. My fingers itched to slide them behind her ear and continue tracing a path down her neck.
“I’m pretty much done with my run,” she said. “Just need to cool down.”
“Oh. Well, I’m heading back up to our spot,” I said.
She laughed. “Our spot, eh?” She strode forward and pointed me in the opposite direction of where I was heading. “Then you’ll want to go this way.”
“Damn it,” I said, pulling out the topo map and shaking it open. “How do you read these things?”
“Heck if I know.” She took it from me and folded it back up, looking like she was trying to make an important decision. “Come on, there’s another one that’s just as pretty and not too far from here. I’ll take you part of the way since I don’t have to work today.”
I gaped at her, not sure I heard right. “You left early last night because you said you had a busy day at work today.” She turned beet red. I’d caught her in a lie. It did sting a little, but her adorably bright red cheeks eased my ego a bit. She was clearly mortified. “I don’t know if I should take it personally or find it hilarious that Miss Loblolly’s telling fibs.”
Her eyes widened and the high color in her cheeks faded. “Don’t take it personally,” she hurried to assure me, as if I needed her pity.
