“Yes sir,” said Michael. “It would be my pleasure.”
––––––––
“HE’S JUST TEASING, you know,” said Amanda when they were seated at a table at the pizza place. It was a bit of a dive and the menu was limited to the basics, but the pizza was hot and fresh, and it was the only restaurant within a half hour’s drive of the shop.
She still couldn’t believe Michael had taken the time away from his gym to make the drive to the shop. She also couldn’t believe the deal her boss had given him. He talked like a bear, but he really was a softie at heart. None of that usually stopped him from protecting his pocketbook. He must really like Michael to be willing to offer him an extra discount.
Ethan never even bothered to come into the shop. He ordered all of his super expensive gear online, trusting the reviews of strangers on websites above her opinion. He hadn’t done more than send her a quickthinking of youtext since they broke up and she was pretty sure that was just to make sure she followed through on the competition. It embarrassed her a little to think they’d been together for almost half a year and their relationship mattered so little to either of them. She should have ended things a long time ago, as soon as she realized she and Ethan weren’t compatible.
Amanda shook her head to clear it. She didn’t want to think about Ethan now—not while she was sitting across from Michael and he was looking at her like she knew secrets he didn’t.
“He cares about you,” Michael said.
It took her a moment to realize he was talking about her boss. She tipped her head to the side in acknowledgment. Mr. Randolf was like everyone’s grumpy old uncle. He could be gruff and a demanding pain in the butt but she loved him like family.
“I’m pretty fond of him too.”
“It shows.” Michael picked up his second piece of pepperoni, folding the slice in half before taking a bite.
“He must have some kind of soft spot for you,” she said, shaking red pepper flakes and parmesan cheese on her slice. “I’ve never seen him so loose with his discounts.”
“I think that probably has more to do with you.”
“Doubtful.” She bit into her slice, letting the taste of the gooey, greasy cheese flood her mouth. There really wasn’t a more perfect food than pizza. She was almost Ninja Turtles-que in her devotion to the straightforward pepperoni.
“Think about it,” he said. “It’s like that enemy of my enemy quote, only reversed.” He took another huge bite of his pizza while she tried to puzzle through his answer.
“What?” She felt her forehead crease.
“Well, maybe not exactly like that,” he said with a laugh. “But it is related. Mr. Randolf cares for you, so he’s going to be more inclined to think good things about other people who care about you too.”
His gaze met hers—weighted and heavy—and for a moment, the words hung in the air between them.
“I’m one of those people,” Michael said, as if he needed to clarify.
She didn’t know what to say. Everything was happening so fast. Too fast for her comfort. When she woke up yesterday, she and Ethan had still been a couple. But another part of her, the part that had been fighting her attraction to Michael for weeks, couldn’t let him make himself vulnerable like that and not offer him anything in exchange. She couldn’t say the words, so she reached for his free hand, twining her fingers with his.
The touch acted as kind of an anchor and when his eyes met hers, she let go of her tightly held reins, sinking for a moment into the dark heat of his eyes. Her breath hitched and her body thrummed to life as desire coiled low in her belly. She felt more in the touch of Michael’s hand in hers than she’d felt in months, and she never wanted to let go.
AMANDA BOUNCED ON THE BALLS of her feet, trying to keep herself warm in the unseasonably cool morning air. It wouldn’t do to catch a chill before they even set off on the crazy challenge. She still couldn’t believe she’d agreed to the insanity—two nights and fifty miles through the Blue Ridge Mountains with God knows what kind of obstacles in their way.
She glanced over to where Becca waited by the car, wrapped in a heavy wool sweater and clutching a travel mug of something hot in her glove-covered hands. She’d done her events and didn’t have to compete again until the final relay run with the full teams. Her brother Gabe and his partner hadn’t been so lucky. They were the other couple competing for Bransford, but looking at Gabe, he didn’t seem fazed at all by the prospect of spending two days hiking and sleeping on the ground. If anything, his partner looked excited by the idea. She had that heavy lidded, glassy-eyed look women tended to get around her brother. Like their ovaries had hijacked their brains. Amanda wondered how long that would last faced with blisters and peeing in the woods.
“Hey there,” said Michael, coming up behind her.
He leaned in to press a quick kiss to her cheek. He’d been doing things like that all week and by now Amanda found herself completely on edge. He touched her hand, kissed her cheek, stroked her hair. Basically, he did everything but pull her into his arms and kiss her the way she wanted to be kissed. Every teasing touch ramped up her desire to the point that she practically vibrated when he was around. They’d gotten together at the gym to go over gear and strategy during the week, and he texted her first thing every morning and the last thing at the end of the day. The man was courting her, and it was driving her crazy.
It had gotten so bad that she’d started catching herself staring at his mouth, actually watching the man’s lips and imagining what it would feel like to have him kiss her. What he’d taste like.Would his touch be soft and tender or hungry and demanding? And most infuriatingly, what did a woman have to do to get him to actually kiss her?
“Sorry I’m late.” He nodded to her sister before coming to stand beside her, dropping his brand-new pack at their feet. “What did I miss?”
“Nothing. You’re not late,” she said, deliberately ignoring his mouth.
It was harder to not pay attention to the way his long-sleeved thermal stretched across his broad chest or the way the loose-fitting khakis hung low on his hips. Hiking behind him—watching his butt flex as he scaled the mountain—would tax her concentration beyond its limits. She was going to have to lead.
“Gear check-in is over there.” She motioned to the line of tarps off to the side of the clearing.
Gabe and his partner were already over there, emptying their packs onto the tarp with their team name and number on it. Looking at the gear spread out on the tarp, Amanda couldn’t hide her smile. Gabe’s gear was completely lacking in color unless black, tan, or OD green accented with camouflage counted, and it all had a utilitarian bad-ass bend. His partner, Natalie’s, stuff came in every pastel color under the rainbow. It was like the Easter Bunny met an agent of death. She was struck again by how little she really knew about what her brothers actually did for a living. She was pretty sure it was better that way.
