“What’s that?” William asked.
“Grocery shopping for six.” She walked into the room. “I’m coming too.”
Leo’s whole body tensed up. “No. No way.”
“What, is this a no-girls-allowed thing?” she asked with a scoff.
“Yes,” Leo said, overlapping with William’s definitive, “No.”
She straightened to glare at him. “BUILD’s my baby, and Greener is technically a BUILD program. I want to go.”
William glanced over at him. “She’s got a point.”
“She doesn’t even hike!” he objected.
“Ahem.” She snapped her fingers to get their attention. “She’sstanding right here.”
“You’re right.” William ducked his head in apology. “It would be good for you to see the lessons in action. Also, you need a break. You’re working too much, boss.”
William winked, Faith laughed, and Leo knew he’d never survive an overnight hiking trip with those two. He wanted to be near her all the time, but not like this. Watching her and William joking on the trail while his nephews watched their every move? His stomach revolted at the thought.
Faith narrowed her eyes as she looked at him. “Why don’t you want me to go?”
“You’re…” He gestured at her, struggling to put it into words.
She was room service and aged whiskey, leopard-print skirts and high-heeled boots. She was the opposite of nature. What if she hated it, this pastime that he loved? Worse, what if she loved it and became even harder for him to resist?
His silence stretched long enough that a flash of temper crossed her face. “If you think I can’t handle it, just say so,” she snapped.
“It’s not that,” he said reluctantly. “But would you even enjoy it?”
It wasn’t the strongest rebuttal, and she grinned a shark’s smile at him, all teeth and menace. “A walk in the woods with you, Leonidas? What could be more fun?”
“You could get hurt,” he gritted out. Just the thought of her tripping over a root or a rock, scraping that soft skin, maybe even breaking a bone… He couldn’t bear seeing her injured on his watch.
William laughed, then unsuccessfully tried to turn it into a cough. “Starved Rock isn’t challenging terrain, right? And we’ll have kids with us, so we’ll be taking it easy.”
Faith pretended to buff her nails against her shirt. “I don’t mean to brag, but I do fifty minutes on my mom’s elliptical every morning.”
“You’re a natural.” William extended his hand, and he and Faith executed some kind of elaborate handshake ritual that involved clapping and snapping and finger-wiggling. It screamed ease and familiarity and hours together, and Leo was the asshole seething with envy over it when he should be relieved the program was in such good hands.
His jaw tight, he pulled out another excuse. “You don’t have any supplies. Overnight in the woods requires all kinds of equipment.”
“I’ve got plenty of extras,” William said immediately. “And so does Leo.”
Leo didn’t even try to hide his annoyance. “Dude!”
“It’s settled then.” Faith’s lips curled into a smug smile. “When do we leave?”
* * *
One weekbefore their camping trip, Leo found Faith and William in her office. She was sitting, and he had his hand on the back of her chair, leaning over her shoulder to point at something on her laptop screen. The casual intimacy of it created a hollow feeling in his stomach.
Faith glanced up before he had a chance to school his expression, and her own expression shifted from welcoming to questioning. Did she sense the jealousy dripping off him? Possibly. Her greeting was more reserved than usual.
“Hey.” She leaned away from William the slightest bit.
“Hey!” William’s greeting was effusive as always.
