They arrived during the post-lunch lull, so Simon greeted them right away, a sly smile creeping across his face when he saw the two of them together. But when he grabbed the manager, Elijah, he informed them apologetically that Larry had beaten them to it.
“Can’t wait for the pageant, though,” Elijah said with a grin. “I’m already working on my talent. Do you think we can get a half-pipe onstage?”
Merritt glanced at Niko, who was heading up the stage crew, and pressed her lips together in amusement when she saw him go slightly pale at the question. But, of course, since he was Niko, he smiled brightly and promised to see what he could do.
They had better luck at the massage and bodywork studio next door, where the owner pledged a full package of free treatments of everything they had to offer before the question was fully out of Merritt’s mouth. Even though Niko greeted her likean old friend, she seemed a little frazzled around Merritt, her eyes darting from Merritt’s face to various points around the room as they spoke, which may have influenced the generosity of her donation.
As they thanked her and left, it occurred to Merritt that maybe she didn’t actually need Niko there after all. She could’ve gone door-to-door and introduced herself and probably gotten similar results. But she was glad to have him by her side all the same, a familiar face that made everyone less suspicious of her intentions. If he trusted her, thentheytrusted her.
Niko suggested they try the Bluebird B&B next, where the owner, a sweet woman named Dolly, not only offered a weekend in their most expensive suite but insisted on giving them a full tour first, including the private balcony with a hot tub and the “designer showerhead”—whatever that meant—in the bathroom.
“And if you two ever want to stay here, I can get you a discount,” she said with a wink as she was leading them out. Merritt felt her face go hot, and she stared straight ahead, not trusting herself to look at Niko.
“Oh, uh. We’re just friends,” Niko said, sounding a tenth as flustered as she felt.
Dolly’s eyes widened. “Shoot. Me and my big mouth. Don’t you pay me any mind. Here, let me throw in some spa vouchers, too.”
Once they were back on the sidewalk, they paused, facing each other. When she met his eyes, she was overtaken once again by intrusive thoughts about the very un-friend-like things the two of them could get up to in that room. Maybe some of that showed up on her face, because he quickly looked away, running his fingers through his curls in a way that bordered onagitation. His gaze caught hers again, and he opened his mouth like he was about to say something, then hesitated.
“One more?” she asked.
Relief crossed his face, and he nodded across the street. “I think Ricky is working at the bike shop today.”
At Easy Riders, he ended up getting drawn into a long conversation with Ricky about the recent conditions of the local trails. Even though Niko tried his best to include her, Merritt spent most of the time standing there smiling vacantly—but she was stuck, because if she wandered off, she wouldn’t have contributed anything to this one at all. When Niko pressed him for a merchandise donation, though, he balked.
“I don’t know, man,” said Ricky, crossing his arms and glancing around the store. “My margins are pretty thin. I’m not sure I can swing it.”
“Not even a helmet?” asked Niko, though Merritt could see from his wince that he knew how weak a suggestion that was. “It’s, uh. For a good cause.”
Ricky’s brow creased. “I mean…”
“You could always donate your expertise instead,” Merritt piped up. Both of them turned to her in surprise, since it was the first thing out of her mouth in almost thirty minutes. “It sounds like you know these trails better than anybody. What about a guided trail ride?”
Ricky nodded thoughtfully. “You think people would pay for that?”
“Oh, for sure,” said Niko quickly, shooting Merritt a look of gratitude.
In the end, they walked out with the pledge of three separate hour-long trail rides for two—beginner, intermediate, and advanced—plus a free tune-up beforehand.
“I don’t know how to thank you enough,” Merritt said as they wandered back up the street. “I never would’ve been able to get all of these alone.”
“Sure you would’ve,” he said with a grin. “But I’m glad you asked.” He hesitated, like he was trying to work up the courage to ask her something—or maybe trying to convince himself it was a good idea. “What are you doing after this?”
Obviously, the answer was nothing, but since Merritt wasn’t sure what he had in mind, she wanted to be cautious. She couldn’t think of a lie fast enough, though, so she said, “Nothing.”
“Want to get a drink at Off the Rails? My roommate is bartending. My other roommate, I mean. Jo.”
“Oh, uh…I don’t really drink,” Merritt hedged. This seemed like asking for trouble.
“They have food there, too.” He could probably tell she was about to decline again, so he added, “This is how you can thank me. They’ll probably kill me for telling you this, but they’re a huge fan of yours, and they’ve been begging me to bring you around ever since they found out I’m working on your house. It would really mean a lot to them if you came.”
Merritt felt an unexpected stab of jealousy.
That was a piece of the puzzle she was desperately curious about. A guy like Niko could be getting laid every day of the week and twice on Sunday if he wanted. Of course, if hewasbanging half the town, she probably would’ve heard about it, but it seemed unlikely he was totally celibate. If Merritt wasn’t on his radar in that way—and the jury was still out on that one—she wanted to know who was, and what they had that she didn’t.
The idea that he was only getting close to her to score points with someone he liked made her queasy. But wasn’t that the feeling she’d been waiting for?
“Oh. Are you…” She trailed off, hoping he would pick up on the implication, but he just stared at her blankly. “…involved?” she finally finished, her cheeks heating.
