“No, thanks.”
“I’m serious. I worked for a political campaign—”
“Yeah, I get it. You’re very smart. But I think I have more experience selling jewelry than you do, and I’m pretty sure it’s different than a political campaign.”
“But I was the social media manager, and I really know my way around a camera. Can I please do something to make up for being an asshole?”
Ross held out his hand. Mia hoped he was offering a handshake to say she earned the job as a temporary jewelry photographer. Instead, his facial expression excluded any of the joy which should come with an offer. Fingers beckoned for the return of his expensive camera. “I’ll just take the coffee. It’s safer.”
“But—”
“I don’t need your help, Mia. And, most of all, I don’t want it.”
Disappointed, she returned the camera to him, her confidence deflating along with it.
“Thank you.” Ross swiveled in his office chair away from her, setting the camera on the desk. “If you don’t mind, I need to get back to work.”
Mia stood, making her way to the door. “Okay.” There was one last thing she needed to say. “I’m happy you’re doing so well, Ross. I mean that.”
“Great. Thanks.”
Wedding cookies weren’t going to fix this.
Chapter Eight
It wasn’t unusualfor Ross to jog on the El Dorado Trailhead on his days off, but since Luna had departed, it had been a few weeks. Aanya did well enough to run the shop alone, and a break was in order. Ross and Hermes jogged past the towering pine and oak trees, the twisted manzanitas, tall grasses, and pink sweet pea vines. It was still early, and the sun’s rays were already beginning to warm the air around them. It was fall, but nature still had a few warm days left.
As he made his way along the trail, he lost himself to the music playing through his earbuds. These days he preferred any kind of background noise. If he had complete silence, his disobedient mind turned to thoughts he had no interest in entertaining.
He couldn’t stop pondering Mia’s offer since the day she invaded his office. Ross wasn’t sure if he was a stubborn ass or if his refusal made him smart. He’d like to believe it was the latter. He could at least admit that she had more knowledge on marketing than him. At least, this was the impression she gave. When she shifted into nerd-girl mode, she exuded a natural confidence, and he could never be sure about anything.
The truth was, Ross could use a different perspective since he preferred being in his workshop instead of trying to figure out how to create a website and make everything look good. Also, Aanya didn’t seem to be technologically advanced, and Luna was busy with her classes. But it was a continual blow to his ego when he found himself depending on someone else for help.
Plus, there was a small voice inside insisting it would be a mistake working with Mia, even at arm’s length. He couldn’t stop his mind from engaging in thoughts about how touchable she looked sitting in his office. Like he could hold her and become lost within the softness of her skin and hair and—
These types of thoughts were worse. He didn’t want them. Mia would stay in her world and he’d stay in his. This was how it should be.
Anyway, it didn’t matter how nice she appeared—he couldn’t trust her. Not again.
Ross was halfway on his return trip when he threw a glance at Hermes. Most of the time, even with three legs, one eye, and no hearing, Hermes did fine keeping up with Ross. But the dog was struggling today. His mouth lulled wide, his tongue close to scraping the pavement as the sides of his small body heaved with exertion. Ross jogged in place, giving Hermes a chance to catch his breath.
“Come on, boy. You can do it.”
Despite the encouragement, the dog made it a few more steps before lying in the middle of the trail.
“Okay, let’s take a break. I know it’s been a while since we had a run. We’re both a little out of shape.” He approached Hermes, pooling cool liquid into his palm from his water canister for the thirsty dog.
Hermes wasn’t the only one getting overheated. Ross removed his earbuds before taking a long drink himself and pulling off his T-shirt with the idea of fanning the fabric over the dog.
“Oomph! Ow.”
Ross turned his head toward the off-trail wilderness and saw a body slumped chest first on the ground about fifty feet away. He squinted through the shadowy tree line, and the identity of the person grew clearer. “Mia?”
She remained collapsed in the dirt. Her head eased in his direction as if she could escape detection if she moved slow enough.
“Mia, I can obviously see you.”
With this, she plastered on a sheepish smile, pushing herself to her knees. “Oh, hi, Ross! Isn’t this an accidental coincidence?”
