I didn’t even bother putting on shoes before choosing my course of action.
I was halfway down the dock when Jay lifted himself out of the lake and helped Luna up over the ledge. She shook off her soggy fur, then sat obediently next to him as he toweled her off.
“We needed a swim today, didn’t we, Luna girl?” he murmured to her. Then he grabbed the second towel and straightened from his half-bent position.
He had just lifted the towel to start drying off his shoulders when he spotted me coming toward him.
He didn’t say anything when he saw me heading his way. He just stilled for a brief moment, then continued drying himself off like everything was normal.
Except everything wasn’t normal.
He was shirtless and in his swim trunks.
And he was staring at me as I walked vehemently toward him.
I’d guessed he had some muscle from that brief workout I’d caught sight of a few weeks ago, but seeing him directly in front of me now, I would have had to be blind not to notice the ripples in his abdomen and the hard angles of muscle in his arms and chest. I averted my eyes, keeping them trained on his face, determined not to let the sight of him half-dressed affect me.
“We need to talk.”
“Is everything okay? Did a breaker trip? Is the disposal broken?” he asked nonchalantly, and it felt like gasoline being poured on my already growing irritation.
“No, the disposal is fine, Jay.” My eyes narrowed as I stopped about two feet from him. His swim trunks were still dripping, small droplets of water splashing onto the deck, a few flecks of cold lake water ricocheting and hitting my bare feet.
“Oh. Well, I’m glad nothing is broken.”
Surely he could feel the emotion radiating off me. He was most definitely playing coy and pretending like nothing was going on. And I was officially over it.
“That manuscript meant something.”
He paused, the hand holding the towel at his neck suddenly going still.
“Did it?”
“Yes, it did. And you’re trying to make me believe it was nothing.”
“I’m sorry,I’mtrying to make you believe it was nothing?” His eyes widened as he let out a chuckle. “Oh,Amapolita.You’re the one who said you wanted to keep things neutral.”
“I know what I said, but?—”
“But what?” he asked when I trailed off again. His tone indicated a challenge, as if he were daring me to continue.
I huffed angrily. “I was trying to keep my distance and keep things professional. But somehow the more we’re around each other, the more I question why I’m doing it. And then right when I start to think maybe, just maybe I could consider something—” I paused, my cheeks heating. “You go and make me think that what’s happeningbetween us is actually just some figment of my imagination. And now I’m so confused.”
His eyes darkened, and his hand lowered from his neck. A muscle in his jaw ticked, and I could tell I’d finally hit a nerve. A few mumbled sentences in Spanish escaped him, confirming it.
“I know I’m not imagining it. There’s this thing happening, and no matter how hard I try to keep things professional, it just keeps coming up. And so I want to deal with it. I don’t want to keep pretending this doesn’t exist.” I gestured between the two of us. “I can’t do it anymore.”
Let him beat around that.
There was a long pause before he responded to my outburst.
“And you callmeinsufferable?” He looked up at the sky before letting out a sigh and a few more words I didn’t understand. “Hope, you think I’m playing some sort of game, but I’m not.”
“I’m not either!” I nearly yelled.
Luna, no longer interested in our argument, wandered off toward the house, leaving the two of us alone on the dock.
Surrounded by water and mountains, there was nowhere to run or hide.
