Page 11 of Crazy for You

“But you do have feelings for him?” Carly asked.

Emma spluttered. “What? No! Like, of course he’s hot, and I’m sure the kiss would have been great, but feelings? No. No way.”

They were all staring at her. Gabby’s mouth dropped open.

“Whoa,” Carly said. “You totally do.”

Emma felt her cheeks start to burn. “Don’t be ridiculous. I do not have feelings for Ryan Blake.”

“Ever hear that saying about ‘the lady doth protest too much’?” Mandy said.

“Cut it out, seriously.” Emma gulped from her coffee and scorched her throat, making her sputter again.

“Interesting. Very interesting.” Mandy tapped her fingers against her lips. “Well, I’d say last night’s dare was a success. Now we have to keep the momentum going. You need an excuse to see him again.”

“I’m seeing him in a couple of hours,” Emma mumbled, still coughing. “I’m going out to Off-the-Grid to talk about spring landscaping.”

“That’s right,” Mandy said. She and Emma both worked at Artful Blooms Landscape Designs and often helped each other out on projects. “But you need something more interesting than work. You need to get back on his bike or?—”

“Remember last night how you said you wanted a tattoo?” Gabby asked. “Ryan used to manage a tattoo parlor. It would make perfect sense for him to take you.”

Emma choked down the last bite of her cinnamon bun. “After last night? Definitely not.”

3

Ryan arrived at Off-the-Grid, bleary-eyed and buzzing with restless energy. The temperature this morning barely topped fifty degrees, but he didn’t care. He needed some quality time on the rock face before work to clear his head. He went into the closet for his Patagonia jacket and hat. No gloves. He needed full contact with the rock to climb.

Back outside, he hiked down the path through the woods, letting the exercise get his blood pumping. Fifteen minutes later, his favorite climbing spot came into view. Last night’s motorcycle encounter with Emma had left him off balance. She’d been drunk, but what was his excuse? He shook his head as he gripped the base of the rock and hauled himself upward.

He didn’t have one. Never should have happened.

He’d wanted to kiss her. Really wanted to kiss her. Would have kissed her if the damn helmets hadn’t gotten in the way. And now he had to figure out how to stop thinking about her in those jeans, wearing his helmet, on his bike…looking so goddamn sexy and windswept by the light of the moon. Because just thinking about it was turning him inside out.

The truth was, he’d been feeling unsettled for the last six months or so, almost since he’d returned to Haven. He’d picked up a few women right after he got back in town, but not in months now. And now, every time he closed his eyes, he thought of Emma.

He pulled himself up on top of the rock and sat, looking out over the forest. Around him, the trees buzzed with activity. Birds sang. Squirrels leaped from branch to branch. Ryan felt like the King of the Jungle up here. He’d missed this during his years on the road, missed having a place where he belonged. A part of him had always envied Derek for knowing what he wanted out of life. Ryan had felt more adrift than ever after his friend enlisted. But he had Off-the-Grid now, and no way was he going to fuck this up. Finally, he climbed down and hiked back to the office, ready to tackle the day ahead. He went in through the back door.

“There’s someone here to see you,” Ethan called from the reception area.

Ryan glanced at the clock. It was just past ten, and already his stomach was grumbling for lunch. Clearly he’d gotten up too early this morning. Or gone to bed too late last night. Or a combination of both. “A vendor?” he asked. He wasn’t expecting anyone today other than…hell, Emma was scheduled to come talk about spring landscaping in an hour.

But Ethan was shaking his head. “Don’t think so. Looks like a teenager to me, but he asked for you specifically.”

“Might be looking for a rock-climbing lesson.”

“Could be. I’m heading out on the zip-line course with a group. Be back in a couple of hours.” Ethan headed for the door.

Ryan walked through the reception area and out the front door to find a kid standing there, hands wedged in his pockets, shoulders hunched, watching Ethan lead the group of tourists down to the zip-line course. Late teens maybe. Asian. He glanced at Ryan, then his eyes darted back to the zip-line group. They’d never met, and yet something about him was oddly familiar.

“I’m Ryan Blake. Can I help you?”

The kid looked at him again. He swallowed hard. “My name’s Trent. Trent Lamar.”

Trent. Ryan felt like he’d been slammed backward. It couldn’t possibly be. After all these years…

Trent shoved his hands farther into his pockets. “I, um, I think I might be your brother.”

Ryan hadn’t known his baby brother’s last name after the adoption, but shit. He didn’t know who Trent’s father was—or his own for that matter—but he knew his brother had Asian heritage. “Nah, man. I’m sure of it.”

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