Page 41 of Love in the Wild

Dang. How did this man, who was pretty much a stranger, have the ability to give her butterflies when he wasn’t even around? She really needed to get a handle on the inconvenient physical reactions to Gage. He hadn’t shown any real interest in her, and it was better if he never did.

Hadley: Working.

She fought the urge to ask what he was doing and pressed send without the question.

Gage: Where do you work?

Hadley grinned. She lived by a code of honesty, and being able to play this mysterious game with Gage was kind of fun.

Hadley: I’m not telling you that.

Gage: What if the guys at work ask? I should know things about my girlfriend.

Girlfriend? That was new, and just the sight of the word caused the butterflies in her stomach to switch into all-out riot mode.

Hadley: I thought we were just hanging out.

Gage: We took things to the next level today. You agreed to be my girlfriend.

Hadley sat up straight in the bed. “I what?” Her fingers typed furiously on the screen.

Hadley: Thanks for the heads up. I’ve been walking around all day thinking I was single as a pringle. What if I’d been out on a date with someone else?

Gage’s reply came instantly.

Gage: Are you dating someone else? Not gonna lie, I’ll be hurt.

Hadley dropped her phone on the bed and rubbed her hands down her face. “Gage is flirting with me,” she whispered.

Her phone dinged again before she caught her breath.

Gage: And jealous.

Hadley: You would not.

Gage: Would too.

Hadley looked around the room. There was no one around she could freak out with about Gage Howard and his super sweet flirting abilities.

Hadley: I thought you didn’t have girlfriends.

Gage: There’s a first time for everything.

“Cheese and crackers. I can’t believe this,” she whispered before flopping onto her back and shimmying down into a cocoon of blankets.

She had her thumbs poised to type some witty response when the phone rang. She jerked, and the phone fell onto her face, hitting her cheekbone with the corner. “Ouch!”

Rubbing the injured spot, she answered the call. “Hello.”

“Just calling to say good night,” Gage said. His voice was low and deep, dragging every word over her racing heart.

“This feels like a very boyfriend thing to do,” Hadley whispered.

“Really? I’ve never been a boyfriend before.”

Hadley rolled onto her side, keeping the phone pressed to her ear. “There’s a first time for everything.”

“Want to have a tailgate lunch with me again tomorrow? My treat.”

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