Page 16 of Love By a Landslide

“Talk about awkward, am I right? Regardless, I’m in a good mood, and I plan on facing the day with optimism.” He rambled on as he chewed.

“That’s nice, dear,” Janet sighed, lowering her glasses to hang from the beaded chain around her neck. She scooped up the novelty mug and tested a sip.

Jonathan walked through the doorway that led to the front lobby to turn on the open sign and unlock the front door. He called over his shoulder, “It’s only a couple of nights, and regardless of how obnoxious the lovebirds are, I can tune them out. Yep, I think it is going to be a relatively easy two thousand—” His voice trailed off, and he froze, hairs prickling up on the back of his neck.

It was her again.

That sexy little brunette was there. Standing in his lobby. Mouth agape with a fistful of Off the Beaten brochures. The same woman who was at The Rooftop the night before. Thesame woman who starred in his dream that morning. She wore an ungodly bright purple jacket and a tidy French braid. Jonathan registered the faintest whiff of pineapples and vanilla. He shook his head, scolding his senses for conjuring the delusion. But she was here, and his heart (and perhaps other parts of him too) leaped for the briefest of moments.

Then, almost immediately sank into his gut.

Oooooof course she’s here . . . one half of the happy couple.

The disappointment that washed over him was quickly replaced by embarrassment for the way he was talking a moment ago.

Janet stood behind him in the lobby.

“Jonathan, this is Lucy O’Malley, our first customer. She’s scheduled to be with you today.” Reaching up to pat his shoulder, the older woman turned and shuffled back into the office, taking a nibble of her pink donut and humming as she went.

Jonathan felt like an idiot. “Eh, ah . . . I’m sorry. Lucy.” He held out his right hand to shake hers while he rubbed the back of his neck with the other. “I’m Jonathan. Sorry about my behavior. It was rude and uncalled for. If you want to complain to my boss, you have every right. But that would be me, the boss, so feel free to let me have it.” On a whim, he contorted his lips into a self-deprecating smile and winked, hoping she’d forgive him for his misstep if he employed a little of Zac’s trademarked flirting.

With a playful grimace, Lucy reached out her hand and placed it in his. A light pink washed over her cheeks. “Not the best way to kick things off, huh?”

“Admittedly, no. But I’ll let you trip me a few times on the trail if it’ll help?”

“Hmm.” She tapped her finger against that plump lower lip of hers. “Tempting, but I think I’d prefer a fully mobile guide rather than stoop to petty revenge tactics. Besides, I can think of at least a half dozen ways to torture you without slowing our progress.”

Gulp. I bet you could.

A nervous chuckle escaped Jonathan’s throat. Realizing he was still gripping her hand, he released it and stepped back.

Distance. Need distance.

“Either way, it’s nice to meet you, Jonathan. I’ve been looking forward to this trip for months.”

He blew out a relieved breath. Crisis averted. The last thing he wanted was to have a salty set of customers under his wing for the next forty-eight hours. “We’re glad to have you. You just caught me before I’ve had a chance to drink my coffee . . . So,sorry again.” He stuffed his hands into his pockets and shrugged. “Where’s your husband?”

“He’s not—”

“Oh shoot, not your husband yet, that’s right. You guys just got engaged, right? He’s probably off grabbing you a latte or something,” he said, glancing out the windows and toward the nearest coffee stand. Already, a half dozen people were lined up.

“—here. I mean, we aren’t a ‘we’ anymore. We broke up a month ago, but I decided to still come on this trip alone, you know, like for a soul-searching thing. That’s super cliché, I know, but I wasn’t sure what else to call it. Anyways, I knew I couldn’t get a refund, and two grand is a lot of money to throw out the window.” She spread out her arms briefly. “So here I am.”

Heat flooded Jonathan’s belly, and a lump rose in his throat. His pulse thrummed in his chest, but this time, it wasn’t because of how attracted he was to this woman.

Clearing his throat, he crossed his arms over his chest. All his efforts at charm had dropped away, leaving only—what he hoped appeared to be—an emotionless resolve. “No.”

“No? No, what?” Her smile dimmed.

“I’m sorry, Miss O’Malley, but this trip is for two people. Off the Beaten does not offer guided tours for individuals without prior knowledge or approval.”

Bullshit.

He knew it was. The truth was that a solo hike deviated from his neatly mapped-out plan. It wasn’t that he was inflexible. Actually, yes, that was precisely the case. But it was for good reason. Jonathan planned every single excursion he guided in an almost obsessively methodical way. He mapped out weather patterns. He prepared for rescue maneuvers that involved the specific number of people who happened to be in attendance. Everything was expertly orchestrated. He made contingencies forhis contingencies.

Unless the contingency included guiding one little—albeit sexy—woman out into the wilderness, and the irony of that was definitely not lost on him.

It all boiled down to one thing: fear. He hadn’t led an individual excursion in the past four years and he planned to keep it that way. What if something happened to her and he choked and there wouldn’t be anyone else around to help? It would be his fault. He would be the one responsible.

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