Page 19 of Love By a Landslide

But then, a month ago, everything changed. And with each passing day, Lucy realized that she was happier than the day before. She was getting reacquainted with herself, rediscovering things she’d once loved but that had fallen to the wayside over the years. Turning thirty and getting dumped by Brodan had opened the door to so many possibilities. Cliché or not, she was genuinely finding herself and loving every minute of it.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

“Oh. I uh . . .” She glanced at the clock and realized she had spaced out for a solid twenty minutes. Lucy grasped for a topic other than the ones she had just been rolling around her mind. “What hike are we doing?”

“Mount Stuart,” Jonathan said, offering no more information than that.

“Wait. Mount Stuart? I signed up for the moderate hike. Isn’t that one in the ‘hard’ category?”

“You specifically signed up for Mount Stuart. I reviewedthe paperwork last night. It would have been confirmed in an email about a month ago. I know this because Janet sends out confirmation reminders for upcoming trips.” His frustration was palpable. It made Lucy squirm with discomfort.

“I must not have looked at it very closely.” Lucy wracked her brain but couldn’t recall even a flicker of a memory of that specific email from Off the Beaten. Maybe it had been right after the breakup and she’d overlooked it in her distracted state.

“Well, you must have confirmed or Janet would have given you a call. She’s very meticulous and wouldn’t have skipped that step,” he stated, defensiveness for the older woman coming across loud and clear.

“I’m sure you’re right.” She assured herself the concession wasn’t her being a doormat. She just didn’t want him to change his mind and turn back around. Best to go with it. “What’s this trail like?”

His expression remained flat, but Lucy swore she detected a glimmer in his eye. “Mount Stuart’s a good one. It’s a challenging but beautiful spot. I hike it multiple times per year because it’s popular with our customers. There are cliffs, lots of wildlife, and an incredible view from the summit. And the snow just melted, so the wildflowers are everywhere.”

“Ok. Cool.” Excitement tingled along Lucy’s neck and down her spine. He was saying all the right things: cliffs, views, wildflowers. But in the corner of her mind, nervousness nagged at her, overshadowing her enthusiasm. Lucy was out of practice and didn’t really know what she was capable of anymore.

Suspicion dripped off every word as Jonathan asked, “Are you going to be all right with this hike? If you think it’s too much, we can head back to the office and I’ll issue you that refund.”

“No!” she blurted, nearly startling herself with the firmness and volume.Tell him, girl.“I came to hike, and that’s what I’mgoing to do. I only hope you can keep up.” She crossed her arms and shot a sly smirk at her guide.

Jonathan gave a derisive snort. “All right, John Muir, I’ll do my best.”

Chapter ten

Jonathan

Jonathan and Lucy pulled up to the trailhead a little after eight. Since it was early, the parking lot was still empty. He turned Betty into a corner spot along a row of boulders and got out. Lucy scanned the area as she followed. The lot was small, with only enough room for a few cars. Opposite the access road was a grassy clearing with a single picnic table and a rickety vaulted toilet.

“That’s my first stop.” Lucy chuckled, pointing to the outhouse. She held up her half-drained Nalgene and cringed playfully. “I’ll be right back.”

Jonathan watched her trot across the street. Nerves danced up and down his spine, pinpricks caused by anxiety, frustration, and a hint of lust. Ok, more than a hint. The drive out had been interesting, to say the least. Between the prolonged awkward silence and the idle chit-chat that meandered its way to Cynthia, the last forty-five minutes had been far from comforting. He didn’t like to talk about his deceased wife—especially with strangers—and it felt even more problematic discussing the topic with a customer he had a sex dream about that morning.

The next few days were sure to be a challenge. While Lucy was a bit on the quirky side, even when she was trying to assert herself back at the office, she was also adorable. And sexy. He would love to release the thick chocolatey hair from that swaying French braid of hers and run one hand through while he slid his other down and cupped her full . ..

Nope!

That’s the last thing he or his business needed. Keeping the hike professional was a necessity. People talk—customerstalk—and write reviews online. It would be a horrible idea to hook up with a customer only to have the whole thing spewed all over some blog, tarnishing the business his dad had built from the ground up.

Keep it light, keep it casual, and maintain distance.

Striding around to the back of the car, Jonathan pulled open the hatch to take stock of their supplies. All her gear looked brand new: backpack, trekking poles, boots. Everything was fresh and clean like it’d never been used. It called into question how experienced she really was. Perhaps she’d burn out before making it to camp, and this whole one-on-one-potential-clusterfuck could be avoided.

“Pump way too much then it’s rub rub rub,” she murmured.

“Huh?”

She vigorously massaged her hands together then held them up and wiggled her fingers. The antiseptic smell of alcohol wafted over to him. “Hand sanitizer.”

“Ah.”

A fat drop of water landed on the end of Lucy’s nose, and a little gasp escaped her parted lips. Jonathan’s blood warmed at the sound.Get it together, buddy.Craning his head out from beneath the hatchback, he looked up. Dark clouds were steadily rolling in, as they had been since leaving downtown, despite his weather app giving no indication of rain over the next few days. Maybe a slight drizzle would scare her away. Though usually, in Jonathan’s experience, the universe wasn’t so accommodating.

Jonathan glanced over as Lucy scowled up at the sky. Her pert nose scrunched up, a cute little sneer playing at her lips.

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