Page 77 of Love Me Dangerous

Zach and Hutch shake hands.

“Great to meet you,” Hutch says with a nod.

“Likewise,” Zach says, then nods at Ava. “You work with Sofie, right?”

“That’s right,” shereplies.

A volunteer named Frances climbs into the back of the donut buffet truck and waves us over. Everyone gathers around.

I offer Zach my pile of donut holes. “Hungry?”

His eyes light up, and he plucks a donut hole from my napkin. He bites into it, his eyes fluttering closed for an instant while he chews. “Are there more of these?”

I laugh. “I think so, but you better move fast. We’re about to start.”

He slips between two clusters of volunteers and returns to my side with four donut holes on a napkin. He pops one into his mouth and moans.

Thankfully, Frances has just said something that makes the crowd laugh, so I’m the only one who hears it.

This simple expression of pleasure should not make my thighs clench together. I shift my feet in the gravel to break the rising tide of desire pooling in my belly.

“They’re out of coffee, though,” Zach whispers.

“Happy to share.” I offer mine.

Our hands brush as he takes the cup, making that tingle stir in my belly.

Frances lays out the plan to collect the coils of barbed wire that were set aside during a series of recent work parties.

After, in the melee, Linnie races over. “Can I go with Maryanne? They have jellybeans.”

I lift my gaze to Maryanne’s dad. As if reading my mind, he gives me a kind smile. “Okay.”

“Yes!” Linnie eyes Zach, then gifts me a secret smirk before dashing off. She and Maryanne climb in the back of her dad’s big pickup.

Trucks rumble to life around us. Dustin and Frances in the rusty orange work truck cruise through the Forest Service gate, leading the pack.

“Hey, Zach,” Henry calls from the side. “We’re going with Frank and Hillary. You and Sofie want the truck?”

Zach snatches the keys out of thin air, then turns to me. “Looks like you need a partner.”

I watch his playful blue eyes for an instant before replying, “I guess I do.”

Zach escorts me to the passenger side of Henry’s truck and opens my door, making the butterflies tickle up my windpipe. I give Zach a look, but he’s wearing a playful grin. Inside, I buckle up and slip my coffee into the cup holder. Zach eases in and starts the engine.

We join the convoy of half a dozen vehicles behind Hutch and Ava. “Is Hutch in the Air Force?” Zach asks, nodding at the sticker in Hutch’s back window.

“Yeah, he’s on leave but we never know for how long.”

“Special Forces?” Zach asks, his eyebrows arched.

I shrug. “I think he jumps out of planes, but he never talks about it.”

“That must be hard on your friend.”

I gaze out the window. “It’s hard on all of us.”

“Have they been together a long time?”

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