Page 30 of Extreme Romancing in Idaho

Once again, I read Remi’s scribbled words.I’ll make time.My gaze moved from his notepad to his face. He controlled his laughter, but barely. As per the usual, life was a game for him.

I glowered at him, instantly regretting it as pain pulsed along my hairline.

“No worries. I was hoping to see you next weekend.” Daniel ducked his head and peeked back at me through his glasses in a manner I found adorable. “Maybe we could meet? Like go on a date?”

“A date?” I repeated. This was exactly what I wanted. A fast relationship hopefully ending in a proposal. Then why did I feel pressure tightening my throat?

I glanced at Remi—my lifeline. He flipped his notebook around. I widened my eyes and slightly shook my head.

“Is that a no?” Daniel’s lips tightened together. A telling sign of his disappointment.

“No.” I focused on my screen. “My dog was getting into the plant.” I didn’t have a dog. Not since Kiba died. The lie slipped off my tongue fast. Pretty soon my life would be nothing but lies. “Sure. Let’s meet. We could go to the Bearded Axe next Friday night. Meet you there at seven?”

“Yeah. That sounds great!” Daniel sat up straighter and gave me a bright-eyed look.

I resisted my normal blabbering about everything in one breath. Smoot didn’t say anything either, so we sat in awkward silence until I broke. “Well, I have to go. The pipe on the farm won’t move itself.”

Remi silently laughed at me and shook his head. What had I done wrong this time? Next time we did something like this, I would avoid looking at him.

“Okay.” Daniel leaned closer to his phone. “See you in a week.”

Fireworks erupted inside me, only to be doused by a bucket of uncertainty. The last time I’d been to The Bearded Axe was senior year. I still remember Brady Vaus and his cronies singing the Jell-O theme song behind me after I’d thrown an axe. It hadn’t made it to the target. I’d walked out without picking it up and never returned.

Thanks to Remi, I not only had to confront one of my high school demons, but I also had to learn to throw a fetching hatchet. I hung up and chucked my phone at Remi. “You jerk.”

My phone caught him in his midsection, against his solid abs, then fell into his lap and skidded onto the rug.

“What did I do? I thought the call went well once you relaxed.”

“I can’t throw an axe to save my life.”

“It’s not that hard.”

“For you.” Thanks to Brady, all I could focus on when I threw anything was my jiggling underarms.

“Look,” Remi picked up my phone and handed it to me with a smile, “throwing an axe is nowhere near as hard as jumping off a telephone pole or walking on a wire thirty feet in the air. You’ve done both of those.”

“I’m going to embarrass myself.”

“We’ll practice beforehand. Don’t worry.”

Don’t worry,he says to someone with chronic anxiety.I couldn’t back out now. Maybe everything would be okay.

“So, you talk about me, huh?” He leaned forward on his knees, the pencil and notebook dangling from his hands.

“Only to complain about how annoying you are.”

“That’s not what Smoot said.”

“Shut up.” I touched my eyebrow, testing the bandage and questioning once again why I ever made a deal with a Loki. “Let’s focus on how I’m going to survive axe throwing.”

“Are you going to set up a guys’ night?”

“No,” I responded immediately, even though I knew I would.

I wasn’t a liar. Most of the time.

Chapter 11

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