Page 76 of Extreme Romancing in Idaho

I exited my trance and took a few steps to meet her under the awning. Lili and another nurse flanked her sides.

“Hey, Remi.” Lili waved, looking all nine months pregnant and wearing oversized scrubs.

“Hello, Lili.” I forced myself to look away from Angie and focus on her. “Did Blake get those cribs built?”

“He’s gotten one up. But the other one is giving him fits. I’ve heard more cuss words coming from the nursery than I do from his mechanic’s shop.”

I laughed and turned to the other woman standing with Angie.

“This is my co-worker, Gabby.” Angie motioned towards the other woman but betrayed herself and eyed the to-go bag I still held.

“Nice to meet you.” I nodded at Gabby, whose Latin heritage showed in her deep-brown eyes, black hair, and tanned skin.

“See you later.” Lili waved and walked into the parking lot.

“Until tomorrow,” Gabby said, walking alongside Lili—with round flecks of white paper floating behind her.

I looked from Gabby’s purse to Angie. She laughed. “It’s a long story.”

I handed the fast-food bag over to her. “I thought you’d be hungry since you didn’t have a chance to eat before you left.”

Walking to the bench situated under a large pine tree, she sat as she dug through the bag of food I brought. She pulled out the wrapped burger and gasped when she opened it. She took a bite without saying anything.

“I got you the bacon cheeseburger, but I know you don’t like the calories in fries, so I ordered you the sweet potato ones,” I chattered on and on while she took bites, chewed, and swallowed.

“Mmm … This is the best thing I’ve eaten all year,” she said between bites. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

I sat with her while she finished her burger, telling her about the day and the rooster attack I’d barely avoided. All at once, the desire to do this every day filled me. To come visit Angie at work or wait until she walked in the door and fill her in about the happenings on the farm.

My eyes constantly dropped to her lips. The longer I went without, the more I wanted to kiss her, yet I resisted the urge to tuck her under my arm and plant one on her. Why? Because friends didn’t kiss, and I needed to prove to myself I could be friends with a woman. I’d never successfully had a platonic relationship with one, and the challenge of it pushed me to try harder. Plus, Myles told me he didn’t think it was possible. What he didn’t understand was having Angie in my life as a friend would be way more tolerable than living without her.

This life was fiction, and as much as I wanted to act outLeave it to Beaverwith her, how did I think it would end? I fell silent as she told me all about the feud between her co-workers until she’d finished the last fry.

“Well, I better get back inside. I left Ryan alone in there.” She crumpled the burger wrapper and stood.

I followed her to the garbage and walked her to the front door. My hand itched to hold hers. Fisting my hands, I kept them by my sides.

“Have a great night saving those babies.” I moved in to hug her but paused when I got close. Our eyes met, and for the briefest second, she leaned toward me, her eyes half-lidded and glazed. I smiled and ran my tongue over my bottom lip. So, I wasn’t the only one still stuck in the memory of what happened on the side of that mountain trail.

She straightened and took a breath. “What’s in it for you?”

In it for me? “I didn’t want you to go hungry … I don’t know what I could gain—”

“No. Buying our property.” She spoke softly, but we still stood close enough I heard her words fine. “You’re putting a lot of effort into this. What do you get?”

My first instinct was to lie and say something like profit for the company meant profit for me. A friend wouldn’t do that, so I told her the truth. “I don’t like what I do. I’m good at it, though, which is why my father has made it nearly impossible for me to leave. He’s promised that if I make this deal happen, he’ll let me leave the company and give me enough startup money for mine and Myles’ business.”

I expected Angie to react in anger, but she became more contemplative. “What business idea do you have?”

“We want to open an extreme sports store called Texas Bros.”

I waited for her reaction, but a slight crinkle on her forehead and a nibble on her fingernail were the only indications she repressed her feelings.

I went on, “We’re working on the name. But if we open it here, we could also offer tandem jumps off the bridge.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “You’re thinking of staying here and not going back to Dallas?”

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