Page 8 of Love Me Fearless

She treats me to a full cackle before swimming back to the kayak. “Um, Hutch?”

“Yeah?”

“How am I supposed to get on?”

By kicking, she’s managed to wrap her arms across the kayak’s deck, but now she’s out of leverage. She gives another hard kick, but the boat’s too wide for her body and the force is all wrong.

Sure enough, the boat tilts like it’s going to flip upside down.

“Ack!” she cries over her splashing and the rubbing of her wet flesh on the plastic boat.

“Here.” I swim up behind her and grip her waist. “Ready?”

With a strong kick from my legs, I propel her out of the water. She lands on her stomach with a soft “oof,” bent over the boat, her ass in my face.

“Uh. Can you get a leg up?”

She complies, swinging her right leg out of the lake, splashing me with a face-full of water. The kayak tilts again, so I give her rising leg a boost. Thankfully, Ava’s too focused on her walrus impression mounting the boat to notice that I’ve grabbed her inner thigh, my thumb brushing?—

“You good?” I say, yanking my hand back.

The boat wobbles as she shifts into a sitting position. “Yeah,” she pants.

Though I manage to focus on my swim, the methodic rhythm fails to soothe my fractured thoughts. At least I emerge from the water with my muscles feeling spent.

Maybe that’ll help me get through this day without doing something stupid, like kissing my best friend.

Chapter Three

A collective sighrings through the crowd as Sofie and Zach kiss under the wedding arch. Guests jump to their feet, cheering and clapping.

After the bride and groom hurry down the aisle, the rest of us in the wedding party follow. When I meet Hutch, he slips his hand into mine. It’s such a simple thing, but my heart skips as we sashay down the aisle.

I’m already smiling and tearing up thanks to Zach and Sofie’s heartfelt vows, but Hutch’s big palm cradling mine turns the moment into something complex and heated inside me.

Something scary.

This strange energy has been building since I stepped over the threshold of our shared cabin. We’ve always been close, but this feels different.

Have I thought about something more with Hutch? Yes…and also…no effing way.

Yes because he’s hunky and sweet and funny and humble…protective and strong and thoughtful. Hard no because he’s a notorious player and sure to break my heart. Then we have his job, which he’ll never quit, and my goal to return to Finn River after medical school and someday settle down with someone who chooses me.

At the end of the aisle, we follow the others in the wedding party to the pretty spot on the edge of the meadow for pictures. Hutch hasn’t let go of my hand.

“You doing okay?” he asks, sending me a quick sideways glance.

His dark green eyes shine like shaded pools of tranquility. I blink and look away before I’m tempted to dive right into them.

“Such a beautiful ceremony,” I say.

Hutch swings my hand. “They make a great couple.”

Ahead, the photographer lines up several shots of Zach and Sofie with the rocky Bitterroots in the background while the rest of the wedding party hovers in the shade, heckling.

“Stop making me laugh!” Sofie protests through a burst of laughter, her shoulders shaking.

“Let me help,” Zach says, and draws her to him for a lusty kiss.

---