Page 35 of Booked on a Feeling

He watched her eat, munching on one baby carrot at a time like a sane person. She made anehface—the careless shrug of facial expressions—and stuffed a whole Oreo in her mouth. That was how she always ate her Oreos—the whole thing in her mouth at once. Because who has the patience to carefully twist it apart, lick the cream off, and dip it in milk and shit? She didn’t.

Lizzy still had no idea how to deal with the whole eating-off-his-face thing. She took a stealthy peek at Jack from under her lashes. He seemed completely recovered from his earlier shock.

“Back to work.” She jumped to her feet and threw away the trash.

“Right.” He followed suit after a stealthy peek at her of his own.

They worked side by side, pretending like nothing had happened. That was fine for the time being, but she wasn’t planning on ignoring it. She needed to think through what the hell was going on with her when it came to Jack. Then she was going to do something about it, because ignoring it was not working.

Jack pulled up in front of the bookstore the next morning and stepped out of his car. He did some light stretches on the sidewalk as he waited for Lizzy to make her appearance. He finished his warm-ups and was about to check his watch when she trudged over from behind the building, covering a yawn.A smile spread across his face. He liked seeing her first thing in the morning with her cheeks softly flushed and her eyes still fuzzy with sleep.

“Wasn’t moving all those bookshelves yesterday enough exercise?” she grumbled. “We should take today off.”

“You mostly exercised your vocal cords, telling the rest of us what to do.” Thatwasrather annoying, but truth be told, it did very little to further the progress of Option Two. Being bossy was a part of Lizzy—a part of her overall wonderfulness. “Besides, it’s not good to spend all day inside the bookstore. We need some fresh air and sunlight.”

“I have an idea.” She brightened up. “We could have breakfast somewhere with an outdoor terrace.”

“I’ll make you a deal. We’ll do our morning run, then have breakfast on a terrace.”

“Talk about bossy.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Anyway, why are we meeting here today? Are we going to jog around downtown?”

“Nope. That’s not a bad idea for next time, though.” He opened the passenger door and motioned for her to get in. “I think you should enjoy all that Weldon has to offer while you’re here.”

“So we’re going to drive somewhere just to go running?”

He got into the car and started the engine. “Save your judgment until you’ve experienced it.”

“Care to share where we’re going?” she asked as she buckled in.

“Not particularly.”

Cheerfully ignoring her indignant huff, he drove them to his favorite hiking trail. Lizzy was stubbornly mute during their short drive, but he knew she wasn’t sulking. She was just trying very hard not to badger him about where they were going. Evenafter they parked on the street and got out of the car, their final destination wasn’t visible. She was ready to burst. He couldn’t wait to see her reaction.

They walked through the woods for a few minutes until they came into a clearing. The sun cast its warm light across Kern River, and the sound of rushing water filled the quiet morning. He filled his lungs with the fresh, crisp air and felt his worries melt away.

“It’s beautiful,” she whispered, her face filled with wonder.

“Not feeling so judgy anymore, are you?” He smirked, feeling smug for putting that expression on her face. Well, the river was technically responsible, but he was the one who’d dragged her out here.

“Shove it,” she murmured benignly, her eyes scanning the tree-lined hills hugging the water from both sides.

“You’re welcome.” He tugged her lightly by the arm. “Come on.”

They walked in comfortable silence, listening to the river and soaking in their surroundings. None of the awkwardness and tension of the last few days plagued them. It almost felt as though things were back to normal. Where his feelings for her were buried so deep inside him that even he forgot sometimes.

But that was just wishful thinking. No matter how beautiful this morning was and how tranquil he felt, things were far from normal. His feelings rippled so close to the surface that she must’ve seen glimpses of them. How much he longed for her. How much he desired her. He couldn’t forget the tense, heated moments between them. He’d turned them over in his mind a hundred times, and he was almost certain they weren’t imagined.

Especially the peanut butter and jelly incident. That definitely happened. He could still feel the pressure of her fingerswiping against his lips and hear the soft pop her mouth made when she pulled her finger out of it.

His breathing quickened. He stole a glance at Lizzy and hoped she would think it was from the exertion of the hike. She didn’t seem to notice, though. She was busy keeping up with him—huffing and puffing. Lost in his thoughts, he’d picked up his pace without noticing. He immediately slowed down and turned to her.

“Do you want to take a water break?” he asked casually as though his heart weren’t bruising his ribs.Option Two. Option Two.Goddamn it, Jack.Option Two.

She stopped walking and held up a finger. After a moment, she wheezed, “Yes.”

He swung his backpack forward and handed her the extra water bottle he’d packed for her. He drank from his own bottle, then stowed it away.

“Thank you.” She handed him her bottle. “You prepared for everything. You’re like the room mom.”

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