I feel like there’s a giant spotlight on me. Shaking my head, I drag my eyes back to Levi. “Trial basis. Right?”
Levi’s out of the chair before he answers. “Yes! I’ll go get some of his things, and we’ll get him and your truffles loaded up for you. Seriously, you’re the best. I miss spending time with you, Riley. Everyone needs a friend like you.” He scoops me into a big hug as he passes me.
“A friend who is also a giant sucker?” I tease, slapping at his back as he jogs away.
Austin laughs, shoving his hands deep in his pockets. “He’s been planning on asking you to take Becks for the last few weeks, you know.”
“Are you serious?” I half choke out. I throw my hands in the air. “And I told Jake you two were good guys.”
“We are,” Austin says with a wink before turning to Jake. “Hey, tell Travis I’ll be in touch soon. I may be jumping to his ship.”
Jake nods. “You may know him as a friend, but as an agent, he’s the best. He’ll do you right, I promise.”
Austin waves as he jogs away, following Levi to get our order—and my new dog—in the car for us.
What am I thinking?
Spinning back around, I collide with Jake, who is suddenly standing oh-so-close to me, and fall smack into his arms. His presence sends a shiver of anticipation down my spine. All I can see when I look at him are his lips. Beautiful full lips.
What is wrong with me? This is not like me at all. AT ALL. I don’t do this, I don’t obsess randomly over men I’ve just met. It’s bewildering to me, but that doesn’t change the fact that we’re still pressed against each other and neither one of us is budging.
“Hey,” he murmurs, putting his hand on my shoulder to steady me, as the other sweeps around and presses against my lower back. “You almost toppled over. You okay?”
“I ran into a wall. We’ll call it ‘Jake.’” I half-laugh and smack his chest with the palm of my hand a few times for good measure. “Seriously. You’re like a brick house. Did you know that?”
“It’s for the ice,” he says, chuckling.
My eyes have stayed focused on him, watching his face, so of course I see the moment he starts looking atmylips.
And it’s exhilarating.
A warm feeling surges through my veins, and I can feel the heat of his gaze on my skin, sending a flush creeping up my cheeks. Slowly, almost hesitantly, he reaches out a hand, his fingers brushing against mine with a featherlight touch. It’s as if he’s testing the waters, searching for some sign of permission.
And then, in a heartbeat, everything changes. With a surge of boldness, he closes the gap between us, his lips hovering just inches from mine. The air crackles with anticipation, charged with the promise of what could be…
“Riley! Are you coming out here or what?”
I shoot into the air faster than a firework on the Fourth of July when I hear Levi call my name. We’d barely recovered, with both of us taking a giant leap away from the other, by the time he’d kicked the barn door back open and come inside.
“Come on,” he says with a grin, holding up a leash. On the other end is one very happy Becks, who’s watching me with excitement in his eyes. “Becks is ready to rock and roll with you two.”
“Yeah, sounds good,” I mutter, wiping the perspiration off my hands and onto my jeans as I follow Levi out the door. I couldn’t even look back at Jake right now if I wanted to, for fear of something inside me imploding. “Ready to go, Jake?”
“You lead and I’ll follow,” he sings out nonchalantly as the three of us file out of the barn. His words, of course, make my anxious brain click into overdrive wondering if there’s a meaning to what he says.
Because there is something to this man that I need to figure out, and I just can’t put my finger on what it is.
Yet.
TEN
Jake
Less than twenty-four hours ago and I was almost kissing Riley. Moving through the aisles of the local grocery store, I can admit distraction. You kind of have to when you look into your shopping basket and find you have only managed to get three items on your list, yet you have fifteen or so scribbled on a piece of paper in your hands…and you’ve been standing in the same spot for almost twenty minutes.
Sighing, I put the can of corn kernels back I’d been staring at and holding onto like a life preserver. It’s not even on my list.
Thankfully, my phone rings. I feel like I need the distraction, from my distraction, right now. Glancing at my screen, I smile when I see it’s my dad.
