Page 31 of Falling Inn Love
“Brought a friend?” she asks.
“Yep, this is Beth. She’s helping us out for a couple of months, but we’re trying to convince her to stay in Freedom Valley.” He winks at me.
“Nice to meet you,” I say. I’ll admit, the people here are so nice, it almost makes me want to stay.
No, you can’t stay, I remind myself.
“Welcome to Freedom Valley,” Kristi says. “It’s pretty great here, but I’m partial to it because I grew up here. Evan and I went to school together. What can I get you?”
“What do you recommend?” I ask.
“I’m loving the iced pumpkin chai right now.”
“Okay, I’ll have that, please.”
She looks at Evan. He says, “Black coffee. Make it a large, please.”
“How boring,” I tease, leaning into him.
“So, are you ready to see a few of the most beautiful parts of New Hampshire?” he asks, closing the distance between us. He smells so good. A spicy, woodsy smell. I stop myself from leaning too far and falling into him.
“I am. It’s so beautiful here. It will definitely be hard to leave.”
He pulls me close to his chest and wraps his arms around me, holding me tight. “Well, that’s my secret master plan. To make you fall in love with Freedom Valley and stay.”
My heart skips a beat when he says this. He doesn’t have to work too hard to make me want to stay; I already want to. The problem is that I know that I can’t, and this is not making it any easier. Maybe I’ll just give myself one day to pretend that I’m a normal Beth. A Beth who’s capable of falling in love again. One day won’t hurt, right?
I lay my head on his arm and look around. The coffee shop is packed with people chattering and drinking coffee and a few tapping away on laptops. It’s definitely giving me the itch to write. This might be a great place for me to come in the evenings and work on my new book. I write most of my novels on the road in coffee shops like this one, so it’s a relaxing space for me.
Kristi hands us our coffees. We thank her then head back out to the truck.
“Maybe we should have brought the puppies,” I say as I slide into the passenger seat. I’m already feeling attached to them and I want to spend as much time with them as I can.
“This hike would be too much for them. But when they get bigger, for sure, we can bring them. This spring, when the snow melts, we can take them all over the valley.”
“Sixty days, Evan. Are you trying to make me stay with puppy ransom?” I ask him.
“Who said anything about memakingyou stay? I’m going to get you towantto stay.”
I shake my head and groan, “You’re not going to make this easy, are you?”
“Nope,” he says, his green bedroom eyes darting a mischievous glance at me before putting the car into gear.
“Damn it.”
He smiles at me and takes a big sip of his coffee, his eyes never leaving mine as we pull out of the parking lot.
When we arrive at the hiking spot about twenty minutes later, I realize Evan was not exaggerating about how special this place is. “Wow,” I tell him as I take in the view. “Evan, this place is… I don’t have words. It’s so peaceful here.”
The sky is the perfect cornflower blue with the leaves in various autumn colors speckling the horizon with vibrant scarlet reds, honey golds, and forest evergreens. Giant boulders fill a part of the river below and the water shines like a gem.
Evan grabs our backpacks and lifts the straps of mine over my shoulders. “I know,” he says, then plants a kiss on my cheek as he clasps the straps together over my chest.
Heat rushes through me and I lock eyes with him, feeling where he just touched me, making me want more.
“Ready?” he asks as he slides his backpack on, grinning at me. He’s a little shit. He knows exactly what he’s doing.
Oh, I’m ready. But not for a hike. Evan is stirring up things in me I haven’t felt in a long time and they’re coming on strong. I want things from him today that have nothing to do with hiking.
