Page 49 of Bear In A Bookstore
The excitement in her voice was so worth it. Just wait until he showed her. Dumbfounded at his luck, he ascended as quickly as he could, his hands gripping the edge of the ledge as he hauled himself up and over.
A scent hit him full force. Male. Human. Angry.
Looking quickly behind Kora, he moved them both back farther from the ledge and surveyed the land. The scent had an aggressive edge from pheromones clinging to it. Someone was in a bad mood.
The bear inside him stirred.
He quickly unsnapped his harness to free himself. Kora was still holding the rope in her hands, watching him eagerly. He didn’t want to alarm her, so he didn’t mention the scent. It could be anyone. A hiker. A local out for a walk to clear his head. It didn’t matter. Desi could handle whoever it was.
Stepping out of his harness, he assessed a gusty billow of breeze that ruffled their hair. The scent was weaker now. Whoever it was had moved away.
Keeping an eye on their surroundings, he slipped the ring from his pocket and held it up. Kora dropped the rope, eyes wide. Gingerly taking it from him, she cradled it in her palm.
“Oh my God, you found treasure!”
He shook his head, still in awe of the whole thing. Kora held the ring to the light, and it struck him how precious she was. More than the ring. More than this whole damn treasure hunt.
A flicker of warning made the back of his neck prickle.
It was time to go.
Chapter Seventeen
“Youfoundhonesttogoodness treasure!”
Ben Rowe held the ring in awe. They’d stopped at the bakery after making a quick stop at Desi’s apartment to stash his backpack. He thought they deserved carrot cake after all his efforts, but sadly, Ben had no idea how to make carrot cake and Allie hadn’t told him not to make anything that wasn’t on the list she’d left him.
Kora made a mental note to make Desi some carrot cake.
He’d been nothing but wonderful to her, far more than she deserved, and he’d shown her an unexpectedly good time today. She hadn’t felt this light and, well, good, in a very long time. Her body and mind were energized. She actually felt carefree, as if all the weight she’d been carrying around for so long was suddenly just, gone.
Gripping the edge of the bakery case, she eyed the sweets inside trying to decide what to choose.
“Just keep it to yourself, okay? I don’t need every treasure hunter in town on my ass.”
Desi accepted the ring from Ben and slipped it in his pocket.
“Cross my heart. But you better tell your brother just in case I slip up and tell Allie.”
Desi rolled his eyes. “I figured as much.”
“What are you going to do with the ring?”
Now that some of the adrenaline was waning, she began to ponder the significance of Desi’s find. He could get it appraised and tested to see the age, value, and origin. But then what? Did it go to a museum or get put in a drawer somewhere to be forgotten?
“You mean, what are we going to do with it?Wefound this, Kora.”
She tapped her finger at a chocolate cupcake with a dollop of lopsided cream. Ben grabbed two and slid them to her on a paper plate. Her stomach clenched with hunger. When was the last time she felt ravenous like she did right now?
“Thanks for the credit, but I wasn’t the one hanging off the side of a mountain.”
She moved to a table while he grabbed coffees from the coffee bar. There were a handful of customers inside, everyone on their phones or faces hidden behind a newspaper. She almost felt like they were alone as they sat by the window. She slid him a cupcake while he handed her a coffee and their eyes caught.
Kora went still. So did Desi. A beat passed between them filled with electricity that tickled her arms and skittered hot over her flesh. He placed a hand on the table, tapped his fingers, and slid across the surface and over the back of her hand. Her breath hitched at the contact, breaths becoming shallow and slow. Desi blinked and picked up a cupcake.
Her stomach growled. With a knowing smile, he brought the cake to her lips. The frosting was so thick there was no way she could take a decent bite. Wrinkling her nose, she tilted her head to navigate the frosting when Desi gave it a little bump and smashed it against her lips.
She laughed and covered her mouth with her hand as she licked the frosting from her lips.
