Page 26 of Wild in the Woods
Gruff, ornery, off-putting. Not at all her type. Well, except for the sexy mountain man thing he had going on. She could get behind that. He was generous, intelligent, and obviously loved his family.
He’d given his mother an amazing gift with no strings attached. Everything her parents had ever done for her came with terms and conditions. Fox was everything the readership of Men’s Adventure magazine craved. Fit, adventurous, generous. The perfect hero.
The perfect man?
A queasy feeling went through her. She had to do this. This assignment came with conditions just like everything else in her life, but maybe when she was done, she’d take a hard look at herself and figure out what she wanted and if she could get it without worrying about letting other people down.
Bunny moved down the bar to help a new customer and Lulu took out her phone. She dialed Olive.
“Hey, feel like going shopping tomorrow? I need some new clothes.”
Chapter Ten
Asluckwouldhaveit, Lulu spied Fox’s truck pulling up to the Sticky Sweet Bakery the next morning.
How convenient, considering she was headed there for coffee to caffeinate before calling him to say she’d commit herself to certain death by taking his offer. The beautiful morning weather enticed her to walk from the hotel to the quaint downtown where she passed two more boutiques she hadn’t noticed yesterday, an artisan pottery shop, and much to her delight, the “Opening Soon” storefront for Cara Neal Designs that Olive would be running.
Touching her necklace made by the famous jewelry designer, Lulu’s mood lifted considerably by the time she reached the bakery. And then her insides went haywire when she noticed Fox’s truck.
Why did seeing him make her feel giddy? She hurried across the street at the crosswalk and approached him just as he parked. It was a bit past eight a.m. and the town were just coming to life. A steady stream of people filtered in and out of the bakery as people scrambled for their sugar and caffeine fixes before work.
The bakery was going to be busy, and she didn’t want to have this conversation with Fox in front of a crowd. It was better to keep the whole thing close to her chest. The more people who knew, the more she’d feel judged and that was an icky feeling she liked to avoid.
“Fox!” She trotted over to him.
He did a double take, then tipped his chin in greeting. Lulu’s body went on high alert as she stopped in front of him. He wore a long sleeve gray tee shirt tucked into old jeans and worn hiking boots with stained leather laces. A ball cap covered his beautiful dark blonde hair, but it worked. It worked very well.
She’d never liked a man in a ballcap until now.
“Morning,” she prompted when he didn’t say anything.
He glanced at his phone, made a face, and lowered it in his hand. The screen was pointed outward and had some kind of countdown ticker on it. Weird.
“I’ve decided to accept your offer. I’ll complete the seven-day course, and then we’ll do the interview.”
Thrusting out her hand to shake on it–because he totally looked like the kind of man who shook to seal a deal–she ignored the butterflies in her stomach and reminded herself she was doing the right thing.
He didn’t shake her hand. But he did look at her like she was nuts. “You’re a ride or die kind, aren’t you? You’ll do anything to get this story.”
Ha. She’d taken him completely by surprise. “Do we have a deal?”
He cocked his head. “Why do you want this so bad? Do you have something to prove?”
Ohhh,look at him stalling. He didn’t expect her to accept. For some reason, it made her want it a little more.
“I’m good at my job. Sometimes that requires going after things even when I don’t want to.”
“You can say no and not put yourself out there for something that clearly terrifies you.”
“Isn’t pushing myself through the fear kind of the point of taking one of your courses? Challenge is part of the process, right?”
He appraised her, then nodded as if there was no point in arguing. “Yeah. It is. Be at my place before sunrise tomorrow.”
He turned toward the bakery entrance, paused to check his cell phone when it chimed, then came back her way. Looking past her, he scratched his temple as if gearing up to say something that made him extremely uncomfortable. His hand brushed against hers when he lowered it. Tingles raced all over her skin. Jerking back, he slipped his hands in his jeans’ pockets.
Forget the tingles, she thought harshly. Focus!
“What?” She finally broached when he didn’t immediately speak.
