Page 18 of Wild in the Woods
"Is she mad at me or is she friendly?"
"Friendly," he replied blandly. “You’re afraid of dogs?”
Looking into the mug, she assessed the coffee and appreciated the rich scent of freshly ground arabica beans. Okay, good, they were on neutral ground. No mention of his rocking nakedness. They’d just act as if it had never happened.
"My parents didn't allow pets and none of my friends had them. I left for college right after high school and you can't have a dog in the dorms. I have limited experience with dogs.”
“What kind of parents don’t allow pets?”
Her forehead scrunched in instant defense. “My dad’s a neurologist and my mother’s a geneticist. My siblings and I were in every possible after school activity you can imagine. We didn’t have time to take care of a pet.”
He snapped his fingers again and Osprey finally went to lay near his feet.
Olive took a sip and relished the full-bodied coffee. “I didn’t come here to talk about me.”
“Did you come here to see me naked?”
She did a double take. Oh, so they were going to talk about it. “Ah, no. However I think it was a little worse for you than it was for me.”
He huffed a stunted laugh and drowned it with a drink of coffee.
“Since we’re talking about you,” she continued. “Let’s dig a little deeper. You’re an outdoor expert with ten different certifications behind your name that I can’t recall.”
She left it open ended so he could interject.
Their eyes met and held briefly.
He hitched a brow. “Why can’t we talk about you. Your childhood sounds fascinating.”
Oh, the master of diversion strikes again.
He was being sarcastic and the gleam in his brown eyes displayed he was enjoying himself. Fine, he wanted to be a jerk? She could play that game.
“Oh, you’re not jealous over the hours and hours I spent practicing the harp, are you? Or maybe my three years of Polish lessons, or that time my mother enrolled me in an elite ballet school to help with my body composition after I wore a scoliosis brace for five years, but I got kicked out for falling off the stage and breaking my arm twice. Same arm, exact same break.”
He stared at her. Now who was enjoying themselves?
She wagged a finger at him. “I know you’re not jealous of the time my parents put me in a summer baking class before they realized I have celiac disease and I threw up so much, I ended up in the hospital for three days and got a camera shoved down my throat to find out what was wrong. Come on. That’s something to envy, right?”
He blinked.
Lulu grinned and took another sip of coffee. “So, now that you know all about me, let’s get back to you.”
A pregnant pause ensued in which he finished his coffee and let the mug dangle off his finger before looking curiously at her.
“The harp? Were you also period acters at the local renaissance faire?”
They both laughed, unexpectedly, and it took Lulu off guard. Fox wore a genuine smile and she had to look away before she lost her breath.
“No,” she finally replied. “But if so, that might have been the most fun part about my childhood.”
The scent of soap and shampoo reached her. The scents were comforting, as if she could wrap herself up in him and be at peace. What would that be like, to be at peace? To not worry about making everyone happy, getting ahead, or beating her ex at his nasty games?
This porch was kind of nice if she was being honest. Save for the sound of the trees rustling in the wind, it was quiet out here. The air was perfumed with something sweet, and something else earthier. Brining the mug to her lips for a last sip, she startled to find something sloshing in the dregs of her coffee. A fly buzzed and whirled in an erratic backstroke.
She gagged a little and tossed the coffee over the rail. She took it back. All of it. It wasn’t nice out here. It sucked and she needed to get on with this, get the interview, and get home. The clock was ticking, after all.
“I’ll lay it all out for you, Mr. Mitchell.”
