Page 12 of Those Who Are Bound

“Elliott!”

Jonah’s deep voice called out to her, an angry edge to the sound. Her heart nearly exploded, but not because of anything other than the reverberation and the unexpectedness of it. She stopped and turned.He walked toward her with determination, a frustrated look on his face. The driver’s side door to his Jeep was left open behind him.

In the few seconds he took to quickly—and seemingly angrily—approach, she ran through a catalog in her head, trying to guess what could have him running her down like this. The leap of her pulse wasn’t from excitement this time. Did he blame her for Lucy’s anger? Men did that sometimes.

Raising her chin a notch and dropping her right foot back, she shifted her weight, her fingers curling in as her arms tensed. If she needed to defend herself, she would.

Jonah ground to a halt. The reality of how he looked as he charged her down with irritation on his face must have registered. He relaxed his features, holding his hand up in a gesture of surrender.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I wanted to clear something up with you.”

Elliott frowned, wary, not letting her guard down. They had no business, so she wasn’t sure what he had to clear up.

“I’m not marrying Lucy.”

Elliott stared at him for a few seconds, the words echoing in her head before her expression fell into one of bafflement. Did they just break up? What the hell? Why was he telling her? Did he blame her? It wasn’thereyes all overhim.

Oh, wait.

She glanced behind him at the Jeep again before looking back. “I’m… not certain that concerns me. Pretty sure it doesn’t.”

Head tilted down, he chuckled, his entire demeanor morphing to amused. He looked up with a raised eyebrow, those greens returning to her with a teasing glint. “It actually does. Lucy unintentionally made it sound like she and I are a couple because of our history. Nothing could be further from the truth. Lucy’s my best friend; I’d do anything for her. But we’re just friends.”

Elliott watched him closely, stubbornly holding on to her resistance, although the adrenaline pumping through her shifted fromen gardeto thrilled. “Why are you telling me this? She’s my employee; her personal life isn’t my business.”

His smile widened into that knee-knocking grin. “Because I’m attracted to you. After what Lucy said, I realize that your irritation toward me is because you thought I was with Lucy but showing interest in you. Am I right?”

Damn, he was bold. She deflected, “You don’t even know me.”

“Well, that’s the whole point. I want to get to know you.”

Elliott blinked. She’d never known anyone to be so matter-of-fact before, as though he had no vulnerabilities whatsoever. Stunned, she opened her mouth to respond, but snapped it shut when the words weren’t forthcoming.

He asked, “Are you married?”

Elliott shook her head.

“Do you have a boyfriend?” he asked with a bit of certainty, but there was a tightness in his voice—he wanted the answer to this question to be no, too.

An image floated across her mind, so she hesitated; technically, no. Honestly, no.Actually, no. “It’s complicated” wasn’t an option for a yes/no question, and he wasn’t her boyfriend. Elliott gave a small shake of her head as though she reserved the right to change her answer at another time.

Watching her as closely as he was, he tensed at her hesitation, but his relief was evident when she shook her head. He relaxed fully. “Can I take you out?”

Elliott had to clench her fists to keep from raising them to her suddenly burning cheeks. The question also panicked her a little. Out, like a date. She imagined dresses and heels and a fancy dinner. She didn’t do any of that well. She frowned, unsure. “Um…” And then she tried to cover for her awkwardness with humor. “So formal, Mr. Montgomery.”

He shook his head. “Nothing formal.” He nodded toward her boots. “Are those for show, or do you know your way around a trail?”

Elliott looked at her hiking boots. “Well, I haven’t hiked the Appalachians, but I can hold my own.”

“Good. Tomorrow, six a.m.” He took a step back, his expression bordering on mischievous and triumphant.

Elliott blinked, not remembering that she had agreed to anything and pretty sure that going into the woods with a man she didn’t know would end up with her name appearing as a newspaper headline. Still, she responded, “I don’t own a lot of gear.”

He shook his head. “I’ve got you covered.”

She pressed her not-so-serious concern, “You want me to agree to go off into the woods with a complete stranger?”

A small grin formed on his lips. “Not a complete stranger. And Lucy will know where we are. Take a chance, Elliott.”

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