Page 76 of Most Likely to Fear Love

When he finally lifted his gaze to meet mine, that familiar wicked gleam was back in his eyes. “Unless you had something else in mind?” His hands squeezed gently where they still rested on my ass.

I laughed, the tension breaking. “Pancakes sound perfect.”

HARLE

Cassidy walked beside me, looking hotter than sin in her red negligee. I fucking knew those stockings would be the death of me, but no regrets. If my time was up, I’d die happy, that’s for sure.

The late afternoon air was fresh. Max and Buddy ran ahead of us on the trail, every now and then doubling back to check on us.

Suddenly, Cassidy bumped me with her hip. “Hey, Harle, wanna hear a joke?”

I raised an eyebrow, a grin already tugging at my lips. “Always. Hit me.”

She cleared her throat, putting on a mock-serious expression. “Why don’t skeletons fight each other?”

I played along, pretending to think hard. “Hmm. I don’t know, why?”

“Because they don’t have the guts.” Her eyes widened theatrically as she delivered the punchline, waiting for my reaction. She’d never looked more gorgeous.

I chuckled. “Fuck, that’s terrible. Absolutely awful.”

She beamed, clearly proud of herself. “Your turn. Top that.”

I rubbed my beard, pretending to ponder. “Alright, alright. What do you call fake spaghetti?”

She tilted her head, her eyes narrowing with suspicion. “I don’t know. What?”

“An impasta.”

Groaning, she rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. “Okay, that was worse than mine.”

“Hey, you asked for it,” I shot back, nudging her lightly with my elbow.

We walked a few more steps before she spoke up again. “Alright, I’ve got another one. What did the ocean say to the beach?”

“Hmm,” I hummed, pretending to concentrate. “No idea.”

“Nothing, it just waved.”

I let out another laugh, shaking my head. “You’re on fire today, Cass.”

She grinned, her steps a little lighter now, her eyes glancing over at me. “Your turn. One more.”

I chuckled, enjoying the back-and-forth, the way her laughter seemed to make the whole world brighter. “Okay, last one. Why did the scarecrow win an award?”

“Don’t know. Why?”

“Because he was outstanding in his field.”

She burst out laughing, “That’s so bad, it’s good.”

I smiled, watching her, feeling something warm settle in my chest. There was something about seeing her like this, so carefree, that made me want to hold onto this moment just a little longer. Just us, the lake, and the light in her eyes.

We walked a while longer, until I noticed Cassidy slowing down. Figuring it was the sandals she was wearing, I said, “You wanna head back?”

“Sure.”

As we turned back, I felt the almost overwhelming urge to reach out and take her hand. But I knew she wouldn’t want that, so I checked it, letting my hand hang loose at my side, my fingers brushing against my thigh instead.

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