Page 39 of Novel Problems

“Oh. Sorry. I, um…I assumed we’d walk down together, but I can just head off now if you’d prefer,” I said, wincing at how awkward I sounded.

“No, no. Sorry, I thought you were going to go change first, but if you’re not doing that, then of course it makes sense for us to walk together.” George’s voice was friendly, and she was smiling, but I sensed some underlying hesitation. My chest tightened.It’s for the best, Hannah. You need to buckle down and finish that book, for both your and Barb’s sakes, not strike up a romance with your boss.

“I’ve got a tank top under my blouse, so I figured I’d be okay if I wore that and my shorts,” I explained. I’d also swapped my glasses out for contacts—I didn’t want my glasses ending up in the bottom of the Hudson.

An uncomfortable silence fell for a moment. I shifted my weight on my feet. God, this conversation felt markedly more awkward than the easy-going discussions I was used to with George.

“Well, should we head off, then?” George asked, her voice bright.

Shit.I’d forgotten to break the bad news to her. “Um…actually, there seems to be something wrong with Hugo. I was just making a mocha when the espresso stopped running. I took the portafilter out, and there’s no water coming out of this part.” I pointed to where the water usually ran.

“Shit,” George groaned, looking at the clock on the wall. We were meeting everyone down at the kayak rental at 3 p.m. “I’ll have a quick look and see if I can fix him. If you’d prefer to just head off now, that’s fine.”

I paused. Was George trying to encourage me to leave now to avoid walking together? The idea of walking down alone, when George would likely only be a few minutes behind me, didn’t sit right with me. I took in a deep breath and exhaled. Since the kiss last night, everything had felt off between us. While I’d been worried that pursuing anything with George might throw off the new life I’d been building for myself in Sapphire Springs, this awkwardness between us was threatening to do the same thing. Working at Novel Gossip, spending time with George and her friends, would be nowhere near as enjoyable if the warm, comfortable interactions I was used to having with her were replaced with these painful, confusing encounters. My throat achedat the thought. As difficult as the conversation would be, we needed to have it.

I swallowed. “That’s okay, I’m happy to wait. Let me know if I can help with anything.”

George’s face was turned away from me, gently inspecting Hugo, so I couldn’t see her reaction to my response.

“It might be an issue with the water pump. I’ll just text everyone to let them know we’re running late.” George shot off a text and then opened one of the drawers under the counter, returning with a screwdriver. She began taking the coffee cups off the top of Hugo, and I jumped in to help, relieved I could contribute.

Once Hugo was cleared of cups, George opened him up and inspected his workings. While I didn’t have a clue what George was doing, I was mesmerized by the intense concentration on her face as she carefully adjusted things—her lips slightly pursed, her brow furrowed, the way her arms moved, revealing lean muscles at various angles. I told myself I was standing so close to her, watching her so attentively, just in case she needed me, but the truth was I couldn’t look away.Seriously, why do I find everything this woman does sexy?

My eyes kept finding their way to her mouth, reliving last night’s kiss. My tongue darted out, moistening my lips, without thinking. I firmly pushed them together.Good Lord, Hannah. Stop salivating over your boss in public.I looked around Novel Gossip to check no one was looking at me. Thankfully, while a number of people were hovering near the counter, waiting for their takeout coffee orders, they were all engrossed in chatting with each other or checking their phones, not watching my visceral reactions to George’s hotness.

After a few minutes, George stepped back. “Okay, hopefully that’ll fix it.” She screwed Hugo back together, flicked the power switch on, and tried to get the water running again. It flowed out, just like normal.

“Great work!” I said, grinning with relief. “It looks like the citizens of Sapphire Springs won’t need to go uncaffeinated after all.”

George returned my smile and then turned to Ben, who’d been taking orders at the counter. “Are you sure you two will manage without us?”

“Of course!” Ben said as he shooed us out of the café.

As we walked down to the river, we chatted about comfortable topics, like how obnoxious Rory Goldsworthy had been this morning when he’d tried to send his brunch back for being cold because he’d been too busy watching YouTube videos on his phone to eat it when I’d delivered it steaming hot.

George didn’t mention last night’s kiss, and neither did I. I tried psyching myself up to raise the topic, but my confidence wavered. What would I say?Hey, you clearly think last night’s kiss was a mistake, and that’s totally fine. Can we just pretend it never happened?I swallowed. It would be much easier if George initiated the conversation. Maybe we didn’t need to talk at all. I was now so sure George wasn’t interested that I should just proceed on that basis. Why did I need verbal confirmation?

We arrived at the kayak rental, a rundown log shack next to the river, fifteen minutes late. Blake, Jenny, and Olivia were paddling around near the shore and cheered when they saw us. Blake and Jenny were sharing a tandem kayak. Olivia was in a single.

“A high school group just came through earlier, so we’ve only got tandem kayaks left. Is that okay?” asked a youngwoman behind the counter, wearing a redSapphire Springs Expeditionst-shirt.

George paused for a second, looking around almost as if she was hoping she’d spot two singles the woman had missed. My heart dropped.Yep, there is no need for verbal confirmation.

“That’s okay by me,” George said, shooting me a questioning look.

Memories of Tania complaining about my kayaking skills came rushing back, and I swallowed.

“Yep, that’s fine,” I said, hoping that my kayaking game had improved in the past four years. I had gone on a rowing machine a few times since then, so that might’ve helped. George, with her strong legs and arms, was probably an accomplished kayaker. Growing up in Florida she’d likely spent half her time on the water.

“Great! I’ll just have you sign the waiver and then grab life jackets and the kayak. You can either leave your phones on shore or put them into a waterproof bag.”

We opted to leave them on shore, stowing them along with my satchel and George’s wallet in a safe behind the counter of the rental shack, and then signed our lives away on what looked to be a very over-the-top waiver.

You agree to release, waive, and hold us harmless against any personal injury, death, or property loss arising out of or in connection with kayaking, including, without limitation, drowning, collision with other watercraft or stationary objects, overexertion, hypothermia, ingestion of polluted water, foot entrapment, dehydration, riverine fauna, and other wildlife.

“I didn’t realize kayaking was so dangerous,” I murmured to George as I leaned against the woodencounter, only half joking.What the hell type of life-endangering riverine fauna lives in the Hudson River?

A few minutes later, after giving us a brief rundown of the kayak’s features, including its reclining seats, the young woman pushed our kayak—me in the front and George in the back, both wearing blue life jackets—into the water.

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