Page 31 of Endurance

“Oh, I think he noticed. I just don’t think he minded. He seemed comfortable around you.” She stopped walking and placed a gentle hand on my arm. When she looked up at me, her eyes were soft and filled with pride. “Seriously, Sloan. You were really great with him. When you and Colton were cleaning up, Rylee told me she was impressed with how you handled Eli. PR aside, you did a good thing today. You should be proud.”

I looked past her toward the entrance to the track, unsure how to handle the gushing compliment. I didn’t think I did anything special. At the end of the day, the sole reason I was here was for a PR stunt. Kallie was making more out of it than it was.

“Let’s just hope the morning papers have something nice to say.”

“Oh, don’t count your chickens before they’ve hatched. You’ve got a long way to go before all is forgiven,” she reminded me and took a step back. “I’m going to take off. I’ll give you a buzz later on today, and we can discuss your PR schedule for next week.”

“Wait. You’re leaving?”

“You didn’t expect me to stick around here all day, did you?”

“Well, no. I guess not. What are you doing after you leave here?”

“I’ve got some calls to make and research to do. I need to dig up info on local events that may be good for you to get involved in.”

“No rest for the weary,” I teased. “I guess I should be thanking you. I’ll walk you to your car.”

We stepped out into the bright sun, and Kallie pointed to the left. “That’s me right over there. The red BMW.”

“Nice ride, but I’ll admit, it’s not the car I expected you to drive. A car like that screams arrogance.”

“I’m not sure how a car can say so much,” she replied with a chuckle.

“A car says a lot about a person.”

“I’ll admit, it wouldn’t have been my first choice. It was what the rental agency gave me. At home, I drive a Prius. It’s better for the environment.”

“NowthatI expected. Saving the world one mile at a time, Kallie?”

She shrugged.

“Just trying to do my part. Taking care of Mother Earth is important to me. In fact, that’s why I’m a vegetarian. I originally went to college for Environmental Studies. I changed majors my sophomore year after I learned how small the job field was. Unfortunately, the government moves at a snail’s pace when it comes to climate change, and there’s not much money to be made in the private sector.”

“With all the talk about global warming, I think that will all change soon enough.”

“I think it will eventually, but opportunities wouldn’t have opened up before my student loan bills came due. Who knows? Maybe one day I’ll go back to school for it. But for now, Public Relations it is. I can’t complain, though. I love what I do.”

When we reached the car, Kallie unlocked it and moved to get inside. However, when she stepped back to make room for the door to open, she bumped into me and stumbled. Instinctively, I caught her by the waist, entirely unprepared for the electric current that began to sizzle at the point of contact. It surged through my veins, robbing me of breath. There was a pulsing—an invisible thrum—and I couldn’t be sure if it was the beating of my own heart or if what I felt between us was somehow its own living being. The soft scent of her hair wafted tantalizingly under my nose, and I felt her shiver. Despite the warm temperature, I could see goosebumps rising visibly on her arms.

She feels it, too.

“Easy now,” I whispered against her ear.

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t paying attention, and…” Her voice was breathy as she let the sentence go unfinished.

I knew I should step away or come up with something smart-assed to say, but I couldn’t break the searing connection. Turning her to face me, I boxed her in against the car with both arms. I didn’t want her to leave my side. I wanted her someplace where she couldn’t run so easily from me as she had last night. Something had spooked her on the beach. What it was, I didn’t know, but I wasn’t going to let her run off like that again. The very thought of her leaving—of not seeing her until tomorrow, or next week, or whenever the hell she deemed appropriate—felt like a sucker punch to the gut.

“I don’t want you to go home alone to make calls. Come to my place. We can make whatever calls you need to make together.”

She blinked a few times as if gathering her thoughts, then shook her head.

“Sloan, that’s not a good idea.” Gone was the breathy voice, replaced by her professional demeanor.

“Why not?”

“Because you and I…” She paused, seeming at a loss for words, before motioning back and forth between us. “I’ll be honest. I don’t know how or why, but things got complicated in a hurry. All I know is that we really need to focus on what’s important—and that’s cleaning up your image.”

“Right now, I don’t care about my image. All I care about is being somewhere alone with you.”

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