Page 66 of The Lost Book of First Loves

“If you get the itch to go hiking and Ali isn’t available, you can call me. I would be happy to go with you.”

Why had he said that? He should be doing his best to put distance between them. Instead, he was seizing every excuse to spend more time with her.

“That is a very kind offer, but I am already imposing enough by taking up your time and intruding in your personal workspace. I’m not about to ask you to babysit me on a hike.”

He pulled his own soup out of the microwave and went to sit across from her. “Don’t look at it as babysitting. I don’t. We would only be two friends taking a hike together.”

“Are we friends?” she asked, eyebrows raised.

He actually quite liked the woman, he realized. He would like to be friends with her, as long as he could manage to keep his unwanted attraction to himself.

“We’re certainly not enemies, as far as I’m concerned. And I would say someone who signs up to watch me work for hours is more than a passing acquaintance.”

At that, she laughed, her eyes bright and her tantalizing dimple flashing before it disappeared again. She was lovely. Not simply lovely. Breathtakingly beautiful.

He sipped at his water. He couldnotlet himself be interested in her. Juniper Connelly was only a transitory presence in his life, like the cottonwood puffs that only blew off the river-bottom trees when conditions were right.

In a few short weeks, once she regained her strength and adjusted to her sudden life changes, she would be returning to Seattle.

“There are some really pretty trails not far from here that aren’t very strenuous. The Mary’s Lake trail, for instance, is only about a mile hike, mostly level. It’s a pretty walk, especially this time of year, with the wildflowers coming out. We could even go this evening.”

“This evening?”

“Why not? Do you have other plans?”

She made a face. “No. Only with Carson’s journals. What about the rain?”

“It’s only supposed to be a quick drizzle. The trail might be muddy, but the sunset should be spectacular.”

“You’re serious? You want to go this evening?”

Suddenly, he found that he did, quite strongly. Even if she didn’t want to go with him, he might take Hank up on his own.

“It’s a beautiful place and not far from here. It would be a crime if you left the area without seeing Mary’s Lake at sunset.”

June took another spoonful of soup and he was gratified to see she was halfway through the bowl.

“I didn’t realize I would be breaking the law. We can’t have that, especially not when there’s a hotshot prosecutor around who is telling me I have to do it.”

“Anexhotshot prosecutor,” he corrected.

She smiled. “I would actually enjoy taking a hike. I loved seeing the waterfall, but we cheated and drove the Jeep right to it.”

“Great,” he said. “How about I pick you up around six? The trailhead is about a fifteen-minute drive from here. That way we should be able to make it to the lake before sunset.”

She shook her head at his determination, which, quite frankly, Beckett didn’t understand himself.

“Fine. I’ll be ready. Why don’t I pack some sandwiches for us, since you provided lunch?”

“Sure.”It’s a date.He caught himself before he could say the words.

It wasn’t. They were simply two friends taking a hike into the mountains so that one of them could see their beautiful surroundings.

“That would be nice,” he said instead.

They talked through the rest of lunch about other hikes in the area, about a trip she had once taken to hike to MachuPichu, about the gap year he spent backpacking around Europe and Australia with friends before he started law school.

It was comfortable and easy, confirming how much he enjoyed her company. Finally, they both finished lunch and she rose to take her bowl to the dishwasher.

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