Page 82 of The Lost Book of First Loves

She licked her lips, telling herself not to be ridiculous. This was Xander. One of her dearest friends. He was too important to her. She wasn’t about to screw things up with him by allowing herself to suddenly develop romantic feelings for him and make things weird between them.

It was tough to remember that under the café lights and the star-speckled night sky.

“Are we still good to go on our trip?” she asked.

“Planning on it.” His voice sounded a little strange to her, but she put it down to the loud music and the echo up here on the roof.

“Lindsey is looking forward to a sleepover with Aunt Sylvia. She said it will be good for Jake to have the kids overnight,and she and Aunt Sylvia can paint their nails and watch rom-coms until the early hours of the morning.”

“Ooh. That sounds fun. Maybe I should ditch you and go get my nails painted and watch movies all night.”

He shrugged and his shoulder muscles rippling under her hand sent funny little tingles through her.

“Your choice. I’m heading up to the lake regardless. Though I will remind you the whole thing was your idea.”

She smiled, ignoring her inappropriate reaction. “I know. I was just kidding. I’m looking forward to it. Anyway, I happen to be a woman of many diverse interests. I can love having my nails painted as much as I love taking a horseback ride into the backcountry to catch Arctic grayling.”

He smiled. “I’ll pick you up at 7:00 a.m. on Sunday. Does that work?”

“Should be great. I still have to gather my gear, but I should have time tomorrow after work.”

He smelled really good, she couldn’t help noticing. Some kind of subtle aftershave, sensual and tantalizing, a cross between warm solar notes and the cold salty sea.

For one wild instant, she wanted to rest her head against his shoulder and sniff his neck. That wouldn’t make things weird, would it?

Before she could do something so reckless and irrevocable, the band announced they were taking a break, and Xander released her.

“Thanks,” she said, hoping she didn’t sound as breathless as she suddenly felt.

“You’re welcome.” Was it her imagination or did his voice sound more husky than usual?

When he returned her to the table, she discovered the three Danish tourists were still chattering with Tank and Smitty, and they all had fresh drinks in front of them.

Clint had moved their drinks to a small, more intimate, table in the corner.

“You should probably get back to your date,” Xander said.

She was reluctant to leave him, for reasons she didn’t understand.

Why did he have so many photos of her in his room?

“Right,” she finally said. “Thanks for the dance.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Give my love to Sylvia,” she said.

“I’ll do that. Have a fun night.”

She had no reason to feel so forlorn when he turned and walked back toward his table.

She felt breathless and sweaty when she sat down across from Clint. “That was fun. I’m sorry the band is taking a break, but I’ll be glad for the chance to sit and catch my breath.”

He smiled before taking another sip of his beer. “Looks like you and Xandork had fun.”

She frowned, annoyed at the nickname on Xander’s behalf. Seriously? They had been out of high school for nearly a decade. Wasn’t it time to move on and be adults?

“We always have a good time together.”

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