Page 62 of The Exception

He rolled his eyes and imitated her. “I prefer running on the treadmill because I can better manage my workout.”

She laughed and slapped his chest. “Oh, shut up. I don’t sound like that.”

“You do too.”

“Do not!”

He pulled his bottom lip between his teeth to stop himself from grinning down at her like an idiot, but it was too late for that.

“Either way, you’re a hustler. Admit it.”

She giggled. “I admit nothing.”

He was still holding her off the ground, but she’d stopped squirming and looked up at him with one of those megawatt smiles that crinkled her nose and made him feel like some kind of hero for putting it there.

And there it was again, the unbridled desire that lingered just below the surface whenever he was around her. It made him want to stop worrying about messing up the friendship that had come to mean so much to him and find out if she wanted to kiss him again.

Her eyes went a little hazy and like a reflex, his arms tightened around her waist. He shouldn’t read more into that look, but it reminded him so much of the one she’d had right before she’d kissed him before that he couldn’t ignore it.

“Here you are—oh my God! Sonya, are you okay?” Emma’s worried voice and the sound of footsteps on gravel pierced the little bubble he and Sonya were in.

“Put me down,” Sonya whispered, and he reluctantly complied.

Emma’s screech must’ve alerted everyone else in the cabin because they’d all made it out to the porch to see that the fuss was all about.

“Did you hurt yourself on your run?” Emma asked.

Sonya shook her head. “No, I’m fine. We were just playing around.”

Emma scanned Sonya from head to toe before looking to Trav for confirmation.

He cleared his throat. “Yeah. The only thing hurting is her pride for losing our race.”

Defiance filled Sonya’s dark eyes and Trav just grinned, knowing that would only rile her up more.

“I didn’t lose! He grabbed me like some kind of caveman so I couldn’t cross the finish line before him,” Sonya complained.

“Because she hustled me by pretending she wasn’t an outdoor runner.”

A laugh burst out of Emma. “Yep, you got hustled. She runs a 5K just about every other weekend in the spring and fall.”

“Ha!” Trav shot Sonya a vindicated smile and she gasped in disbelief.

“Em! You’re supposed to be on my side, remember?”

Emma shrugged and smiled a little sheepishly. “It’s true, though. The only place she won’t run is the beach.”

Sonya rolled her eyes and groaned. “That’s because people who run on sand are asking for a twisted ankle.”

“Hey Emma,” Trav said. “I know Sonya is good at desserts but what’s her best dish?”

Sonya shot him a glare.

“She makes the best chili and cornbread I’ve ever had in my life,” Emma gushed. “We ask her to make it for us all at least twice a month in the winter.”

He winked at Sonya. “I’ll take that as one of the lunches you owe me.”

“We’ll see about that,” she snapped, but there wasn’t any bite behind it.

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