Page 40 of Shifting Sands

“My little home is nestled among the huge trees on the back side of Buck Mountain. It’s a nine-hundred-square-foot house with knotty, tongue-and-groove pine walls.”

He stares at me.

I nudge his shoulder. “Stop it.”

“I can’t help it. You’re fucking beautiful.”

I bring my eyes to his. “I like this,” I say, surprising even myself.

He tilts his head. “What do you like best? The garage? The engine grease? The romantic ambiance of industrial lighting?”

I laugh. “No. I mean … this. You. It’s nice.”

He looks at me then—really looks. “Me too.”

There’s a pregnant pause. Silence stretches between us until he clears his throat.

“So, just to clarify,” he says, “I’m getting a brownie, right?”

I snort. “You can have them both.”

He grabs one and takes a bite and hums in satisfaction.

“Thanks for lunch,” he says finally, voice low. “Like I said, I have to work late the rest of the week, but I’d really like to see you again. If you’re free on Monday, I’d love to take you out on the boat.”

“You have a boat?” I ask.

“It’s just an old fishing boat. Nothing to get excited over. But it floats. And I’ll pack the picnic this time.”

“Sure. That sounds nice.”

He stands and offers me a hand, helping me up. “Awesome. I’ll pick you up at your aunt’s boat dock. I’ll text you the time.”

My heart does a little tap dance in my chest. I tell it to calm down, but it’s not listening.

We walk around the garage together, hands brushing, not quite holding. An engine purrs quietly, then revs in one of the bays.

He stops at my truck. “This yours?” he asks as he looks at the GMC Sierra 2500HD Denali Ultimate.

“It is.”

He lets out a low whistle. “That’s a lot of truck.”

I shrug. “I live on the side of a mountain. I need a lot of truck to get up and down it, especially in the snow.”

He opens my door, and once I’m seated, he leans in for a spine-tingling kiss before stepping back and shutting me in.

I’m in trouble.

Big, greasy, brownie-flavored trouble.

Brew

I’m working in my office when Heather opens the door and pops her head inside.

“Your friends are at table six in case you want to come say hi.”

I walk out to find Lennon and Amiya, Sebastian and Avie, and Anson and Tabby seated with dinner menus in hand. “Hey, guys.”

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