Page 16 of Begin Again

My words were muffled, as I dried my face with a hand towel.

“You said something about how you came here because of the scenery. I thought I could show you a few spots.”

Looking at Kaden, I raised one eyebrow. “Why?”

The fact that he could change so much overnight was utterly confusing to me.

Kaden just shrugged. “You don’t have to come. If you want, you can also sit around here and cry.”

Oh. My. God. Had he heard my little nervous breakdown last night?

He raised his eyebrows. “The walls are thin.”

“I was just—” I started, but Kaden interrupted.

“I don’t give a shit why you were bawling. Rule one,” he admonished me, as I pressed my lips together. Of course. “But if you’re in the mood to see a bit of Woodshill and you’re seriously into nature, come with me. I’m going out today.”

I swung around to face him as he followed me back to my bedroom. “You got me. But please leave me alone while I get dressed.”

His eyes twinkled. “I could help you.”

“Rule number three, Kaden,” I admonished, and even surprised myself at how well I managed to imitate his tone. Hopefully it would sink in with him, how ridiculous that whole thing was.

“No, I mean I could help you pick out what to wear,” he replied, without picking up on my joke. His brows knit, he walked over to my shelf and inspected my shoes. “You really don’t have any hiking shoes, do you?”

“Nope. I’ve only been in Woodshill a few days.”

He lifted up a pair of my heels. “But you have a hell of a lot of these.”

“You can’t have enough pumps.”

“I’m sure they look incredibly sexy, but I doubt you could walk for long in them.” He put the shoes back in their place and grabbed a pair of sneakers. They were old things that I only wore when I went to a Pilates class. “These will have to do.”

He set them on the floor in front of me and left the room. “Get a move on. I wanted to leave half an hour ago.”

He didn’t see me roll my eyes. On one hand it was nice of him to want to take me along, but on the other hand his domineering style was driving me crazy.

Still, I was secretly pleased to see something of the mountains that I’d only viewed from a distance or on the Internet. I put on a pair of jeans and a blouse. Then I tied the laces of my sneakers in tight loops and grabbed my purse.

When I entered the living room, Kaden was leaning against the kitchen counter. Seeing me, he frowned so darkly that I could hardly see his eyes. “Are you kidding me?” he asked, in disbelief.

“What?” I looked down at myself—not bad, if you asked me.

“Your top won’t work at all. It’s going to fall apart the minute you come near a branch. Come here,” he said and went into his room.

Taken aback, I followed him to the doorway.

He was standing in front of his dresser, rummaging around one of the upper drawers. As he reached, his sweatshirt slipped up so high that I could see a bit of his skin. A very nice sight. Especially when I let my eyes wander down below the waistband of his boxer shorts. My roomie had a very nice…

“Here,” he said and threw a gray bundle at me. Oh, God: Had he noticed me staring at his butt? “Put this on.”

I put my bag on Kaden’s desk and unfolded a thick hoodie with pockets you could easily sink your hands into. On the front was the masked face of Deadpool, which made me smile. Apparently, I wasn’t the only superhero fan in this apartment. “Thanks.”

I pulled my blouse over my head. Of course I was wearing a camisole under it, but Kaden’s eyes widened a bit, and I turned around. As I slipped into his sweater I took the chance to inhale at the collar. It smelled like Kaden. I grabbed my bag from his desk and turned to face him.

“Why on earth would you want to take a purse on a hike?” he asked, jerking his head toward my bag.

“Because I’m sure I’ll need money. And of course my phone. And lip gloss, tissues, and… ”

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