Page 61 of Matched with Her Runaway Groom

I chuckle and ask, “What about you?”

“I’m reading a fantasy. It’s book five in a series I started a long time ago. I—” He stops mid-sentence because I reach out and pull the book toward me. And I’m now enjoying the sparks of energy still pulsing through my fingers after we touch.

“Isn’t this the series you started reading while we were, uh, whatever?” Why can’t I stop being so awkward about our relationship?

He nods. “I haven’t been able to read much in the past few months. There’s a lot to learn about the housing market and I’ve kind of thrown myself into learning it all.”

I sit back and give him a small smile, my brain replaying him curled up next to me for several nights in a row, reading the books from the series. He’d never been into books as much as he was when reading this series. Sometimes people just have to find their genre.

“Better late than never to enjoy a good book.” I give him a quick smile and lean back, opening my tablet and starting at the beginning of the book. It takes me a few minutes to get into the story and remember what happened in the last one I read, probably six to eight months ago.

Then it all comes back, the characters and the dire situation they’re in. I use my forefinger and thumb to squish my bottom lip together as I read about the witch heading into the vampire coven.

The sky darkens completely and I turn to see Landon watching me.

“What?” I ask.

“I’m just thinking about how happy I am that you’re here.”

“Really?” I want to agree and say I feel the same way, but I hold back instead. I can’t show him all my cards because there’s a little seed of doubt he could just leave again. And where would I be if he does?

I’m stronger than the last time, more sure of what I want, but my heart is a fickle thing. I just can’t afford to be sad for another year if things don’t work out.

No pressure. I need to remember there’s no pressure here. It’s not like we’re instantly going back to being engaged. We’re just enjoying a vacation together. Yeah, that’s doable.

He nods and lays his head back on the lounge chair. “Yeah, it’s helped me kind of take a break from work. I’ve needed it.”

“So what’s the plan then? Is Boston a waypoint to get somewhere else?” He hasn’t bought a house or found a place of his own, which causes me to worry that it will be easy for him to leave again.

There are several moments of silence, and I wonder if he even hears me. Then his head swivels in my direction.

“I’m not exactly sure about that. Roman invited me on the cruise because he’s heard good things about my work. But I don’t know what that means overall, to be honest. My immediate boss has been with the company since the Boston branch opened in the US two years ago.”

“Is he close to retiring?” I’m trying to picture the man who was at dinner the first night on the boat. He’s probably late forties, so not that old.

“I don’t think so. It’s all up in the air.”

I chuckle a bit. “Well, if you’re going to have a conference somewhere, this is the place to do it.”

He nods and gives me a half-smile, sending my heart into overdrive. “Have you fully recovered from the zip line yesterday?”

My cheeks burn as I think back to what happened after I got off the zip line. But that led to our second first kiss, so maybe it wasn’t all bad? “Yes. I’ve already crossed it off my list.”

“That’s good,” he says, but his tone is strangled. “Any other height daring adventures still on your list?”

“Not that I can think of. I’ll have to check it once I get back to the room.”

“When did you make it?”

I fake a cough, trying to decide how to answer that. “Make the list?”

He nods. Why can’t he just drop it? I can see how much it pains him to talk about. But then, maybe it’s a little payback for what I went through.

“Oh, after Hillary’s almost wedding. Tiffany reunited with Drew and then I invited my now roommates to move in. It was hard walking around an empty house all the time. Everyone was home that first weekend and Tiffany suggested we think of some ideas to get over you.”

“So the paint balling?”

I nod, trying to keep my smile in check for that one. “On the list.” I wait a beat and say, “Sorry again about hitting you in the chest.”

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