Page 9 of Choose Me

From the corner of my eye, I see him shrug. “It was last minute. I booked a flight late yesterday and got on the plane this morning.”

Quinn’s bedroom door slams, making me jump, and I stumble back. Erik’s hand shoots out to grab my arm. I flail, and like the totally awkward idiot I am, I fall directly against his very firm chest. Fuck! I shove myself back like I’ve been burned, eyes wide, as my lungs start to squeeze. “Sorry! Sorry. Sorry.” I have no clue what to do with my hands. I reach for him to… what? Brush off my cooties? Mortified, I jerk my hands back, but that looks like I think touching him is awful. I end up windmilling them around uselessly before shoving them back in my pockets. Jesus, can this be any more humiliating? My cheeks heat and I duck my head, wishing the floor would swallow menow. Shit. I’m such a fuckup. I gasp for air and hope to god I don’t pass out.

A single, large finger gently presses under my chin and I reluctantly raise my head, freezing as my eyes meet Erik’s intense blue gaze. “Hey. It’s okay, Jules.” His voice is gentle and soothing. “Take a breath.”

I nod furiously and gasp out a soft, “Trying.” He keeps eye contact with me, smiling encouragingly, and my heart rate slows. I try not to notice how close we are because that will only get me worked up again. I take a few deep breaths and try for normal behavior. “So, um, Stef didn’t know you were coming in?” It’s not much louder than a whisper, but he hears me.

“I didn’t really tell anyone. Not even my family.”

That’s odd. Right? Usually people tell their family if they’re coming to town. “Is everything okay?” Erik rubs his palms over his thighs and I immediately recognize that sign of stress. I backtrack immediately, dropping my gaze again, not wanting to upset him. “Sorry. None of my business. Forget I asked.”

“Jules, it’s fine.” He takes my hands in his much larger ones, and he must feel them trembling, but I don’t pull them back. “I have a business meeting.”

That’s surprising. Erik’s a wilderness guide in Arizona. What kind of business meeting would he have here? Unless… My head shoots up. “Wait, like a job interview?”

He tilts his head back and forth. “Kind of. But not like you’re thinking. I’m looking at buying into a hiking and camping outfit here in Seattle.”

I blink, trying to follow his meaning. “As an investment?”

Erik takes a breath and lets it out. “I’m moving back to Seattle.”

My brain stutters to a halt and I stare openmouthed, unable to make the words make sense. Not maybe. Not probably. He said it like it’s definitely happening. “Did you lose your job in Arizona?”

His wide grin is infectious, and my shoulders relax a bit as I tentatively smile back. “No. When I go back on Wednesday, I’ll give them my notice. I’m pretty sure this investment is going to be a good bet, and if that’s the case, I’ll be moving here and running the day-to-day operations, with the occasional guided hike or overnight camping trip. But if it turns out not to be as good an opportunity as it seems, it won’t matter. It’s time to come home.”

I’m stunned. Erik’s coming home to Seattle. To stay. Before my brain catches up with my mouth, I blurt out, “Why?”

He rubs the back of my hands with his thumbs, sending little jolts of electricity tingling up my arms with each stroke. I’m pretty sure it’s supposed to be soothing, but it only makes me hyper aware of him in a way I shouldn’t be, and ignites all of my nerves. “Things are calmer now. More settled. And I miss Seattle. I miss my sister Astrid, and Stef.” He squeezes my hands, and I raise my gaze to his. “I miss you, too, Jules.”

Shit. When did he get so close? “Me?”

“Yes, you.” Jesus, his smile is spectacular. My chest feels all warm and fuzzy, and my pulse races again. “Your sunshiny disposition, your enthusiasm. It’s nice to have someone who appreciates the outdoors like I do.” He grins conspiratorially. “I love Stef, but his idea of a great day spent outdoors is poolside, or riding down the coast in a convertible. I don’t have anything against those things, butyouget me on a whole other level. You understand my need to spend quiet time in nature.”

You get me on a whole other level.He actually said that out loud. All I can do is nod, because Erik gets me in that same way, like no one else ever has. Not even Stef or Quinn. I blink away the prickling behind my eyes and exhale loudly. He has no clue how much his words mean to me, or how much I wish he meant them differently. “I do.” I reluctantly pull my hands from his. It doesn’t seem right to keep them there when it means something very different to each of us. “So, why are you telling me instead of Stef?”

For a moment, he appears confused, like it hadn’t occurred to him that it might be odd. Then he shrugs. “I wasn’t going to tell anyone until I was sure. But now that I am, I’ll tell him tomorrow.” He takes my hands again, like he can’t help himself, and swings them in and out, nervously. “So, I have some time tomorrow morning, and I’d love to get outside before I head back to Arizona. Do you want to go hiking with me?”

“What?” The invitation is so unexpected, I’m not sure how to respond. “Me? Are you sure?”

“Yes, you, and yes, I’m sure.” He squeezes my hands. “Please?”

He’s so sincere that there’s no way I can say no. Plus, I really want to go. “All right. Yes.”

His smile is instantaneous and takes my breath away. “Is seven okay? We can hike first and then get something to eat, or if you’d rather, we can stop for breakfast and then hike. You pick.”

I try to tell myself it’s only a hike. Between friends. Who hike. It’s not a date. Or anything like a date. He’s not interested in me as anything but his outdoor-loving buddy. Maybe buddy is too strong a word. He wants to get out into the woods, and just happened to ask me to go with him. Alone. “Hike first is good.”

Erik stands and drops one of my hands, but keeps the other tucked into his as he pulls me toward the front door. “Okay, then. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

I follow him out of the living room and down the hall, not saying anything else, feeling like a complete dolt. He reaches for the doorknob and turns to me. “Okay, tomorrow.” I nod a few times, still unable to form words because somehow Erik has asked me to go hiking with him. What is even happening right now?

He opens the door and steps through, still holding my hand. “At seven.” I lean against the door frame and he backs into the hall, smiling that brilliant, heart-stopping, butterfly swooping smile, not letting go of my hand until he’s too far away to maintain contact. He strolls backward down the hall until he gets to the stairwell. With a quick shove, he throws open the emergency door and gives me a small wave. “See you tomorrow. Goodnight.”

I manage a ridiculously juvenile return wave and mumble out a quick, “Night, Erik.” He turns into the stairwell, and before the door shuts, I hear him skip down the stairs. I step back into the entry and close the door in a daze, unsure of what just happened. There is one thing I’m absolutely certain about, though. Sleep is going to be a long time coming.

4

Erik

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