Page 47 of Cherry Picked
He looked down at them, bewildered. “You brought meWhat Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew? AndMr. Darcy’s Perfect Match? Did you get these at the library?”
“Not exactly.” I shrugged and poured cocoa into two mugs, making sure his was equal parts cocoa and mini marshmallows.
“Youdidn’tget them at the library? So, what, you just had these kicking around your house?” He laughed.
I ignored his question and handed him a mug of cocoa. “You’ve probably read them before. I just… I wasn’t sure how long you were planning to stay up here, and I didn’t know if you could charge your Kindle. I wanted to make sure you had what you needed in case you decided to be stubborn.”
“Thank you,” he said almost shyly. “This means a lot.”
You mean a lot, I wanted to say, but I held myself back.
Instead, I nodded and busied myself with reheating the sandwiches on the camp stove because I didn’t trust myself to look at him. Not when he was so damn sexy. Not when he was so damn close. Not when the rain had begun falling in earnest outside, creating the feeling that he and I were in a world of our own. Not when I’d missed him so damn much.
As I fussed with the sandwiches, he told me about his Save Fogg Peak Instagram, and I pretended I hadn’t looked it up and greedily scrolled through the dozens of pictures he’d already posted.
Then I told him that the diner had been slammed since Evola’s new surveying crew had landed in town two days ago, filling the Apple of My Eye Inn to capacity.
“Yeah, some of their crew has been hanging around up here, too,” Hawk said. “One of ’em gave me some trouble the other day. Nothing physical,” he added quickly when he saw my outraged expression. “Just telling me I didn’t have a right to be here or to post signs at Glassy Ridge, like he wasn’t aware that Evola didn’t actually own the land and the project hadn’t been approved yet. Means my protest is pretty timely.”
“That’s not okay. We should call someone—”
“No need. I mentioned it to Simon, and he took care of the situation and apologized to me on behalf of the company. He’s been really great about everything.”
“Oh?” Once again, mychalant-ness left a lot to be desired. “Has…Simon… been up here much?”
“A couple times. He’s been monitoring the surveying and touring around with some Evola bigwigs, and he’s stopped by to chat. I assumed he was a tool of the enemy at first, but… he’s fun to talk to and informed on the issues I care about. Wish he was a little more forthcoming with some of the reports he promised me on the environmental impact studies Evola is doing, but…” He shrugged. “He asked me to have dinner with him sometime, and I agreed.”
“Oh? Have dinner so you can… talk more about the development?” I kept my gaze on the sandwiches like they might contain the secrets of the universe. “Good. Glad Simon’s being helpful in a… professional capacity.”
Hawk snorted like he knew exactly what jealous thoughts were running through my head, and Hawk being Hawk, he probably did.
I passed him a sandwich. “Eat,” I said, rolling my eyes at myself.
Hawk didn’t say anything else about Simon. As we ate, he turned the conversation to Instagram and Austen and hiking with the Scouts, I found myself forgetting about my irrational jealousy and worries for his safety and drawing a deep breath for the first time in days.
This, right here, was what I’d been craving. Seeing Hawk smile. Hearing him download all the thoughts in his brain. Knowing that he and I were so close, nothing—and no one—could ever come between us.
It was perfect.
Or at least it was until I fucked it all up again.
When I finished eating, I looked around to take stock of our supplies. My gaze landed on the stack of things he’d brought to the cave before my arrival, which were laid out on a tarp on one side of the cave. There was a large backpack mostly filled with snacks and a few dehydrated meals, a bunch of protest signs, a small cooler bag, and…
“Hawk,” I said, interrupting his recitation.
“Uh…” He blinked. “Yes?”
Chill out, Jack.
Do not make this A Thing.
Do not start flinging around wild accusations.
“Why thehelldo you have a second sleeping bag in here?”
ChapterTen
HAWK
