Page 10 of Off Trail Love
“Yeah.”
“Are you looking for a new agency?” Fiona asks.
I shake my head. “I’m not really sure what I’m going to do. I was just let go last week, and then you texted about this trip. It felt like the perfect place to come and figure out my next step.”
She gives me a knowing smile. “You always did your best thinking in the mountains.”
Jack moves slightly, and his hand brushes mine on the table. It’s like a jolt of electricity buzzes through my entire body. He pulls his hand away, but it’s like I’ve got a trail of fire blazing up my arm. I don’t like him, though. I hate him, remember? That’s what I try to tell myself, anyway. But then he turns to look at me, and because we’re sitting so close, our noses nearly brush.
“I didn’t know you liked the mountains so much.” He still smells like the ocean and oranges, even though he spent most of the day on a plane or in a car. I want to inhale him, which is not even remotely appropriate. My stomach flips when he gives me his half-grin, a dimple appearing on his left cheek.
I lean back to put some space between us, but there’s a wall behind me. I take in a shaky breath. “I mean, you knew that the beach wasn’t my favorite place.”
His eyes soften. He’s completely oblivious to the way my body is reacting to his right now. “But that’s because the ocean is so massive. You always said you were afraid it was going to swallow you whole. And you hate the sand.”
I gulp. How does he remember that?
“I remember a lot of things, Mags,” he says, as if reading my mind. Okay, maybe he’s not as oblivious as I thought. He grabs his glass of water. I’m about to tell him to stop, because for some reason, him remembering my fear of the ocean is making my heart do weird things, like making me not want to prank him, when he takes a giant gulp.
Then immediately starts choking.
CHAPTER SIX
jack
I don’t knowhow or when she did it, but my perfectly fresh glass of mountain spring water now tastes like the ocean. I can’t stop coughing.
“Need, water,” I gasp, setting down my own glass and turning to the table.
A new glass of water appears and I take it gratefully from Fiona, who hasn’t touched her glass at all yet. I take a big drink, trying to wash down all that salt before turning to Maggie. Her eyes are twinkling with mischief. Gosh, that’s a sight I missed. If she didn’t completely hate me, I’d lean forward and kiss her right now.
I forgot how easy this was between us. The pranks, but also the glances and casual flirting. I don’t know how I could forget. Being in Maggie’s orbit is one of those things I never really had to think about, because it was as natural as breathing. Even if that means she’s dumping salt into my water.
“You alright there?” she asks.
“Never been better.” I wink and she turns away, looking back at the table. I did declare war—though I never specified what kind of war—and they do say that all is fair in love and war. By the end of this trip, I’m going to have her looking at me like shedid back in high school. Like a confession was on the edge of her tongue, but neither of us were brave enough to take that step. This time, I’m going to be brave enough.
The rest of dinner goes without any more pranks.
Unfortunately.
But near the end, Maggie touches my arm. I try not to lean into her touch. “Can you let me out?” she asks.
“Oh, right. Yes.” I slide out of the booth to give her room to pass. She heads in the direction of the bathroom. After a few minutes, I excuse myself and walk down the dark, narrow hallway that leads to the restrooms. Maggie exits the ladies room and freezes when she sees me.
“Are you following me now?” she asks, and I wish her voice wasn’t so cold.
“What did I do, Mags?” It comes out like I’m begging, like I’ll die if I don’t know what I did.
Maggie scoffs, then she steps right into my space, her face inches from mine, and I completely freeze. “You want to know why I hate you so much?”
I swallow, hoping I find my voice when I speak. “I think you loathe me, not just hate.”
Her nostrils flare in annoyance.
“You’re insufferable,” she says, but her hands come against my chest, and I hope she can’t feel how erratically my heart is beating.
“Why do you loathe me?” I ask, my voice oddly calm. Because everything about this feels right, her touching me.
