Page 21 of Unlucky in Love
She bristled. “You are not helping.”
“Look, I don’t mean to ruin the romance, but I’ve seen too many situations where women get tricked by someone who pays a little too much attention.”
Taylor rolled her eyes, though her chest pinched at the seriousness in his tone. “You really can’t let yourself enjoy a mystery, can you?”
He shot her a sidelong look. “Not when it involves you heading into the woods alone with a stranger waiting.”
Her cheeks warmed, though she fought to keep her voice breezy. “So that’s why you packed half a sporting goods store?”
Ryan smirked but didn’t answer, and she bit back a laugh.
By the time they pulled into the trailhead parking lot, the air had shifted, crisp and tinged with evergreen. Taylor inhaled deeply, nerves settling a little. She had come up here dozens of times over the years, sometimes with Emma, sometimes by herself. The lookout point had always been her place to breathe, to write in her journal without anyone looking over her shoulder.
She wasn’t prepared for how it felt to climb out of the truck and see Ryan already pulling a backpack onto his shoulders, steady and capable, like he belonged here as much as she did.
“You’re ridiculous,” she said as he handed her a walking stick he’d apparently stashed in the back.
“You’ll thank me when the trail gets icy,” he said.
She took it, muttering under her breath. “Bossy.”
“Prepared,” he corrected. His eyes glinted. “Big difference.”
The hike started in silence, their boots crunching over gravel and leaves. The bare branches overhead let winter sunlight spill onto the path, flickering across Ryan’s broad shoulders. Taylor tried not to notice. Tried not to let her gaze linger on the easy way he moved, like every step was second nature.
“You used to drag Emma and me up here every summer,” he said after a while, voice thoughtful.
Taylor smiled despite herself. “She complained the whole way. You bribed her with granola bars.”
“I bribed you too,” he reminded her. “You nearly fainted from heat exhaustion once.”
“Dramatic,” she said, laughing. “I was fine.”
“You were twelve. You got halfway up and declared yourself a martyr.”
Taylor’s laughter echoed through the trees, bright and sharp. She covered her mouth, but it kept spilling out. “I did not.”
“You did,” he said, grinning. “I carried your bag the rest of the way while you lectured me about how unfair life was.”
Taylor shook her head, smiling as warmth spread through her chest. She had forgotten that day, but now the memory tugged at her, vivid and bittersweet. Ryan had always been there, teasing but steady, the one who made sure she and Emma didn’t roll down the mountain or forget their water bottles.
They walked for a while in companionable silence, the kind that felt like slipping back into an old rhythm. Taylor let her gaze wander up through the trees, where the sky stretched pale blue. She thought about the note folded in her pocket, the promise of something waiting at the top, and her stomach fluttered.
“You’re quiet,” Ryan said, glancing at her.
She shrugged. “Just thinking.”
“About what?”
“About who could possibly think leading me on a scavenger hunt was a good idea.”
His mouth quirked. “Seems to be working.”
Taylor narrowed her eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’re smiling.”
She quickly wiped the smile off her face, heat prickling her neck. “I am not.”
