Page 20 of The Christmas Blueprint

“Of course he does,” Killian said. “I don’t think I have the patience for it.”

“Perhaps patience you must create,” Sophia teased, remembering Killian had been intoStar Wars. “Zhang took it up when his grandfather came for a visit and then stayed. They mainly go to the driving range, hit two buckets of balls each, don’t talk, and then get tea at the Caffeinated Goat—and the tea is a blend Zhang’s grandfather created that Jas now sells so that Mr. Shi doesn’t open a tea shop in town, which he once mused about doing. Riley says they are so cutely hilarious together.”

“Maybe I will take up golf.” He couldn’t help his frown.

Sophia laughed. “Yeah, I can see you’ll jump on that soon.”

“I prefer more intensely vigorous exercise.”

“Like what?” Her expression was so open and animated, her eyes snapping with life that his mouth dried up.

Running, kayaking, mountain biking, and cycling the Burke-Gilman Trail in Seattle should have been what popped in his head, but they weren’t. Not even close. The silky ends of Sophia’s blue-black braids teased his arm as they walked, and he was all kinds of distracted, tempting him to take an icy plunge into Bear Creek that flowed alongside the path they walked, to corral his libido.

“Stuff,” he mumbled, wishing Sophia didn’t still disconcert him so badly.

“How enlightening.” Sophia laughed. “Let me text Starla at theBear Creek News Register. She’ll get right on your profile.”

“No, thanks.” He shuddered.

“That’s new,” Sophia teased. “You used to crave attention.”

Had he really been that much of a…a… He couldn’t even think of an appropriate epithet. “The usual.” He shrugged, feeling on the spot. “Mountain biking, trail running. Long-distance cycling.”

“Not that usual to me.” Sophia laughed again. “Enrique got me hiking in the woods, but it never felt natural. He was so fit and loved talking about how much you and Hunter and he had camped and hiked and rock climbed. I felt like I was intruding and holding him back.”

“I’m sure he never felt like that.” Killian couldn’t imagine not wanting to spend his free time with Sophia trying new things together.

“Maybe it was all me, but I was never one to embrace the burn. It was weird though—after Enrique died, I started running…okay, slow jogging in the woods that hadn’t burned that summer, and I got better and now I love it. At first it helped me to feel close to him, but now I just love feeling strong and a part of nature. Riley often runs with me, but now I go even if she can’t. I’m thinking about trying snowshoeing this year if we get a good snow.”

“I’ll go with you.” The invitation popped out of his mouth before he could stop it.

“Have you been?” she asked curiously.

“Yes, of course.” He desperately wanted to backpedal, and yet, Sophia shouldn’t go alone, not when she was inexperienced.

And beautiful.

He started walking again, faster this time. Why didthatthought pop? What did beauty have to do with anything? His attraction must be so painfully obvious.

“Enrique would have—”

“Stop right there.” She held her hand up like a traffic cop. She halted in front of him. “You are not going to friend me because of some bro code ‘watch out for the little woman left behind’ promise.”

“Umm.” Actually he had been.

“Enrique’s brothers already did their best shadowboxing routine. Four of them. Add in my brothers, and I can’t breathe.”

“You didn’t get all feisty with Riley running with you.”

“Riley ran with me because I wanted to run, and she wanted to support me on my quest for peace and acceptance and personal growth. She didn’t want to freeze me in amber.”

“Okay.” He held up his hands in surrender.

She narrowed her eyes. “Did Enrique make you promise to watch out for me if anything happened?”

“I plead the fifth for us both.”

“Some friend,” she drawled. “You stayed away eighteen months, Killian.”

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