The Lemon Sisters (Wildstone #3)(86)

Chapter 21


“Oh my God.”

“Actually, it’s Garrett. And shh.”

The four of them hiked Robles Canyon. It was a steady but challenging trail that had Brooke’s blood flowing and heart pumping in a good way. Before coming back to Wildstone, she hadn’t challenged herself physically in a long time. Her body was loving it.

“I want s’mores,” Mindy said, huffing and puffing. “I was going to resist, but I deserve them. I’m burning more calories than at spin class.”

Several miles up, they came to a trail that led to an area few people knew about. There were three waterfalls feeding a small hidden lake. It was still chilly at night, and the area was deserted.

Happy about that, Brooke smiled. “We’ve got the place to ourselves.”

“Because there’re no toilets or hot showers,” Mindy pointed out.

Linc leaned in and kissed his wife. “Our Hawaii getaway has both, I promise.”

They built a fire, cooked hot dogs and s’mores, and drank liberally from the bottle of Jack that Linc had carried in.

By ten o’clock that night, Brooke was feeling no pain, and neither was anyone else. She watched from across the fire as Mindy and Linc slow danced, swaying in a loose embrace to a symphony of the nearby water and the crickets protesting the night. Even from a distance of twenty feet, she could see how much they loved each other. They kissed with surprising heat before Linc boosted Mindy up into his arms and carried her into their tent, his hands sliding up her thighs and disappearing under her sundress as they went.

Brooke sighed and turned away, her gaze locking in on Garrett.

He held out a hand.

She slipped hers into it and together they made their way to the water’s edge, staring out at the small pool at the base of the first waterfall. The half-moon was partially obstructed by a few long, fingerlike clouds drifting over the night like a caress. The breeze carrying those clouds brushed Brooke’s face.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” he asked.

“Yes.” She tore off her top and shorts, leaving her in the bathing suit she hadn’t changed out of earlier. “Race you.” And she took off around the edge of the lake, heading for the rocky ledge on the other side, where once upon a time they’d often raced to the top and jumped off in tandem into the water below.

She heard him right behind her. She was fast, but not fast enough. He’d stripped down to his board shorts and passed her with what looked like ease. She didn’t sweat it. She knew she climbed faster than he did; she’d catch him on the rocks. And besides, the view from back here—watching that lean, toned body in motion, all those sleek muscles stretching and bunching—was making her more breathless than the run.

He beat her to the rocks, leaving her just beneath him as they began to climb, their puffing breaths making her laugh.

“Something funny?” he asked, spread-eagled on the rocks, head tilted up, searching for his next handhold.

“We’re getting old.”

“Bite your tongue, woman.” And then he proceeded to beat her to the top.

“Dammit,” she muttered, flopping over the ledge, lying there catching her breath. “I suck.”

“Only if I’m very lucky.”

She laughed, which backed up in her throat when he rolled to face her and tugged her into him. He wasn’t laughing—he was looking down into her face with a softness he rarely showed the world and a heated affection that stole her breath.

“You don’t even realize, do you?” he murmured.

“What?”

“You climbed up here without hesitation.”

She stared at him, stunned.

He skimmed the pad of his thumb lightly over her lower lip, watching the movement. “I’m pretty sure it’s because you were staring at my ass the whole time.”

“Hey, it was my competitive spirit,” she claimed. “I really wanted to beat you.”

“That, I buy.”

With a laugh, she wrapped her arms around his neck and tugged him over her. “But it might’ve been a little bit about your ass.”

His hands slid down and cupped hers. “The feeling’s entirely mutual.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” He stared into her eyes. “Neither of us are big fans of talking about our feelings.”

She laughed. “True. And . . . ? Because I definitely sense an ‘and.’”

“And . . .” His smile faded from his mouth but remained in his eyes. “I like this.”

She didn’t pretend to not understand. “Me, too,” she whispered, as a new emotion filled her. Relief. “So.”

“So.”

“Does this mean you’re my boyfriend?” she asked.

He wriggled his eyebrows. “Depends.”

She snorted. “On what?”

“Are you going to make me watch chick flicks? Are you going to steal my clothes? Make my lunches?”

She grinned at his teasing words, even as something quickened deep inside her. “Yes on the chick flicks. And I already steal your clothes. But it’s a hard no on making your lunches.”

“That part was just a test.”

“For what?” she asked.

He stroked the hair back from her face. “To make sure you’re really you. If you’d agreed to making my lunches, I’d have known you were an imposter.”