Just Try Me... Read online

  Rock looked over at the two of them and smiled.

  Lily waved and began the next omelet as she answered. “And where is it you want to be getting?”

  “Preferably in his pants.”

  Lily nearly dropped her pan, making Rose laugh. “Come on, I am not shocking you.”

  “No. No, you’re not, but jeez, Rose, at least wait until I eat something.”

  “Like you don’t want to get into someone’s pants.”

  Lily kept her eyes on the pan. “Not before breakfast I don’t.”

  “You’re not fooling anyone, you know.” Rose gestured with her chin over Lily’s shoulder to where Jared appeared from his tent; six feet of long-legged, leanly muscled, rumpled man.

  With eyes for no one else, he looked right at Lily, and Rose let out a low whistle. “Hold on tight, Lily, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.”

  Lily burned her finger. “Damn it.”

  Rose laughed softly. “So you’ve already been there, done that then?”

  “Rose.”

  “Come on, admit it. The sexual tension between the two of you is enough to ignite the treetops.”

  “That’s ridiculous.”

  “So you deny wanting him?”

  Lily turned away, but her bright-red neck gave her away. “I’ve got to get cooking,” she said.

  Rose laughed. “Honey, you know you already are.”

  YEAH, SHE WAS COOKING. Lily stole another peek at Jared. His lightweight cargos were neat and clean—how the hell did he do that?—his T-shirt wrinkle-free. She knew the outdoor gear was alien to the man who’d lived in an office for so many years, and yet he wore it as if he’d been born outside.

  He had something in his back pocket, something she’d bet money was digital, which would normally annoy her, but with him, it somehow made her sigh because it meant there was indeed a rebel in him.

  And God, she was such a sucker for a rebel.

  He was helping Michelle and Jack take down their tent, and laughing at something Michelle said.

  The sound of his amusement drifted over her, into her. In the past year he’d been to hell and back, and yet he looked so carefree, easygoing.

  He hadn’t always been that way, she knew that, he’d told her. People changed, and she knew that, too.

  Did she want to change?

  She was stubborn, set in her ways. A bit of a handful. How many times had she heard that? Her lifestyle didn’t exactly bode well for a relationship of any kind, and hell, she didn’t even know if he was interested in a relationship, but…but if he was…could she?

  Would she?

  God. It was a cool morning, complete with a chilly breeze, and she was sweating. “It’s hot already, huh?”

  Rose laughed. “Baby, that’s all man making you hot. Admit it.”

  “Rose.”

  “Admit. It.”

  Lily laughed. What else could she do? And Rose laughed with her, giving her a one-armed hug while still holding onto her plate. “Ah, look at that. You’re so pretty when you smile. You ought to try it more often.”

  When Rose walked away, Lily stared into the fire. Didn’t she smile all the time? Okay, maybe not.

  At least, not until the past few days anyway, because she felt as if lately she’d been smiling non-stop, at least when one certain man looked at her.

  “Hey.”

  Speaking of said man. He was standing right behind her, and she didn’t need to look down at her suddenly happy nipples to know that her body recognized him without even turning around.

  When she didn’t respond, he merely turned her to face him. Nope, no avoiding the whole morning-after thing, not with this guy. He was too direct for that.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  “Fine and dandy. You?”

  His mouth quirked. “Fine and dandy.”

  “Good, because we’re going canoeing. You’ll need every ounce of energy you have.”

  “I’m up for it. Lily—”

  She thrust a plate in his hands. “Eat.”

  “About last n—”

  “You really need to eat, because it’s a big day. We’re going to start at the northeastern tip of the Balsam Rim and end up at its southwestern reach. Hard work, but for a reward, we’ll spend the night on a precipice among giant spruce and Fraser firs. It’s unforgettable.”

  “Lily—”

  “Oh, and we’ll walk through a forest that only just barely escaped the saw during the area’s former life as timber-company land. It’s a gotta-see, so yeah, get eating. Grab some bacon.” She jerked her chin towards the tray, avoiding his hazel eyes. “There’s melon, as well. Do you like melon?”

  “Melon?” he asked doubtfully. “We’re going to talk about melon?”

  “Well, we could go back to the whole timberland thing.”

  He just looked at her.

  “Fine,” she said on a long suffering sigh. “What else would we talk about?” Most men would go running now, she thought grimly. Yep, any second he’d do just that.

  But he didn’t go anywhere. “Gee, I don’t know,” he said dryly. “How about how much energy we used up last night, and how good it felt? No, make that amazing.” He stepped close, let her see the heat in his eyes. “It felt amazing, Lily.”

  She broke eye contact to study the fire. “I’d rather discuss food.”

  “Okay, you go ahead and do that. I can wait you out.”

  “Jared.” She closed her eyes. “We can’t do this now. I’ve got breakfast to serve. And then the canoe guy to meet on the river, and…”

  And she couldn’t handle talking about last night. She just couldn’t. She took a deep breath, held it, then slowly let it out. “And I don’t think talking about it is going to help.”

  Silence from Jared.

  “We’re both adults,” she said, filling it. “And what happened between us here in the mountains—”

  “Should stay in the mountains?”

  Her eyes flew open. Jared was gone.

  In his place was Jack, who’d clearly moved in close while she’d been talking to herself, and was looking pretty amused.

  Jared now stood on the far side of the fire, holding his plate, chewing on a piece of bacon, watching the flames.

  “Damn it,” she said, and ignoring Jack’s soft laugh at her side, she began another omelet.

  “Hey, someone should be getting some out here,” Jack said. “I’ve always wanted to make it in the wilds. Tell me, do you get mosquito bites in private places when you strip down, because—”

  “Jack?” she said sweetly.

  He shoved a bite into his mouth. “Yes?”

  “Shut up and eat.” She refilled his plate with more bacon and tried to pretend she wasn’t blushing.

  She also refused to look at him again, or at Jared for that matter, and spent the next half hour cleaning up. Then she made sure that Michelle ate so that she wouldn’t be able to complain about hunger a half hour down the river, that Rose didn’t eat Rock for her nourishment, that everyone was happy and content and ready to go.

  Because she was—at least the ready to go part. The happy and content? Not so much.

  WATER LAPPED at Lily’s canoe, which she was sharing with Jack at the moment. In front of her, Rose and Michelle, who’d not wanted to be with Jack because she wanted to sun instead of paddle. Ahead of them were Jared and Rock.

  Everyone was doing well, though her gaze kept straying to Jared. There was nothing more relaxing or soul-rewarding than canoeing down a slow-moving river—that is if she could take her mind off things.

  Hope this won’t affect our working relationship. Had she really said that? Yes. Yes, she had, and she winced at the stupidity of it all over again.

  Of course it was going to affect their working relationship. He’d watched her strip naked for him. He’d had his hands on every inch of her.

  And his mouth. God, his mouth. He’d had that on every inch of her, as well, and she was pretty sure she’d screamed his name.