They watched the pair walk away, then it was just the two of them again.
“Should we—”
“It’s getting—”
They both broke off and paused awkwardly.
“You go—”
“You can—”
They stopped again. This time, Jack kept his mouth firmly shut until Lizzy spoke.
“It’s getting late,” she said briskly. “We should get back.”
“Sure.” He tried to match her business-as-usual tone. “I’ll drop you off, then bring you a muffin when I get back to Sparrow.”
“Awesome. I’ll take a chocolate muffin.” She headed back down the hiking trail, watching her step this time.
“You mean the chocolate cupcake without the frosting?” he teased as he followed her.
“Yup, the breakfast of champions.” She glanced over her shoulder with a mischievous smile.
For a second—just for a split second, really—he wished she would trip again.
CHAPTER NINE
“For the love of God,” Lizzy muttered, leaning back against a bookshelf.
She’d considered tripping again on their hike back. It was only for a split second, but the damage was done.Oh, where art thou, self-respect?She buried her face in her hands. This wasn’t like her. She usually knew her own mind, but she didn’t recognize the confused mess she’d become.
Jack was her best friend. For twenty years, he’d been her confidant, her cheerleader, and her sounding board. Her anchor. He was still all those things to her, but now there was something else. Her heart skipped a beat every time she saw him, and her pulse raced whenever he was near her. She caught herself staring at him countless times like he was a magnet for her eyeballs.
She dropped her hands from her face and sighed. It was attraction, pure and simple. Well, it was complicated and potent, but it was attraction nonetheless. For the first time, she was seeing Jack as a man, and it was freaking the hell out of her.
And said man walked into the bookstore looking fine as hell.Thump, thump, thump.There went her ridiculous heart. Shewished she had a minute to compose herself, but the store was wide open without the tall bookshelves to hide behind.
“Hey. I brought one for Shannon, too.” Jack held up a white paper bag with the nameComfort Zoneprinted in pretty, purple cursive. “Is she in the back?”
“No. She went to watch Elliot’s school play.” Which meant they were alone.Thump, thump, thump.“We’ll save her one.”
“Or we can eat that one, too, and get rid of the evidence.” He wiggled his eyebrows.
“I like the way you think.” She grinned, reassured by the reminder that he was still a dork. “Do you want some tea?”
“I’d kill for some coffee.”
“No need to get homicidal about it.” She was intent on keeping the dorkiness going. It was safer grounds than attraction. “I’ll get you a cup.”
They sat down at their usual corner and munched on their muffins. She had her clipboard on her lap so she would have something other than Jack to stare at while they ate.
“What’s the game plan for today?” he asked, leaning over to look at the list.
“Umm…” She failed miserably at not sniffing him. He smelled so clean and woodsy. “Well, we need to finish putting away all the books. Then I want to go through the furniture Shannon has in the back room. See if we can bring some out to the front.”
“I’m at your disposal all day, by the way.” He took a sip of his coffee. “Today’s my off day.”
She glanced up from the list. “Your off day? Don’t you have errands to run and stuff?”
