Page 173 of Heartless

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Sienna

“The banana pudding, please.Four slices for me.Thanks, Kira,” one of the Garretts said.

Kira, our server, giggled.“It’s our most popular dessert, and we only have three left.But we have a peach cobbler on specials.”

“Then, I’ll have three banana puddings and one peach cobbler,” he replied with a white grin slashing through his full beard.

I bit on my own giggle and leaned into Jake whose arm was curled around the back of my chair.

After a short but interesting plane ride, Jake had picked up his truck, and we’d arrived at his cabin a little after eleven.The cabin had gorgeous views of the mountain, a large living room with a fireplace, and two bedrooms.

Jake had gone straight to a meeting with his team, and I’d stayed back.I’d puttered in there for a little while before my lack of sleep of the previous night had caught up with me.So I’d crashed into a blissfully long nap on the sofa.

I’d woken up before he’d come back, gotten ready, and here we were in this lovely diner with his team.

I was sitting on one side of the rectangle table between Jake and Erica, a pretty woman with beautiful silk-like hair.A quiet man who’d introduced himself as Rob, but who everyone called Robbie, and the two Garretts had settled across from us.

And boy oh boy, Jake’s description of them had been spot-on.The two men were huge.Taller and stockier than Jake who stood at six foot-three, or thereabout.They both had bushy, brown beards and overlong thick hair.The only way to distinguish them was by the color of their eyes.One pair was a rich brown and full of laughter while the other was a pale blue, made more piercing by the thick, arched eyebrows.

Their endless teasing of one other and their good-natured bro-tittude made it easy to lob them into the same bag.They also seemed to truly enjoy the double takes many people made at seeing the twin-like, bearded giants.But there were subtle differences in their personalities.Blue-Eyed Garrett was somehow quieter and moved in a deliberate manner while Brown-eyed Garrett was full of unconcealed impulsiveness.

When our server asked Erica for her dessert order, she said, “Nothing for me, thank you.”

Blue-Eyed Garrett, who had his trunk-like arms crossed over his chest, said, “Kira, warm one of the puddings and serve it with half a scoop of vanilla ice cream, half a scoop of chocolate, sprinkled with caramel and a pinch of nutmeg.”

The oddly specific order brought a furious blush to Erica’s face.

The explanation came fast through Brown-eyed Garrett’s growl as he scowled at his doppelganger.“Why are you giving Ericamypudding?”

Blue-Eyed Garrett’s gaze slid to him.“Because you had half a cow for dinner.You’re not hungry, just greedy.And that’s Erica’s favorite dessert.”Without waiting for a response, he jerked his chin to Kira.“Bring us the peach cobbler, Kira.Six of them.”

This time, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud while Blue-Eyed Garrett winked at me.

As Robbie declined dessert, Jake’s rumbling voice caressed my ear.“Do you want dessert, baby?”

I aimed my reply to his ear only.“I’m in the mood for the banana pudding.What do you think?”

His chest moved under his silent laughter, and when our eyes met, I got lost in his.A warm shiver coated my skin, and I—

“Sienna, are you doing Erica’s first Artists’ hike tomorrow?”

I turned to Robbie’s wiry frame.“What’s the Artists’ hike?”

It was Erica who replied.“It’s a hike curated for people who are more dreamers than hikers.A couple of hours up on easy terrain and pretty views.My sister’s a writer, and she hates exercise, but she came with me one day, and she said it helped her creative flow.”She cleared her throat.“It’s just an idea, and it might not work, but—”

“It’s a good idea, Erica,” Jake said in a reassuring tone.

That sounded like my kind of hike.I shifted fully toward her.“How many people are going?”

“Nine people have signed up.The hike is designed for twelve people.”

I grinned.“So, you do have room for one more?”

“Are you sure, baby?”

Shoot.I’d forgotten about the whole bodyguard thing.I twisted toward Jake.“Will it be okay for me to do it?”