Page 175 of Heartless

Chapter Forty-Three—No bugs

Sienna

Slumped in the passenger seat, I clicked my seatbelt in.“Even the sun wants to stay in bed.”

The rumble of Jake’s chuckle sounded its usual sexy and warm, but even that didn’t lift my mood.

With one hand on the wheel, he said, “Did you write last night?”

“Yes,” I groused.

“Baby, if you want to go back to sleep, I’ll tell Erica.It’s your weekend, and you make it what you want.”

As I turned my gaze to his barely suppressed smile, I could feel myself pouting, but I was too tired to care.“But I want to do the hike with other artists and see the beautiful views.And it’s Erica’s first project, and I want to support her awesome idea.”

He turned on the engine.“Are you sure?Last chance before I tuck you back in bed.”

The vision of him and me near a bed jolted me awake, shooting off the sluggishness that had laden my body to replace it with a wave of heated awareness.

I sat up.“I’m sure.”

Jake must have somehow seen it or felt it because his gaze smoldered before he put the car in drive and gave me his profile.

In what felt like not long enough, we arrived in the parking lot of a chalet-type souvenir shop named ‘Edie’s’.After I’d gotten out of his truck, Jake took my hand to lead me to the store.The air was crisp, the light was blinding, and the azure of the sky was simply splendid.So, I was glad for my leggings and the warm sweater I’d layered over my t-shirt.The jingle of the door and wafts of cinnamon welcomed us into the store.Oh yes.The store, a lot bigger than its exterior suggested, had coffee too.

As we approached the counter, a rotund man behind it grinned.“Hey, Jake.How goes it this morning?”

“Hey, Ron.Can we have two coffees?”His eyes slid to mine.“You want something to eat, baby?Half an apple isn’t going to sustain you.”

I wasn’t hungry.I was about to tell him when the man’s boisterous voice filled the wide space.

“Whoever you are, wonderful angel, welcome.”

I peeked over my shoulder, but only Jake and I were here, which made his statement all the weirder.

“Pardon me?”

When Jake muttered a ‘Christ’, the man’s smile widened.“You know how fast news travels in our village.”

Jake nodded with a side grin.

A petite woman with white curly hair, and wearing an apron over a long sweater, came out of what I assumed was the kitchen and sauntered toward the man.“There she is.She’s beautiful, Jake.”

Jake curled his arm around my shoulders.“Edie, Ron, this is Sienna.Baby, Edie, and Ron own the store and the diner at the back.”

The woman beamed.“And a beautiful name to boast.”Her fingers curled in a come-hither gesture.“Don’t be shy, doll.Let me have a closer look at the woman who got our Jake’s heart.”

The woman who what?I whipped my eyes up to Jake, but he just nudged me closer to the older woman’s smile.

She peered over me.“I see you’re dressed for a hike.Are you a nature lover too?”

My words bypassed my brain, and I blurted, “Not really.Not at all.”

When her mouth hung open, warmth crowded my face.“What I mean is I love nature, but I like to admire it from behind a window.”For some deranged reason, I kept talking.“I know I’m a city girl cliché, but I’m absolutely terrified of bears even though the likelihood of meeting one is very slim.Jake took me to my first hike a few weeks ago.It was like a mini-hike, but it was absolutely beautiful.”More words kept spilling out of my sleep-deprived brain.“I’ve been quite sheltered but since I’ve met Jake, my world is expanding in wonderful but also scary ways.So, I’m looking forward to the hike with Erica and the others.I just don’t want to meet a bear.”

While a slow smile stretched across Edie’s face, laughter jetted from Ron’s chest.“I like her, Jake.”