Page 76 of Heartless

A deep flush colored her face while she bit on her lip.After a few clicks on her keyboard, she brushed past me and set her laptop on the coffee table while muttering about being mauled by rogue bears, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

As soon as the door of her bedroom shut behind her, I went to the table.The screen was still unlocked.I tagged my cell, scrolled, and photographed the five pages before sliding my cell in my back pocket.

A few minutes later, she sauntered back into the living room dressed in yoga pants, sneakers just out of their box, a shapeless, too-large top, thrown over two other tops, a light scarf, and her raincoat.She’d also tied her hair back.

I did my best not to laugh.“What’s with all the layers?”

Throwing her arms out to her sides, she peered down her body.“Well, if we get lost in the woods, I don’t want to freeze to death, and the scarf will come handy if one of us breaks a limb.”

Sienna Winslow was all kinds of fucking cute.

“Have you never been hiking before?”

After a heavy sigh, she rolled her eyes.“Hiking is just a snobbish name some fanatics came up with for walking innature.”She’d said ‘nature’ like it was a dirty word.“I’ve seen a lot of documentaries, and they all say—”

I tucked a loose curl behind her ear and brushed my thumb on her satiny cheek.“I won’t let anything happen to you, baby.”

A little frown creased her downcast eyes before she shifted away and pivoted toward her bedroom.

Fuck.

****

Sienna roved the viewfrom the sunny plateau where we’d stopped.

The sun was shining onto her upturned, lovely face.“My God, this is gorgeous.”

She was fit, so her rhythm hadn’t lagged while we’d been on the trail, and she’d been quiet and contemplative whilst taking in our surroundings.

She tilted her smile to me.“You said you were in acquisitions and Silas told me you co-own two sports bars.What are acquisitions?”

“I buy businesses I bring back to life before reselling them.I also buy land to preserve their flora and their fauna natural habitats, and I own a small chain of outdoor equipment stores that provides guided group hikes.We also take city kids up and teach them about camping and nature.”

Her smile was soft.“Thank you.”

“For dragging you here kicking and screaming?”

Her ponytail swayed at the shake of her head.“For doing your part in protecting and preserving our planet.”

Warmth hit my chest.“Come on, princess.Let’s get you back to your earthly comforts.”

She fell in step beside me.“Now that I’m out of my writer’s block, I need to write about this beautiful walk.”

“You had writer’s block?”

She nodded.“The last weeks have been mind-crowding.But it’s a little quieter now, so I’m writing again.”

I kept my tone easy.“It’ll get better.”I’d make sure of it.

At that, she scoffed low.“I’m not going to jinx myself again by thinking it can’t get any worse.”

When I tagged her hand to stop her, she paled and blinked fast.“What?Is there a bear stalking us?”

I cupped her cheek.“What is it, Sienna?”

She started shifting back, but I rounded my hand around her nape.“Tell me, baby.”

Her teeth dug into her bottom lip.“Before all this, I’d just applied for a writing course online for which my boss had agreed to let me rearrange my schedule.But now, I need to find a job and somewhere to live.”