Page 103 of To Catch a Latte Thick as Thieves

“Yeah, right, sure.” She nodded at him, her expression full of doubt like she was placating him as she stepped into the van. “Let’s get going. We’re behind schedule.” Then she slammed the door in his face.

Schedule? Her and that stupid schedule. Jared stomped around the van to climb into the driver’s seat. He watched in consternation as she dug her index cards out of her bag and promptly began adjusting their time frame as she cross checked the current route on her cell phone. The urge to jerk the cards out of her hands and toss them out the window was almost too strong to resist. He gripped the wheel tighter as he merged back into traffic.

Afraid of Cameron? Ha! By the time this little adventure was over, his good buddy was going to be afraid of him. He cast a fulminating glance at the caramel-haired woman beside him. She flipped through the cards, completely oblivious to him and his ire.

Jared felt his teeth clench. He wanted nothing but to pull over to the side of the road and kiss her until she was the same woman that had come apart for him while buried up to her neck in mud. He tightened his jaw and fought the impulse as if it were an addiction – second by second.

Cat was his best friend’s sister. That made her practically a sister to him. Guys weren’t supposed to have these sorts of thoughts about their sisters. How had this happened? He’d tried to be a good friend. He’d agreed to go on this damned hike across the country. But he hadn’t expected to be in forced proximity with the first woman he’d found attractive in just about forever. When this was over he was seriously going to beat his friend’s ass.

They rolled into Ohio late in the afternoon. Cat leaned out the window and took a picture of the sign welcoming them to the state. The afternoon drizzle had dried up, and the day had become oppressively humid. Lucy spent the better part of the ride leaning out the window, her usual goofy grin plastered to her face.

Cat envied the puppy’s simple pleasure. The silence between her and Jared was heavier than the heat. The paperback she’d dug out of her purse provided no distraction, as Jared’s brooding presence proved too potent to ignore.

“We’ll be nearing Akron soon.” She fidgeted with her book, waiting for him to respond.

Jared said nothing.

“Jared, I’m sorry about before. I don’t think you’re afraid of Cam.”

“No need to be sorry,” he said abruptly.

“Yes, there is,” she persisted. “You were right. What happened shouldn’t have. You’re my brother’s friend and I respect that.”

“Fine. Let’s just forget about it.”

Cat agreed, but doubted it was likely. She’d never be able to erase the impact of his kiss. In all the years she’d been with Matthew, she’d never felt like that when he kissed her. Forgetting Jared’s kiss would be like asking the Earth to forget its orbit – impossible.

Cat’s gaze lingered on the pulse point she could see in his throat just above the collar of his T-shirt. She wondered if their kiss had agitated him as much as it had her. If it had, it would be a shame to let their chemistry go out of loyalty to her brother. Oh, who was she kidding? Their kiss was probably just a reaction to the life and death adrenaline fueled heat of the moment. Nothing more. Wasn’t it?

4

“What is the most excitingthing you’ve ever done?” Cat asked.

They were sitting on the grass outside their motel room, enjoying the cool evening air while Lucy took her after-dinner stroll around the courtyard.

“Why do you ask?” Jared avoided her question with a question.