Page 56 of Worth the Want

“Hey, Sally girl.” I pet her head as we walk.

When I get to the edge of the dock, I stop to admire the view—and I don’t mean the mountains. Knox Holloway is standing on a paddleboard, coming this way—shirtless. His absflex with the effort, and my mind conjures lots of images that involve the motion. Lots of dirty images.

“Well, good morning, Tiny Dancer,” he calls as he steps off the board, tying it off on one of the boat cleats. I’m assuming the new nickname has something to do with last night, but it all gets a little fuzzy after Knox offered me a ride home.

“I’m not sure what I did to gain the title, but there are worse things than being called ‘Tiny Dancer’ I suppose.” His teeth flash with his smile. The sight makes my knees wobble. I want to be bitten by those teeth.Okay, rein it in, Indiana. Horny much?

“Well, there was the dancing,” he says thoughtfully. That could go either way. I’m not completely uncoordinated, I’m only worried the alcohol may have thrown me off balance. “Then there was the singing in my truck.”

Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no.

“The singing?” I hedge.

“The singing,” Knox confirms with a smug grin.

“Was it that bad? Er—wasIthat bad?”

“Bad? No. Entertaining. Yes.”

“Oh god. So pretty bad,” I surmise.

“I found you entirely captivating.”

I snort. “I’m sure. Captivating as in a car crash you can’t look away from?”

“Captivating as in a sight I didn’twantto look away from.”

I grin. “You’re being nice to me,” I accuse, and he surprises me by laughing. He has a great laugh; he has a great everything.

“Is it so hard to believe that I would be nice?”It’s not actually. It’s not surprising at all.

“Thank you for taking care of me last night, by the way. I’m never drinking again.”

“You weren’t hard to take care of. And if you do decide to drink again, I recommend skipping the moonshine; it has a history of sneaking up on you.”

“Now he tells me,” I say. “Well, I think I’ll go home and shower; let you get on with your day.”

“Do you think you can postpone that for a while?” he asks.

“I could be persuaded. What do you have in mind?”

“Come out on the water with me.”

“On the paddleboard?”

“You don’t think we can manage?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure. I’m still pretty shaky when I stand up on it.”

His smile is…sweet. Teasing. Almost boyish. “As certain as I am that we could, I was thinking we should take the canoe out.”

“Oh, that sounds like fun. Yes, I would love to. I need to help Winnie later this afternoon, but I’ve got nothing this morning since my run got canceled.”By three shots, a rum and Coke, and some moonshine.

“I’m picking up Hazey later, so I thought we could take a tour around the lake before.”

“I’m in.”

We paddle around the edge of the lake for a while. I spot some adorable little otter-like creatures that Knox tells me are marmots, bighorn sheep, and some elk. I’m kind of wishing I had my camera but also really enjoying myself.