Her Billionaires(27)

“What?! Why are you asking me that?”

“Well, we’re talking about saying ‘yes,’ so it seemed like a natural segue...”

“Of course it was good.” Laura rolled her eyes, her chest heaving a bit as she sighed deeply. “Too good.”

“What do you mean, too good? Is that possible?”

“Well, it’s too good when it turns out he has a girlfriend. He was just, phew— oh boy, Josie.”

“The best you’ve ever had?” Josie asked.

“Well,” she sighed heavily. “Yeah.”

“You’re sure he has a girlfriend?”

“The pictures made it clear.”

“Damn. Well, maybe you can say ‘yes’ to this guy you’re seeing tonight.”

“Yeah.”

“Yes.”



Huff, huff, huff. Laura was more out of shape then she’d ever imagined. Her idea of exercise was lifting her hand from her mouth to the bag of Doritos or lifting the spoon out of the pint of Ben & Jerry’s. No, she chided herself, that wasn’t really true. She took the stairs at work, and that wasn’t a joke, considering the fact that she worked on the thirty-second floor. And she and Josie power walked around her neighborhood (Josie jokingly called it their Mugging Prevention Program), but this kind of sustained, prolonged effort that used muscles that involved the hard work of uneven terrain, hiking along the trails and the woods? This she wasn’t used to.

And that was OK. Really. Mike was a sweetheart who slowed his pace down and who was absolutely, fantastically interesting. Talking about everything from books that Laura hadn’t read since college, but had always loved, to movies—who knew he had a Christopher Guest obsession, too? She couldn’t wait for a second date where they could sit and watch Best in Show, and she could enjoy having that someone finally who appreciated the humor.

Second date? She was getting ahead of herself.

And she really liked that.

“Laura, are you OK?” Mike asked, a look of concern covering his face as she wheezed slightly while rounding a bend and staring at the tall hill leading to the summit. Too tall. Too high. Too little air. Ah, hell. What had she agreed to? Huff huff huff.

“Oh, I’m fine,” she lied. “Just not used to these tall hills. I’m more accustomed to doing eleven street blocks downtown while carrying my morning latte. Not hiking up a steep mountain while carrying a stainless steel water bottle. I’m adjusting, though— I’ll be good.”

He smiled and stared at her. “You’re a good sport you know?”

“I have to be. I don’t think I have the oxygen to run away.”

They both laughed in unison and Laura felt a warmth spreading through her. She couldn’t quite believe the way that the past two days had gone. First, she’d had an absolutely amazing date with Dylan. She could still feel him on her skin, even though she had slunk out of his apartment like a sorority girl sophomore learning how to navigate the world of one-night stands. Then again, it wasn’t exactly her fault that he had pictures of his girlfriend all over the place; funny how that killed the mood. All of that was (hours) behind her, for now here was this golden boy, smiling at her and standing there like Thor at the gates of Asgard, taking her on a hike.

Mike was about as opposite of Dylan as you could possibly get. Tall— if he was shorter than 6’5” she’d be surprised— blonde, maybe Danish, with piercing blue eyes and the lanky body of a thirty-something guy who walked like he was seventeen and still a little awkward. Just looking at his body told her he was a true athlete, and he had told her himself he was a ski instructor, so obviously he was coordinated, toned and balanced, and could move with fluidity and grace whether they were hiking, skiing, or...in bed?

She, on the other hand, felt like a giant cotton ball right now. A sweaty, huffing cotton ball. Who wanted nothing more than to relax in a hammock with a pitcher of sangrias.

And an oxygen tank.

Yet here she was, about a quarter mile from the summit of some crazy-ass hill that he wanted her to climb to the top of. She could expand her horizons. This was something new. He was sweet, quiet, kind of taciturn—but not in a bad way. Nothing was awkward. Nothing was uncomfortable. He was just a man who didn’t talk too much. He preferred, obviously, to act, to stretch, to move— to move up that damn hill. Which she now stared at as if she were looking at the top of Mount Everest.#p#分页标题#e#

“So, we’re really going to climb up that?” she asked, trying to keep the skepticism out of her voice.

“Yep, we really are!” he grinned. “But,” he patted the log next to him where he’d sat down, stretching out his long legs, his arms toned and golden, eyes kind and nervous. “We can take a short break.”