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“Uh-oh. You might wanna get that kid’s head on straight before it’s too late,” I tease.
Eli gives me a mock look of shock, but the corners of his gaping mouth begin to pull upwards.
“Watch it.” Eli playfully knocks his hip into mine.
“Damn. I like this girl. Calls you on your shit,” Trev says, impressed.
“Yeah, tell me about it.” Eli rolls his eyes, but the smile on his lips remains.
“I’m glad I finally got to meet one of your friends,” Trev continues. “I’m going to need you to come back, okay, Logan?”
“She will be,” Eli states without hesitation, and my heart does that flutter thing again.
We say our thank yous and wave our goodbyes as we head out the door of the small and sweet coffee shop.
I hold on tightly to my hot latte, trying to steal some of the warmth from the cup, and I’m a little annoyed that Eli was right about my inability to handle the Minnesota chill.
Eli quickly jogs to the truck ahead of me, opening his door, but he doesn’t get inside. Instead, he grabs his jacket as well as a beanie and a blanket that he must have stashed in the back seat.
“Where are we going?” I ask him, confused, as he walks back to me with his hands full.
“There.” He nods towards the distance, behind the coffee shop.
I turn around, but all I see is a broad field with a line of thick trees in the distance.
“Trust me,” Eli says, giving me his most convincing smile and holding open his jacket for me to put on. But I don’t think he realizes that asking me to trust someone is not as easy as it sounds.
Slipping my arms through the jacket sleeves, I alternate my latte between hands. He pulls out the camel-colored beanie he had stuffed in the pocket and gently puts in on my head, covering my ears and instantly warming me up.
“Better?” he asks, both of his hands lingering on the sides of my face, his eyes bright as he looks at me.
“Much.” I smile at him gratefully, keeping my eyes locked with his.
He doesn’t pull his hands away. Instead, he keeps them cupping my face. “You look so much better in my clothes than I do.”
“Not a chance. You look good in everything,” my mouth tells him before my mind catches up. My eyes widen in embarrassment, hearing my internal dialogue spoken out loud.
Eli’s lips turn up into a grin as he searches my face for a moment. He seems like he might kiss me, but instead, he clears his throat and pulls his hands away from my face. “Ready?” he asks.
“For what exactly?”
“You’ll see.” He tries to hold back his smile as he grabs my arm and loops it around his.
Chapter 46
Logan
The closer we get to the line of trees, the more confused I become.
“Did you bring me out here to kill me?” I ask Eli, only somewhat kidding. We are in the middle of nowhere, Minnesota, and the coffee shop is getting smaller and smaller behind us.
“I wouldn’t tell you if I did.” Eli laughs, shaking his head at me when he notices me stop in my tracks. “You’re ridiculous. Come on.”
When we reach the edge of the forest, Eli releases my arm but glides his large hand down until it’s holding mine. Every nerve in my fingers ignites at once as he leads me through the maze of towering pines.
I follow closely behind him, and after a few minutes of weaving through the massive trunks, he releases my hand and moves out of the way. “Okay, we’re here,” he says.
It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust to the bright reflection of the sun beating down on the water, but once they do, I’m greeted with one of the most enchanting scenes I’ve ever laid eyes on. There’s a lake that’s not too large, entirely surrounded by a thick forest of trees. It’s perfectly silent aside from a few birds chirping off in the distance. The sun is lingering just above the tallest pine, making its way toward setting, causing a gorgeous reflection on the water to illuminate the secluded space. Only a few feet of bank separate the tree line from the water, so I walk down to the edge and place my fingers in the lake, instantly regretting it. The sun might be beating down, but the water is so cold that it will probably freeze over in just a few short months.
