Page 42 of Love in Overdrive

Chapter 14

“Man, I could use a cup of hot, black coffee about now.” Cade shoved his hands in his pockets.

“Yuck.” Laney wrinkled her nose.

“You don’t like black coffee. Let me guess, you’re a ‘tall, skinny, mocha latte with whipped cream’ kind of gal.”

“No. I’m a full-leaded, Mountain Dew kind of gal. I hate coffee. I only tolerate it with lots of sugar and cream when I have to drink it.” Boy, could she go for a can of Dew. She had yawned so much in the last twenty minutes, her tonsils were half frozen from the contact with the freezing air.

They still hadn’t seen another soul. No homes or cars. Nothing. But at least she wasn’t stumbling through the brush and climbing over logs in the dark this time.

A cold snap of wind zipped through her coat. She shivered.

Cade turned to her, his brow wrinkled. “Why would you have to drink something you despise so much?”

“The coffee shop in town doesn’t have pop. When I join my friends, I order the most sugared up, watered down coffee I can get, and then I throw half of it away.”

Cade tsked. “Didn’t your parents ever teach you not to give in to peer pressure?”

“Yes, but they also told me not to make waves. Sometimes it’s easier to go with the flow.”

He looked thoughtful for a minute. “That makes sense.”

For the next mile, they fell into a comfortable silence. It was nice, except… the silence created the perfect battleground for the internal debate warring in her head. They hadn’t talked about the thing on the couch this morning. Should they? Embarrassment washed over her at the thought. She’d grabbed his ears like she’d float away if she hadn’t. What on God’s green earth was she thinking?

A sudden flash of heat lit her core. She hadn’t been thinking, not one single tiny thought. Nope, it was all feeling. She was one ginormous bundle of nerves. And Lord help her, she wanted to feel that way again.

Snow stung her heated cheeks, creating sharp little bites with each flake that landed. She exhaled.

Relax. You’ve got this. You’re an independent woman, remember?

“Oh, shut up,” she mumbled to her internal voice.

“Did you say something?” Cade adjusted the duffle strap on his shoulder.

“Uh… Do you have any idea where we are?” Her whole body had gone numb fifteen minutes ago. The good news… she couldn’t feel her leg. The bad news… she couldn’t feel her feet either.

“I think I see a mailbox up ahead. Hang in there.” He cradled her hands between his and blew on them.

His warm breath sent a tingle down her arms, straight into her chest. Laney shivered again, but this time, it wasn’t only the cold.

“Come on.” He pulled her in close to his side. They picked up their pace.

Visions of fairytale endings played in her mind like a movie reel.

Stop that! Independent woman. Remember?

Right. Right. What was going on between Cade and her was… What was it? A fling? Two people in a stressful situation letting off steam?

She’d take option B. Fling wasn’t in her vocabulary. She’d only slept with two men, and she married one of them. Yeah, that didn’t end well.

“There.” Cade pointed to the wood structure through the trees.

Excitement bubbled up in her chest. This one had an attached garage. It looked like an actual house, not a seasonal cabin.

Cade took off at a jog. Laney struggled to keep up. She cursed his long legs, even though she really liked them.

He’d been five strides ahead, but reached back and linked his fingers with hers. Her heart tripped—a tiny kick to the sternum.