Page 90 of Matchmaking On The Menu

He nods. “Good point.”

We fall into step after that. The trail curves upward, deceptively gentle at first and then very quickly proves it has opinions. Teddy uses the sticks, not gracefully, but not badly either.

“You look like you’ve done this before,” I say, watching him adjust his grip.

“I’m a fast learner,” he shoots back.

“Or a competitive one.”

“That too.”

We walk in easy silence, but it doesn’t feel awkward or forced, more like we’re taking in the sounds of nature: the occasional rustle of leaves, the scurrying of something moving through the trees just out of sight. The air turns cooler as we climb, brushing against my skin and teasing goosebumps out of me. Damn, I didn’t bring a jacket. Rookie mistake for a non-rookie. It’s fine. I won’t need one when we move a bit more.

After about ten minutes, I’m right about the jacket, and Teddy slows slightly. He scans the trees, the light filtering through the branches. I see his gaze sharpen. He reaches for his camera and crouches.

I step aside, watching him with fascination. He moves differently when he’s behind the lens. There’s a confidence to him, like everything unnecessary drops away and what’s left is just instinct. He angles himself slightly, adjusting the focus, waiting for something I can’t see. I’m not gonna lie, he looks damn hot when he’s so completely focused. I wonder how it will feel to have that intensity turned on me.

Down Dannica, you just found out the guy’s name. Give it half a day.

He clicks a few times in quick succession, then he lowers the camera, checking the screen. His jaw tightens, lips pinch, eyes get a faraway look. That’s not a happy face.

“That bad?” I ask, my voice low so as not to break the moment. Because he seems to be having a moment.

He huffs out a breath. “It’s fine.”

Which is absolutely not what that means.

I step closer, peering at the image without touching the camera, close enough now that I’m aware of him and his sinful scent in a way I wasn’t a second ago. “What made you stop?”

He hesitates, like the answer used to come easier.

“The light,” he says eventually. “The way it was hitting the leaves.”

I tilt my head, trying to see what he saw. All I see is sunlight. Pretty, sure. But not… that.

“Looks like sunlight flirting with foliage,” I say.

He glances at me. “Flirting?”

I shrug. “You know. Casual. Non-committal. Just enough to make the leaves feel special.”

There’s a beat, then he chuckles. Oh my, that’s almost hotter than the intense focus.

Moving on, because jumping him on this trail doesn’t feel like it would be comfortable. I’m not in the mood to have sticks poke my ass while I⁠—

Goddamn it, Dannica, didn’t you just say you needed to move on?

“How do you know the lighting will work?”

“Used to be instinct,” he says finally. “Something just… hit, and I knew.”

“And now?”

He exhales slowly, gaze fixed ahead but not really seeing the trail.

“Now I think too much.”

The way he says it makes my stomach clench because I know how that feels.