Didn't Expect You (Against All Odds #2) - Claudia Burgoa Page 0,33

giving me today, right?” I ask, hopeful. “I promise to make it an unforgettable day.”

She gives me a playful smile. “Isn’t that supposed to be my line?”

“Probably, but I’m making this easy for you. Next year you can make it up to me,” I wink at her, finishing the pancakes. “Thank you for breakfast.”

While she finishes her food, I head upstairs to take a shower. Once I come back to the kitchen, I find her playing with Brock. She’s dressed in a pair of jeans, her hiking boots and a white T-shirt.

“I grabbed some clothes from Persy. We can just head out instead of going home.”

Whatever Nyx had could be a twenty-four hour bug, an ulcer, or maybe, as she insists it was, going on the zipline. Still, I suggest we prepare a picnic instead of taking her to eat at some restaurant. From what her parents said yesterday, she could use a homemade meal. Heating up some of the leftover chicken soup, I pour it into the thermos I have stored in Ford’s house.

Nyx makes a couple of sandwiches, washes a couple of apples, and fills the water bottles before we put everything into my backpack. As we’re making our way out of the penthouse, I run back for crackers just in case she gets sick.

“You know why we wouldn’t work out as a couple?” she asks.

“Please, enlighten me,” I answer as we head toward the elevator.

“You’re an outdoorsy guy, I’m not,” she concludes. “But I have a few friends who would love to date you. As I said, when you’re ready to let go of your past, you should give me a call.”

I laugh. “So, you spend time convincing yourself that we’re not possible, huh?”

“No, it just occurred to me,” she states. “Clearly, you wouldn’t understand my mind. The oddest thoughts come to me without warning.”

Opening the passenger door for her I whisper close to her ear. “I’m just glad that you think about me.”

She shivers and jumps into the truck to put some distance between us. I grin at her. I’ll wear her down, even if it takes me years. But do I really want to?

Thirteen

Nate

When I come to Colorado to visit Ford, we usually drive up to the mountains. There are plenty of things to do up there, including hiking. Since I’m still concerned about Nyx’s health, we go to Roxborough Park instead. The place is a forty-five-minute drive south of the city. It reminds me of the Grand Canyon. There are a lot of big red rocks surrounding us. When I make the observation she says, “Duh, why do you think this state is called Colorado?”

“I guess there are a lot of places I haven’t visited yet to come to such a conclusion,” I say mockingly. “You should take me on a road trip around the state.”

“It’s not like I’ve lived in this place for long,” she says instead. “Just moved here five years ago. Though, when I visited my parents during holidays or breaks, they’d take us to whatever part of the state they had discovered.”

See, this is what I don’t understand. She’s lived a big adventure all her life and she chose to settle into a life that, even though fits her, doesn’t seem to be what she loves. Is it fear?

“You’re intriguing,” I say, instead of hashing out her life.

I’m enthralled not only by her beauty and her personality, but her fascinating past. What I would’ve given to be traveling around the world with a loving family. Her parents might be quirky, but they seem like good people.

My father is clueless. Everything is black and white for him. Mom just packed and left. She traded us for a better family—or is it that she ran away to create a family she liked better?

She offers a forced smile and says, “Is that another way of calling me boring?”

“Stop beating yourself up about it,” I protest. “The next time you call yourself that, you’ll owe me something.”

She comes to a halt and stares at me for a long beat as if trying to guess but then asks, “What would I possibly owe you?”

“A kiss,” I joke.

She throws back her head and laughs. “They are that bad, huh? This is my first. No one has ever threatened me with kisses.”

Her eyes are on my mouth, and I swear I can see her pulse thrumming in her throat. My heart hammers inside my chest. Something changes between us. A switch flips, or maybe it’s not a