LITMIR.BIZ

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to Logan’s easy, innate sexiness that made her feel suddenly warmer?

      She pushed her glasses back onto her nose, bringing him into even clearer, sharper view, then made herself look away long enough to dig out her own water bottle. Several long swallows helped her reinforce her temporarily shaky composure, though it wavered again when she lowered the bottle to find Logan studying her with an expression she well recognized—and which would have led straight to her bedroom had they been at her house.

      He cleared his throat before speaking. “It’s been a long time since I’ve made this hike. I used to come out here with Great-Uncle Leo when I was a kid. He was in his late sixties then, and could still run circles around me. I’ve heard it’s usually crowded with tourists these days, but I figured it would be less so this morning.”

      She winked saucily at him. “I’m glad you were right. I rather like having you all to myself.”

      She took another sip of her water, then capped the bottle and stowed it again. Standing, she brushed a hand absently across the seat of her pants, though she wasn’t particularly concerned about getting dirty on a hike. “Ready to forge on?”

      “Almost.” He pushed away from the tree in one fluid move, caught her in his arms and planted his mouth firmly on hers.

      By the time the kiss ended, her arms were around his neck, their bodies were pressed full-length together and Alexis was definitely too warm for her jacket. She was grateful now for the breeze that ruffled her hair, brushed her cheeks and slipped inside her collar to cool her. She tipped back her head to peer up at him through her slightly askew glasses. “And that was because...?”

      He chuckled as he released her with some reluctance. “Let’s just call it an energy recharge.”

      She heaved a gusty sigh and glanced around. “Too bad we can’t be entirely sure we’re alone on the trail this morning.”

      He grinned and ran a hand down her back to give a light squeeze to her bottom. “Don’t tempt me.”

      She so enjoyed flirting with him, seeing desire heat his hazel eyes to a gleaming gold. A ripple of arousal surged through her in response, and he must have seen it in her expression, because his fingers tightened for a moment before he made a show of stepping away from her. “Let’s move,” he said.

      They’d made their way only a few yards farther before they came across a couple of overnight backpackers making their way back down the trail. She heard a low, wry chuckle from Logan before they exchanged polite greetings and a few casual remarks about the nice weather and the beautiful views.

      The view at the top of the trail was well worth the effort of getting there. Beyond a stand of imposing stone monoliths, the path culminated at a rocky clearing that provided a breathtaking panoramic view for miles on this clear day. Jagged rock outcroppings jutted out over the sheer drop to the valley below, and a couple of daring college-aged boys posed recklessly on the edge for photos. Two young men who looked to be the same age hung back a bit, snapping pictures but staying well clear of the drop-off. A middle-aged couple hovered nearby, the man surveying the spreading vista through binoculars, the woman shaking her head in nervous disapproval of the younger hikers’ antics.

      Alexis had muted the ringer on her cell phone so it wouldn’t disturb the peacefulness of the hike and had let the few calls she’d received go straight to voice mail to deal with later. Gretchen Holder, her administrative assistant, was handling calls at the office that morning and would text her if anything cropped up that Alexis had to handle personally. She couldn’t resist lifting the camera-equipped phone to snap a couple of photos of Logan as he stood silhouetted against the deep blue sky, his profile turned to her.

      As beautiful as the view was, she found her gaze turning to Logan more than to the distant mountains or the sprawling valley. Only when he pointed out a few landmarks did she force herself to focus on the scenery—Catawba Valley to the west, Tinker Cliffs to the north, the Roanoke Valley to the east. She imagined that the view would be stunning in the fall, with the brightly colored leaves spread like a patchwork quilt below, or in a few weeks in the spring when the mountain laurels bloomed, or in midsummer when all the shades of green draped the trees. Even now, with nature’s colors still muted at the end of winter and just before the spring, the scene was stunning.

      She raised the phone again, though she knew the camera lens could hardly begin to capture the beauty below. She heard a click and glanced around to realize that Logan had taken a photo of her in profile against the scenery. She smiled and he snapped again before lowering his phone.

      “I wouldn’t have pegged you as a phone photographer,” she teased him.

      He motioned vaguely to the camera-phones lifted around them. “Just trying to fit in.”

      She laughed softly, well aware that Logan couldn’t care less if he “fit in.” He was simply teasing her.

      “Would you like me to take your picture together?” the woman Alexis had noted earlier asked a bit shyly from behind them.

      Alexis and Logan shared a quick glance, then he shrugged. “Sure, why not?”

      He draped his arm loosely around her shoulders after Alexis gave the woman her phone, and responded to the photographer’s cheery command to “say cheese” with a silent smile. Photo taken, Alexis returned the favor and used the woman’s phone to take a picture of the couple posed with the valley spreading behind them.

      “You don’t want to stand out on the edge of the point for a photo?” she teased when she returned the phone.

      The woman rolled her eyes. “No, thank you! Those kids were scaring me half to death,” she added, nodding toward the path down which the college boys had just disappeared.

      A few minutes later, the other couple moved on, and Alexis was alone with Logan, though she doubted their solitude would last long. Relishing the soothing sounds of rustling breeze and calling birds, she drew a deep breath of the clean, fresh air as she watched a hawk circle lazily in the distance. “Beautiful,” she murmured.

      He reached out to tuck back a strand of hair that had escaped her ponytail, his fingertips lingering against her cheek. “Agreed.”

      Her pulse jumped, but she thought she managed to keep her expression serene as she said, “I needed this.” She slipped her phone into her pocket. “A day out in nature, away from appointments and paperwork and unrealistic brides.”

      Logan shook his head. “How could they have this for inspiration—” he waved a hand toward the horizon “―and still decide to turn our grounds into faux Japan or Jamaica or Italy?”

      She laughed softly and shook her head. “Maybe the ones who’ve grown up with this view tend to take it for granted. Though I grew up in Roanoke, I moved away straight out of high school for college in Maryland and then to New York City. I’ve only been back in the state for a year and a half, so it’s all still fresh for me again. I’d almost forgotten how beautiful Virginia is.”

      She’d mentioned to him before that she’d lived in Maryland and New York, though they hadn’t talked much about the years before they’d met.

      “I grew up in the hills of Tennessee,” he reminded her. “Beautiful countryside. Still, I don’t take scenery like this for granted, no matter how often I see it.”

      No, she thought, he wouldn’t. Logan was the type to appreciate what he had, without wasting time wishing it were something else. Wasn’t that pretty much the way he seemed to feel about their no-strings affair?

      He drew out his water bottle again and took a drink, then opened a zippered storage bag of trail mix and tossed a handful into his mouth. She shook her head with a smile when he offered the bag to her, but she pulled out her water bottle and sipped, taking advantage of the respite before the four-mile trek back down to the car.

      She couldn’t resist sitting on a ledge and dangling her feet over, though she chose a spot that looked a bit sturdier than the most outwardly jutting point. Logan sat cross-legged beside her, keeping his

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