She lifted the cup of coffee to her lips, wrenching back those thoughts. “You were right. This coffee is incredible.”
He grinned and joined her on the floor. “Sorry about the mess. I’m not accustomed to having female company.”
The thought thrilled her. “No problem. This is what I’m used to. I do most of my eating in front of my computer, too, usually from takeout containers.”
“Workaholic, huh?”
“I suppose so. And I’m not much of a cook.”
“Something else we have in common,” he said.
It seemed like an odd thing to say since, up to that point, they didn’t appear to have much in common at all.
“I’m not sure that’s true.” She dug into the fluffy eggs with gusto. “You live in the mountains; I’m a city girl. Unless, of course, you’re talking about a healthy appreciation for good oral.”
He choked on his food and reached for his coffee.
“Sorry.” She smirked. “Too bold?”
“No, just unexpected. And I suppose you’re right. We don’t appear to have much in common, but it feels like we do.”
Her heart stuttered as she recognized the truth of his words. “It does,” she agreed.
There did seem to be some inexplicable, intangible thing that connected them. Something that made her feel oddly comfortable around him, almost as if they shared a common bond. But that was ridiculous. Their lives were vastly different, and very soon, they’d be parting ways. In a little more than forty-eight hours, she’d be back in her apartment in San Diego, albeit with some good memories.
The thought dampened any ideas of more sexy times before she headed back to Sumneyville. As appealing as the idea was, it would just make it harder to say good-bye.
“Tell me more about you,” Nick coaxed.
“Like what?”
“What’s your life like in San Diego?”
She shrugged. “I don’t spend a lot of time there, to be honest. I have an apartment that I share with my cousin, but I travel more often than not.”
“Do you like to travel?”
“I enjoy seeing new places and meeting new people, listening to their stories. But the actual getting from here to there part? Not so much.”
“Why don’t you conduct interviews virtually? Practically everything can be done online these days.”
“I do sometimes, but my boss prefers the immersed approach, and honestly, I do, too. It’s hard to get the real feel for a place over a screen. The same goes for people. You can’t read body language as well from a headshot alone or get a sense of who someone is strictly from the virtual background they select on a video call.” She waved her fork in the air. “Like all of this, for instance. Had I talked to you only via video chat, I wouldn’t have had the experience of making s’mores or watching a meteor shower.”
“Technically, we didn’t see much of the meteor shower.”
Her face grew warm at the reminder. “Exactly. We couldn’t have done that virtually now either, could we?”
His grin was as sinful as it was endearing. “Point taken. And that would have been a damn shame.”
She shifted, ignoring the increasing desire to repeat that particular part of their field trip.
“Yes, well, that’s not usually part of the interview process.”
“I didn’t think it was. And don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m glad it’s not.”
Was there a wrong way to take that, especially when his green eyes were filled with heat and something that looked suspiciously like possession? She had to admit, the thought of him doing what he’d done to her with anyone else aroused some possessive feelings of her own.
Bree mentally chastised herself. She had no business feeling possessive. What they’d shared was a one-time thing, nothing more. She’d known that going in, and she knew it now.
“So,” he said, shuttering his gaze and returning his attention to breakfast, “have you always wanted to be a journalist?”
“Not exactly.”
“What, then?”
“When I was a kid, I wanted to be an author,” she blurted out the words before she could stop herself.
Books were a great escape for her. She loved the ability to get lost within the pages. At some point, she’d started creating her own made-up worlds and characters, where she could control the outcomes. She had several already written, encrypted on her hard drive, unseen by any eyes but her own.
She dropped her eyes, unwilling to see the disappointment in his eyes or the polite smile she was sure he wore. There was a reason she never shared her dream. It was silly.
“What kind of books?”
She looked up to find him waiting patiently for her answer. No indication of derision or judgment. “Promise you won’t laugh?”
He nodded and made an X over his chest.
“Cozy mysteries and paranormal romance.”
“You mean, like Miss Marple meets vampires and werewolves—that kind of thing?”
“Yes, exactly!” she exclaimed, pleased that he understood. “I used to read a lot of Agatha Christie. The woman knew a thing or two about how to weave a web. And I loved her characters. Each time I finished a story, I felt like I knew them.
“Then, the wizard boy who lived and the vampire who sparkled came along, and I loved those, too. They opened up a whole new world of possibilities, and I thought, Why not do both? Combine my love of whodunits with the fantasy world-building of preternaturals.
“And then I thought, Why not even take it a step further?” As it always did, the excitement built inside her when she thought about it, and her words came out faster. “Write a book but create an interactive digital universe, where things change based on the reader. I got
