Alex didn’t know how this would work out, but after last night, he’d thought of nothing but her and seeing her first thing in the morning was worth the physical exertion. If he was lucky, she might just want a running companion on a more frequent basis. He could get accustomed to having more motivation when it came to his weekly exercise regimen.

“I didn’t know you were a runner.” Ashleigh broke the silence a few minutes later as Alex steered the truck onto the highway.

There are a lot of things you don’t know about me, Alex thought to himself, but he said, “I try to get out a couple of times a week. Sometimes I’m not as successful as I’d like.”

“I religiously go five times a week, but that’s because I don’t go to a gym.” Ashleigh admitted, still looking out the window, rather than at him.

“How far do you run?” Sneaking glances at her as he drove, Alex let his eyes skim over all of that sleek, smooth skin revealed by her running shorts.

“I’m up to nine. My goal is to get to ten. Since I don’t care about the amount of time it takes, I often don’t push myself as hard as I should.”

Nine miles? Alex suddenly wondered if he’d be able to keep up with her.

He wouldn’t let her know that he only ran five miles at the most, but he did it in under an hour, so he was pretty impressed with his accomplishments. He wasn’t looking to be the fastest, and quite frankly, he was generally impressed that he ran at all. With so many things going on in his life, he found working out one of those things he had to focus on just to keep it at the top of his priority list.

“Well, I’m impressed,” Alex admitted. “I’ll do my best to keep up.”

Ashleigh laughed.

Alex liked the husky sound she made and the smile that tipped her lips was an added bonus. He was well aware that beauty was in the eye of the beholder, but when God created Ashleigh, it was obvious He had a bigger audience in mind.

The woman was classically beautiful, with her high cheekbones, strong jaw, pert little nose and perfect lips, all coming together on a flawless face. Her long dark hair, with its sun kissed highlights, normally hung down past her shoulders but was now pulled up in a ponytail. She was long and lean, with golden skin that tempted him to touch her.

Over the years, Alex had watched her grow from a stunning teenager into a gorgeous woman, and he’d battled his own hormones for every one of those years. When he first met her, she was far too young for him. He’d been twenty nine, she only seventeen and although she’d physically caught his eye, he knew better.

Then she turned eighteen and without the law and his own moral compass interfering, Alex had given it more thought. He’d played it out in his head and realized that at thirty years old, he had nothing in common with an eighteen year old. If he’d only wanted sex from her, that would’ve been one thing.

It wasn’t until about the time that she turned twenty five that Alex seriously considered his infatuation with the woman. She’d grown up significantly, and surprisingly, so had he. That’s about the time that his friends started giving him a hard time about it. Now, all these years later, he was glad he had waited, but feared they’d built a friendship that wouldn’t translate into much more.

But they had come too far for him to turn back now. Considering their history, and her uncanny ability to keep him at a distance, Alex considered this progress.

Twenty minutes later they were pulling into one of the gravel parking lots. At the crack of dawn, only the very determined were out, so they weren’t going to have to worry about finding a place to park. Selecting a spot closer to the trails entrance, Alex pulled in and shut off the engine.

If he didn’t know better, Alex would’ve thought the truck was on fire based on the way Ashleigh bolted. After she took a swig of her water, she set the bottle in the console between them, grabbed her iPod and was out the door.

He followed suit, joining her at the front of the truck where she proceeded to stretch her legs, continuing not to look at him.

He’d never been the type to be self-conscious, and considering he had on a shirt, shorts and shoes, he felt he was presentable. But the way she was avoiding him, he was beginning to wonder if there was something wrong with him.

Insecure much?

Instead of wondering what was bothering her, Alex did as he normally did. He asked.

Taking her slender arm in his hand, he turned her so she was forced to look at him. When the tips of her breasts brushed against his chest, he sucked in a breath, realizing how close they were and the image of their kiss from the night before replayed in his mind. Instead of giving her space, he crowded even closer, inhaling her clean, fresh scent. Tipping her head toward him, Alex forced her eyes to meet his.




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