A Risk Worth Taking by Heather Hildenbrand Page B

popped
into my head. Ford, lips puckered, blowing softly on my hand. I’d lain awake last
night thinking of those lips. And the way I’d turned them down when he’d asked
me out. I still believed I’d made the right choice, but mother of hell, it was
hard saying no to that mouth.
    “Sure.
A better kiss. With someone who’d make you forget all about
Danny-what’s-his-slobber.” He paused and then added, “Ford asked about you.”
    “Ford.”
It seemed all I could contribute to this conversation was an echo of Casey’s
words.
    “Yeah.
Kiss Ford.”
    “I
am not kissing Ford.”
    “Why
not?”
    “Because
… it’s… Well, it’s …”
    “A
risk? Exciting?”
    “Not
going anywhere. He’s only here for a few months.”
    Casey’s
brows lifted, and he suddenly looked much more interested in the conversation.
Damn, why had I said that? “So, you’ve thought about kissing him,” he said. It
wasn’t a question. “And who cares that he’s leaving. Makes the kissing even
better. You can kiss him all you want until October, check it off your list,
and move on.”
    “You
make it sound simple.”
    “Isn’t
it?”
    I
opened my mouth, closed it again. “I’m not kissing Ford,” I repeated.
    “Whatever.
It’s your choice. But, seriously, you should add something to the list. Some
sort of new experience. Otherwise, if the list is finished, it might mean
you’re a grown up now, and that’s just lame.”
    “What
about you? Your list is complete too.”
    “Nah.
I’m gonna fly an airplane.”
    I
glared, but Casey had grown immune to that long ago. I huffed. “Fine, I’ll add
something to the list.”
    “Kissing.
Add kissing.”
    “Only
if you do. And I get to pick who.”
    “Go
for it.”
    “Kiss
Jenny Matthews. For real this time.”
    He
grinned. “What else does it say?”
    I
looked back at the list, shoving aside thoughts of kissing. For now. “Learn to
shave my legs. Build a tree fort. Beat Casey in a creek race.”
    Casey
hooted. “Not in this lifetime.”
    I
scowled.
    The
tree fort had been something just for my dad and me. I’d purposely waited until
Casey had been away at motocross camp the summer before we graduated. I hadn’t
wanted his help; it made checking it off the list less exciting.
    As
for the creek race, I’d come close many times but never actually won. It was
the only item on the list yet unaccomplished.  “Whatever,” I muttered. “It’d be
different now.”
    “Are
you challenging me to a rematch?”
    I
blinked. I hadn’t been, really, but I couldn’t back down now. I sat up straighter,
exuding confidence that wasn’t actually there. “I could beat you in a creek
race with my eyes shut.”
    We
both looked up at the sound of footsteps in the doorway. My stomach leapt at
the sight of Ford. I hadn’t seen him since I’d walked out of his greenhouse
days ago. He hadn’t been at dinner the past few days nor had he been to see
Mazie for lemonade refills. I wondered if it had something to do with our last
exchange when I’d turned him down for a date—or whatever it was he was
offering—but always followed it up with a stern lecture to myself. Whatever
kept him away wasn’t my problem. He was a guy working for my dad. And I was a
girl who didn’t know what she wanted.
    But
standing there in the low light of the hallway, he was just as gorgeous as I
remembered.  Maybe more today, with his T-shirt clinging to his abs and his
jeans slung low on his hips.
    “What’s
a creek race?” Ford asked. He held a half-filled water bottle in one hand and
with the other, he swiped his damp hair off his forehead.
    “What’s
up, man? You look a little warm,” Casey said.
    Ford
took a swig of the water. “Something’s wrong with the ventilation inside my
greenhouse. On top of that, it’s damn hot out there. The devil decided to rain
humidity and the fire of hell down on your little farm this week.”
    “Who
you tellin’?” Casey asked.
    “Can
you take a look at the