Lost Without You by Heather Thurmeier Page A

appetizing.
    While Jared spoke too animatedly about the process, Zoe felt a shiver of uneasiness run up her spine. Alex stared at her from his spot near the fire, eyeing her. The experience made her extremely uncomfortable.
    The look he gave her reminded her all too clearly of the way he used to look at her back then … like she was a blemish on the earth, scum not worthy of his presence.
You deserve what you got,
his words echoed in her mind, stirring up guilt she’d worked so hard to squash.
    As soon as Jared was finished, she wished them well and moved away from their cooking area.
    The sooner she put a little distance between herself and Alex, the better. By the confusion and concentration on his face, he hadn’t figured out why she was familiar yet, but he could at any time. It was either that, or he eyed her that way because he was a sociopath plotting a way to kill her.
    She wasn’t sure which was worse: secret revealed or sociopath stalking.
    Zoe almost sighed with relief as she walked away from Alex and wandered into Rick’s cooking area. He greeted her with a big smile and fish guts smeared across his chest — his bare chest.
    Apparently Rick didn’t believe in cooking with clothes on.
    Beyond the fish guts and blood, a ripple of perfect abs and pectorals flexed as he waved.
Day-um
. Rick was built for this kind of thing.
    â€œI’ve got some meat that might satisfy that hunger in your eyes,” Rick said with a wink and wave of his hand down the length of his torso as if he was showing off a fine piece of art instead of his body.
    â€œRick, that’s enough. Give the poor girl a chance to get her thoughts together before you start hitting on her again,” Pam said, shoving him.
    â€œWatch your woman, Roger, or I’ll have to give her a big old hug before I go wash off the guts.”
    Pam shrieked and ran away when Rick made a move for her. He laughed and got back to work, finishing up with the fish quickly then handing the fillets over to his nephew Todd.
    â€œSo what can we do for you, Miss Oliver?” he said, moving closer to her. Despite the smell of fish guts, Rick was strangely appealing. Or maybe not so strangely when she took in the sight of his abs up close.
    She cleared her throat, hoping it would clear her mind too. “Just doing my hosting thing and coming by to see how you are all doing with your meal. What have you decided to cook today?”
    â€œFish,” Rick said simply.
    â€œI see that,” she replied just as simply with a smirk.
    â€œAnd it’s going to be so delicious, you’ll be begging me for a dinner date around the campfire.”
    Zoe looked to Pam and motioned with her head toward Rick. “Pretty confident, isn’t he?”
    Pam laughed, shaking her head. “You don’t even know the half of it. Wait until the show airs and you get to hear all the wonderful stuff he’s been saying about you around camp. If you don’t date him by the end of the show, I’ll want to kill him.”
    Really? She might have to go bribe the cameramen to find out exactly what he’d been saying. All good hopefully. But why was he trying so hard? It wasn’t like he was an unattractive man who would be starved for female attention. Maybe he was just bored at camp.
    â€œWhat’s his deal with me?” Zoe asked quietly when the cameraman was filming the boys frying the fish instead of her conversation.
    â€œI don’t know, but I keep telling him to stop coming on so strong. Sorry about him. My brother-in-law might be acting like an idiot right now, but I assure you he’s normally very nice and respectful. I wish I knew what had gotten into him.”
    â€œIt’s fine. I know how to handle guys like Rick. And I know he’s your family and all so you don’t see him this way, but he’s not so bad to look at or flirt with either.”
    â€œI don’t know how you can see anything