Stuck on You by Heather Thurmeier Page A

it was home to a girl with attitude.
    If only there was a way for Paige to be herself but have a fraction of Zoe’s feminine style and total confidence. Then maybe a guy like Miles — smart, self-assured, and totally sexy — would give her the chance to show him how awesome she was on the inside too.

Chapter Six
    Miles and Ben stood by one of the window screens looking out at the lake as the moon glimmered across the calm surface. It would be truly romantic if he weren’t standing with a dude. Now, if he were here with Paige, then it might be a different story.
    There was something about that girl that made him lose focus of everything else every time he was near her. It wasn’t just her looks, although they were distracting enough on their own merits. It was something else. Maybe it was the shy embarrassment she seemed so prone to that made her come off as dainty and demure, even though he knew there was a passionate fire burning inside her. Or maybe it was the way she seemed to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, even Zoe who didn’t deserve the benefit of anything from anyone.
    Mostly, it was the way she looked at him, a twinkle in her eye that hinted at her innermost thoughts … the thoughts she kept to herself. He couldn’t help but feel that some of those thoughts were directed at him and he was curious to find out exactly what they were.
    If only Zoe wasn’t standing in his way just by being Zoe. He had to figure out a way to deal with her so he had a hope of getting to know Paige better.
    “You boys ready to start?” their cameraman, Bill, asked from behind them.
    “Hell, yes,” Ben said with the same sentiment that Miles felt. The sooner they got the daily wrap-up over with, the better. Already these interviews were getting very tiresome to do at the end of each day when all he wanted to do was relax in the common room.
    “Absolutely,” Miles agreed, as he and Ben took seats in front of the camera.
    “How did you feel today when you were overtaken on a cache?” Bill asked.
    “Wow. Just jumping right in there tonight, aren’t ya? No gentle lead in to the hot topic. That’s kinda cold, man.” The show’s producer came up with some of the most heated questions and they never failed to turn his stomach.
    “It’s okay, Miles,” Ben said, not appearing bothered by the question at all. “It totally sucked to get beaten in a foot race against the girls, especially when we had such a big lead on them to begin with. But they’re faster than us. Nothing I can do about it.”
    “Does it suck more being out raced by a team of women?”
    Miles shook his head and forced his temper to stay at bay. “Should it matter that they’re women? I don’t really think so. Judging someone’s expected performance because of their gender is just about as low as judging them by whether or not they still have all their natural limbs or wear glasses or because of their hair color. Zoe and Paige beat us because they were faster runners.
We
won the cache prize because we were better thinkers today. Well, I wasn’t. But Ben certainly was. He’s the one who found the cache even though the other team got there first.”
    “That’s right. I may be slower than the rest because of my leg, but I’m still a big threat to the other teams.”
    “Speaking of the prize,” Bill said from behind his camera, “you each won ten thousand dollars today. What are you going to do with the money?”
    Miles motioned for Ben to answer first.
    “I’m going to stick it in the bank, pay off some stuff that still needs paying off. Nothing too special or fun, but the money is a welcome surprise.”
    “And you, Miles? Trips? Down payment on a car, maybe? What do you have planned for your money?”
    “I plan to write a check.” Miles cleared his throat, which suddenly felt tight. “I’m making it out to Ben and his wife to help cover their medical expenses from his injury.”
    Ben turned to him, eyes bright with moisture that