Page 62 of A Wolfe in the Woods

“All right,” I said quietly. “I’ll have everything finished for the week before I go. And I’ll make sure the Vulcan gift is sent before the end of the day.”

“Good,” Erik said, already moving back to his monitor.

I lingered a second too long, even though all my instincts screamed at me to run. “Have a good weekend, Mr. Skoll,” I said.

He didn’t look up. “Enjoy the woods, Miss Redfield.”

I turned and hurriedly walked out before he could say anything more. The door clicked shut behind me.

Only then did I let out a shaky breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. But underneath the tension…there was relief. And a sense of excitement. A newfound motivation to blaze through my remaining workload so I wouldn’t have to see the inside of this building forat leastfour days.

I made it back to my desk, heart still pounding, and opened my phone, navigating to a new number. One Jonathan had tapped into my phone after our lunch earlier in the week.

I typed out a message:I decided to take you up on your offer. Is tonight too soon?

The hour ticked by slowly. Then my screen lit up. I felt a flutter in my belly to see his name flash, a giddy burst of excitement making me grin at my desk.

His text read:Tonight’s perfect. Can’t lie…I was hoping you’d say yes.

CHAPTER 17

JONATHAN

I’d just finished tightening the last bolt on a latch for cabin four’s door when my phone buzzed in my back pocket.

The text read:Almost there. Just passed mile marker 12.

That gave me maybe fifteen minutes, twenty if she hit the gravel slow, which she probably would. I set the wrench down and ran a hand through my hair, wiping the sweat off my brow with the back of my arm. I’d already showered, trimmed my stubble, and swapped the flannel and work boots for a dark button-down shirt and clean jeans.

May had raised a brow when I’d passed her earlier, her head tilting slightly, as if she could hear the difference in my stride. She didn’t say anything, just handed me a sprig of mountain balm and grinned like she knew something was up.

I didn’t know if my efforts were going to be anything Blanche liked, but I knew I wanted her to feel welcome, wanted her to know she mattered. That this wasn’t some obligation I felt toward her because of June. It was something else now. Something more personal.

She’d said yes.

That still hadn’t fully settled in. After everything…after the things I’d said, after how she’d looked at me in that café,uncertain if she could trust me—I hadn’t been sure she’d ever come back. I’d told myself I was okay with that, that I’d done the right thing by apologizing, by showing up in her world instead of hiding in mine. But when her message had come through, something in me had eased. A tight knot releasing. And then I’d gotten excited.

And now she was on her way.

When I stepped out of the cabin, I noticed the sky had already started to fade, twilight brushing the edges of the woods in violet and blue. The trees stood tall and still, the forest hushed in that sacred way it always was when the light changed. Crickets were chirping in lazy overlapping waves.

I crossed the path down to the reception cabin and stood just outside, arms folded. From here, I could see the gravel loop that led up from the road in. Past that, the edge of the woods and beyond it…the signal dead zone. No one would reach her after that last text. I wanted to be the first thing she saw when she arrived.

It wasn’t long before I heard the crunch of tires. Her car rolled into view, headlights cutting soft paths through the trees before she pulled up and parked. She stepped out slowly, blinking up at the woods like they still caught her breath. And maybe they did.

She looked different.

Not in any drastic way, just fresher. Like the trip back had done something to her. Her eyes were clearer. Her shoulders sat a little looser. There was a flush to her cheeks that hadn’t been there before.

When her eyes met mine, they widened, just a bit…but it was enough to freeze my heart. I’d seen her before, of course. But now I was really taking her in and taking my time with it. I took in her details…the shape of her mouth, the way her hair caught light, the way she carried herself trying not to take up space.

And gods help me, I felt it.

There was a sharpness to her, like her full beauty had come into focus. Bright eyes that made me forget what I’d been doing seconds before. She looked softer than before, her dangling hair loose around her face, her maroon coat catching the dusk light just right.

This isn’t smart,I knew. Inviting her into my life when I had a mountain of problems already.

But I couldn’t find it in me to care at that moment.