Could've Said Yes

by Tracy March

  Collin cut a look at him. “That all you got?”

  Ellie grinned. His heart clenched as she met his gaze for the first time since they’d left her place last night. The freckles across her nose had gotten darker in the afternoon sun. He held her gaze a beat, warmth spreading in his chest despite the chill of the water.

  God, she’s irresistible.

  He’d known that already. But now he’d seen her out here on the river, horsing around with her brother, taking on the rapids like a pro, and looking eager for more.

  “We’ll ground the raft on that bar up there.” Matt pointed his oar toward the right bank. “And hike down so Ellie can check out what’s going on with the camera. After that’s set, we’ll show you some really big water.” He aimed a look at Collin, challenge glinting in his eyes.

  Ellie’s glimmered, too.

  Collin nodded, steel in his gaze. He could handle the really big water. It was Ellie that was destroying him.

  Matt guided the raft to the bar. They grounded it and got out, securing it away from the current. Collin followed Matt and Ellie’s lead, taking off his helmet and vest and stowing them in the raft, struggling not to stare at Ellie wearing only a bikini top and some body-hugging wetsuit shorts. Dirty thoughts raced through Collin’s mind. If Matt had a clue what he was thinking, he’d probably punch him in the face.

  “Camera’s down this way.” Matt led them along a narrow path that hadn’t seen much traffic, from what Collin could tell.

  He gladly let Ellie follow Matt, while he enjoyed the view from behind. Her smooth, lightly tanned skin. The sweet curve of her waist. Those long, lean legs. And those tempting strings holding her bikini top in place.

  Couple all that with the even more adventurous side of her he was seeing, and he knew he’d made a mistake, brushing her off like he had. And that left him with two huge challenges—larger than any big water Matt was going to run them through.

  Could he convince her to give him another chance?

  Because a string of one-night stands with other women wouldn’t begin to get her out of his system.

  And could he walk away from her when it was time to leave Thistle Bend?

  He’d have to knock out the first one to ever get a go at the second.

  The rush of water became louder as they hiked, and the path veered steeply downhill, the river out of sight behind heavy foliage. Matt took a sharp left, leading them to the river’s edge and the source of the rushing sound. Frothy rapids raged in turbulent waves between tiered boulders, the violent current gushing and swirling at their base.

  Collin’s adrenaline spiked.

  Matt stopped next to the trunk of a giant cottonwood tree that shaded a section of the river beyond the rapids, and shot Collin a satisfied grin. “That’s gonna be us, man.”

  Ellie met his gaze, and nodded, excitement dancing in her eyes. “Class five.”

  “One of our favorite runs.” Matt tapped his knuckles on top of a Plexiglas box mounted waist-high on a post. “We get some awesome action shots from this camera.”

  As Ellie stepped to the box, Collin stole a glance at her flat stomach, and swept his gaze over those two tantalizing triangles of blue fabric stretching around the perfect curves of her breasts.

  “I promised you some big water,” Matt said.

  Ellie held out her hand to Matt, palm up. He furrowed his brow for a second, then dug in the pocket of his cargo shorts, brought out a key, and handed it to her. She slid it in the lock on the box, and opened the panel. Kneeling in front of it, she tinkered with the camera, fully focused on the task.

  Just like Collin was fully focused on her.

  “Only takes her a second to fix these things when they go down,” Matt said, clearly a fan of his sister.

  That makes two of us.

  Ellie shook her head. “Don’t jinx me,” she teased.

  “We get shots of airborne rafts,” Matt said. “People flying all over the place.” He spread his arms wide. “Bestsellers, usually.”

  Ellie glanced up at Matt. “Looks like the shutter is stuck. Should be an easy fix.”

  “Sweet.” Matt squeezed Ellie’s bare shoulders, sending a ridiculous pang of envy through Collin. “She’s like the Florence Nightingale for cameras.”

  A girl who can fix things—another side of her that Collin really liked.

  “Ellie introduced me to your brother, Brian,” Collin said to Matt. “And RMBL.”

  She gave Collin a curious, sidelong look, then refocused on the camera.

  Matt scratched the back of his head, shifting his gaze from Collin to Ellie and back, seeming to get, for the first time, that there was more to their story than they’d let on. “Bet Brian gave you an earful. He’s serious about stream ecology and toxic mine waste and all that.” He shrugged. “Me, too, I guess. No one wants to raft on a river that’s a hazmat dump.”

  Collin clenched his teeth. “Fighting it every day up at the Big Star site.”

  Matt gave him a fist bump. “Go get ’em, man.”

  Click-hum.

  The sound had Collin thinking of his first glimpse of Ellie at Stallion Ridge—how she teased him with her camera in front of her face for what seemed like forever. After the way he’d acted, would she still paint one of those pictures she took for him?

  And will I win the bet?

  He was crazy to walk away from something that might lead to a night of wilderness camping with her.

  Or a photo shoot for you.

  Collin’s gut twisted. He’d never been one for being in front of the camera. No one would find a bunch of selfies on his phone.

  Ellie stood, brushed the dirt off her knees, and set her gaze on Collin. “We might be back in business.”

  Another jolt of adrenaline fired through him.

  She’s going to give me another chance.

  Ellie sank her teeth into her bottom lip, her gaze still locked on his. “But we’ll have to test it to see.”

  Chapter 11

  Still a little soggy from the afternoon’s rafting adventure, Ellie rocked in one of the chairs on her front porch, her head tipped back. When she’d left her place this morning, she never imagined she’d be expecting Collin to bring dinner tonight.

  But then today happened.

  She’d been tempted to bail on Matt after Collin showed up and Matt invited him to come with them to fix the camera. But Matt had no idea what had been going on between Collin and her, and both she and Matt could use the revenue from the Splash Cam. So she’d gone along, and tried her best to ignore Collin, as difficult as it was. But then she’d seen how well he’d hit it off with Matt—it was nothing short of a bromance all afternoon. As silly as it seemed, she was envious. She liked the adventurous, one-of-the-guys Collin, just as much as she’d liked all the other sides of him she’d seen.

  Except the withdrawn one last night.

  But when she’d finally met his gaze after they came off the rapids, she swore she saw an apology in his eyes. And then again before she fixed the camera. By the time she had the shutter clicking, she decided to meet him halfway. She hadn’t been sure exactly how that would go, until they ran the Class V rapid and tested the Splash Cam.

  Ellie’s pulse had pounded with the heady mix of excitement and fear as the raft approached the frothy run ahead. Stationed at the rear of the raft, Matt navigated them toward the tongue, the current sweeping them forward—no paddles required. Ellie caught Collin’s gaze, loving that he looked as amped as she was.

  “You ready?” she called over the roar of the river.

  He nodded confidently. “Bring it.”

  Ellie’s stomach somersaulted as the raft swept through the tongue and tore down the first tier of rapids, pitching and twisting, waves gushing over its sides. They shimmied through a narrow passage, water swirling angrily, spinning the raft as it pitched over the next drop. She sucked in a mouthful of water as the bow hung up on a boulder, springing the raft into a wicked catapult.

  Ellie went
airborne and weightless, then crashed into the cold, churning river, bubbling water surrounding her. She blinked open her eyes, just long enough to see which direction to swim…

  Toward the light.

  Several strokes and she broke the surface, gasping for air. Before she could fully inhale, strong arms gripped her from behind and pulled her against solid muscle. “You all right?”

  Collin.

  She twisted to face him, catching sight of Matt corralling the raft a short distance downstream. “That was intense,” she said breathlessly, every nerve in her body on alert with Collin’s arm locked around her waist, anchoring her to him.

  He gripped the nape of her neck and kissed her with the urgency of the rapids. High on adrenaline, Ellie tightly cupped his face in her hands, drowning in sensation.

  “Meet me down here,” Matt called, and Collin pulled back.

  Ellie turned and hollered, “On our way.”

  Collin smoothed his fingers along her neck, and down into the V of her life jacket. “About last night…I can explain.”

  He’d even offered to bring dinner, and Ellie already had dessert—several coconut oatmeal sandwich cookies with mascarpone cream-cheese filling that she’d scored from Milly and Merri this morning.

  Ellie kept her chair rocking with a steady rhythm, working to manage her emotions. She couldn’t risk getting too excited about Collin. At least not until she heard his explanation for how he’d acted last night. Then she’d see how things went. If they went anything like that kiss in the river, she was really in danger of doing something…

  Sinful.

  Her stomach fluttered with nerves as she went inside and showered, wondering how tonight would go. Eager to look her casual best, she went easy on the makeup, dried her hair, and left it loose, the gentle waves framing her face. She headed into her bedroom and opened her lingerie drawer, debating which bra-and-panty set to wear…

  Just in case.

  The satiny mint-green set caught her eye, so she put it on without second-guessing, adding a camisole the same color. She slipped her gauzy white poet’s blouse over her head, and made a loose bow with the ties at the neckline, shimmery blue and green beads glinting at the ends. Faded jeans and a cute pair of leather sandals finished off the outfit.

  A sturdy knock on the door sent her pulse racing. Despite trying to resist him, things had been pretty easy with Collin before. But last night and today had turned things upside down, and she was all excitement and nerves.

  Ellie went to the door and opened it, her heart tumbling at the sight of him in dark jeans and a chambray shirt with a white tee underneath. He had carryout food in one hand, and a six-pack of longneck beers in the other.

  “Hola.” He gave her a crooked grin. “Special delivery from Teocalli Tamale, the finest take-out Mexican in Thistle Bend—at least that’s what the guys tell me.”

  “Yum.” Ellie stepped aside and let him in, catching a tinge of his sexy cologne.

  He swaggered into the kitchen and set everything on the counter. Ellie followed and put the beer in the fridge.

  Collin leaned against the counter, crossing one of his ankles over the other. “Should we eat it while it’s hot?”

  “Definitely,” she said. Having food to eat might make things a little less awkward.

  And beer.

  “Want to go outside on the patio?” Ellie had brushed off the cushions on the wrought-iron patio furniture and wiped the table clean.

  “It’s a great night for that,” Collin said. “Weather’s perfect.”

  “Do we need utensils?”

  “Nope. This is down-and-dirty casual. All we need to do is open a couple of beers, and we’re good to go.”

  Ellie grabbed two beers and opened them. She led him through the laundry room and out the back door, remembering how they’d come in that way on Saturday, drenched to their skin.

  And how Collin looked with his shirt off…then wearing only a towel.

  She swallowed hard.

  Collin set the bag on the table and pulled out tortilla chips, salsa, and two huge foil-wrapped burritos. “I wasn’t sure you’d like it how I do, so I winged it.”

  If their kisses were any indication, they definitely liked it the same way. “I’m all for trying something new and exciting.”

  He set his gaze on hers, and let it linger. “Me, too.”

  The there’s-something-we-need-to-talk-about awkwardness dissipated some as they settled in the cushiony chairs that Collin had pulled close together. They faced a vast meadow of colorful wildflowers, with a panorama of mountain peaks in the distance. It was hard for Ellie to believe that it was her backyard.

  Collin handed her one of the burritos. “I’m not going to tell you what kind it is—you have to bite into it and guess.”

  Ellie quirked up one corner of her mouth. She clutched the warm burrito and peeled the foil wrapper away from the end. Bringing it to her mouth, she got ready to take a bite.

  “Close your eyes,” he said. “You can’t look. That would give it away.”

  Ellie closed her eyes and bit into the burrito. Chewing slowly, she concentrated on the flavors, texture, and spices.

  Rice, beans, guacamole…

  She covered her mouth with her hand. “It’s spicy shredded beef—Mike’s Mexolina,” she murmured, and opened her eyes. “Best burrito on the menu.”

  Collin drew his head back. “You nailed it on the first bite.”

  “So delicious,” she said.

  “You set the bar pretty high with that picnic Milly and Merri packed.” He dipped a chip in the salsa. “I had to show up with something killer.”

  “Mission accomplished.” Ellie took a swallow of her beer. “Try yours—see what you think.”

  “I already know what I think. I’ve eaten at Teocalli Tamale five times since I hit town.”

  “Five?”

  “When I find something good, I keep going back for more.” He took a long slug of his beer, and tore the foil away from his burrito.

  Is that why he had come back here?

  “Oh,” Ellie said in the middle of a mouthful. She held up her index finger and stood. “I have something for you.” She hurried into the house, made her way to her studio/darkroom, picked up a picture from her worktable, and headed outside again. Settling in her chair, she slid the picture in front of Collin.

  His eyes widened, and a broad grin stretched across his face as he took a closer look. “No way.”

  “Splash Cam is back online.” She nodded as she checked out the picture of her, Collin, and Matt caught in midair over the raging rapids, the yellow raft rising behind them. “Best. Shot. Ever.”

  “That’s awesome. Maybe you should paint that one instead of the one of me and my bike up on Stallion Ridge.”

  Ellie furrowed her brow. “You still want me to paint it?” After what had happened last night, she wasn’t sure whether or not to bother with the project.

  “Yep.” He dipped a chip in the salsa and ate it. “We have a bet, remember? The sooner you get that picture in the works, the sooner I win.”

  Ellie forced a little smile, wanting to play along, but was disappointed he hadn’t taken advantage of the perfect segue she’d given him to explain why he’d withdrawn from her—and then clearly changed his mind. She was willing to work past it, but only if he explained, like he’d said he would.

  “Trash-talkers don’t usually win,” she teased. “I still haven’t decided which shot I want to paint. Want to help me choose?”

  He looked surprised that she’d offered. “Sure. But it’s kind of hard to be objective about pictures of yourself.”

  “Because you think they’re all good?” She winked, knowing better. If anything, he’d seemed camera-shy—precisely the reason she’d chosen to make him do a photo shoot if she won the bet.

  Collin laughed, low and deep. “Exactly. I might pick ten of them and have you tied up until next year.”

  “So you’re into that kind of stuff?”
Ellie gazed at him, deadpan.

  His eyes glinted with intrigue. “Let’s just say I’m open-minded.”

  She might be, too, if he would explain himself and they could get on with things.

  The sun sank lower in the sky as they ate. Ellie relaxed as a little beer buzz kicked in, and Collin told her about the pranks he and the guys at the mine pulled on one another.

  “You never know who’s going to get you next, or what they’re going to do,” he said. “You just hope it doesn’t happen while you’re in the port-o-john.”

  “Eww.”

  He scrubbed his hand over his hair. “It’s a bunch of guys, unfiltered. Hard work, but at least we make it fun.”

  Ellie flattened her hand over her belly, and leaned back in her chair, having eaten only half of the huge burrito. “Looks like I’m going to have leftovers.”

  “Ready-made for breakfast tomorrow.”

  She scrunched her nose. “Maybe lunch. I’m a breakfast-food-for-breakfast kind of girl.”

  “Not me. I’m up for Mike’s Mexolina 24/7. Bring it on for breakfast.” He gave her a sidelong glance.

  Ellie could hardly believe she was flirting with the idea of keeping him around until breakfast, and doing everything that might come in between. But none of that was going to go down if Collin didn’t clear up her confusion about what had happened last night.

  She lazily looked him over—his shoulders sturdy, the fiery sunset behind him, beer bottle at his lips. The guy would be nearly impossible to say no to if he made a move, but she had to stick to her resolve. She hadn’t worked so hard to get over Noah just to become tangled up with another guy who played head games.

  “Ready to wrap up this stuff, and pick out the picture you want me to paint?”

  Collin nodded, and they cleared the table and went inside. He put what was left of the salsa and Ellie’s burrito in the fridge, and grabbed a couple more beers. “I’m ready to see where all the magic happens.”

  Ellie’s full stomach knotted at the thought of taking him into her studio. The guy had showered here, and walked around the place wearing only a towel. She’d even told him the painful and embarrassing story about her breakup with Noah. All somewhat intimate and personal things. But taking him into her studio was a major step. She displayed her artwork to the public in her gallery, but her studio was her private haven. That room embodied so much of Ellie—deep emotions and struggles and small victories, things she didn’t freely share with just anyone.