Love In Alaska (The Love In 50 States Series Book 2) Read Online Free Page A

“One.”
    One more than me. I swallowed, thinking his answer wasn't as bad as I'd thought it would be.
    “I should clarify,” he continued, a smile spreading across his face. “One time means this time. Because you're the first.”

FOUR
     
     
    The alarm chimed on my phone and I forced my eyes open, then shut them again.
    Mornings were brutal in Alaska.
    I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and punched off the alarm that was telling me it was six in the morning. Time to get up. I had an hour until Evan would be there.
    I laid there for a few minutes, letting the fog clear from my head. By the time I'd gotten back from the boat cruise the previous day, I'd grabbed dinner from a local diner, brought it back to my room and, polishing off the burger, had managed to muster enough energy to pack for my outing with Evan before promptly passing out.
    I was still a little surprised that I'd said yes. It was completely different than agreeing to a date with Adam. With him, we could have walked to the restaurant we'd gone to. Our date could have ended at any time, simply by me deciding I'd had enough and getting up from the table. I'd been in control...or at least there had been the illusion of control.
    But Evan? I was getting on a plane and flying somewhere with him. Probably somewhere remote. The only way I'd be coming back to Anchorage and my hotel room was if he brought me—and when he brought me.
    My stomach twisted a little and, on impulse, I reached for my phone again. I needed a cheerleader.
    “Jess?” Mimi's warm, friendly voice filled me with homesickness. “How's Alaska?”
    “Beautiful,” I told her. I gave her a quick rundown on the boat cruise.
    “That sounds amazing,” she said. I could hear a twinge of envy in her voice. “Better than my day yesterday.” I waited for her to elaborate. “I cleaned up vomit. All day long. Some stupid stomach bug I'm hoping doesn't find me.”
    I made a face. “I'm sorry.”
    “Me, too,” she said, chuckling.
    There was a pause in our conversation and I knew she was waiting for me to tell her why I was calling. I'd already checked in with Paige; they knew I'd made it safely to my destination.
    “So I have this opportunity,” I began. “To go on a mini-trip here.”
    “Okay,” she said. “And...?”
    “It's with a guy,” I said. “A guy I just met.”
    “So what's wrong with that?”
    “We'd be going in his plane,” I told her. “His private plane. Just me and him. Overnight.”
    There was another pause. “Where did you meet him?”
    I told her about the cruise and everything I knew about Evan which, admittedly, wasn't much.
    “Okay,” she said again.
    “Is it?” I asked, sitting up in bed. “Is it okay that I'm leaving in forty-five minutes to get on a plane with a guy I barely know? To go into the wilds of Alaska? Or am I insane? You can tell me, Mimi. Be honest.”
    She giggled. “No, Jess, you aren't insane.”
    “No?” I closed my eyes. “Because I sorta feel like I am.” I told her about my conversations with Paige and the guy on the plane.
    “What does your intuition tell you?” she asked.
    I took a deep breath. I didn't know if I could trust my intuition. It never seemed to be right. It had certainly failed me when I'd gotten involved with Brian...and then stayed married to him for almost five years. And I wasn't sure it had led me in the right direction with Adam, either.
    “I don't know,” I said.
    “What do you think of Evan? How does he make you feel?”
    “I haven't slept with him yet!”
    “Not what I meant,” she said. “Does he make you feel scared? Apprehensive? On edge?”
    I thought back to our conversation on the boat and then later, when I'd joined him and his sister on the upper deck to whale watch. His sister had been nice, too and we'd spent the better part of the cruise back to Anchorage in easy conversation.
    “He's nice,” I began, but that sounded wholly inadequate and lame. “Kind. Funny.