Page 30 of The Mountain Man's Mail-Order Mafia Princess

“Your emotional support style needs work,” I said.

“I didn’t know I had one.”

“That explains a lot.”

When we finished, Jonah carried the bags while I walked beside him in my new boots. Gravel no longer threatened my ankles. The block heels struck the ground with a solid rhythm that felt almost aggressive.

At the truck, Jonah opened the passenger door.

I accepted his hand before he offered it twice.

His fingers closed around mine, warm and rough. The contact lasted only long enough to steady me, but the warmth lingered after I reached the seat.

He loaded the bags behind us.

My phone stayed silent inside my handbag because I’d told it to.

***

Back at the cabin, I carried the clothing bags into the bedroom while Jonah put away the groceries.

The afternoon heat had settled over the one-bedroom space. Sunlight fell through the open window, and the fan pushed warm air over the bed where we’d spent the previous night separated by a pillow and several rules I no longer found comforting.

I changed into dark denim shorts and a fitted red tank.

The shorts hugged my hips. The top followed every curve and showed plenty of cleavage. Mountain clothes didn’t require surrender.

I kept my diamonds on.

The new boots stayed on too.

When I entered the main room, Jonah stood at the counter with his back to me, arranging groceries in the small cabinets. His shirt stretched across his shoulders when he reached for the top shelf.

He turned.

He looked at the tank, shorts, bare thighs, and boots.

“You found clothes for the mountain,” he said.

“I found clothes that won’t kill me.”

“That was the goal.”

“You could acknowledge that I achieved it without becoming visually beige.”

“I never asked you to become beige.”

“No, but the mountains seem to encourage it.”

He looked down at his faded-blue shirt. “This isn’t beige.”

“It’s emotionally adjacent.”

Jonah laughed.

The low, brief sound widened his crooked smile, and my breath caught.

“There,” I said. “That was almost a personality.”