An Unexpected Love (Treasured Dreams Book 3) by Susan Hatler Page A

something I couldn’t quite hear. Then he glanced off the path, clambered up on top of a large boulder and held out his hand to me. I reached out, curling my hand into his, and tingles skittered up my arm. Even after being together for two months, the sparks between us were stronger than ever. Shiver.
    “We’re stopping before the top of the mountain? Okay . . .” I said, feeling breathless as he pulled me up next to him. With his arm around me, we gazed out at this new of the Flathead Valley below. It was gorgeous . The jagged white-capped peaks of Glacier Park provided a powerful backdrop, contrasting our tiny town nestled below, and the shimmering blue of Whitefish Lake stretched off to the north. But the beauty dimmed slightly due to the angst my looming deadline. “Don’t you think this path gets better every time we come out?”
    “I think our path gets better every day we’re together.” He pulled me close, his eyes gleaming with such unabashed intensity that my cheeks heated.
    “You’re too sweet.” I dropped my gaze for a moment, wondering if he’d continue to look at me like that if I chickened out on this project, which had the potential to take Treasured Creations to the next level. Or, putting all of my stock into this one sales channel could cause my business to go under. My stomach clenched. “When hiking a trail is this good, there’s no reason to make a change. Don’t you think?”
    The corner of his mouth tipped up, then he leaned in slowly and brushed his mouth lightly across my lips. Then he pulled back and hopped off the rock. “I think it’s time you told me what’s going on in that pretty head of yours.”
    I tilted my head, my chestnut curls flopping against my shoulder. “What do you mean?”
    “You’ve been clutching the charm on your necklace since we left the trailhead.” He reached for my hand that gripped the charm and gently released the butterfly from my grip, letting it rest against the round-neck thermal shirt that peeked out beneath my jacket. “You work your pendants like a worry stone when something big is on your mind,” he said.
    “I do?” A ripple of excitement rolled through me that he already knew me so well. But the feeling quickly dissipated, replaced by a weighted boulder invading my belly. When Dave held out his hand, I grabbed it like a lifeline, and jumped of the rock. We were silent as we trudged up the incline, holding hands, until we came to a fork in the trail.
    He turned to me, raising one brow. “We always go right. Is it time to make a change?”
    I closed my eyes for a moment, imagined getting zero orders through Moxie, then promptly swayed on my feet. My eyes flew open, my fingers flew to my charm, and I shook my head. “Let’s just stick with what we know.”
    “Your call,” he said, and started back up the trail. “But I’m here if you need me.”
    “Thanks.” I smashed my lips together, wondering what Dave’s advice would be about the potential deal with Moxie. He’d given up a corporate life to be a freelance web developer, so he knew about making tough business decisions for himself. And I knew he was successful in his work. But would I be successful? What if I failed big time?
    When we reached the top, we found our picnic spot, which sat on a flat, bald outcropping of rock. Small remnants of the thin layer of snow from this morning remained, and the rock still had a few icy spots. Since it was late November, the big snow would drop soon, coating the mountain in white, and holding throughout the winter. Right now the season was in transition, with one foot out the door, and one foot still inside.
    I could totally relate. Sigh.
    Up here on the summit, the view of the valley was even more spectacular. A large bird flew from a tree below, but it was too far away to tell if the dark bird was a bald eagle or an osprey. Dave and I usually dangled our feet off the edge of the rock as we ate. But with my stomach in knots, this seemed