Wanderlust by Natalie K. Martin Read Free Book Online Page B

able to appreciate the place for what it was.
    ‘So, what’s the verdict?’ Alex asked.
    ‘Hm, not bad,’ she replied, uncrossing her legs and crossing them again.
    ‘Not bad? By the way you were smacking your lips together, I’d have said it was the best thing you’d ever eaten.’
    She grinned and swatted his arm. ‘I did not.’
    ‘Did too.’
    Selina shook her head and looked down at the ground. Since talking to Penny during the storm, she’d found herself thawing towards Alex. She was curious and her inexplicable hostility towards him was rapidly receding. Instead, she was noticing how funny and smart he was. She was enjoying his company, but this? Why had she swatted his arm like that? It was like she was ten years old again, chasing her crush around the playground and that was most definitely not good. She looked back up at him to see him smiling as he took a swig of his beer.
    ‘Okay,’ she conceded. ‘It was really good. For a veggie barbecue, anyway.’
    ‘Veggie barbecues are the best. Fresh salads, grilled cheese…’
    ‘Sausages, burgers…’
    ‘Burning flesh?’ Alex grimaced. ‘No thanks. You’re going to have to get that meat craving under control if you want to survive around here.’
    Selina picked up her glass of orange juice from the ground. ‘I don’t know where you’ve got this idea of me being a massive meat addict from, considering I’ve been vegetarian for, ooh, I dunno. About three years.’
    He held his bottle a few inches away from his lips. ‘Really?’
    She nodded. ‘I used to have stomach problems and I found that I felt better after cutting meat out of my diet, so I became a vegetarian. I eat fish, though.’
    ‘But you were just moaning about the lack of sausages and burgers.’
    ‘What can I say, I miss it sometimes. Barbecues are my weakness.’
    Alex grinned and shook his head. ‘So why didn’t you say anything when I cooked dinner on your first night?’
    She shrugged. ‘You seemed to have already made up your mind about me, so I decided not to tell you anything at all.’
    ‘That’s fair enough, but since we’ve come onto that topic, so did you.’
    Selina pulled a face.
    ‘Come on,’ he said, nudging her with his shoulder. ‘Admit it.’
    She took a long sip of her drink. Admitting it would mean admitting to being judgemental, and even worse, that she’d been wrong.
    ‘You know what they say about first impressions,’ she replied, fully aware that she’d evaded answering properly.
    ‘Yes, I do, but if I stuck by my first impressions, I’d still think you were a condescending city girl who was out of her depth but still thought she was better than everyone else.’
    Selina’s mouth dropped open. Condescending? She remained silent as Loki curled himself up next to her. Alex’s comments had stung, but she’d be damned if she let him knew that.
    ‘I still think you’re serious,’ he continued. ‘But since I like to give people more than one chance, I’d say my second impression is that you’re sharp, intelligent and you don’t give up easily. I didn’t think you’d last two hours here but you impressed me, especially after almost chopping your hand off just to save a few tomatoes. I like you.’
    Why did that make a smile twitch at her lips? She kept her hand rooted in Loki’s fur but looked back at Alex.
    ‘And,’ he added, ‘I’d say you definitely don’t like to admit to being wrong.’
    ‘I don’t. But my first impressions of you were that you were an arrogant, know-it-all crusty hippy with more muscles than brains.’
    ‘Damn, that hurts.’ Alex laughed. ‘And now?’
    She grinned. ‘I still think you’re a hippy, even if you do have a smartphone and Facebook. ‘
    ‘Do you still think I’m crusty?’
    He was anything but. In fact, she found it hard to imagine why she’d ever thought so to begin with. He always smelled fresh and minty, and just looking at his skin made her want to reach out and stroke it. In the