Bursting With Love by Melissa Foster Page A

any efforts she made to hide the way her stomach fluttered and her pulse skipped when she looked at him.
    Despite the bright sun, the temperature beneath the cover of the trees was downright chilly. Savannah had just pulled her sweatshirt over her head when she felt Jack’s hand on her lower back. It could only be Jack’s enormous hand, as it covered her almost completely from hip to hip, and if she concentrated hard enough, she could still feel the heat of it against her bare skin. Now his hand slid off as quickly as it had landed. Savannah scanned the campsite. Pratt and Josie were packing their supplies, and Lou, Elizabeth, and Aiden were playing tic-tac-toe in the dirt. No one appeared to be looking for them.
    “You sleep okay?” Jack asked in a serious voice.
    She turned to face him, and her smile stuck half formed on her lips. That shadowed look was back.
    “Yeah. What’s wrong?”
    Jack’s eyes shifted left, then right, finally landing on Savannah’s. “Nothing.”
    Savannah heard, Everything . She touched his arm, and his muscles tensed. “Jack?” she whispered. “What am I not getting here?”
    He shook his head. “Nothing. It’s gonna be a long day. You have what you need?”
    “Jack, I have everything. You gave us a very precise list. Please tell me what’s going on.” She looked over her shoulder, relieved to see the others were still busy. She turned back to Jack, and the fluttering in her stomach turned to a sinking feeling.
    Jack clenched his jaw. “Come here.” He stalked off to the edge of the woods. Savannah followed, her insides twisting with regret. He’s gonna say it was all a mistake. It’s over . Shit. When did I start caring so much?
    “Savannah, what we did last night—”
    She held up her hand. Hearing him say the words was going to be far too painful. Instead, she said it for him. “It was all a mistake and you want to forget it ever happened.”
    Jack’s eyes flashed dark. He hunkered over her and touched her elbow, turning with her away from the others. “What? Why on earth would you think that?”
    “Isn’t that what you came to tell me?”
    Jack caressed her arm. “No. I wanted to tell you that what we did last night meant a lot to me. But, Savannah, if you don’t want this, please tell me now. I’m not the kind of guy who wants or needs a fling. Hell, I don’t even know how to have one.”
    Savannah shook her head. She needed clarification. Her legal mind kicked into gear, and she wanted to know precisely what he meant. In no uncertain terms.
    “Exactly what are you saying?” she asked.
    “This is really hard for me.” He let go of her arm and ran his hand through his hair. “For two years, I never looked at another woman. Then you burst into my life all bossy and confrontational, and not only can I not take my eyes off of you but I can’t stop thinking about you. It took all of my willpower not to crawl into your tent this morning. And when you came out of your tent to join the others, looking so beautiful with that smile that gets to me a little more every time I see it, I had to suppress the urge to take you in my arms and kiss you until neither of us wanted to do anything but sneak off into the woods.” He looked away. “This is crazy. I sound crazy, and I know that.”
    When he turned back to her, his eyes searched hers, and she knew she should respond with something, anything that would make him feel less nervous, but she couldn’t find her voice. She was still stuck on I can’t stop thinking about you.
    “Look,” he began. “I was with one woman for ten years. I barely remember anything, much less anyone, before she came into my life. Then I lost her, and my world ended. It stopped, Savannah. Do you know what that’s like?”
    She shook her head.
    “And then I’m finally able to function like a normal human being. I can teach people basic survival skills, fly my plane, go into town…” He began pacing. “Okay, maybe it’s not normal ,