One Blazing Night. Jo Leigh

Evidently, that was the signal she’d been waiting for to kick their speed up a notch. Maybe two. He was up for it, though. Maybe he could work out some of the tension her shorts had caused.

      “It must be really different since you were here last.”

      “What?” He hadn’t noticed much besides the woman next to him.

      “The Fens. I mean, it’s all cleaned up. The track. They have so many activities on the green. I come here almost daily, either early morning or at dusk, like now.”

      He spared a glance at the park. It was pretty awesome. The waning twilight was turning the leaves into jewels, the grass a solemn green, and the pond, the part he could see, was crystalline.

      “I actually have a recorder to take down any ideas that pop up while I’m running,” Sam said, snagging his attention again. “And they usually do. It’s supersmall and hidable and very good at focusing on the speaker and not the atmospheric noises.”

      “You’re carrying a recorder?”

      “It’s under my top. I’ll show you.”

      “Um...the recorder?”

      She blinked at him. “Of course the recorder. What did you think?”

      Matt smiled. “Are you recording now?”

      They parted for a moment to let a small woman with two Irish wolfhounds pass. It was quite a sight. They were nearly bigger than their owner.

      The moment he and Sam were back in sync, he looked at her confused expression. “I don’t know, Sammy. You’re really good at keeping my ego in check. It’s the first time in years we’re together and you can’t just be present here and now?”

      Her shock came as something of a surprise.

      “No, wait. It’s fine. I get it. I work a lot, too, and downtime is more of an idea than a practice. I sprang myself on you, and I’m sorry I caused you to change your schedule.” He lightly bumped her elbow. “Tell you what. How about we at least grab a drink before I have to leave?”

      Her pace slowed, and she was looking down instead of at the path ahead.

      “I wasn’t trying to make you feel guilty,” he said. “I honestly understand what it’s like to be buried in work.”

      He hoped she believed him. Not spending time with her would be a disappointment, more than he’d imagined before he’d seen her again. But now, when he realized the attraction thing wasn’t going away, he needed to be careful. Her legs in those shorts? Her hair in a goddamn ponytail? Jesus. Yes, he’d do them both a favor by backing off.

      She still hadn’t said anything, which was worrisome, but he recalled that back in school she’d get quiet like this when she was trying to absorb new information or solve a problem. It gave him time to notice that almost every guy they passed was staring at her.

      After an uncomfortable few minutes he saw they were checking her out both coming and going. One asshole was being a particular jerk and Matt gave him a warning look. The guy ignored him.

      Matt shook his head with a wry grin. “You’re going to get me in trouble again, aren’t you,” he muttered under his breath.

      “What? What are you talking about?”

      He hadn’t meant for her to hear. “Uh, the guys who are ogling you as if they’ve never seen a woman before?”

      “What guys?”

      “All of them?”

      A short bark of laughter sent her head back and her ponytail swinging. “You’re imagining things. If anything, they’re probably staring at you. And what did you mean by getting you in trouble again?”

      “You know, that time I got the shiner. Back in the day?”

      “I remember, but that had nothing to do with me.”

      “Are you joking? Of course it did.”

      “I wasn’t even there. You were at a soccer game and some fans got rowdy. You also had a split lip and a good-size bruise on your chin. I think Logan got hurt, too. Rick was the only smart one and stayed out of it.”

      The hell he had. Matt snorted a laugh. Rick had jumped in neck deep right along with him and Logan. The bastard had just got lucky and come out of the fight without a scratch.

      It dawned on Matt that they’d lied to her about that night. A group of jocks had said some pretty nasty things about Sam, so the three of them had taken care of the problem, then made up the soccer story. Those guys had never bothered her again.

      She’d got awfully quiet.

      Matt looked over at her. She wasn’t at his side.

      He looked back. She hadn’t just slowed down; she’d come to a dead stop in the middle of the path.

      And she looked pissed. “Tell me what happened.”

      “It was nothing.”

      “Matt. Tell me. I can see it was no soccer game.”

      He walked back to her and pulled her to the side of the path so others could run through. “Look, none of us wanted you to know. That group, Kenny and his crowd, the jocks that used to come by? They said some stuff we didn’t like. I admit I threw the first punch. But that was Logan’s fault.”

      Sam’s brows turned downward and she started walking toward the exit. He just had room to be at her side.

      “What did Logan do?” she asked.

      “He told me to stand back so I wouldn’t get my ‘pretty face’ messed up. Of course I had to take the first shot. I got the shiner when I turned to flip Logan off and Kenny sucker punched me.”

      Sam stopped again and stared at him, her expression completely neutral. Until she burst out laughing.

      “Why is that funny?”

      “I didn’t give a crap what those idiots said. I knew Kenny and his buddy Mark, and between them they couldn’t come up with a grammatically correct sentence. How they got into MIT is anyone’s guess.”

      She shook her head. Then her red-tinged eyebrows came together again. “Although I might have been hurt if they’d said really ugly things. I was pretty naive at the time. So thank you for defending my honor. And quite literally taking it on the chin.”

      He smiled, warmed by her thanks, her blush. The way the sun’s last rays made her hair shiny like copper and her face golden. He couldn’t help brushing a few strands of hair away from her eyes. “Anytime, Sammy.” He nodded to the exit, just a few feet away. They’d clocked only about four miles, which meant they had some time. “So, what do you say about dinner?”

      “Later,” Sam said, not looking pleased. “Maybe.”

      “Come on, Sammy. We can get some takeout on the next street. We could eat it in a cab to your place, and then I’ll take the cab back to the apartment.”

      “Eat in the back of a cab? No, thank you.”

      “Okay, we won’t eat it until we’re at your place.”

      She sighed and led him out into the bustle of downtown Boston, where she didn’t stop until she hit the curb and raised her hand for a taxi.

      “So,” he said. “You leave me no choice. I’ll have to call Clark to make sure you’re getting the kind of nutrition that’ll put a little meat on those bones.”

      She brought her hand down and faced him. “Matthew. When I was a kid, you and the other guys were the best thing I could have asked for. What you three did for my annoying self was beyond wonderful. And you’re right. Back then I needed the nudge now and again. Okay, a lot. But I’m a grown woman now. I don’t need you or Clark or anyone telling me when I should eat. If I’m hungry,