Alex gave her an adorable lopsided grin, and her heartbeat picked up in response. “I also just finished a run.”

“In this weather?” Ellie teased. She was rewarded with a deep chuckle that danced up and down her spine.

“Hey, maybe we could run together some time,” he suggested. Ellie gave silent thanks that he hadn’t noticed her reaction to him.

“Maybe….” Ellie nodded and smiled to take the sting out of what could’ve been perceived as a rejection.

Suddenly he leaned forward and touched her arm lightly. “You do that a lot, you know.”

Trying not to pull away from his touch, it was Ellie’s turn to raise her eyebrows in surprise. “Do what?”

“Answer with something vague.” He sat back, letting her breathe normally again.

“Do I?” Ellie feigned surprise. Impressive. Most people don’t even notice when I’m giving vague answers.

“There you go again!”

“Huh.” Ellie grimaced and tried a different approach. “I don’t even notice I’m doing it. I guess I don’t talk about myself much in general.” Especially to hot guys who have no clue who I really am.

“Fair enough.” Alex let her off the hook with good- natured grace. “So back to that run?”

Ellie laughed. Clearly she wasn’t going to get away with keeping her distance. Not that she wanted to. She was just trying to avoid further complication. And Alex Jenner had the potential to be a rather major complication.