I wait for him to leave, my heart in my throat. I don’t want him to go. I don’t want to do this by myself. I squeeze my eyes shut when the wind buffets the bridge again, and ahorrified sound comes from my throat. It might be a whimper.
“How’s the weather up there?” he asks.
I half laugh, half sob into the phone. “I’m so annoyed at you. You came here without a bodyguard.”
“I know,” he says soothingly. “I know you’re annoyed at me. You can be annoyed at me all you want once you’re back on the ground.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
It’s both worse and better that someone is watching me do this. I will myself to take another step, but the next board is narrower than the others. My whole foot won’t even fit, and the thought of any part of me justdanglingin the wind—I squeeze my eyes shut again.
“I can hear you panicking.”
“Shut up,” I hiss.
His chuckle is low. “I’m coming up.”
“No, Tristan, don’t—” But the line is dead and he’s already starting at the bottom rung of the ladder that leads up to the far platform. He scales it with admirable ease and salutes me when he lands on the other side of the bridge.
I swallow, expecting a flippant comment about how I’m not that high up, but instead his gaze pins me as he stalks to the platform edge.
“Bailey,” he says with a slow smile. “There you are. Though you’re looking a bit underdressed.” His gaze snags on my left arm, and his eyes seem to glitter. It’s the scattered forest light playing tricks.
“I had to splint my arm with my shirt,” I say weakly. “I may have sprained my wrist.”
“And here I thought you’d started stripping to show how grateful you are to me.”
I laugh, scaring birds into flight above us. My shoulders shake as I tip my head back. Tristan is grinning at me as I finish.
“I don’t need your help.”
He raises both brows. “Sort of seems like you do.”
“Asshole,” I mutter.
“What was that?”
“I hate you,” I shout back.
He’s still grinning, the arrogant ass. “Come hate me over here.”
My breath catches. “Tristan. I can’t.”
“Yes. You can.”
My gaze wavers, wants to drop to the forest floor, so far below me. I’m going to be sick. I’m going to—
“Eyes on me.”
My gaze snaps back to his.
“Eyes on me and breathe, okay?”
I nod.
“What do you want to take one step forward?”
