Page 119 of Theirs to Tempt: The Marriage Claim

Caleb’s hand tightens. “Look out the window.”

“I am looking out the window. That is the problem.” Below us, the Bella Rosa shrinks. Then the helicopter turns, and the Strip opens beneath us.

Even in daylight, the city is astonishing. Pools glow turquoise among acres of white concrete. Replicas of monuments rise beside glass towers and sprawling resorts.

Caleb leans closer to the window beside me. “It’s even more spectacular at night.”

“You’ve done this before?”

“A few times.”

Lucian’s mouth curves. “He grew up here.”

I look at Caleb. “You did?”

“Mostly.”

There is something in the way he looks down at the city—longing but also lost—that makes me want to ask more.

As I watch, the city gives way to desert, then mountains, then the startling blue of Lake Mead. Hoover Dam appears below us, enormous even from the air, before the landscape opens again.

By then, I have stopped worrying about every small movement of the helicopter.

Ben’s voice comes through the headset. “We’re approaching the western edge of the Grand Canyon.”

I bring my attention back to the window.

Ahead of us, the ground appears to end.

The canyon does not reveal itself all at once. It opens in stages, one immense cliff giving way to another, then another beyond it, until distance becomes impossible to judge.

Then we cross the rim.

The earth falls away beneath us.

For one suspended heartbeat, there is nothing below but air, shadow, and the distant ribbon of the Colorado River.

I forget to breathe.

The canyon surrounds us in vast, layered walls—crimson, amber, violet, and dark brown. Sunlight pours across the upper ridges while the depths remain cool and shadowed.

The helicopter glides deeper, following the curve of the canyon.

“We wanted to take you away from your obligations, help you see things from a bigger vantage point.”

My eyes suddenly sting, and I pretend to be fascinated by the river below.

But the truth is, I’ve spent years and years focused on my schooling, on earning money, on helping with my mom. And to have someone want to show me something different…? I don’t even know what to think.

For the next few minutes, I simply watch.

Every turn reveals another impossible view—deep ravines disappearing into shadow, cliffs stacked like ancient fortresses, stone rising from stone beneath an endless blue sky.

At some point, I realize I’m still holding both their hands, and that I like it.

Ben circles once more before beginning the climb toward the rim.

The rings on my hand flash between Caleb’s fingers.