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It was the stupidest most wonderful thing he’d ever heard.
He held her gaze and reached for her hands. She grabbed on and held tight, her grip surprisingly strong—almost painfully strong. He gave her a gentle smile. “You don’t need to prove anything to me. You being here is enough. What you just said is enough.”
“I’m doing this as much for me as for you.”
“What’s it going to prove to you?”
“Some guy once told me if I start here, everything else will be a piece of cake.”
“I was talking about taking risks when it comes to extreme sports.”
“Well, I figure if I can hurl myself out of a plane, living to tell the tale will be my cake, and the rest is just frosting.”
He gave her a mock frown. “Now I’m just frosting?”
She gave him a cheeky grin. “It’s my favorite, too.”
He started to tug her forward for a kiss when the lead diver hollered out, “Final check! Let’s go boys and girls!”
“Ready?”
“No.” But she managed a sideways smile as they lined up for the gear check and her tandem partner went over everything with her again. He watched her nod and smile, and his heart melted at the courage she was summoning to do this.
As the owner checked Asher’s harness, chute, and reserve chute, he gestured toward Honor with a slight nod of his head and asked in an undertone, “Did she book a video of this?” When Chet shook his head, Asher said, “If you let me video her on this jump, the whole shoot is on me. I’ll stay for however many extra jumps we need to get it done.”
Chet’s brows rose, but he didn’t hesitate. “Deal. You know her?”
“I’m going to marry her.”
He grinned. “All right, then. Congrats, man.” With a clap on the shoulder, he moved on to check the next solo jumper.
When it was time to go, Asher held Honor’s hand on the way to the idling plane. She squeezed his so hard the tips of his fingers tingled. They were trailing along at the back of the group when she suddenly pulled him to a stop.
“Asher.”
He turned back, and his chest squeezed when her wide eyes locked with his. She looked absolutely terrified. “You okay? Because you really don’t have to jump if you don’t want to.”
A tremulous smile curved her mouth. “I love you.”
His heart jolted hard at the pure, unhindered emotion in her eyes. He moved closer, lifting his hand to her face, grinning with joy as he brushed his thumb over her cheek.
“I wanted you to know that before we jump.”
He leaned in, his lips a hair’s breadth from hers. “Tell me again when we’re back on the ground.”
She gave a jerky nod.
“You got this, Butter Cream.”
The nickname made her laugh, and he pressed his lips to hers. Before he could deepen the kiss, Chet hollered, “Save it for later, Diamond! Those who don’t jump will never fly.”
Asher broke the kiss and led Honor to the plane as he hollered back, “Let’s go make love to the world!”
She gave him a confused smile, but he’d explain the quote later.
When they were up in the air, climbing in altitude to the jump zone, the tandem pairs sat with their backs to the pilots, and Asher sat with the solo jumpers in the back, near the door. Honor and her partner were the first of the tandem pairs, and he’d jump seconds before them so he could film her freefall, then break away to take still photos after he pulled his chute.
He checked his equipment once more, turned on his helmet cam and caught her eye through their safety goggles. When he gave her a thumbs up, she gave him two back. With the roar of the engine in his ears, he mouthed, “I love you,” and was rewarded with her huge smile just before Chet opened the door.
