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I raise my eyebrows. He misunderstood the view as meaning beyond the hut to the jungle.
“You don’t have to help if you’re tired.”
“I do what I’m allowed to prepare.” Which isn’t a hell of a lot since I’m still earning their trust. “Come here.” I pat the hammock where I lie. “I want to ask you something.”
“Does it affect you and me?”
“It could in the future.” My gaze travels down his sun-kissed body from his hard pecs to his washboard abs where his grass skirt sits low on his hips and the indented ‘V’ points below the band of the skirt.
“If you keep looking at me…” he clears his throat, “… we won’t be talking.”
“No. We talk first.” I lift my arm to motion for him to come beside me. “Lay with me.”
His expression is apprehensive, yet he comes to me and slides into the hammock with it barely swaying.
“Tell me about your life.”
“My life?” he rasps on the last word. “Why?”
“Because I want to get to know the father of my baby.”
His brow pulls tight. “You already do, more so than anyone else alive.”
“I only know Samuel, who gives everything he has to make others happy. The man who has dedicated his life to work in a primitive community whose inhabitants don’t know the world beyond the jungle.”
“This is who I am… now.” He kisses my cheek and snuggles into my shoulder as though he needs to rest. “You don’t need to know anything else.”
But I do.
“What if I ask a question, and you answer it the best way you can? If it’s too hard, then you say pass. That way, you don’t have to start any conversation.”
He grumbles something, and I swear it’s a curse in another language. “I’ll make a deal. You get to ask questions if I can take you to Ciudad Guayana.”
“Fine,” I say, even though I have no intention of leaving here unless it’s absolutely necessary. I take a deep breath and then start with something easy—something I know will get him talking.
“Who were your best friends in college?”
It must have hit a chord because he remains quiet for a moment before answering, “Carter. Brant. And you already met Michael, Sean, and Harrison.”
I want to groan at the sound of Michael’s name. We haven’t discussed him since I have returned, and I want to remind him he’s barely a friend after the stunt he pulled in Peru. “First girlfriend in high school or college?”
“In high school, it was Sienna. I didn’t have girlfriends in college.” He stiffens beside me.
“No dates, or did you just have friends with benefits?”
He remains quiet for a moment.
“It’s okay. We’ve all done things we regret.”
He gives me a dark look, one that implies I wouldn’t understand. “What mistakes did you make?”
“You know about Ethan.” I stare up at the bamboo beams supporting the thatched grass. “And my trust issues. Coming here to be with you was a big step for me.” I pause for a moment and swallow the lump at the back of my throat that grows with the memory of when Ethan killed my faith in guys. A part of me died that day. “But I trust you.” I swivel so I can see his eyes. His eyes tell me what he’s thinking, so I need to see how he reacts when I say the next sentence. “It was one of the most challenging things I’ve had to do. I took a risk, hurt others, yet in my gut, and even though I was scared of so much going wrong, I knew I had to take a giant leap and be with you.”
His eyes hold mine, and in those bright baby blue hues, appreciation swirls. Only I can sense he’s holding back.
“You were always a good person, Eden. No matter what shit went down or how hurt you were, you were the good person.”
“Well, yeah—”
