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I roll my eyes, not that he can see it. “I don’t think I’m ready. But I do write in my spare time, yeah. I have… well, I have stories that I’ve finished.”
“That’s incredible,” he says, and there’s not a trace of sarcasm or judgment in his tone. “Is that why you listen to all that true crime? You write crime stories?”
“Maybe,” I say, drawing out the word.
He holds up a branch to let me pass under it. It brings me close to him, and his interested gaze.
“Is all of this research?” he asks.
“Depends,” I say. “Do you want to get murdered and give me a story?”
His eyes widen, and then he smiles. It lights up his tanned face. “By you? Any day.”
I laugh to hide the blush creeping up my cheeks. Stupid conversation.Stupid man.“Watch out, then.”
I take the lead for the next part of the hike. It’s steep now, and I have to stop twice to catch my breath.
After a twist in the path, we emerge at a spot where the trees open up, and the landscape unfurls in front of us. The lush green terrain stretches as far as my eyes can see, dotted by palm trees swaying in the breeze. The sun has come out from behind a cloud, its rays almost too bright on my face.
Inhaling deeply, I savor the beauty of it all.
“Oh,” Phillip says. “It looks like it might rain.”
“No, it doesn’t.”
“That cloud right there?” he says, coming up next to me. His arm points toward the sky. “That’s full of rain.”
I look up at the sky, and sure enough, clouds seem to be moving in quickly. I hear the distant roll of thunder, and it sends a thrill through me. The tropical rain we’d experienced by the pool had been almost magical.
“You're such a cynic,” I say, but my voice is soft with wonder as I take it all in. His shoulder brushes against mine, and I feel the contact intimately, almost as if it’s his lips on mine again.
Phillip shrugs like he doesn't care much one way or the other, but I catch his gaze lingering on me for a moment before looking away. We turn to keep walking along the path, the pace slower now. I’m tired and thirsty, and I’ve never felt more alive.
“Have you heard from your ex’s cousin since last night?” he asks. The path is wide enough here for both of us to walk side by side.
“A bit, yeah. We texted last night.”
“Did we fool her?”
I keep my focus squarely on my next steps. “Well, I think so. She wrote that… well, that I looked like I was enjoying my holiday.”
Phillip chuckles darkly. “Good.”
“So, thank you for that. For your efforts.”
“It was my pleasure,” he says, and it sounds like he means it.
I glance at him from the corner of my eye. He looks back at me, catching me in the act. I look away, but there’s no hiding the smile on my face.
He clears his throat. “Think you’ll be seeing her again?”
“We’re having dinner tonight,” I say. “It was her suggestion, and maybe it’ll… I don’t know. Clear the air a bit.”
I still want to know why exactly she’s here when she knew I’d be, too. If it has anything to do with Caleb, I want to nip it in the bud.
Warm, humid air surrounds us as we walk. The closer we get to the top of a mountain, however, the lighter my heart feels. It’s as if I'm lifted higher with each step until nothing else exists except us, this moment, and the beautiful forest around us. With the clouds in the sky, it’s not too hot, either.
We’re hiking up a stony patch when the first drops begin to fall. It drizzles for two or three seconds, and then immediately shifts into a downpour. It’s tropical rain as I’ve never experienced before.
