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But he was past that now, and living life to its fullest, going after everything he wanted.
He wanted her.
Or he had before she’d kissed her boss…
“Are there volcanoes?” Michelle asked Lily, sounding nervous.
“Not here,” Lily assured her. “Though this mountain system does straddle several of the earth’s moving plates, huge forces that continuously build this sweeping arc of mountains—see how rugged and craggy the peaks are? It means they’re still very young, comparatively. Just babies, really.”
“Pretty big babies,” Jack said beneath his breath, making his wife laugh breathlessly in agreement.
“Were there dinosaurs here?” Rose asked.
“Oh, yes,” Lily said. “Back in the day.”
“The Mesozoic Era,” Jared offered, then smiled when Lily looked at him, clearly startled at his knowledge.
“I’m impressed,” she said. “What else do you know about this area?”
“Other than there are big bears and that I shouldn’t feed them? Not much.”
Michelle scooted closer to Jack, a bright yellow spot of sunshine in her raingear. “Bears?”
“Don’t worry,” Lily said. “No one’s going to be bear bait on this trip.”
“So how high are these babies anyway?” Jack asked, pointing to the highest peak ahead.
“Nearly fifteen thousand feet at the top.”
“That’s like, three miles high,” Rock said, with a low whistle. “Man, we’re going to be huffing and puffing.”
They were already huffing and puffing. Jared sure as hell was. But the exercise felt good. Actually, it felt amazing, especially after so many months of being able to do so little. The air held a silence that he never heard in the city, and that felt good, too. Not having to think, work…
Gradually, the distance between the group members widened as they moved up the trail that took them to breathtaking heights, along stark ridges and drop-away cliffs.
He kept up with Lily with surprising effort. “You’re looking pleased with yourself,” she said, breaking a long silence.
“I am pleased,” he said. “To be here.”
She smiled, a real one, he realized with some pleasure, and it lit up her entire face. “I know. Me, too. I’d— You know what? Never mind.”
“No, what?”
“I’d worried that I wouldn’t be able to hold up,” she admitted.
He nodded, knowing that was quite a confession for her. “You and me both.”
She smiled at him, and it was a beautiful thing.
“It’s such a perfect day for this,” she said. “Not too hot, not too cold.”
“I’m definitely just right.”
She looked him over, and bit her lip.
“Go ahead,” he said on a laugh. “Mention the clothes.”
“Okay, so you had the right clothes after all.”
She was genuinely amused, and he liked the look on her, very much. She was naturally fair-skinned, which meant she had an adorable smattering of light freckles over her high cheekbones and nose, though he doubted she’d appreciate the word adorable. Her eyes, so light brown they looked like crystal-clear amber, or a very expensive whiskey, sparkled. “Are the jeans brand spanking new?” she asked.
“I’ll have you know, I’ve owned these for years.”
She fingered his crisp T-shirt, worn beneath an open long-sleeved blue chambray shirt. “You ironed this.”
“No.” But probably his housekeeper had. “Maybe.”
She laughed and eyed his hiking boots. “Those aren’t—”
“Not new. They’re broken in, I promise.” He grinned at her inspection. “Let’s hear it. Any complaints?”
She took her gaze on a tour along his body. Did those eyes heat as she brought them back up to his, or was that his hopeful imagination?
“No complaints,” she finally said, sounding just a little breathless now.
Not his imagination…
The words dissipated any last chill from the morning air, that was for damn sure. He might have been sick this last year, very sick, but apparently certain things, like a healthy lust, never left a man.
Thank God.
That’s when the digital ring of a cell phone pierced the air.
His.
“Oh, no, you didn’t,” she said.
“Sorry.” He pulled the cell out of his pocket, eyed the ID, then sighed as he flipped the phone open. “Hey, Candace.”
“Hey right back atcha,” his fearless and irreplaceable assistant said cheerfully. “Just calling to say it’s not too late to come to your senses. I could have a helicopter there to get you in half an hour.”
“I’m doing this.”
She sighed. “Thought you’d say that. All righty then, have a safe trip. Oh, and don’t get bitten by a rattlesnake. We did not nearly lose you this year to watch you go down so easily.”
“I’ll stay away from snakes, I promise.”
Lily’s pretty eyes were narrowed when he shut the phone. “How did you get service up here?”
“Satellite.”
“No cell phones on this trek.”
“Is that a hard and fast rule?”
“It’s just that you’re paying me a lot of money to take you away from all that. If you’d wanted to talk to the girlfriend, you should have just brought her with.”
“Assistant, not girlfriend.”
“Oh.”
Was that just a smidgen of relief on her face, he wondered, or his own healthy imagination? “Don’t worry, Lily. I’m ready to be taken away.”
She looked at him for a long moment, then back at the others, who’d slowed to their own various paces. He knew she was going to move away from him and go check on each of them in turn, that he was nothing special to her, but he wanted to be. “I’m curious. Why do you guide?”
“Uh…” she looked back at him, distracted. “Because they pay me?”
“I doubt it pays that well, which means you must really love it.” He looked around at the towering trees, the mountains, the sky. “I admit, it’s beautiful, but you probably end up dealing with a lot of spoiled people.”
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