Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 117201 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 586(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117201 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 586(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
They stood on the top of a platform overlooking the endless green canopy of trees that seemed to continue right on through the horizon, the thick black wires stretching out and down, before vanishing into a clearing . . . and she could feel it.
She could feel it.
He’d decided to respect her wishes and let her go.
Her legs were so weak over that realization that a gentle breeze could have carried her clean off the platform. She’d drift down into the trees like a badly folded paper airplane. And the thing was, she’d meant what she said, wholeheartedly.
As soon as the truth was off her chest, however, healing became a possibility for the first time since everything crashed down. The panic she’d felt over his touch this morning was nothing compared to the panic that erupted when he shot her a questioning glance, then away just as quickly, as if forcing himself to detach.
“I’d like Tallulah to go first, so I can be here to make sure she’s strapped in tightly and the damn thing is safe,” he said gruffly, without looking at her.
Tallulah’s heart squeezed.
Burgess was still protecting her. He couldn’t help it.
But he wouldn’t be around to consider her safety much longer, would he?
She’d choked off his air supply of hope.
“Come to think of it, Burgess should probably go first,” said Apollo, still chipper despite the tension blanketing the platform. “I’m going to have to loosen the harness to fit someone his size and it will be easier for me to tighten it around Tallulah afterward.”
That explanation brought her scattered thoughts screeching to a stop. “Wait. Hold on.” She brushed a look across the ample breadth of Burgess’s shoulders. “What is the weight limit for the harness?”
“Two seventy-five.”
“Wow.” Burgess gestured absently to himself. “Just about made the cutoff.”
Who had set Tallulah’s esophagus on fire? “Wait. Is it safe? For him, I mean?”
“I always triple-check the equipment.”
“Yes, but when was the last time you put someone his size on a zip line?”
Apollo laughed. “That would be never.”
“Burgess,” she breathed, narrowly avoiding a dramatic chest clutch.
Her former boss’s mouth kicked up at one end. “What, are you my bodyguard now?” He visibly hid his affection for her, stuffed it right down. “If something happens to me, you can have my sweatshirt collection, Tallulah.”
Heat blasted the backs of her eyes. “That is not funny.”
Burgess nodded at the harness Apollo held in his hands. “I’d like her to go first. I need to see for myself that she’s secure.”
“Well, I would like to wait for a bigger harness,” Tallulah said, crossing her arms. “For him.”
Apollo shook his head. “They don’t make them any bigger.”
Burgess winked at her. “Where have I heard that before?”
“Funny.” It was a weird place to be—trapped between tears and laughter. “I think I want him to go first. I won’t enjoy myself until I know he made it to the other side.”
Apollo’s head was moving on a swivel. “Why don’t we flip a coin?”
Tallulah calculated her odds of winning against Burgess’s stubborn nature versus her chances of winning against a coin. Fifty-fifty it was. “Fine, let’s flip,” Tallulah said, rocking side to side on the balls of her feet. “Tails I go first. Heads he goes first. Burgess, you have to abide by the outcome, though. Okay?”
A growl crackled in his throat. “The only reason I’m agreeing to a coin flip is that I’m equally unnerved by the cable. I can’t decide if it’s better to test the harness or the cable first to make sure you’re safe.”
Apollo threw up his hands. “I’m telling you, it’s safe!”
“I need to be positive when it comes to her.” Burgess tore his eyes off her with seeming difficulty, a line snapping in his cheek. “Flip it.”
The instructor produced a coin from his pocket, tossing it up into the air and smacking it down on his wrist. “Heads.”
Tallulah’s legs almost gave out.
The air became very thin around her. Was she making the right decision having him go first? Or should it be the other way around? Suddenly she wasn’t so sure.
Apollo was already holding open the harness for Burgess to step into, the beige strips of fabric cutting heavily into his muscled back. This was happening. She was going to have to watch Burgess sail down through the trees. And he was only there in the first place because of her. He wanted to prove he could be as adventurous as her. Wanted to prove they could work.
“Burgess, you don’t have to do this.”
“Yeah? I . . . think I want to.” He looked out at the horizon for a moment, before eliminating the gap between him and Tallulah, stopping before they could touch, but close enough that she could read a new determination dawning on his face. “No, I do. I want to. I think maybe if I’d lived more, experienced more, like you do, I wouldn’t have been so scared to lose hockey. I wouldn’t have thrown you out and ruined my—” He cut himself off with a clenched jaw. “You’re worried something is going to happen and you’ll be responsible, since you’re the reason I’m up here. Don’t be. I make my own decisions. I just wish I would have made the right ones sooner. I should have gone skinny dipping with you. I should have danced in the kitchen, no matter how bad it looked.” He swallowed, glancing back to watch Apollo tighten the final straps across his shoulders. “I might not have you anymore. I might have thrown away my chance, but I’m not going to throw away the lesson you tried to teach me. If it’s the only piece of you I’m allowed, I’m keeping it.”