Her Blind Date Cowboy - Taylor Hart Page 0,18
than I do.”
“Do I?” She shrugged as they got out of the car. “Do you even know me now?”
The question felt like it had an underlying emotional current to it. “I want to,” he said honestly.
She hesitated, then moved toward the bridge. “Let’s go.”
Clearly, she didn’t want to talk about that. He shook his head, pushing up his sunglasses. “Okay, let’s do this.”
Half an hour later, after they got harnessed in and oriented, Liam found himself walking up the Harbor Bridge. Evie was in front of him, and a long line of people stretched in front of them and behind. He clutched the railing hard, and even though they were securely harnessed in, he dared not look down. He had to keep his focus and breathe.
She grinned back at him. “You’re doing good, rock star.”
It was funny to him that she’d automatically started calling him that. He cleared his throat. “It’s country star, by the way.”
They climbed for about twenty minutes at a moderate pace. Of course, Liam could go faster, but they all stayed with the guide. When they were midway, the guide stopped their group and gestured toward a building that looked like white sails. “That’s the Sydney Opera House.”
“I know.” Liam’s heart raced, and he couldn’t focus on what the guide was saying. He just wanted to get down.
Evie leaned against him, a smile on her face. She didn’t seem bothered by this height at all. “You okay?” she asked, her joy slipping into concern.
He knew he was sweating like crazy, and not just because it was hot. “Fine.” He didn’t want to wuss out.
“You’re going to be alright.” She brushed her fingers against his.
As much as he didn’t want to be up here, her presence was a welcome distraction. “You’re not a bad tour guide.”
They continued on for another half hour until they got to the other side. The guide told them, “We have a shuttle to take you back to your cars, or you can walk across the bottom part of the bridge.”
Liam and Evie opted to walk back to their car. As they walked, Liam finally found himself relaxing again.
“So … did you like it?” she asked.
He laughed and pointed at her. “You’re brutal.”
“You said I could book anything I wanted.”
“Touché.” Dang, the woman didn’t play fair.
When they arrived at the car, he opened her door for her.
“You don’t have to do that.”
He loved her smell, her smile, and everything about her—even the wicked happiness on her face when she’d told him what they were doing. “I want to do it.”
She nodded and got in.
He rushed around and took his own seat, ready for the rest of the day. “What’s next?”
“I’m hungry. Do you want to buy us lunch?”
He was glad she was letting him. “Of course.”
She drove for a bit, then parked in front of a small Mexican restaurant. As they got seated, when their eyes met, she struggled not to laugh. “Oh my gosh, you should have seen your face at the top.”
“I still don’t understand why you would want to do it,” Liam said, as waiters dropped two waters and a chips and salsa basket on the table.
“One time, a guy I knew told me that in order to grow, you had to do things that were out of your comfort zone.”
He smiled and looked over his menu. “Whoever that guy was, he must have been a real idiot.”
They ordered their food, and then they let comfortable silence settle over them. He wanted to ask her a whole list of things, but he didn’t want to ruin this good feeling between them.
“What’s up?” she said, breaking the ice.
“I know you don’t want to talk about the past, but I’m curious about you. Can you just tell me about what you’re doing now?” He really wanted to talk about the paintings he’d seen at the gallery yesterday, but he knew she would want to avoid the topic.
She picked up her spoon and plucked some ice out of the glass. “Well, you know I work at the gallery and that I’m hopefully going to art school.”
“What’s the outcome with that?”
Her eyes met his, and she sighed. “I want to teach. I have discovered I really like kids, and I want to teach at a high school.”
He thought of her wanting to go into AVI to help people. “That fits. You have a giving heart, and you want to help. Plus, you love art.”
The food arrived, and they started eating. Even though things weren’t