had eased and stole a glance at him. He was breathing a little easier. “Marie was the most independent woman I’d ever met. She’s never been married, never had a long-term relationship as far as I know, and she owned her own business. But she’d never gone anywhere. She said if she didn’t do it then, she might never get the chance. She signed the business over to me, and I’ve been running it ever since. How bizarre is that?”
“I think it’s pretty awesome. It sounds like it was just what you needed.”
“Yeah, I think it was the right thing at the right time, like last night.”
He pulled her closer, guiding her around a rock in the trail, and said, “What’s your life like now?”
“It isn’t very adventurous anymore, and that’s okay. I have little adventures. Between festivals and concerts, there’s always something going on around here. Next week is Festival on the Green, one of my favorite events, and of course working with Birdie is always an adventure,” she joked. “I have a good life here, and I think we’ve talked about it enough. I want to know what you’ve been doing all these years. I’m sure your life is a million times more exciting than mine.”
“You’ve overcome so much. You’ve become a chocolatier and you run a business that you never planned to run. I’d say that’s a hell of an adventurous life.”
“That’s sweet, and maybe kind of true. I haven’t ever thought about it that way.” She pointed to her sneakers and said, “But these feet have not left the ground in years. Please tell me about your life so I can live vicariously through your stories. I want to hear it all. Except about the women. You can leave them out the same way I left out the men in mine.”
He scowled, but his eyes gave his joke away as he said, “You mean there’ve been other men in your life?”
“So, so many,” she said with a dramatic roll of her eyes. “Between my open relationships with cowboys and my dozens of other rough and rugged boyfriends, it’s hard to keep track.” She loved playing games with Zev, but she wanted him to know the truth about who she was, so she said, “There haven’t been that many men in my life, but there have been enough. I’m sure you haven’t been a saint for all these years while you’ve been out on your Pirates of the Caribbean adventures.”
“I haven’t been a saint, but nothing’s ever clicked.”
“For me, either.” Their eyes met, and they both slowed their pace, the air between them thickening at the speed of light. Her pulse quickened as voices cut through the air, jerking her back to reality. It was just the distraction she needed. Silk Hollow was right around the other side of the boulder. She started jogging up the hill, tugging him behind her, and said, “Tell me about your adventures, Captain Jack!”
“I don’t look like Captain Jack. He’s got really long hair,” he said as they rounded the boulder and Silk Hollow came into view.
Tufts of lush grass poked out from the rocky landscape. People shouted as they jumped from various boulders surrounding the deep end of the gorge, serenaded by cheers from their friends below as they plunged into the water. A group of twentysomethings were sitting on the rocky dirt shore, listening to music and hollering to a group of people who had just started the trek up the boulders toward the dive spots.
“Captain Jack is old, and his body kind of sucks,” Zev said with an arrogant grin.
She laughed, loving his cockiness. “But Johnny Depp is still hot.” She let go of his hand and ran down the incline toward the water. “Come on, Johnny!”
He took off after her and hollered, “Call me Johnny again, Carly Dylan, and you’ll pay for it.”
She dropped her backpack on the rocks, squealing as he caught her by the waist and spun her around. “Can I call you Captain?” she shouted.
“Only if I can call you mine.”
Her heart said yes! and she wished it were that easy. But worry crept in, and she knew she needed to be smarter this time. To learn about his situation, just as he’d learned hers.
“You wish, Captain Jack!” she said playfully, and wiggled free from his grasp. She stripped off her clothes, nearly igniting from the flames in his eyes, and yelled, “Race ya!” as she ran into the water.