Third Chances (Men Of Manhattan #2) - Ivy Smoak Page 0,79

I was going to fall in love in paradise. And I wasn't ready to settle down yet anyway. In a few years, I'd find a nice normal girl who lived near me, wherever that might be. One who didn't order food like an arrogant snob.

Chapter 27

Daphne

I was only half paying attention to the instructor. I kept glancing over my shoulder waiting for Rob to come. But he never did. None of them did. I told myself I wanted to avoid him, but I couldn't deny my disappointment that he had skipped the zip lining tour. I needed to apologize to him. That was it. I definitely wasn't thinking about his naked body glistening with water. Stop thinking about him naked.

I tried to focus on what the instructor was saying. One of the other people on the tour was already getting straps tightened around their thighs and torso. I had missed all of the instructions.

"This is going to be awesome," Alina said. "Are you excited?"

"How does it stop?"

"It angles up a little at the end. It's not like a sudden stop, it's gradual."

"Have you done this before?"

"No, but the instructor was just talking about it."

I fidgeted with the bracelet on my wrist, trying to ignore the ones for the stupid bracelet game. No one had approached me or tried to present a card. No one else looked at me the way Rob did. No one ever had. And I had basically called him an irresponsible idiot that I wanted nothing to do with. And now I was going to die. I was going to fall off the zip line onto the muddy ground and snap my neck. Why did anyone ever do this? How was a few minutes of flying through the sky worth the risk?

"I can't do this," I whispered.

"What do you mean? You basically just sit there. You don't have to do anything."

"It's too dangerous..."

"Daphne, he just said that the only thing you shouldn't do is touch the rope. That's it."

"I didn't hear him say that. I wasn't listening."

"Why weren't you listening?"

"I don't know, I'm freaking out. I made a mess of everything. I need to apologize to Rob before I die."

"Die? What are you talking about? It's not dangerous."

"Everything okay, Momma Bear?" Kristen asked.

"No. I'm just going to meet you guys back at the hotel, okay?"

"Daphne, we're all supposed to be doing this together. How about you go first and get it over with?" Kristen looked over her shoulder. Layla was already getting strapped in. "Daphne's going to go first."

"Oh good," Layla said with a laugh. "Geez, I'm so nervous. After you," she said and gestured to the edge of the platform.

Hell no. "No, I mean, I seriously can't do this."

"Okay." Alina put her hand on my shoulder. "You don't have to do it. We can just go back to the hotel."

I put my face in my hand. "No, I don't want to ruin your day. Just go. Have fun. I'll catch you guys later."

"If you're upset about Rob, we can go find him after," Kristen said. "We'll all help you apologize. He'll understand. Besides, I want to see James again."

I wanted to laugh at her comment, but I felt paralyzed with fear. I was starting to feel all sweaty. "You weren't there. You didn't see how upset Rob was. I said some awful things."

"Who's next?" the instructor asked.

"Daphne, I really think you should try it," Alina said. "There's nothing to be afraid of."

Alina was supposed to understand the most. She had grown up with Derek too. She was there when I got the phone call. There was everything to be afraid of. "I can't." I turned around and started to climb down the platform. None of them came after me. As soon as my feet hit the safe ground I took off running.

And I kept running until I reached the hotel and found Rob sitting with his friends by the same pool from yesterday. I took a deep breath and pushed the doors open and walked toward him determinedly. Until he looked up at me from the pool chair he was sitting on. We locked eyes and I immediately froze.

I was falling apart and none of my friends understood. I had a feeling Rob would. I knew our situations were different and it was wrong for me to assume they were the same. I still felt like he'd understand what I was feeling, though. The pain. The fear. But I had pushed him away. I didn't have