Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

"This is so not what I had in mind when I agreed to stay for a day of pampering and relaxation," Liddy said, looking down at the waterfall over the edge of the jungle canyon.

Beside her, Callum wore the same rappelling gear she did. "You'll be fine."

The idea had been Callum's: go do something adventurous and sporty for the first part of the day, then spend the afternoon at the spa like Liddy wanted.

She'd grudgingly agreed, but mostly because he'd done a lot for her the day before.

Now that she was here, she completely regretted it.

She glanced at the carabiner on her rappelling gear's belt. Is this thing supposed to keep me safe? The waterfall rappelling company had outfitted them after they'd arrived. Their guide, Carlos, had assured her several times that it was perfectly safe.

"Who's ready to go down?" Carlos asked just then.

There were eight of them, in total, with Carlos and his assistant, José, a spry Costa Rican teenager who'd already shown off his impressive rappelling skills and now waited at the bottom.

"She will," Callum said, giving Liddy a nudge.

"No, no?—"

"Perfect, a volunteer." Carlos gave her a wink. "She can test the ropes. Make sure they're not fraying too badly."

Everyone else in the group laughed.

Liddy turned and gave Callum a wide-eyed stare. "This is not making me feel better."

"Aquí, negra." Carlos pulled her over toward him. He tapped the top of her helmet. "You're going to get a little wet, so I hope you don't melt, okay?" Then he helped her get strapped on and into position.

Liddy's hands started shaking in the large orange gloves they'd given her. She looked up at Callum as Carlos brought her closer to the edge of the canyon.

Is this really happening?

She was about to jump from the top of a perfectly lovely waterfall and descend via a rope, hoping it would hold her.

"Callum, I'm going to kill you."

He knelt beside Carlos. "You don't have to do it if you don't want to?—"

"I don't want to." She clung to the rope, not breaking eye contact with him.

"But if you just let go and do it, you'll find yourself at the bottom of that waterfall, Liddy. The only thing holding you back is you. Nothing else can stop you."

She nodded, shivering slightly. Her feet were already getting wet in her tennis shoes, as water sluiced down her legs. "Thanks, Coach," she said, a nervous laugh leaving her.

"Okay, here we go," Carlos said. "One, two, three!"

She didn't know quite how he'd gotten her started, but she was on her way down in an instant. Not a free fall. Just . . . a well-paced descent down the side of a waterfall, her feet scraping against the stone every few meters, then going farther.

She focused on the dark rock in front of her. How many times had these tour companies taken people down these ropes and falls? They did it every day.

I'm going to be fine.

She would be better than fine.

I'm rappelling down a waterfall. In the middle of the jungle.

Like she was an explorer or Lara Croft or something.

Maybe it was crazy, but she was doing it.

And she'd never felt more alive.

As she reached the bottom, José reached for the harness at her back and pulled her to safety. He unclipped her with a wink, then helped her step to the side of the rope. She stepped back, her body reeling as she sank into the pool at the bottom of the cascade.

I did it.

She wanted to dance. To jump. To do a victory leap.

Callum was on his way down next, and she laughed as she looked up at him. The harness that went around his thighs up to his waist was making his well-formed backside seem particularly, erhm, nice. Granny was right. He had a fantastic ass.

And he looked incredibly hot coming down that rope, even with the goofy helmet on.

How many times had Miranda talked about how hot Callum was? Liddy had thought so at first, of course, but the more she'd been on the receiving end of Callum's coldness, the less attractive he'd seemed.

But now . . .

No wonder women loved firemen and soldiers. More men should come down ropes and poles on a regular basis.

He reached the bottom with a grin and stepped toward her. "See?"

She hadn't intended it, but she threw her arms around his neck as he came closer. He caught her around the waist.

"I can't believe I just did that," she said breathlessly, not caring that they were both wet and their T-shirts clung to their skin.

"I can." His arms were tight around her, holding her close.

Why does this feel so amazing?

Maybe it was the euphoria from just having gone down the canyon, but— no . That wouldn't cause her heart to speed up like this. Or for her body to have this reaction, like she wanted to sink her lips against his.

As she pulled back, she fidgeted and tried to calm the bubble of nerves spilling through her. This wasn't like when she rappelled.

This was something different. Intoxicating and full of promise.

The fact that he'd brought up that whole conversation with Isla was . . . not what she'd expected from him. He could have ignored it. Wonder if she'd seen it and let her stew.

But he cared enough to mention it.

He didn't want me to think he hated me.

That has to mean something, doesn't it? Does he feel it, too, or is this just in my head?

The moment ended, and they both watched as the others rappelled down the beautiful waterfall. Then they continued their journey into the mountains. Each time Liddy had to rappel down a canyon, it became easier. Like she was chipping away at a part of herself— fear, maybe?— and leaving it at the top of each cascade.

"What has caring about what people think of you ever gotten you, Liddy?" Callum's voice rang through her head. He'd been passionate during their argument. And while she hated that he'd gotten close enough to play armchair therapist and piece apart the wounds that made her tick, she also couldn't help admitting the truth to his words.

She'd tried so hard, for so long, to project herself as a strong, confident, independent woman. And maybe she'd pretended well enough that it was working, but that didn't mean she was daring. She was simply doing a good job with things she knew she could do well. She didn't take chances on the things she wasn't sure about.

I've been way too cautious.

But if she was honest, what surprised her most was the fact that Callum was so right. Callum had observed her from a distance all this time. And has understood me better than perhaps I understand myself. She'd process that later, though.

They approached the final part of the trip, a long zip line that would lead them back to the place where the tour bus was parked.

As she and Callum got closer to the platform, she looked out at the Costa Rican wilderness that opened up before them beyond the tree line where they stood.

The day was perfect, the crystalline sky without a cloud in sight, the sun shining brightly on the mountainsides. Save for the zip line, she could almost pretend no civilization existed here.

She wished she could stay here forever.

"So Miss Expert Canyoner. You ready to glide down a mountain on nothing but a cable?" Callum jerked his chin toward the woman from their group that had just left the platform on the zip line. She glided down, her feet held out in front of her as she barreled over treetops toward the other side.

Liddy felt pinpricks of excitement. "It looks like a wild ride," she said, then turned toward Carlos. "Can he and I go together?"

"Yes, you can go side by side. Race each other."

She queried Callum with a look. "You want to?"

"Feeling frightened again?" A teasing smile hung on his lips.

She shook her head. "No. I just . . . I don't know. I know I may have protested, but I appreciate you forcing me to do it. It's been one of the best experiences I've ever had. And I want to do this part together."

Callum held her gaze, then he nodded. "But you know—you didn't need me."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I got it, Coach."

He laughed, then balled his hand into a fist and gave her a playful tap on her bicep. "Go get 'em, Slugger."

Liddy shook her head with a laugh as she climbed on the platform and readied herself to ride down the zip line. How could her opinion of Callum be changing so quickly?

She was more than enjoying his company—and in some ways, that scared her more than jumping on a zip line. Because this version of Callum Scott is addictive. And the speed of this affection is a little terrifying.

Terrifyingly fast.

The wind rushed her face as they jumped off the platform, the zip line giving a bounce as she started forward.

Then again, maybe fast is just what I need.