by Carol Ross
The voice followed, saying, “You are a very fast walker. Seriously, you’ve got like a world-class stride. Although, I can’t blame you for wanting to get away from that.”
Victoria stopped and turned toward the voice, intending to make a polite excuse, only to find herself face-to-face with Hazel James.
For a few seconds, all she could do was gawk. She realized her mouth was hanging open when she muttered, “Hazel, hi.” Both of her hands reached out to grasp one of hers. “I am thrilled to meet you.”
Despite what Seth claimed about them not looking alike, she could see the resemblance. Their eyes might have been different shades of brown, but the shape was similar, and they sparkled with the exact same vibrancy.
“You do know me.” Hazel’s smile, too, was reminiscent of Seth’s with an irresistible mix of confidence and mischief. The kind that made you want to smile back.
“I do. I think I am what might be considered a superfan.”
“Seth said you follow my blog, but I didn’t know if that meant you’d read it one time, or you actually followed it. It’s wonderful to meet you, too. This is interesting because I feel like I already know you.”
“Same. I’m sorry about ignoring you just now. I didn’t know...”
“I know.” She grinned. “That elevator bit truly was fabulous. I wish I’d done it so I could write about it. The part that isn’t funny, though, is why it happened. Just so you’re aware, my brother didn’t know Ashley was going to be here.”
“I can believe that.” The shock on his face was evidence of that. But Austin had worn a similar expression when she’d caught him cheating, so how could she truly know for sure if he was surprised by her presence or surprised that he got caught? After all, he’d stood there and let her kiss him and even whispered in her ear. “But does it really matter if he knew or not? I mean, you saw it, too. Anyone could see that they’re...close.”
“But they’re not! That’s the thing. It’s a long story that we don’t have time for right now, but I can tell you that my brother is crazy about you. He talks about you all the time. And he’s never talked about a woman he’s dated. Ever. Other than in passing.”
“Not even Ashley?” Vic blurted and instantly hated how jealous she sounded.
“No.” Hazel sputtered out a laugh. “Especially not Ashley. They only dated in high school, and Ashley and I were not friends. We have never been friends. He would never talk about her to me.”
“So, you can’t be sure how he feels about her then?”
Hazel grimaced, realizing how she’d made Victoria’s point. “No, I can. I’m positive. My brother and I are so close. We have this connection.” She held up her hand and pinched her thumb and fingers together, just like the gesture Seth had made when they’d gone sac-a-lait fishing. “We’re triplets, but we’re not identical or anything, so I can’t explain it away with biology. Our sister Iris is close to us, too, but it’s not the same as with Seth and me. It’s like... I just know how he feels. Like my emotions are tuned in to his, and vice versa.”
“Hazel, I’m trying to understand this, I am. But the fact is that Ashley is here and obviously believes differently. It’s difficult to accept that’s not founded on something. I know that part of my reaction is because of my own relationship history, but that doesn’t change what happened.”
She didn’t want to say too much so she went with, “Look, I appreciate you pleading his case, Hazel. Truly, I do. I’d like to think I would do the same for my brother if I had one. Unfortunately, I have to get going. We have to walk the plank, and there’s a solid chance I may punch your brother and knock him cold before I push him off the top.”
Hazel grimaced. “Oh, please, don’t do that!” The sincere, underlying agony overlaying her tone gave Victoria pause and she added, “That’s why I wanted to talk to you. I’ll leave it to Seth to clear things up about Ashley. Because I know he will.” With a deliberate look, she paused to let that sink in. “Right now, I need to tell you something else.”
“Okay?”
“Seth is terrified of heights.”
Good, Vic thought, a true punishment then. Maybe it would—
“And before you decide that’s a good thing or that he might deserve a little misery right now, I need to explain.”
Victoria waited, feeling both a little guilty about her uncharitable thoughts and astounded that Hazel had seemed to read her mind. The way Seth often did.
“My brother is not just afraid of heights. I’m not talking about a case of a little anxiety here. He has a clinical phobia.”
“Why would he...” Victoria started to ask why he would agree to this wager then, but she already knew the answer; he never expected to lose.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
SETH STARED AT the impossibly high platform and couldn’t decide which was going to be worse, the climbing or the jumping. If he could even climb that high with his arms and legs already turned to gummy worms. A ball of ice was growing in the pit of his stomach, and even with the warm tropical breeze, his skin felt clammy and chilled.
Morning Wire had taken the walking the plank notion and run with it. Instead of the “easy” drop from the end of the dock Seth had envisioned, they’d borrowed a portable ten-meter-high dive from a local university swim team and set it up on the end of the pier. Staff members from the show were swarming around getting ready for the shoot. Spectators lined the boardwalk and gathered on the beach.
So many spectators. All here to witness his humiliation and probable demise. Soon to be aired on television and posted all over social media. It would probably go viral when the first responders were called in to rescue him from the platform like a frightened cat hanging on for dear life. They’d have to call for special tools to pry his hands from...
“Seth!” Hazel found him. “You can’t go through with this. You’re not doing this, are you?”
When they were ten years old and taking swim lessons, a way-too-brave Seth had attempted a flip from the pool’s diving board. In an epic fail, he’d slipped, hit the back of his head on the board, and wound up unconscious on the bottom of the pool. The lifeguard had rescued him while an ambulance was called. A trip to the hospital revealed a concussion and resulted in twelve stitches. His fear of heights was born that day and had been festering ever since.
“Thanks so much for your faith in me.”
“Of course, you can do it, but I don’t think it’s a good idea.” Reaching out, she wrapped her hands around one of his. “Your hands are like ice.”
“Yeah, I can’t feel my fingers.”
“Listen, you need to make up a lie, say you aren’t feeling well.”
“That wouldn’t be a lie. I think I might puke. Hazel, this is all so...bizarre. Today started out as the best of my life. Today at lunch with Victoria, I had everything. I was securely in the running for my dream job, and I truly believed I’d found the woman of my dreams. And now, a few hours later, the wrong woman makes an unprecedented grand gesture, I make a fool of myself at a casting competition, I’ve lost Victoria and now I’m going to die.”
“Hey!” She jerked his hand to get his attention. “You are not going to die, not today, cowboy! Not on my watch. And you did not lose Victoria. Have you talked to her yet?”
“Cowboy?” he repeated flatly.
“Yeah, well, You are not going to die today, fisherman! doesn’t pack the same punch, does it? I thought about soldier but since you haven’t been one it felt disingenuous.”
“I haven’t been a cowboy either.”
“Will you stay focused on the conversation, please? Have you talked to Victoria?”
“Yeah, definitely, I’m the one who is going off topic,” he droned sarcastically. “No, there hasn’t been time for talking since she ditched me in the elevator. How can I explain what Ashley did? I don’t even understand it myself. I keep thinking about wh
at I told Vic at lunch today about how I was hung up on Ashley for so long. Years—I said years, Hazel. And then she shows up here! If Vic’s ex would have done what Ashley did, I don’t think I’d even want to hear her excuse.”
“I don’t believe that,” Hazel said. “You would listen. You would listen because you love her. Seth, you are not responsible for another person’s actions. Give Victoria a little credit. She’s a reasonable, intelligent, lovely person who happens to like you. Did you talk to Ashley?”
Seth ignored the love comment. He couldn’t think about that possibility right now. It would only make losing Victoria worse. “I tried to talk to Ashley. But she seems to think we’re destined to be together.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“Nope. She says she’ll do whatever it takes to prove it to me.”
“The woman is delusional. I’ll talk to her.”
“She doesn’t understand why you don’t like her.”
“Oh, please. Did she tell you that?”
“She did.”
“She does. Trust me, she knows.”
“Seth!” An excited Marissa hustled toward them. “Here you are! Ready? This is going to be so incredible! Thank you for agreeing to do this. You guys are so far beyond what we could have even hoped for as finalists. This kind of free publicity is priceless. It’s not going unnoticed by the powers that be, by the way. Miles Romeo is here!”
An attractive blond woman joined them. “Seth?”
“That’s me,” he answered blandly, reluctantly. He’d never been so disappointed to be himself.
“Hi, I’m Maggie, it’s nice to meet you. I’m a production assistant here to give you instructions on how we’re going to proceed. So, we’re going to have you and Victoria walk...”
Seth tried to pay attention. He truly did. But with every trigger word out of her mouth like ladder and platform and jump, his head went lighter, and his lungs squeezed tighter until he thought he might pass out. Somehow, he’d have to follow Victoria’s lead. That is, if she’d even look at him right now.
Glancing around, he spotted her with Hazel, their heads bowed together, chatting like old friends. Victoria appeared utterly unconcerned about the disaster that lay before them. Likely that was true. Seth knew his phobia was irrational, but that didn’t make it better. He had little difficulty flying in planes and helicopters or even riding rollercoasters. The problem occurred when there was nothing but dead air between him and the ground, especially when that ground was water. Like from the top of a high dive.
“Hey, loser,” Victoria said in a much lighter tone than he anticipated, coming over to stand beside him. “You ready?”
“Mmm,” he managed.
Maggie shouted something. Victoria looked at him and said, “That’s our cue.” She started walking, so Seth did, too.
“Smile,” she said, giving his shoulder a playful nudge. “Cameras are rolling.”
Seth smiled.
“Is that a smile, though?” she teased. “It looks more like a snarl. Like a cranky tomcat.”
Shockingly, that made him chuckle, and he realized that just being by her side was easing his lungs from their crushing constraints. At least enough for him to address his other major problem. “Victoria, I am so sorry about Ashley. She doesn’t mean anything to me anymore. I had no idea—”
“Shh. We are not talking about that right now.”
Seth acquiesced because the high dive was now looming over them. Like gallows. He stifled a hysterical laugh as they glided into the dark shadow it cast like two condemned convicts of old. He could feel the scar on the back of his head throbbing.
Once they reached the bottom of the ladder, Victoria turned and faced him. “Hey,” she said, tipping her head a little to snag his still-distracted gaze. “Look at me.” The firmness of her tone startled him enough that he did. She reached up and placed one hand on his shoulder, gripping it tightly. Lowering her voice, dazzling smile in place, she said, “Hazel told me everything. Here’s our plan. I am going to go up first, and once I get up there, I’m going to make sure you can see me. Then you start climbing up and just focus on me, okay? Climb and focus. And then, when you get to the top, I’ll take your hand and walk you through it, and we’ll jump together. I’ll be with you the entire time telling you what to do. Easy-peasy.”
A lump clogged his throat, and he could only nod. Humiliating to be this close to tears. She clapped him on the shoulder as if they’d been joking around. Angling her head so that her mouth was close to his ear, she whispered, “Relax. You’ve got this, Alaska.”
* * *
FROM THE TOP of the platform, Victoria watched Seth climb the ladder and felt her already-softening resolve melt further. Even if Hazel hadn’t warned her about his fear of heights, she would have known that something was wrong. He was way off. The tightness around his mouth and the tension in his jaw was bad enough. What really had her worried was how his sparkle was gone. How those insanely beautiful brown eyes that were usually full of life and humor were now flat and glazed. He was truly terrified.
She would get him through this. He’d talked her off her proverbial ledge when she’d been ready to quit and go home. It was the least she could do for him.
“Almost there,” she said. A few more rungs and he was at the top. “Okay, cool. Good job. Don’t look down,” she cautioned once he’d gotten to his feet. “There’s a camera out there on that boat, so you need to smile, too.”
He did, or at least he managed not to scowl. She took his hand and entwined her fingers with his. Then she lifted their hands. “Wave with your other hand,” she instructed. He did. Thankfully, the sturdy-looking “plank” was plenty wide enough for them both. Victoria had worried it might be a narrow pliable diving board. “Now, we’re going to walk out there together. It’s only a few steps. We’ll jump on three. Hazel told me you’re an excellent swimmer.”
He nodded. Squeezing his hand, she took a step, urging him to come out beside her. “Probably not as good as me, though,” she teased in an effort to distract him. “But we already know I’m better than you at almost everything. Don’t look down,” she reminded him again. “Just focus on the horizon and think about what you want to do when this is all over. I’m thinking I’d like to grab some ice cream and maybe check out the vintage gear that Romeo has on display.” They reached the end of the plank. “Here we are. It’s almost over.”
“Victoria?” Seth’s voice was a ragged whisper.
“Right here,” she said, giving his hand another squeeze.
“Thank you,” he whispered. “I can’t believe you’re doing this for me.”
“Yes you can. Ready? One...two...three.”
Together, they jumped.
* * *
WHEN SETH HIT the water, he thought his heart might explode. But not from fear. That was gone. It felt amazing to be alive. Like intoxicating. Breaking the surface, he discovered Victoria already there. Waiting. Grinning and hanging onto one of the life preservers that the Morning Wire crew had supplied for them.
“Look at you,” she said with a proud grin. “You survived.”
“I did.” He thought his own smile might split his face in two. Two strokes and he was across from her, gripping the opposite side of the floatie. “Thanks to you.”
“Please. I didn’t do anything but offer a little encouragement.”
“We both know that’s not true.”
“I’m proud of you,” she said. “Hazel told me what happened when you were a kid. That’s so awful. I don’t think I would have gone through with it if I’d been that scared.”
“Hmph,” he said, rolling his eyes dramatically, and then lying through his teeth, “I wasn’t scared.” She laughed, and he went on to confess, “I probably wouldn’t have done it if Henry had been my losing partner. He’s awesome and all, but somehow I don’t see him holding my ha
nd and guiding me through all of that.”
That made her laugh again. He needed to tell her that he loved her. Because he absolutely did. Hazel had known before him, of course, which meant he had known too and not yet acknowledged it. But there was nothing like the fear of death to catapult important sentiments to the forefront of your mind. And truthfully, Ashley’s appearance had cemented the notion. Because these feelings were so different than the childish infatuation he’d experienced years ago.
Victoria already felt like a vital part of his existence. If she were no longer in his life, he wouldn’t function the same. He kept having these flashes of a future with her that he’d never even dreamed could be possible. And maybe what he was about to do was partially due to the timing and circumstances, but he didn’t care. It didn’t make it less accurate. He had to say it.
“Victoria?”
“Yes, Seth?”
“I love you.”
“Shut up.” She splashed him in the face.
“No,” he said, chuckling and sputtering, and then smoothing the water from his face. “I’m serious. When we were up there, you told me to focus on what I wanted to do when this was all over, and all I could think about was how I didn’t want to die without telling you how I felt. Victoria, I swear, I don’t have feelings for Ashley. I can’t. It’s not possible because everything inside of me belongs to you. There’s nothing left for anyone else. I am in love with you, and no matter what happens job-wise, I think—”
“Seth, adren—”
He cut her off midword and finished it for her, “Adrenaline. I know what you’re thinking—that this is the adrenaline talking, the aftereffects of my near-death experience. But it’s not. Maybe saying it right now at this moment has a little to do with that, but my feelings are real. It’s not like anything I’ve ever experienced. And I hope you feel it, too.”