People had tried to warn Vanessa about Dale but she hadn’t listened to that, either.
She’d been in luvvvvvv.
No, what she hadn’t known then was that love would come later. Lust had been fueling her decisions at that time.
Yeah, loving Dale hadn’t been easy but Vanessa had never been one to take the easy road.
She leaned over to Stuart who was holding on to the hand strap hanging from the ceiling for additional stability. “How you doing?”
“Good,” he answered, though Vanessa was pretty sure he was hating the bus ride. “It’s all part of the experience.”
“Yes, it is,” she agreed. “This bus ride is hell on the tush but what’s life without a few bumps and bruises, right?”
Stuart smiled but readjusted his grip.
Vanessa had to admit, she was getting a soft spot for the old guy.
He was spry enough to warrant a second glance and they seemed to have more in common than she would’ve thought.
All this time she’d been chasing after younger guys, playing up the cougar angle, but hanging out with Stuart was a refreshing change.
They hadn’t kissed or anything like that.
But Vanessa wasn’t averse to giving it a try.
However, he had to make the first move. In some things, she remained a bit old-fashioned.
The bus rolled to a stop, jostling them like apples in a crate, and they gratefully disembarked.
She drew a deep breath of the sweet jungle air and enjoyed the vista. “Look at all that green,” Vanessa said, pointing toward the canopy below them. “Gorgeous.”
Stuart stood beside her, agreeing. “Very nice. Pristine, even.”
Vanessa grabbed her phone and snapped a selfie of them together. “Memories, baby.”
“I’d say send that to me, but I’d never figure out how to retrieve it. My secretary always has to show me how to work my phone.”
Vanessa chuckled and patted his cheek. “Darlin’, I’ll take care of the tech on this trip. You just keep those toes twinkling because I expect another spin around the dance floor before this trip is done.”
“Sounds like a bargain I can stick to,” Stuart said, grinning.
Oh, for an older guy, he had the most impish smile. She rather liked that about him.
Actually, she liked a lot about Stuart Buck.
But, unlike Harper, her feelings had nothing to do with his money.
* * *
THE BUS DROPPED them off at a vista that wound down into the jungle from a narrow trail that looked too small for human feet, much less the mules that were waiting for them.
Teagan took to his mule right away, becoming the Horse Whisperer or something, whereas Harper’s mule kept giving her a sideways look that told her to climb aboard at her own peril.
But seeing as Vanessa and Stuart and the rest of their party were already saddled up and ready to rock and roll, Harper had no choice but to tentatively swing her leg over and try to mount the damn thing.
As she feared, the mule had other plans and shifted away with a warning whinny.
The tour guide hustled over and tried to calm the beast, speaking rapidly in Spanish, but the animal wasn’t having it.
After three attempts to get Harper on the mule, the tour guide admitted it was probably a bad idea to force the mule to carry her.
The tour guide grinned widely as if this wasn’t a problem and said, “You ride with friend.”
Friend? A glimmer of hope surged as she looked toward Stuart, but he wasn’t even paying attention to the fact that she was practically being trampled by a grumpy beast.
She bit her lip and caught Teagan’s eye. He knew she had to ask him. She was almost tempted to sit in the bus and wait for them to return.
But Harper knew it was beyond stupid to be a woman alone on a deserted dirt road in Mexico, so she gritted her teeth and asked Teagan if she could share his mule.
“No problem,” he said, reaching down to help her mount behind him. “Hold on tight.”
She slid her arms around his waist and fought against the immediate thrill. Why was he so freakin’ beautiful? He had the body of an Adonis. She had the crystal clear memories to remind her.
They settled into single file as they meandered down the path, the birds squawking and calling, filling the air with a cacophony of sound. It was hard not to be awed by the lush landscape. It was like a paint store exploded and color landed everywhere.
“Not an animal lover I take it?” Teagan said, making conversation.
“I like animals.”
“So, you just wanted to ride with me?”
“Don’t flatter yourself. My mule was grumpy. It was a safety issue.” She shivered as his chuckle rumbled against her chest. “To further the point, I love horses, even.”
“So that’s why you’re holding on to me for dear life?”
“Just shut up and pay attention to the road, please,” she said, squeezing her eyes shut so she didn’t have to see how precarious their path was through the wilds of Mexico.
This was not her idea of a good time.
Sipping fine wine, eating strawberries aboard a yacht, watching Netflix in her yoga pants...those were all great ways to spend the day.
This?
Not even in her top one hundred.
Except Teagan smelled really good.
She wrinkled her nose at the yumminess assaulting her nostrils, making it damn near impossible to forget how it’d felt to be tangled up in his arms.
“Just admit it, you’re afraid of horses.”
“I’m not afraid of horses,” Harper insisted, hating that she couldn’t just suck it up and do this ridiculous touristy zip lining without wanting to pee her pants. But as much as she wanted to tell Teagan the real reason she was shaking, she held it in. Showing weakness wasn’t something she did. “Fear is the mind killer,” she whispered to herself, surprised when Teagan heard her.
“Dune?”
She opened her eyes, surprised. “You’ve seen Dune?”
“Yeah, it’s a classic. Kyle MacLachlan as Muad’Dib, hell yes. Love it. One of my favorites.”
She resisted being charmed that he enjoyed the same cult classic as she did but what were the odds?
“I like sci-fi and fantasy flicks,” Harper admitted, joking wryly. “If I’d been better at science...who knows what I might’ve become.”
“Me, too.” He laughed and she secretly smiled.
They shared favorite movies and it helped lessen her growing panic until they reached their destination. The base was situated around one of the largest trees with a platform and the rigging. Just seeing how far she’d have to climb to get up there made her shake.
The mule whinnied and shuffled at the sudden tension in her thighs and Teagan patted the animal’s neck, soothing him with soft words.
Maybe he could pat her on the head and work the same magic.
“Do you need help climbing down?” he asked.
She shook her head, distrustful that her voice wouldn’t shake, and carefully dismounted to stand on rubber legs.
And her vagina felt as if she’d done one too many spin classes on a bicycle seat made of cement.
No wonder cowboys were bowlegged.
Harper stretched, wincing as she worked out the kinks, not only from the mule but last night’s shenanigans, and tried not to pay too much attention to Teagan when she was sorely tempted to run into the cove of his arms and hide there.
If Teagan noticed she was on edge, he didn’t call her on it and she was grateful, but when she hung back to the end of the line, he stayed with her, making small talk for her benefit.
One by one, the adventurers suited up and went squealing over the jungle canopy like crazed fe
atherless kamikaze birds—including Vanessa and Stuart—until it was only Teagan and Harper remaining.
“Ready?” he asked, extending his hand after they were suited up. She stood stock-still, helmet jammed on her head and safety rigging crisscrossing her body as they prepared to hook her carabiner to the line. “Harper?”
But she froze. “I can’t.” Oh, God, here was the moment she’d dreaded. Either she was going to pee or faint. She wasn’t sure which would be worse. “I just can’t.”
Teagan realized she wasn’t joking or playing around and his demeanor changed, going instantly from athletic adrenaline junkie to concerned gentleman in the blink of an eye. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I’m afraid of heights,” she blurted to her shame. Tears immediately followed. “I can’t do it. I’m afraid I’ll be the one person who dies on a zip line. I’ll be the one percent that no one talks about.”
She was becoming hysterical but she was past the point of caring. Her lungs felt ready to seize. She couldn’t draw a deep breath. Harper fluttered her hands as panic began crowding her ability to remain calm. “I—I—I can’t b-breathe...”
The tour guide tried to assure her it was safe but Harper couldn’t hear him any longer.
Teagan gently gripped her shoulders and caught her gaze. “It’s okay,” he said. “You can do this. I will be right here. You won’t be alone. If it turns out you’re the one percent, I’ll go down with you. We’ll face it together.”
She slowed her breathing and stared at Teagan. “You would?”
“Of course, I would.”
“I still don’t want to go,” Harper admitted in a small voice. “Do I have to go?”
The tour guide chimed in, worried, “Si, the mules are already gone up the trail back to the saddle master. This way is the only way back to the bus.”
Harper groaned. This couldn’t be happening. “I’ll pay you extra if you get me back to the bus without going down that death line,” she pleaded with the man.
“Sorry, this the only way. It quick, though.” He gestured with a silly grin as if that would encourage Harper to ditch her fears and hop on.
Teagan caught her chin and dragged her attention back to him. “I will hold your hand the whole way.”
Harper cast her gaze toward the double zip lines and realized that she and Teagan would be side by side. Knowing he would be there where she could see him made the panic lessen but she still didn’t want to do it.
But Harper knew with a sinking heart that going down that line was the only way she was returning to their ship.
And that meant swallowing the golf-ball-sized lump in her throat, praying to God and going for it.
“Fine,” she said tightly, inching her way to the push-off point as the guide locked the carabiners in place. “But if I die, I’m so coming back as a vengeful spirit and haunting every single person, including you, Juan!”
The tour guide blanched and crossed himself as if afraid that her curse might hold some weight and then, gripping Teagan’s hand in a death clutch, they were airborne before she could even manage a scream.
The wind whistled through her hair and cooled the nervous sweat covering her body. She tentatively opened her eyes and saw the true, untouched beauty beneath her. It was wild, untamed and dangerous but incredibly serene, as well.
Her fear slowly loosened and gave way to wonder and by the time they bounced to a stop at the end platform, Harper was grinning in spite of the fact her heart was pounding so hard, it hurt.
Vanessa and Stuart clapped as they arrived, sending up a supportive “Good job!” followed by “Wasn’t that fun?” and Harper laughed weakly as she nodded.
It was then she realized she was still holding Teagan’s hand as if her life depended on it.
She unfurled her fingers and saw the crescent moons carved into his palm from her nails and bit her lip. “Sorry,” Harper offered as they climbed out of their rigging. “I didn’t mean to—”
“No worries,” Teagan said, his gaze warm enough to bask in for a heartbeat. The genuine compassion in his eyes was more than she could handle. But before it could get awkward, Teagan turned to Stuart and clapped him heartily on the shoulder. “Mark that sucker off your bucket list,” he declared with a wide grin and Stuart nodded vigorously.
“That felt good. Real good. I can’t believe I’ve never done that before. What’s next?” he asked Vanessa, giddy as a schoolboy.
“Next is a cool, frothy drink with an umbrella in it,” Vanessa answered with a wink.
It was damn near impossible to ignore the fact that Stuart and Vanessa had a real connection when she was struggling to create some kind of false one.
The real connection she had was with the man she needed to stay away from.
So instead of letting Vanessa and Stuart have their moment, Harper stepped away from Teagan and said brightly, “I’d love a drink. Count me in.”
She may have turned away from Teagan but it wasn’t fast enough to avoid seeing his disappointment.
Why his opinion weighed on her conscience was another troubling matter.
For now, she needed to find a way to get Teagan out of her mind and Vanessa out of Stuart’s.
The problem?
The thought left her cold on both fronts.
15
TEAGAN SHOULDN’T HAVE been disappointed, but the minute Harper went from him to Stuart within a blink, inserting herself in what was clearly an invitation for two, was hard to ignore.
His disgust rose and he stalked away, walking to the bus alone. If Harper noticed—or cared—she certainly didn’t show it.
Ten minutes later, the rest of the group arrived at the bus and filed in. Just as before, the quarters were close and although he wasn’t excited about sitting next to Harper, there simply wasn’t enough space to be choosy.
She settled in beside him and he chose to look out the window, effectively shutting her out.
Harper broke the silence first. “So we’re going to get a drink at Senior Frog’s when we get back to town. Want to come?”
“I think one third wheel is plenty, don’t you think?” he answered coolly without breaking his gaze from the dusty window.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked.
“Playing dumb is beneath you.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Vanessa mentioned wanting a drink and I thought it was a great idea. I don’t know if you caught this or not, but doing that zip line thing was a big deal for me. I think I’ve earned something cold and frosty.”
She was really going to play like she hadn’t purposefully inserted herself where she wasn’t invited? The balls on Harper were bigger than his. Fine. She wanted to play games? He’d play.
“Yeah? So you’re just in it for the drink? Not to wedge yourself between two people who seem to be hitting it off? Forgive me, but it seemed a little desperate to me.”
Her cheeks colored. “That’s a mean thing to say.”
“But true?” he countered, shaking his head. “When are you going to learn that screwing people over isn’t going to win you any points in the end.”
“The end of what?”
“Life, baby. Everyone has to answer to someone.”
She rolled her eyes. “Now you’re a philosopher?”
He ignored her dig and put her on the spot just to see how far she’d take it. “Okay, you say you’re in it for a celebratory drink... I’m down. Let’s leave the two people who are getting along great to themselves and we’ll find someplace else to find a cold one.”
“But shouldn’t we stay with the group?” she said, faltering. “I mean, for safety purposes?”
“This isn’t my first time in Mexico. I’ll keep you safe if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“I just think we should stay together,” Harper said, obviously unable to think of a better argument, not that it would’ve mattered. Teagan knew it was all a bunch of horseshit, anyway. Harper was determined to steal Stuart away from a woman who really seemed to like him, and vice versa, because Harper needed a payday.
Goddamn. He was pissed off.
Why did he care so much what Harper did with her life?
Teagan wasn’t trying to be the knight in shining armor. They were all adults on this cruise. If Stuart allowed himself to be swayed by someone like Harper when he had a good woman on his arm already, what business was it of his to interfere?
Hell, he didn’t know, but he was having a hard time swallowing his decision to leave Harper in the dust.
Was it the sex? Pretty damn good sex. But still, he was old enough to know that centering an entire relationship on what goes on between the sheets was a recipe for disaster.
So why couldn’t he just walk?
Even mad as a wet hornet, he still wanted her.
Correction, he wanted Harper to give up this insane plan of hers and spend time with him because she wanted to, not because he had a fat bank account.
His bank account wasn’t anemic by any means but—let’s get real—he was no Stuart Buck.
“Are you going to be mad at me all night?” Harper surprised him by asking.
“And why would I be mad?” he returned quietly, afraid he might start yelling his fool head off in front of all the nice people on the bus. “I don’t care what you do with your life.”
“I just wanted a goddamn drink! Why are you being such a prick?”
That was it. Final straw. He turned and gripped her chin, drawing her close so that only she could hear his words.
“Just back off from Stuart. Find another target for your payday. He’s a good man and he doesn’t deserve to be sucked dry by someone like you. Vanessa is a better match for him and you know it.”
He released her and caught the shine of sudden tears in her eyes but he wasn’t swayed. A woman like Harper could probably produce the waterworks on command.
Okay, maybe he was a little swayed—he wasn’t a jerk—but he told himself it was likely an act. Harper had been pretty clear about what she wanted from him and what she didn’t want.
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