Page 19 of Wish You Were Mine

Hopefully the adrenaline rush would be enough to get me out of my head.

9

SUMMER

“Did Lionel Lowry really have a go at Asher and Maia for not saving a woman who was already dead?” Bailey asked as she set up her phone on a stand and aimed it at a pair of chairs facing each other.

“He did.” I sat on one of the chairs and Bailey adjusted the phone’s position slightly. “I heard it from Liam, and then again from Toby, who was roped into a last minute skydiving trip with Asher yesterday.”

As the expert in all things Asher Heaton, I’d noticed long ago that in addition to insomnia, he tended to become an adrenaline junkie when he was stressed or upset. I just hoped it wouldn’t get him into trouble one day.

“Even Max couldn’t save someone who was already dead,” Bailey said, gathering her array of makeup and placing it beside my feet.

“And we all know Max is practically a saint,” I teased, just to watch her blush.

Honestly, it was sweet how she seemed to think my most sensible, levelheaded brother was capable of anything. In her mind, he wore a super suit beneath his button down shirt and slacks.

“He’s pretty incredible,” Bailey agreed. “By the way, thanks for doing this with me. It’s nice to have company while I work.”

“No problem.” I grinned. “Happy to do it.”

Bailey had already done her own makeup, and now she turned to face the camera and briefly introduced me and explained what she was going to do. Then she picked up her brushes and got to work.

An hour later, the two of us made our way to the track behind Destiny Fibers that led up to Destiny Falls. We parked near the start of the track and got out of the car. Bailey passed me her camera phone and I turned on the video and aimed it at her, keeping my hands as steady as I could while we started to walk.

As we moved slowly up the track, Bailey spoke to the camera, explaining where the track was, its difficulty level, and then going on to explain the significance of the falls.

Grace had unearthed some of the falls’ history, which had become more myth than fact, and Bailey certainly dramatized it as she retold the star-crossed love story of Rocky and his Jewel.

Jewel—real name Pearl—and Rocky—real name Charles—had tied the knot at the base of the falls the night before she was due to marry someone else and had skipped town afterward. Sure, it was romantic, but I felt a little bad for them. They’d lived out their days away from their families and the place they’d once called home.

When the waterfall came into view, I panned the camera away from Bailey to capture the full beauty of the mossy backdrop and the rush of water cascading over the tiered rock structure.

I stopped and zoomed in as two figures appeared to the right of the falls.

Liam and Kennedy.

I jerked my head toward them so Bailey would see, and then stopped recording. These days, Kennedy lived a quiet life in Destiny Falls, but she used to be a Hollywood A-lister, and I refused to record one of her private moments. She’d been hounded by the press enough.

I passed Bailey the phone and walked up the trail toward them. They met us halfway. Liam had one of his arms around Kennedy and they were both beaming.

“You two look like it’s been a good morning,” I said, hoping we hadn’t caught them in the aftermath of a little outdoors lovemaking. It should be too cold for that craziness, but Liam and Kennedy could never stop touching each other, so I couldn’t rule it out.

“It has,” Kennedy said, gazing up at Liam with adoration painted all over her pretty face.

He smiled down at her and kissed her softly.

“Aww,” Bailey murmured. “They’re so cute.”

They really were.

“Can I tell them?” Liam asked.

“Go on,” Kennedy replied.

“Tell us what?” I asked eagerly. I had a nose for gossip, and I could smell something juicy.

They exchanged another look.

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