Page 36 of Luke

Finally, Vixen lifted her head and began to move slowly down the path. Lizzie glanced over at him. "Tell me what you're working on now, Luke. Do you have a new film coming out?"

"In a few months, yes. We just finished the last shot. I did a base jump off a mountain in Norway."

"Of course you did," she said dryly.

"I think we got some great footage. My partner Pete was operating a camera via drone, which now allows us to capture new, exciting angles."

"So you don't have to actually jump anymore?"

"Well, I don't have to…"

"But you want to."

"It's part of the honest and true experience. I narrate how I'm feeling, what the conditions are, who's there with me, what I know about the area."

"Base jumping is when you jump off a cliff and open up a chute before you die?"

"That sums it up," he said with a grin.

She shook her head. "And you're never scared?"

"I wouldn't say that. Fear is part of it, of course. I just don't let it stop me."

"Is the film just about base jumping?"

"No, the broader subject is the way people fly: base jumping, parachuting, helicopter skiing, anything that takes them through the air."

"There are a lot of crazy people in the world."

"I prefer to call them adventurous."

"You would," she said. "I have to admit that I was always in awe of your courage. You inspired me to step out of my comfort zone. I know, in your opinion, I probably didn't go too far, but farther than I would have gone on my own."

He was surprised she'd admit that.

She glanced over at him. "When I didn't show up at the airport, I thought to myself: if you're going to break up with this incredible guy in order to make your career happen, then you better make it happen. I had to prove to myself that I hadn't made the wrong choice. So I fought really hard and went on a lot of painful auditions to get to the places I told you about earlier. Maybe I wouldn't have been so strong in that pursuit if I didn't have you in the back of my head."

"I—I don't know what to say to that," he murmured. "You're welcome?"

"You should have stopped with I don't know what to say to that."

He smiled. "I'm glad I inspired you in some way. I really am happy for your success. I wouldn't have been ten years ago or even five years ago, but now that I've hit thirty—"

"And you're older and wiser," she interrupted.

"Exactly. I see things more clearly." He shook his head. "It's strange how we never talked after the day you finally returned my call."

"I talked to you in my head a hundred times. I thought about picking up the phone, sending a text, but then I just couldn't. I couldn't open that door again. There didn't seem to be a point."

He'd felt much the same way. "Well, my father opened the door and shoved us both through it."

"Yes, he did," she muttered.

For the next few moments, they rode in silence. As the trail widened, Lizzie nudged Vixen into a faster trot and Daisy followed. "Now, this is more like riding," he said, as they picked up speed.

"This is a good spot to run," she said, as her hair flew out behind her, and her smile radiated the same happiness he felt to be flying over the ground.

It wasn't like jumping off a cliff, but it was fun.

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