Page 39 of Hidden Ascent

“Wait till you see me in action.”

“Are you sure that being cocky is the best thing right now?”

“It’s not cocky. It’s confident.” He gave her a million-dollar smile, and she laughed.

He kept doing that to her, making her laugh. Somehow, it came easily to him, and he brought it out of her.

But there must be a dark side in there somewhere. He didn’t swim out into the middle of the ocean for nothing.

* * *

Jay handed the keys to the valet, then held out his arm for Isla.

She looked at it but didn’t move.

He took a step closer. “You don’t have to pretend to be someone you’re not, but you do have to take my arm.”

“I’m nervous.”

“I know.”

“Everyone else will too.”

“I don’t care.” He took her hand and pulled her arm through his. “Do you need me to walk for you too? Because I can.”

She didn’t laugh as he’d intended. Instead, she looked around for any sign of danger.

“Isla.”

“What?”

“Relax. No one knows you’re here. You’re safe.”

“There’s no way for you to know that for sure.”

“Actually, yes, there is. How would anyone know? I didn’t book the ticket under your name. Well, not your last name.”

She ignored him and continued to scan the crowd.

“Isla.”

“What?”

He took her chin in his fingers, leaned down, and kissed her.

She jerked away, but not before responding to his touch. “Why did you do that?”

“Hey, you kissed me back.”

“Only because you caught me off guard.”

“That was the idea. You needed a distraction. Did it work?”

“Wipe that smile off your face, and I’ll tell you.”

His smile grew. “No need. We can go.”

“I hate you.”

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