Page 24 of Just One Summer with the Grumpy

“There are things about this world you just don’t understand, baby,” Veronica was saying. “It’s a nasty world sometimes. Luckily, you have me to guide you through it. All I’m asking is that you trust me until we start our life together…”

The timing went perfectly. I glanced up just as Ty caught sight of me, and we exchanged a look. A very long one. His eyes widened, his jaw went a little slack, and he gaped for a good three seconds.

Still holding the phone to my ear, I gave him a brilliant smile and a wave. This couldn’t have gone better if I’d planned it.

Okay, I’d chosen my outfit carefully. Maybe the shirt plunged a little more than normal, and my skirt covered a little less skin than I was normally comfortable with. But I had one chance to wow Ty enough to make him wonder why he was with Veronica. The wondering would be incredibly important if I truly meant to steal him from her spiky clutches over the next week.

When I returned to my “office,” I found my old Magic 8 ball tucked in the back of a drawer where I’d stuffed it days before. The still air was broken only by the sound of birds and the light drizzle of the island’s usual afternoon rain. I wasn’t sure why I’d brought this with me. A reminder of my purpose here? A token of the past?

I held the little black ball, took a deep breath, and asked, “Am I doing the right thing?” Then I gave it a series of hard shakes before angling the ball to await my results.Come on, universe,I pleaded silently.Don’t let me down.

A triangular shape rotated in a blurry gray mass. Finally my answer appeared.

“Without a doubt,” I read aloud, and felt my shoulders slump a little. Why did I feel a twinge of disappointment at the confirmation?

Fear of failure, perhaps. Or maybe discomfort at being “the pursuer,” as my horoscope dictated. I wasn’t used to chasing men, at least in the way I’d done today. Most of my relationships till now had been authentic and real.

And look where that got you,chided a voice from deep inside.

I glared at the Magic 8 ball and stuffed it back into its drawer. Then I turned back to my computer. I hadn’t come to doubt my goal. I’d come to claim what was mine. To chase it, just like Cavil the cowboy chased his destiny. Ty had been wrong that fateful night. I knew what I wanted, and I wouldn’t stop until I took it for my own.

My mission began now.

THIRTEEN

I stareddown at the pieces of harness in my hands, trying to figure out how it all fit together. The others made it look easy, stepping into the right holes and pulling it over to their chest. All I saw was a floppy piece of thick nylon and straps that looked like an ill-fitted horse halter. I picked a hole and stepped into it, but the hole next to it didn’t seem to fit my other leg properly. Was it backwards?

A little more fiddling, and I stepped out and back in again, feeling it conform to my body. Now I had to tighten the darn thing. Remembering the expedition guide’s instructions, I played with the buckle, but it wouldn’t give.Snug but not too tight.But what did “too tight” mean, exactly? If I’d be dangling from the forest canopy a hundred feet over the ground, didn’t I want it to bereallytight so I didn’t die?

I loved anything involving sports. I just wasn’t so much into dangling high above the ground.

Why was I doing this again?

Chase had arranged this whole expedition as a complimentary surprise for the bride and groom, but I knew it had to be a desperate attempt to ensure the wedding went through. He hadn’t said so, but I suspected he’d made the same deal with Ty and Veronica as Charles and Kamia. He wouldn’t be taking any chances this time.

Chase met my helpless gaze, the slightest of smiles quirking at the edges of his lips. “May I?”

“I think this thing’s trying to eat me,” I growled.

“That happens to you a lot these days. It actually tightens right here.” His strong hands gripped the harness and pulled it around my arms the correct way, then brought the pieces together and belted them in. A firm pull and the harness hugged my body more securely.

The back straps pushed on my butt in an odd way, but I’d get used to it. “Is it too loose?”

He stuck his fingers between the straps and my waist, barely brushing the back of my leggings and sending a warm tingle shooting down my body. If he noticed the touch, he didn’t show it.

“No, it’s perfect,” he said. “Too tight and it’ll cut off your circulation. That would make for a pretty miserable hour and a half.”

I raised an eyebrow, trying not to show how much his accidental touch had affected me. “It takes an hour and a half to get down the mountain?”

“Sometimes longer if we have first-timers who brake a lot. This is one of the longest zip lines in the world.”

Of course it was. Suddenly I wished I were sitting behind that desk back at the office, dealing with insignificant things like brides calling off weddings. Why had I chosen to stalk Ty on this particular excursion again? Even more importantly, how had I forgotten about my paralyzing fear of heights?

Chase leaned in. “Don’t worry, we only lose tourists every other week. It’s an off-week, so you’re good.”

I shot him a glare that he returned with a smirk before walking over to the guide and starting a whispered conversation.

I glanced over to Ty and Veronica, who already wore their harnesses and stood waiting. Veronica had a petite pout on her face, like a child who’d lost a battle and intended to sulk the rest of the afternoon. Her wavy blonde hair was piled on top of her head in a huge bun that seemed to defy the very elements. And Ty—

---