Page 94 of Extreme Romancing in Idaho

Remi’s voice broke through.

Angie … I love you.

Along with his declaration, memories of the antics we’d gotten into since the start of the growing season poured into my mind. Tractors, corn, high wires and axes, game nights and dirt bikes … and his kisses. I licked my lips, remembering his touch, how it’d branded my skin and leeched into my soul.

Which was what happened … when you fell in love. Flaming hell in a handbasket! I’d fallen in love with the enemy.

Dan’s breath fluttered against my chin. His lips pressed against mine.

“Wait.” I broke contact and pushed him back. “I can’t.”

He stiffened and sat up. “I thought you wanted to get married. You said—”

“I know. And I meant all those things when I said them, but then …” I let my voice trail off, not sure what I would say.

Dan’s shoulders slumped, and his features softened into a defeated frown. “Remi.”

“No, he has nothing to do with this.” I sounded like a preschooler caught with red finger paint on her hands. Being willing to admit my love to my innermost thoughts was one thing but speaking it into existence was entirely another.

“For someone who can keep up a lie for months, you’re not very good at lying to yourself. You talk about him all the time—”

“That’s because we’re always working—”

“Why do you think I went to guys’ night with him and Myles and the others? I asked him about where I should propose, and he immediately knew your favorite place.”

I should have guessed Remi was the one who’d told him. He remembered the tiniest details about me.

Dan kept talking. “He’s a threat. One I lost to. I’ve been dumped enough times to know this is an I’m-in-love-with-someone-else scenario.”

Shaking my head, I said nothing. I didn’t want to lie to him anymore, but I wasn’t brave enough to admit the truth.

I loved Remi, like the once in a lifetime, ugly-crying-into-your-popcorn-at-midnight kind of stuff. I loved the way he challenged me. I loved the way he supported me. Before he came into my life, I was barely surviving on adrenaline and dread. I was a black-and-white photo, and he injected color back into my life. Most of all, I loved that I didn’t have to earn his love or change myself for him. He’d fallen in love with me … the real me.

“Look, Daniel, I’m not the right girl for you. Even if it weren’t for …”

“Yeah. I get it.” He nudged me with his shoulder. “I really wanted you to be my soulmate. I guess I’m going back to square one. No hope of getting married before forty.”

“You never know. It just takes meeting the right person.” Remi had come out of left field. I’d been so stubborn. “And getting married after forty wouldn’t be a bad thing.”

“I guess so.” He dusted off his pants and got to his feet.

“Angie!” A distant voice echoed from the bottom of the outcropping.

It sounded like … I scrambled to my feet and peeked over the edge. Remi? How had he found me? The question barely escaped my thoughts before I locked on the answer: the app. My phone.

“You should go to him.”

Without hesitation, I marched to my previous positions and re-clipped the carabiner to my harness. Before I took another breath, I gripped the rope, one hand above me and one behind, and dropped over the edge.

Chapter 36

Remi

Myheartstoppedbeatingin my chest the moment Angie slid from the top of the cliff. I waited for her to plummet to the ground. But she didn’t. Instead, the rope glided through her gloved hand with the calm assurance of an expert.

The tension in my jaw relaxed and my mouth sagged open. Athena couldn’t be more extraordinary than Angie rappelling this sheer ravine. Her feet hit the ground. The powdered dirt clouded into the air.

I opened my arms, ready to wrap her in a tight embrace.

---