Page 60 of Beached Wedding

He’d been withdrawn when he returned from surfing, but when I asked if he would prefer to do this heli-tour alone, he’d given me the impatient look he threw at me when I stared longingly at a cookie and said, “No thanks.”

“It’s going to be fantastic. You have to come.”

That had been before we were smooshed shoulder to shoulder, hip to hip, thigh to thigh next to the pilot in the front of the chopper. The windshield was a see-through bubble that extended below our feet. We’d opted for the ‘doors off’ experience and were strapped in securely, but I felt as though we would tumble straight into the scenery with each tilt.

On the next angle, Fox seemed to fall away next to me. I grabbed his wrist as if I was some James Bond stunt double, capable of hauling his dangling ass back into this aircraft should he actually fall out.

“It’s like a motorcycle, you nut.” His humor-laced voice cut the music playing in the headset. “Lean with it, not against it. Unless you feel sick?”

“No, I’m just scared. This is the best and worst roller coaster ride of my life.”

“We’re totally safe. Here.” He slid his arm under mine so we were linked, forearms aligned as he wove our fingers together. He hugged my elbow securely into the warmth of his side. “Better?”

Not really. The chopper dipped at that moment, making my stomach swoop. I squeaked in surprise and clung to his arm, but we were both laughing and so was the pilot.

Down we went until we were skimming above turquoise water that smashed itself into shattered rainbows against black, pillowed rocks of hardened lava. It was breathtaking.

Fox flashed me a grin and I stared at his teeth for several awe-filled heartbeats, both of us exhilarated by racing across this wonderland.

I couldn’t see his eyes behind his sunglasses, but my lips began to tingle. His smile faded. He rolled his lips together before he turned his attention out the door again.

The loss was so palpable, my throat hurt, but the chopper climbed then, pressing me into my seat. Soon we were flying over crumpled peaks of tropical jungle. I had thought the east coast of the island a startlingly rural contrast to the concrete metropolis of Honolulu and the sprawl near the military base. The ridges below us were nothing but steep valleys of undisturbed greenery, the isolation giving the impression no human had ever set foot there.

A few minutes later, our pilot landed us ever so gently on a rocky outcropping. Before us, the acid-washed denim ocean stretched endlessly, its edges decorated with white frills of waves hitting the seams of yellow sand on the shoreline. The bowl ofthe sky was pressed over it, the foothills below us rugged and lush with tangled jungle.

The music stopped and we removed our headsets. As the rotors slowed, I took a few calming breaths, appreciating how the world had grown silent and still. A cool breeze cut through the cockpit, skating across my bare arms and legs.

“This is unbelievable,” I murmured.

“It really is,” Fox agreed.

“I have a picnic for you,” the pilot said.

“I don’t know where I’ll put it,” I said, setting a hand across my stomach.

Harry, the surfer Fox had rescued, had fed us a robust breakfast of eggs benny, quinoa porridge, and tropical fruit with Greek yoghurt before he’d sent us on our way.

“It’s just champagne, cheese, and fruit. Swim first,” the pilot suggested. “Come back when you’re hungry.”

“Swim?” I looked from the cliff that dropped away before us to the craggy peak behind us.

The pilot unbuckled, but stayed in his seat as he pointed out a barely discernible path into the jungle.

“The trail is officially closed. The final leg to the top is called Cardiac Arrest. Three guesses why that is.” He lifted a disparaging brow. “People still hike it, though. It takes about five hours from the bottom. If the heat or their heart doesn’t do them in, a nasty fall can. This is where the rescue chopper lands.” He glanced at his watch. “You should have the pool to yourself for a while, though. Go down, not up. You’ll see the waterfall and the pool in about ten minutes.”

I followed Fox out of his side of the helicopter. He took my hand and I gripped it tightly, knees still spongey from the flight.

“I didn’t know we’d be hiking.” I’d worn a sundress and sandals, but even though the path was a steep incline down, there were plenty of rocks and branches to hold onto.

A few minutes later, as I began to wonder if we’d made a wrong turn, the musical trickle of a waterfall drew us. I didn’t see it until we were pretty much standing in the narrow stream that fed it, though.

The water dropped a few feet into a handful of smaller pools and finally into a big one that sat like a garden of Eden amid the thick jungle that surrounded it. We picked our way down and Fox reached back to help me as we reached the edge of the pool.

The water was placid and deep blue. A single beam of sunshine cut through the opening in the canopy to glitter against its surface.

“I feel like Adam and Eve,” I said in a near whisper. Innocent of sin.

Except they weren’t.Iwasn’t.

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