Page 43 of Ticket to You

After taking my helmet off, Adam grabs my arm and swings it over his neck, holding my hand with one of his. With his free arm, he wraps around my torso, bringing me close to his side. He practically carries me away from the wall, back into the shade of the trees, and sets me down on the plush, emerald-green grass. Grateful he took me into an area with at least a fraction of privacy, I fatten out against the ground. Blades of grass tickle my neck and bare arms. A gentle wind ruffles the overhead trees, making their leaves look like a blanket of shimmering green sequins.

“I’ll be right back,” Adam says with a squeeze of my shoulder. He returns only a minute later, water bottle and first aid kit in hand. The ground has stopped spinning enough for me to sit up, although I plant my back against a tree trunk, just in case.

Adam pours a trickle of water over the cuts along my arm. “So youreallydon’t like heights.”

“What gave you that impression?”

He chuckles, shaking his head. “There’s some scraping here, but only the long one on your arm is deep. It’ll probably be irritated for a few days.”

One hand grabs my arm at the elbow, holding it in place. With his other, he applies a thin layer of ointment to my arm before wrapping the largest gash with a bandage. Adam moves to my cheek next. He dampens a piece of gauze and pats it. His other hand moves to cup the side of my face. Gently, he presses the side of my head down into his palm so I can rest it there while he tends to the cut.

Adam stares deep into my eyes. “Does that hurt?”

I shake my head. I can’t find the words, probably due to embarrassment.

Having Adam take care of me is oddly calming, and I’m tempted to close my eyes. But when I do, it’s too easy to imagine that his touch and movements aren’t just to clean my cuts, so I keep my gaze on him, watching him closely as he works.

Adam’s eyebrows, surprisingly, are lifted a bit. Deeply focused on the task at hand, Adam leans close to me, close enough for his exhales to tickle my skin and his pine and sandalwood scent to fill me. Once he cleans the blood from my face, he dries my skin and reaches into the first aid kit for a butterfly bandage. As he does so, he catches me studying him.

He laughs softly, his irresistible smile shining. “What?”

“Nothing…This just reminds me of when the Terminatorhas a change of heart and becomes the good guy.”

Adam rolls his eyes and secures the bandage over my cut. “I’m full of surprises, Brooks,” he murmurs.

* * *

When we get backto the cable car station, the children ride off one by one on bikes. The tension in the air grows thicker each time another kid leaves until it’s just Mila, Adam, and me.

Adam turns to me, widening his eyes, and I can tell he’s trying to communicate something. He clears his throat. “Mila wants to take us to dinner to show her gratitude. How does that sound to you?”

Mila, too, is looking—no, glaring—at me.

They’re probably hoping I make an excuse for why I can’t have dinner with them, so I won’t be a third wheel. After all, Mila is gorgeous and bubbly and is anOlympic Athlete.Hell, if I wasn’t straight, I would probably want to go out on a date with her, too.

Dinner at a luxury ski resort isn’t in my budget anyway. Knowing that, I already smuggled extra fruit and pastries from our complimentary breakfast buffet this morning morning and set it aside for dinner.

I wink at Adam halfheartedly. “I’m actually feeling a little under the weather.”

He pulls his lips in tight. “Well, maybe I should stay with you and make sure you’re okay.”

I furrow my eyebrows at him questioningly.Why are you arguing?“I’ll just turn in early and sleep it off. You two have fun.”

Mila looks at Adam the way I looked at the 1970s Saint Laurent jumpsuit I thrifted last year. “Feel better!” she says to me without actually looking at me.

“I’m sorry, Mila,” Adam says, “but I really should stay with Ophelia.”

Mila pouts out her full lips. Even when upset, she still looks like could star in a North Face ad and then immediately don angel wings and step onto Victoria’s Secret runway. “Okay,” she says to Adam, “I’ll text you my room number. Just come knock if you change your mind.”

Because Mila has to stay at the station until all the kids are gone, Adam and I ride back up to the lodge alone and in silence. He pinches his mouth in a sour expression.

“I’m sorry about today,” I say once we’re in the lodge and on our way to our room.

“What are you talking about?”

“Embarrassing you. Causing a scene. I already did that paragliding, and I didn’t want to do it again. I knew I would get scared, but I thought I would get through it without…needingsaving.” I spit out the last word. It tastes vile. Dependency is not my forte.

Adam turns to me, stopping so suddenly that I nearly run into his chest. His expression softens. “You didn’t embarrass me.” He speaks slowly, choosing his words carefully. “Not today and not paragliding.”

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