Page 32 of Chasing Paradise

“Please wait,” I begged as I pushed myself harder.

I was so desperate that I wasn’t paying attention to where I was stepping. My foot caught something, and I was falling before I could even think to brace for impact.

I landed hard, the wind knocked out of me, leaving me whimpering as I pushed up, trying to get to my knees, then my feet, without being able to breathe.

It was then that I noticed the engine had silenced.

“No, no, no,” I cried with what little breath I had.

My knee was throbbing, and the hot trickle leading down from it meant I must have landed on a stone or stick.

Defeat pressed down on me, making my eyes water and my shoulders sag.

Until I realized something.

The engine hadn’t slowly drifted off into the distance.

It had cut.

Like it had stopped.

Somewhere on the other side of the island.

I pushed myself forward, ignoring the throbbing in my knee and the tightness in my chest.

I had to get there.

I could recover later.

In a hotel room.

With room service.

And a coffee the size of my head.

That last part, that was what gave me the strength to keep going. Even as the woods seemed to grow thicker with each step.

This was clearly where Wick disappeared to forage for food. The tree limbs were heavy with fruit, more than abundant enough to keep the two of us fed for weeks or months.

Now, well, they could just feed Wick.

For years.

Or the rest of his life, for all I cared.

Just when I thought I might never get out of the thick of the trees and underbrush, though, suddenly it opened up into a large circle.

And right there in the center of it sat a glass house. The top floor overhung the lower level, creating a luxurious covered porch to sit on and look out at the lush scenery.

On that porch, sitting on a cushioned chaise with a glass in his hand… sat Wick.

“Duchess,” he called, a slow, lazy, self-satisfied smile spread across his stupidly good-looking face. “You finally made it.”

Suddenly, it all clicked into place.

Removing theHELPsign.

Having an ‘extra’ toothbrush.

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