Page 25 of Best Laid Plans
‘I can imagine.’
‘There’s one guy whose wife left him six months ago after forty years of marriage because she was fed up with him being so insensitive and lazy. He’s learning how to cook so he can woo her back.’
‘Is it working?’
‘It seems so.’ She grinned at the memory. ‘Apparently his “Spaghetti Sorry-Babe” was a real hit and she’s going back this week to sample his “Apple Turnover a New Leaf”.’
She continued to tell him anecdotes about the people she’d come into contact with in the last year, actually starting to enjoy herself as she remembered things she’d not thought about for a while. It reminded her of how rewarding it had felt to make a difference to these people’s lives. Even if it was only in some small way.
Julien listened intently, chiming in every now and again with a gruff question or comment, and by the time they reached the end of the vertiginous section and had come out into a wider, flatter path his voice sounded almost normal again.
She was glad to have been able to help him, even though, as usual, he’d made it unnecessarily difficult for her.
The man was too proud for his own good – but she wasn’t going to hold it against him. She knew all about pride.
It occurred to her that if she’d been here with Gavin and it had beenherthat had been scared of heights, he would have lorded that weakness over her – even though he would have disguised it as teasing – and he wouldn’t have let her forget about it for the rest of the holiday.
There was no way she was going to do that to Julien, and she felt sure he wouldn’t have done it to her if the roles were reversed; he seemed too classy for that.
She gently extricated her hand from his vice-like grip, somewhat disappointed now to let go. It had been nice having that connection with him as they’d talked.
He seemed a little surprised by the loss of her touch and turned to look at her with his brow drawn into a frown.
‘Are you okay now?’ she asked.
‘Yes, I’m fine. My heart doesn’t feel like it’s going to explode in my chest any more.’
He looked away towards where the azure-blue ocean crashed noisily against the rocks far below them.
She gazed at his profile, taking in the strength of his jaw with its faint show of bristles, noting a small scar where the bone swooped up towards his ear. She wondered briefly how he’d got it, then pushed away the instinct to ask him. It was probably too personal a question and he might get snippy about answering it.
To be honest, she was a little hurt that he wasn’t being more friendly towards her after she’d just rescued him from certain doom. Not that she’d done it to be lavished with gratitude and praise, but to hear a simplethank youwouldn’t hurt. Perhaps his alpha male pride had been dented, and this was his way of shutting the humiliation of it out.
But, even so?—
He turned back suddenly, making her jump a little as the shock of the movement yanked her out of her reverie.
Taking a pace backwards, he folded his arms tightly against his chest.
She tried not to notice how this made the sculpted muscles in his arms bulge in a rather attractive way.
‘So, you should consider your debt for the boots paid off,’ he bit out gruffly.
Great. An acknowledgement. Sort of. It wasn’t exactly a heartfelt outpouring of thanks, though.
‘You do know there are more sheer drops on the next leg of the walk, don’t you?’ Indigo blurted with a reproachful lift of her eyebrow, unable to keep her annoyance at him spilling over.
His face seemed to pale. ‘Really?’
‘You know, I’d be happy to partner with you for that bit if you like,’ she said loftily, ‘just in case you need me to distract you with my witty repartee again till we get past them.’
As soon as she’d said the words she regretted them. Not because she didn’t want to spend more time with him, but because she knew, deep down, that it wasn’t altruism that had prompted her to make the offer; it was because she enjoyed being around him. Even though there was a good chance she was letting herself in for more hurt and rejection here, she couldn’t quite tear herself away from him just yet.
He captivated her with his strange mixture of stern pride and compassion, not to mention the way he made her tummy flip when he looked at her with his impassioned, penetrating gaze.
She wondered again what could have happened to his marriage to make him so defensive.
‘Why would you want to do that?’ he asked brusquely.
