Page 75 of Blossoms of the Heart
Both did.
“I’ll be fine.”
“Phoebe, now’s not the time to be difficult.”
“I’m not being difficult,” I retorted, annoyed at the comment.
“Then take my hand, and let me take care of you.”
I gazed up at him, allowing his words to seep into me.
“Hold my hand until we get to an open space,” he offered.
Okay. I could do that. I could hold his hand for safety purposes.
I took his hand, and the strength and comfort of his grip filled me with a reassurance I didn’t expect.
He smiled and proceeded with me along the path.
The minute we turned into the entrance I was grateful that I’d accepted his help. The rocks I’d seen at the start were nothing compared to the boulders and sharp rocks in this area. Several times my foot turned over and got stuck between them. It was only by holding Tai’s hand and gripping onto him at times that I managed not to fall over. What made it worse was the fragmented light we had.
“Guys, there’s a very narrow path and a big drop ahead,” Kenny yelled back.
I moved my flashlight over the area and saw the mere path; it would be one foot in front of the other. The drop went down for what looked like miles. I hated to be so close to the edge of anything, and usually opted for a less-daring route. However, right now I didn’t have a choice.
Tai put me in front of him and surprised me further by slipping his arm around my waist, pressing me against the hard walls of his chest.
The closeness triggered a host of butterflies flittering throughout my stomach and constricted my breathing. I cursed myself for the reaction and looked back at him to tell him off.
The words however escaped me when he lowered his head so that his face was inches away from mine.
“Don’t want to lose you,” he breathed. The warmth of his voice caressed the edge of my neck and the lure of his hold did the same thing to me, like when he kissed me. That succumbing to him and abandoning of reason.
It couldn’t be a good thing if one person could have such an effect on me with a simple touch, and it definitely couldn’t be a good thing, since I hadn’t seen Tai in years and had only been reacquainted with him in less than a week.
What I should have been doing was paying attention to the expedition.
We managed to get across the path and verged onto another with boulders. Tai released me once the path became clearer. A light shone just ahead. Daylight.
I said a silent prayer of thanks because that path back there scared the shit out of me.
We continued in that direction and got to a magical sight that took my breath away. The roof had fallen through, allowing natural light to fill the space. A waterfall flowed down to the left of that, showing ridges of limestone formations that stood out against it and sparkled as the water rushed down. That went around onto a stream that flowed in the opposite direction.
It was beautiful. Everyone stopped for a moment to take it in. I got out my camera and took a few pictures while Tai surveyed the area.
“We should check out this area some more. You three stay here,” Tai said to me and the two assistants.
“I want to see, too,” I argued.
“You will; we’re just going ahead first.”
“I can handle dangerous terrain.” I could do it. I didn’t overly love doing that, but I could handle myself just fine.
His brows knitted together at my insistence. “Phoebe, we’ll be back in a few minutes. Just stay here until we get back. Enjoy the scenery or something.”
“Probably best to allow us to go on ahead,” Scott offered. “We’re rock climbing experts. This is our thing.”
I looked at the three of them and decided to back down. “Okay.”
