I turned away and pretended to stretch out my tight leg muscles. I could feel his eyes on me like a weight.
“Ready to keep going?” I asked lightly. “The worst of the climb is behind us.”
“Yeah.” His voice was gruff. “Lead on.”
I had forgotten how pretty Mount Doom could be. Or maybe, it was looking at it all anew from Deacon’s eyes. As I promised, the trailhead leveled out to something brisk, but invigorating. I stopped here and there to point out different sites and features.
Deacon responded appropriately, and seemed interested, but his eyes were always on me. His questions were warm and friendly.
I sort of fell out of the pattern of being a tour guide and just pointed out items that I found interesting.
All in all, it felt more like a casual date than escorting a guest up to the top of the mountain.
The trail crested at the very top and leveled out to a platform where it was possible to see the entire breadth of the island. It was a perfectly clear day. We stood, gazing out at the rolling jungle below us where it gently tapered and smoothed out to white sand beaches and beyond to the endless blue sea.
Distant thunder clouds boiled up at the horizon to provide a little visual interest, but they were much too far away to be threatening. Deacon and I stood side-by-side, so close that I swore our arm hairs were touching, and just gazed out, taking in the view.
“Thank you for taking me here,” Deacon said.
“Hey, it’s my job.” Inwardly, I winced at the words. It felt like I had just thrown up a wall between us. Then again, why shouldn’t I? I felt like he was sending me signals, but I wasn’t going to risk my job on it.
Deacon didn’t react but I sensed a stillness coming from him as if he were reorganizing a few things in his mind. Then he said, “I forgot to tell you, I preordered lunch to be delivered to my villa. It should be enough for two. Would you care to join me?”
I bit my lip, debating with myself. Eating with a guest like this was unusual, but it wasn’t the first time I had joined him for a meal.
Whatever weirdness had happened yesterday, Deacon had been good company today. Why not extend this pleasant atmosphere a little more?
“It wasn’t the taco platter, was it?” I asked. Not that I really cared, but I had to put up a little bit of a fight.
He glanced at me. “What’s wrong with the taco platter?”
“Nothing. But after eating it for the thousandth time, I sort of want to stab myself in the eye with a taco shell.”
He smiled. “It was actually the seafood pasta feast. I figured I could use the carbs after hiking all day.”
I eyed him up and down. “With a physique like that, you can eat whatever you want.” Then I quickly looked away. “Sure, if there’s room for two.”
Deacon didn’t respond, but the small, pleased smile that grazed his face made my heart do a tiny little flip.
* * *
We made good time back to the resort. Surprise, surprise, going downhill was a lot easier and faster than trudging uphill. As a result, we arrived about a half hour before the cooks started serving meals.
A quick shower and change of clothes later, I made it just in time to intercept the food cart on the way to the villa.
“Knock, knock,” I teased, in lieu of an actual knock. The smile that curved my lips was genuine, not the customer service friendly mask.
“Come in,” Deacon called.
I opened the door and pushed the cart ahead of me. One glance at Deacon told me he had also taken the opportunity to shower. His dark hair was damp, his face as smooth as if he had freshly shaved. He had also put on a white button-down shirt that had to be tailored. Nothing off the rack hugged the body quite like that.
He looked good. Real good.
Heart thumping, I took a deep breath, told myself to calm down, and pushed the cart in.
Deacon stepped in to help me, despite my light protests. As a result, the table was set within a few moments.
The cooks seemed to be on the top of their game today. The pasta was light, and the side of shrimp and fish filets seasoned to perfection. I fell upon it with the hunger of someone who had eaten way too many meals in the employee cafeteria.