“But the end result is worth it.”
“Are you disappointed that I’m afraid?” His voice is steady, but I don’t miss the undertone of desperation. He needs me to tell him that it’s okay.
“Your feelings are valid, Charlie. I wouldn’t want you to commit to anything you aren’t ready for.”
“If it helps, you make me feel brave.”
My chest cracks open, overloaded with the weight of his vulnerability. “Come on then. I’ll hold your hand. We’ll do this together.” I extend mine, willing him to take it.
“You’re ahead of me, Cricket.”
“Then catch up.”
Charlie’s swallow is audible. It’s a big gulp without the drink. “What if I fail?”
“What if you don’t?” I wiggle my fingers, hope flaring in my heart. It’s a scary feeling, and I’m terrified to see what he does next, but he has to rise to my level because I refuse to lose the ground I’ve worked so hard to cover. And if he isn’t up to the challenge then he isn’t the man for me.
Better to know now, even if it kills me.
Chapter Eighteen
I know we’re talking about more than the cliff right now, but I’m too distracted by the distance to the water to give the subtexts due consideration.
There’s no point in telling her I want to be with her if I’m about to die.
On the other hand, she’s right—worth it.
As I reach for her hand, a familiar voice calls my name. It has to be a hallucination, except my gut tells me it isn’t. The blood in my veins turns ice cold as Matt Lyman clambers up the cliff path.
“Hey, loser.” He looks down at his professional attire. “Looks like I wore the wrong kind of suit.” He leers at Cricket. “I’m a big fan of yours though.”
I move to stand in front of Cricket, effectively blocking his view. “How did you find me here?”
“Easy. I followed the scent of failure, plus some dude named Patrick pointed me in this direction.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Came to see what was so amazing about this place that you’d miss a charity auction with your best clients. You missed an excellent chance to hobnob with the senior partners.” He cocks his head, angling for another view of Cricket. “Now I see why.”
The moment with Cricket is ruined, but I’m more concerned about my whole future being ruined. Matt is a snake in the grass. If he’s here, it’s for a shady reason. Best to ascertain his intentions and fast.
“Aren’t you going to introduce me?” Matt asks.
“Matt Lyman, this is Courtney Abernathy. Courtney owns the camp. Matt is a work colleague.”
“Nice to meet you,” Cricket says, but there’s zero warmth in her voice. In fact, she sounds ready to toss Matt off the cliff. I wouldn’t stop her.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt your private swim lesson,” Matt says. “I expected to find you tossing dwarves or whatever nerds do at camp.”
Cricket bristles. “We wouldn’t do that.” She swipes a towel off the ground and wraps it around herself. “It’s inhumane.”
As hard as it is to tear myself away from her, I know it’s for the best. I have to put as much distance between them as possible. Patrick’s presence is bad enough for Cricket. Matt would be worse.
Much worse.
“Why don’t we go somewhere less dangerous and talk?”
“That’s a good idea,” Matt says. “It’s unlikely the firm has liability insurance for this kind of thing.”
