When she pulled away, I mourned the loss of her warmth and vitality instantly. But she was alive, and that was the most important thing to remember.
“You saved my life.”
I shrugged. “Your dad would’ve killed me if I hadn’t.”
Ella tipped her head back and laughed at the sky, though the adrenaline coursing through her veins had tears continuing to cut paths through the dust on her cheeks.
Somber mood broken when she calmed again, she grabbed my hand, lacing our fingers together and saying, “Thank you.”
“Anytime, Wildflower,” I said hoarsely. I glanced up to the trail, then back to her. “I’m assuming you don’t want to finishthis hike.”
Ella shook her head vehemently. “I want to eat my weight in pasta, then maybe get drunk later—in the comfort of our cabin.”
I chuckled, letting her hand go to hook my arm around her shoulders, steering us back down the hill. “Your wish is my command.”
A quick Google search located a highly rated Italian joint nearby, and when Ella said she wanted to eat her weight in pasta, she wasn’t being figurative. We arrived back at the cabin with several paper bags of food, having ordered several of Ella’s favorite dishes. I wasn’t a big pasta guy, but after the near miss earlier, Iwasthe kind of guy to give the girl whatever she wanted as long as it made her happy.
And when we spread the food out on the small coffee table—containers of spaghetti and meatballs, chicken alfredo, penne alla vodka, macaroni and cheese in a thick, creamy white sauce, plus a mountain of cheesy bread and a large bowl of salad to balance out all the carbs—Ella’s face lit with glee. Like a kid in a candy store, she dug into the meal with gusto, eating so quickly I wasn’t entirely sure she actually tasted any of it.
Though, when she caught me staring at her, dumbfounded, she offered me a close-lipped smile around her mouthful of food and slowed down.
“Thank you,” I said with a laugh. “Can’t have you choking after I saved your life once today.”
She swallowed audibly and said, “God, that was fucking scary.I still have no idea how you got to me so quickly.”
I sat up straighter and placed my hands on my hips. “I’m Superman.”
A cackle burst free from her, and she clapped a hand over her mouth, devolving into giggles behind it.
“Whatever it was, thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me, Wildflower.”
“You saved my life,” she reminded me.
I shrugged. “You probably wouldn’t have died. Just been maimed or seriously injured.”
Next thing I knew, a pillow was smacking me in the side of the head, knocking the piece of bread I’d just bitten off clean out of my mouth.
I turned to her slowly, a feral smile twisting my lips.
“Oh, you’re in for it now.”
Ella’s eyes widened a moment before I lunged. She barely managed to set her plate down before I was on top of her, pressing her into the couch cushions and digging my fingers into her ribs.
“Please, stop!” she gasped between bouts of laughter. “Please, I’ll do anything!”
“Anything?” I grinned wider, not letting up in my assault.
“Anything!”
God, there were so many directions I could go with that. But I decided to be a good boy and said, “Stop thanking me.”
“Okay, okay!”
I pulled my hands away, though I remained hovering over her as she caught her breath.
“I’m glad you’re okay, Wildflower.”
