Chapter eleven
Present day: Zac
“Lookslikeit’sfinallyyou and me.”
The flirtatious tone soaked through his words without even trying. He’d been trying to curb the old habit but coming face to face with his former flame derailed his best intentions. Again.
Running into her at The Rooftop had been unexpected but not unlikely. Leavenworth was a climber’s paradise and only a few hours from Seattle, where he’d met Tabitha all those years ago. Of course she’d come out there at some point; it probably wasn’t even her first time. What blew his mind was that she’d been thrust into his orbit right when he’d been given a chance to prove himself at work. It was like some joke the universe decided to play to really hit home how incapable he was at maintaining professionalism. Like dangling a sexy little carrot in front of his face.
She looked exactly the same. Ok maybeexactly the samewas a stretch, but being in her immediate presence knocked the wind from him in the same exact way. He was suddenly reminded what it was like to be twenty again and so stupidly, recklessly in love at first sight. His heart thumped against his rib cage—fast and mighty.
They stood there, face to face, playing some ridiculous game of chicken, until finally . . .
Click. Click. Click click click.
Jesus, blondie.He kept forgetting that everything they did was captured on camera—evidence of how the week went—good or bad. The reminder triggered a splash of gratitude that doused the remnants of his former rakish persona.
“I’m not even here,” Lark assured quietly, the shutter sounding in rapid succession.
Tabitha cleared her throat and gestured to the granite with a shaky hand. “Shall we?”
Spotting the slight tremor with curiosity, he grunted his agreement.
Smooth, man. Ever the wordsmith.
But it was fine. He shouldn’t be treating this woman any differently than any other customer. Or rather he should be extra diligent in his treatment of her. A lot was at stake. Professionalism was the name of the game.
They ran through the necessary safety checks: securing harnesses, knots, counting quickdraws, and donning helmets.
“Are you ready for me?” Tabitha asked, and Zac wasn’t sure if the teasing tone was real or imaginary. He went with imaginary for self-preservation purposes.
“Always,” he said gruffly then cleared his throat. “Climb on.”
She turned to the wall and stood with her arms at her sides. Zac watched as she pinched her eyes shut and took a few measured breaths. It had been a long time since he’d climbed with her, but he was certain she didn’t have the same confident air as before. This route should be a breeze for her. Eyes-closed-one-hand-tied-behind-her-back easy.
He instantly felt guilty.
It wasn’t the climb that stressed her out. It was him.
“You got this, Tabitha,” he said, redoubling his efforts to play the professional guide.
She turned to him, eyes heavy with strain. But after one more slow breath, something appeared to click, and she approached the granite. The shake quieted as she settled her hands on the starting holds.
And she was off.
She reached the first bolt in a flash and produced a quickdraw from her harness. “Clipping.”
The sharp metallic snap of the carabiner gate spurred muscle memory.
“Your belay is on.” His feed and pull of rope adjusted fluidly to her movements and commands. His hands reacted of their own volition, as though he could have been asleep and still able to anticipate and react accordingly. Climber and belayer worked together in perfect synchronicity. Dance partners separated by meters of rope and bolted rock.
Tabitha reached the top, set an anchor, and called, “Take!”
Zac pulled the slack until she could relax back into her harness while calling back, “I got you.”
At her request, he lowered her down the wall steadily, pausing to allow her to collect the quickdraws she’d used on the way up. Once her feet settled on the ground, she turned to her belayer.
The grin on her face blew back at Zac like a shot from a cannon. The joy beamed off her so brightly that he nearly felt compelled to shield his eyes from the glow. It bathed his heart, reigniting the racket it had been making as they’d squared off before.
