Chapter Five
Tori had never seenanything quite as pretty as the waterfall in front of her. The view of the ocean behind her was a pretty close second, though.
“Okay, this was worth the extra hour of hiking,” she whispered in awe, gazing up at the torrent of water thundering down the narrow channel of rocks at the top of the cliff, into a dazzling pool.
Logan swung his small nylon backpack off his shoulder and dug out a water bottle. “Here you go.”
“Thanks.” They stood there together for a few minutes, listening to the rush of falling water and the twitter of birds high above. She breathed in and out, letting the peace of the place seep into her bones.
Once she’d finally absorbed the wonder of it all, she turned to Logan at the same time as he turned to her.
“So we should—”
“Where do you want to eat—”
They both broke off and started laughing. They were so in sync sometimes. She tried again. “Pick a place to eat lunch?”
Logan pointed out a flat spot halfway around the small pool of water, surrounded by large rocks. “That works.”
She climbed ahead of him, eager to sit and rest—and eat. Logan’s idea of exploring the rainforest was more intense than she expected. She was more than ready to dig into the picnic the resort had packed for them. Logan carried the food. She had the rest of their provisions—a blanket, towels, and a basic first aid kit that Logan had rolled his eyes at, and then augmented with his own supplies.
“We should go for a swim after we eat,” he said after she spread out the blanket and he started unloading the food from his pack.
“Definitely.” She grinned as he immediately started to untie his hiking boots. “Eager, much?”
“Just getting comfortable.” He winked at her as he pulled off his socks, then peeled off his shirt, too.
Well, she wasn’t going to complain about that. Logan was a fine-looking mountain of a man, and having him half-naked next to waterfall serving her lunch was nothing to complain about. “Pass me the pineapple, you adorable freak.”
“What can I say? I love swimming.”
“I know you do. I love sandwiches. Pass those, too.”
He laughed and handed over the neatly packed boxed of ham and lettuce sandwiches, kept cool and crisp with a thin ice pack at the bottom.
“Oh my God. Delicious.” She hummed as she licked a bit of mustard off her fingertips. “This is pretty incredible.” She gestured around.
He gave her a slow nod and an even slower smile. “Yep.”
“I bet this is same-old, same-old for you, huh?”
“Nah. I don’t get to have picnics next to waterfalls when I’m on the job.”
She winced. “Right. Of course not.”
He reached over and gently pushed against her bare knee. “Hey, it’s fine. I do get to see a lot of beaches, though. Jungle. That’s familiar terrain for me, yeah.”
“You ever think about getting out?” The question bubbled up from nowhere, and she didn’t know why she’d asked. She never had before, mostly because she didn’t want to know the answer. It was part of the deal of loving Logan—she also had to deal with missing him, too.
He frowned. “Once in a while.”
Her heart jolted at the unexpected answer. “Oh?”
He shrugged and sighed. “This isn’t a conversation to have right now.”
“Okay.” She held out the sandwich box. “Here. Eat some before I devour them all.”
He shifted closer and set the box on the blanket between them. “There. We can share.”
