When I stand, Arabella grins at me. “I did it,” she says again.
Chuckling, I say, “I know. I saw you. And I heard you.”
She throws her arms around my neck and hugs me. Mmm…this feelsway toonice.
Suddenly seeming to remember herself, she pulls back. “Sorry. I'm just so amazed. I actually stepped off of a helicopter that wasreally highin the air. I didnotthink I was going to do that, but I did. Irappelled. And not just off a little wall at a rock-climbing gym. Off anaircraft. In the air. Above the jungle.” Shaking her head, she smiles. “I didn’t think I had that in me.”
Neither did I. “And I didn’t think you had such a foul mouth. We’ll have to bleep the audio of your entire descent.”
She gives me a sheepish look. “My deepest apologies. Apparently, I swear like a sailor when I engage in death-defying activities.”
“Well, try to curb your language a little if you can because we’re going for a prime-time slot.”
The sound of the helicopter fades, and it hits me that we’re actually doing this. We’re out here all alone with only the sounds of the birds, the rustling of the gentle breeze through the leaves, and the thick heat.
Arabella looks around, as though just noticing where she is for the first time. She slowly turns, her mouth hanging down while she gazes up and takes in the surroundings. “This ismagnificent!Have you ever seen anything so lush and wild and free in your entire life?”
Looking back up at me, she blushes. “Of course you have. You’ve been here.”
I can’t help but smile, finding her unbridled enthusiasm contagious. “It's incredible, isn't it? There are so few places on the planet untouched by man, and you, Your Highness, are one of a handful of people throughout history who will ever see any of this in person.”
She turns to me and smiles, her lovely face lit up with exhilaration. The sight of it makes my heart skip, then quickly reminds me,I'mresponsible for getting this beautiful-but-clueless woman out of here alive.
My gut hardens at the thought, and my smile fades. “We better get moving. I want to make it to the river before it gets dark.”
“Is that where the camp is?” she asks, as we start to walk.
“The camp is wherever we make it.”
“Oh,” she says, her tone quiet.
“You didn’t think there’d be accommodations out here, did you?”
“No, of course not,” she answers quickly, avoiding my gaze which means she absolutely one hundred percent thought we were about to take a stroll to some luxury lodge.
“When you signed up for this, what exactly did they tell you about the show?”
“I’m afraid Ms. Sinclair was rather vague about the details, but I gather from the rules she outlined earlier that it’s just us, whatever we’ve got on us, and whatever we can make.”
“And what can you make?”
“Whatever you teach me,” she says with more than a hint of defiance. “I know you don’t want me out here, but I promise I’m a quick learner.”
“Yeah, this ain’t Girl Scout camp, Your Highness, and we’re under a deadline that I intend to beat. I don’t have time to teach you anything. All you need to know is to stick close by and follow instructions. I’ll do the rest.”
A flash of anger crosses her face. “So much for teamwork.”
“Let’s get one thing straight—I never wantedto be part of a team. I work better alone. Now, I’m not trying to be an arse. I’m trying to keep you safe.”
She looks down at the forest floor and shakes her head. “If I had a dollar for every time I heard that—”
“—You’d be ridiculously wealthy and never need to work a day in your life?”
Arabella’s face turns pink, and her eyes fill with shame. “I suppose that is what you would see.”
I start to apologize, but she holds up one hand. “Don’t bother. It’s best if I know from the start what you think of me.” Lifting her chin, she says, “I thought we were in a big hurry?”
“Right, we are.” I nod. “We’ve got about five hours of daylight, which may sound like a lot, but we’ve got a lot to do in that time.” I take off my backpack and set it on the ground. “First, we should have a look at our supplies so we know what we’ve got and what we’ll need to pick up along the way.”
