I smiled. “Is that what you call this?”
“They said we had magnetic chemistry.”
“They might be onto something.”
“And they said we ‘cared for each other with quiet devotion.’”
“Mm-hmm.”
She groaned and covered her face. “Carson, they basically wrote romantic fan fiction about us.”
“I didn’t mind it,” I murmured.
She peeked through her fingers, startled.
I swallowed. “I mean, they liked the trip. That’s what matters.”
But the way her breath caught made something stir in my chest…something too honest, too close to confession.
We walked a little farther into the dark, gravel crunching under our boots. The moonlight filtered through the bare branches, casting shadows that moved whenever the breeze came through.
Finally, she said, “Well… their review pretty much guarantees you’re ready to lead trips on your own.”
Something in her tone made me slow my pace.
Ready to lead on my own. She’d mentioned it the other day. I wasn’t surprised she’d thought it. She was always thinking about the practical side, the business side, the efficiency of pairing versus not pairing us.
But this was more.
A ripple of uncertainty and dread went through me.
“You think I’m ready to go out solo?” I asked. I mean, we both knew I was ready the moment I got here.
She nodded quickly. “Yeah. Definitely. You were great. Calm, competent, the honeymooners loved you. You don’t need me there the whole time. I mean, that was the plan, right? For you to start taking groups on your own? That’s why my family hired you for the season.”
It was logical.
Reasonable.
Professionally sound.
So why did it feel like she’d just shoved me a step backward without meaning to?
“Is that all this is?” I asked quietly.
“What?”
I kept my eyes on the path. “You pushing me to take solo trips? Is it because of what happened between us?”
She froze mid-step.
The night went still around us with no frog croaks, no wind, no distant laughter from the house, only her breath.
Her voice came out small. “What do you mean?”
I turned to face her fully. “Did you get uncomfortable? Did you think putting distance between us would make it easier?”
She swallowed hard. “Carson…”
