“Don’t call me Mads,” she hisses.
I lower my head, moving to shield us from the others’ view. “Why? Tell me why you hate it so much.”
Her head tilts, eyes squeezing shut as she drags in a deep breath. I don’t think she’s ever told anyone this before. I stay still, giving her the space to breathe, to navigate the storm inside her head. The silence stretches, thick and heavy, and when I start to think she won’t let me in, her eyes open, a pool of sadness straight at me.
“My Nan… she used to call me Mads. It was her nickname for me. The only one my mom’s family ever used. When they all left after she passed, I started hating it because it’s a reminder of the people who were supposed to stay and love us. They didn’t, though. They left.”
A crack forms in my chest. It’s always been her and her mom, and every time I called her Mads, I was unknowingly reminding her of the family that left.Shit.
“I’m sorry.” I reach out, but she steps back, her shoulders tight. “I didn’t know.”
“It’s okay. I’m okay.” Her voice is quiet but loud enough for me to hear over the water. “Mom never told me much about why her family left. Just that when Nan died, her brother and sister couldn’t live here anymore, and she didn’t want to leave Sunlit Cove. She stayed because she had me.” She shrugs, a ghost of a smile tugging at her lips. “We’re a team, Mom and I. Whatever happened between them, it’s something we don’t talk about.”
“I promise I won’t call you Mads ever again.” I reach out again, brushing the hair from her shoulders to the back of her neck. The tips of my fingers graze her skin, and a jolt of electricity fires through me. “Besides, I’ve grown quite attached to baby girl.”Her skin reacts, goosebumps prickling under my touch. “I think you like being called baby girl, too,” I rasp.
Her gaze slides toward the lookout above the falls, shoulders rising and falling with her measured breaths. She’s fighting with a decision inside that beautiful mind of hers, and when her eyes swing back to mine, I catch it—determination, confidence, resolve.
My pulse pounds in my ears as I look behind me. Our crew’s watching us—the guys with their thumbs up, Tessa swaying her arms at me like she’s shooing me off, a soft, knowing smile from my sister, and Sarah’s narrowed eyeswarning me not to fuck it up. Their quiet encouragement urges me on. This is my moment to catch her.
Mist hangs in the air, cool droplets clinging to my skin as I follow Madison up the dirt path. The scent of wet stone and moss fills my lungs the higher we go, and I grip the twisted roots along the edge to keep myself steady on the narrow trail. My hand hovers behind her lower back, careful not to touch, but there, ready for every time her foot slips on loose dirt or the sticks snaking across the path. Sunlight flickers through the trees, breaking into shards across her shoulders. I spot a small cut in the path that twists off to its own hidden spot, shadowed by a large tree. I catch her elbow gently before I can think and steer her off the path and into the shade with me. My instincts take over, logic not standing a chance against the pull she has on me.
I need to taste her first.
Her back grazes the rough bark, her chest rising as she looks at me, eyes wide but not afraid. They’re waiting, questioning, like she’s holding her breath to see what I do next. I press my hand to her chest, right over her heart, feeling the flutter of her pulse beneath my palm, and watch as she bites down on her lower lip. It’s a tiny movement, but it sends heat rippling down my spine, urging me closer.
“What are you doing?” she asks.
“I needed a second to breathe you in.” My thumb skims the edge of her collarbone, and her breath hitches. “To feel you.”
I swallow, trying to steady the storm in my chest as I search for the right words.
“There’ll be no going back after this. If we jump…” I lower my head closer to hers. “We’re jumping straight into our future together. Us against the whole fucking world.”
Her gaze drops and lifts between my mouth and myeyes, her fingers digging into my waist like she’s bracing herself for whatever comes next.
“You and me, baby girl,” I rasp. “After this? I’m done hiding. I’ll climb every damn rooftop in Sunlit Cove and tell everyone you’re mine. That you own me.”
Her lashes fall, hiding the flash of emotion I couldn’t quite catch as her shoulders drop. Something between us shifts, the tension stalling. Her hands loosen on my waist, a tremor running through her as she tilts her head away, letting out a shaky breath.
Have I… read this all wrong? My chest clenches, heartbeat spiking, palms growing cold as she pulls away. Mist from the falls clings to my skin, and the trees above us rustle in the breeze. The roar of the water fills the space between us, matching the thundering in my ears.
She steps back, sliding back onto the main trail, head shaking. The corners of her mouth dip into a frown that cuts through the moment.
“No.”
“What?” I step forward, panic flaring in my gut, sticks cutting into my feet.
“I can’t do this,” she whispers, taking another step back.
Her arms wrap around herself, and she looks at me, devastatingly beautiful, with her mind made up. The mist catches in her hair, the sun glinting off the strands, and my chest tightens even more at her hesitation.
“What do you mean? Baby, I thought we were there. What happened in the last twenty-four hours? Why are you pulling back?” My voice cracks slightly, and I step closer.
Her jaw tightens, she takes another step away, eyes darting back down the path for a moment before snapping back.
“What the fuck did Xavier say to you?” I scoff, the edges of my calm fraying.
Her eyes flare—hurt, anger, desperation, all colliding—and she jabs a finger at my chest. “Don’t do that!” she snaps, voice cracking in the humid air. “He didn’t say or do anything. This is all on you, Hunter.”
