‘You’re warm,’ I added quickly, voice a little rough.‘Take off a layer.’
‘Oh, right.Yeah.’
She peeled off her long-sleeved top, revealing a bright pink tank that made her flushed skin glow.Her biceps flexed, collarbones catching the light.She ran a hand through her ponytail, and I forced myself to look away as she pulled the pack back on to her shoulders.
‘Wait.Take it off again.’
She narrowed her eyes.‘What is your obsession with telling me to take things off?’
I swallowed a grin.
‘Let me put this under your shoulders.So your pack doesn’t rub.’
‘Oh.’
She turned, letting me step in close.I picked up the pack and eased it over her shoulders, fingers brushing her skin, sun-warmed and soft, and I had to grit my teeth not to linger.
‘What the hell do you have in this pack, Lydia?’ I muttered.‘A dead body?’
She shrugged, ‘Just the essentials.’
‘Ten-step skincare routine?’
She bit her lip.It was cute.‘Maybe.’
I held back a smile, not wanting to scare her off.We turned to join the group.I was unsurprised to see Gen staring, her eyes like pointed daggers, and Amy next to her, with a softer, curious look on her face.
I coughed.‘We have an audience.’
Lydia glanced up to see her friends’ stare.
‘Do they know?About… that night?’
Lydia’s shoulders tensed.
I ran a hand through my hair.‘I’m just curious.Gen was particularly vicious earlier.Threatened to throw me off a cliff.’
‘They know,’ she said, staring at the gravel path.
I hesitated.‘I’m surprised you didn’t tell more people.Get them on your side.Everyone would hate me.’
She stopped mid-step and swivelled, her expression thunderous.
Her voice dropped.‘Let’s get something straight.I’m not talking to you about that night.Not here.Not now.Not ever.’ She took a step closer.‘You lost the right to ask me questions the second you walked out of my life that night like—’ She slammed her mouth closed.‘Like I meant nothing.So don’t youdaretry and play the victim.’
I opened my mouth but she was already turning away, striding back to the others as if she hadn’t just gutted me with a single look.
Some dark, arrogant part of me felt almost relieved.Because for the second time today, what I’d seen wasn’t indifference.It was fury, sharp and unfiltered.And fury, at least, meant she’d cared once.
And maybe she still did.
We reached Kinder Scout by two in the afternoon, after a few stops from Amara to collect plant samples for her pressings.A few helped, making sure she collected the brightest flowers, and I couldn’t help but marvel at the way women made friends so quickly.Peggy was a little tired now, so she sat in the shade next to a water bowl I’d set up for her.Freya and Jade went to sit next to her, giving her fuss she was growing accustomed to.
Jade took photos of the group at the top of the mountain but I held back, not wanting photographic evidence of my hijacking of their tour.I offered to take a photo of the group, including Jade, but she waved me off, saying she preferred to be behind the camera.Some gathered on the grass, opening snacks and lunches, while others admired the view.
And a view it was.
The clouds had broken away, and I wiped the sweat from my brow and stared at the uninterrupted view of the moorland and rock formations.It was so green, with so much wide-open space.Birds circled above us in formation.
