The Accidental Honeymoon (Wildflower Lane #1)

Chapter 14

fourteen

CALLA

"Ready for our next adventure?” Jay asks. He’s in the driver’s seat, taking us toward our next sponsored stop.

I squint. Instead of answering, I say, “Aren’t you worn out? This has probably been the longest week of my entire life. You conveniently forgot to mention that.”

He grins and hands me a brochure. The words "Ultimate Ropes Course" leap off the page and strangle my courage. I can feel the blood drain from my face.

“I’m looking forward to it. I’ve never done a ropes course before,” Jay goes on.

"Heights are my archnemesis," I squeak, hoping he'll show mercy. “You can’t really expect me to go along for the ride when I think we both know it’s basically a death trap.”

Jay gives me a funny look. “But you were okay with the Ferris wheel?”

“Okay. I amend my phrasing. I hate being really high up without a floor under my feet. Thus, Ferris wheel, totally cool. Ropes course? Not so much.”

“Well, I guess I can manage on my own.” He shrugs, all nonchalance and playfulness. "But I think my fans will be disappointed. Not to mention that Blake was jazzed about coming here."

Blake? Oh, fuck no. She had her chance and threw it away. My competitive spirit ignites faster than the fire on a flambéed dessert.

“On second thought… maybe I will do fine.” The lie comes out of my mouth weird.

Jay narrows his eyes at me, sensing my awkwardness. “Are you sure?”

I swallow. All I can imagine is me falling off some terrifyingly high ledge and going splat. I feel green . “Absolutely,” I bluff. “It’ll be… fun.”

If he has any reservations about that statement being true, he wisely keeps them to himself.

We arrive at the course, a towering labyrinth of ropes and platforms that looks like it was designed by a sadistic Boy Scout. I swallow hard. Jay surveys the course with the casual interest of a man inspecting his lawn after a light rain. I, on the other hand, probably look like I'm about to hurl.

He reaches out to me, cupping my elbow. "You're sure you're okay?" he asks. Genuine concern softens his chiseled features.

"Fine," I lie. "Totally fine. I want to do… that."

He pulls me into a side hug. "I'll be with you the entire way," he promises. “We’ll both crush it.”

I lean into his warmth, savoring the contact for a few seconds longer than necessary. It’s easy to suck in a deep breath of his natural scent mixed with his cologne. This feeling of not being alone?

Not having the clinging thought that the person I am trying to impress is laughing at me is huge . I’ve had that several times before, with guys I wanted to date.

The feeling is nice. I could get used to it.

We grab harnesses and try to get into them. I must look like a complete fool trying to put mine on. The harness has twelve straps made of nylon webbing in different colors, and as I wrestle with them, it only becomes less clear what color goes where.

Jay gets his on with little difficulty and then tries to help with mine. “Here, you’ve got this strap backward,” he says. With a certainty that could only belong to a handsome white man, he detangles my harness. “Okay, now step into this loop.”

I let him manipulate my body for half a minute while I give him the stink eye. “Aren’t you supposed to be a newbie?”

He shrugs. “It’s intuitive.”

“It’s a bunch of different colored ropes in a pile. What am I not picking up on?”

“Dunno. Maybe it’s just all the rock climbing I’ve done.”

“That would make sense.” I wonder if Blake rock climbed with him. Probably. That’s probably why he wanted to marry her. Me, he married by complete mistake.

His hands pull at the front of my harness, making sure it’s snug against my breasts. "You sure you want to do this?”

"I'm not going to let a little thing like mortal terror stop me," I say, attempting bravado.

The truth is, I don't want to look weak in front of him. And he brought up Blake as a comparison. I feel awkward when we are measured with the same stick. How can I not be in competition with the woman he was supposed to marry ?

The harness cinches me in like a wasp's thorax. It’s definitely not made for comfort. But I have to admit, my butt looks pretty fabulous. I catch Jay sneaking a glance at my ass. I give him a mock glare. He just grins and shrugs.

"Ready?" he asks.

No. Not even a little. But I nod, because some batshit part of me is actually looking forward to this.

“As ready as I’ll get.”

The trees swallow us as we ascend, their leafy canopies creating a dappled green tunnel. My legs are already trembling as we rise. As we tackle the first obstacle, Jay moves with the grace of a panther. His balance is impeccable, thanks, I assume, to his power yoga and morning runs. I, on the other hand, am a teetering stack of dishes, ready to crash at any moment.

He catches me as I stumble for the fifth time. While I like having his hands on my body, I actually loathe how terrible I am at this. Why did I think this was a good idea again?

"Just take it slow. You'll get the hang of it." His voice is annoyingly calm and makes me feel like punching him.

I shoot him a look that could curdle milk. "Easy for you to say, Mr. Fitness. You actually look hotter when you’re doing something physically demanding."

He gives a surprised laugh. "Calla, you need to forget about how you look. Ropes courses don’t flatter anyone. Just focus on having fun."

I want to argue, to tell him that looking ridiculous is the least of my concerns. But he's right. I need to remove my main fear: the fear of falling.

So I take a deep breath, close my eyes, lean my head back, and step backwards, knowing I will tumble down.

The fall is immediate and terrifying. I plunge into a void that yanks a scream from my lungs. Then the safety harness catches me, yanking my whole body to stop me from falling. I swing like a pendulum. My heartbeat slams against my ribcage.

After a second, I open my eyes to see Jay letting go as well. His body arcs through the air with the abandon of a kid on a playground. He whoops. I can't help but giggle.

“I just wanted to see how it felt to fall,” I say, raising my hands in a shrug. “Not terrible.”

“You did that on purpose?” Jay looks at me and I think I catch admiration in his eyes. “That’s smart.”

Ropes course employees reel us in like two floundering fish. My legs are jelly. My hands are raw from gripping the ropes. But a strange exhilaration buzzes through me now.

I can do this. It’s not that bad.

"The first challenge," Jay announces. He points to an angled trestle bridge that looks like it was stolen from a pirate ship. "Piece of cake."

I glare at the so-called piece of cake. It's a wobbly mess of planks and ropes, suspended at a precarious angle. My stomach does a somersault.

We clip in and start across. I take tiny, shuffling steps, my knees knocking together like castanets. Jay prances ahead, light on his feet, a caffeinated mountain goat in human form.

"You're doing great!" he calls back. He’s already three quarters of the way across.

"Shut up," I mutter. A small part of me is proud that I've made it this far, though.

I take another step, then another, my confidence growing ever so slightly. I'm going to make it. I'm really going to?—

The bridge wobbles beneath me. I breathe out and refuse to look down at the ground thirty feet below me. I focus on my next step, forcing myself to keep moving forward. My knuckles blanch as I grip the ropes for dear life, but I don't stop.

Finally, I reach the platform at the end. I unclip and lean down, my legs shaking with exertion. “Oh god. I did it.”

Jay comes over and gently moves me further away from the edge. I straighten and suddenly I’m in his arms. He grins. "You did great, Lily.”

“Lily?” I say, tilting my head and scrunching up my nose.

He pulls up his shirtsleeve to show off the tattoo that he got the night we got married. “I think I can give you a nickname if I want. Don’t you think I’ve earned the right?”

“And what do I call you? Bird?” I lean against his chest, a small smile breaking out across my face.

He smirks. “I wish you would, Lily.”

I roll my eyes, the corners of my mouth twitching despite myself. "Yeah, yeah. What's next, Tarzan?"

The partner balance beam stretches out before us like a tightrope in a circus. I eye it with the suspicion of a cat confronting a cucumber. It seems completely unnatural.

Jay steps up first, extending a hand to me. I take it. We both teeter recklessly as I join him on the beam.

"Remember, it's all about balance," he says, as if imparting ancient wisdom. I resist the urge to smack him, but only because I am currently trying not to tip us both over.

"See? We're getting better.”

I almost believe him. "That's good. Because if we put all of today's footage online, we probably wouldn't ever get laid."

He turns to me, an eyebrow arching. "We're married. We shouldn't have to look outside the marriage for hot sex. We have everything we need right here already."

The suggestion hangs in the air. My mind races ahead of me, picturing scenarios I have no business imagining. Like, for instance, our little shower encounter.

Jay stripped off his clothes.

Jay stripping off my clothes.

The look of sublime passion on Jay’s face when he slides into my tight pussy and fucks so hard, so deep, that we both start to?—

“Whoa—" I lose my balance and topple sideways again. The harness bites into my skin as I begin to fall.

But Jay is right there this time. He steadies me. “Are you okay?”

God, I definitely lost my balance because I was thinking about being fucked. “I’m fine,” I mumble. “Let’s just finish.”

We start moving again, slower this time. It’s quiet for a moment as we both concentrate.

"Have you ever wondered if we've already had sex?" he asks, as casual as if he's inquiring about the weather.

“ What?? ” I balk. "No! Why, do you think we have?"

"I mean, maybe. I woke up with whipped cream in places whipped cream shouldn't be."

My cheeks burn. "You did not!"

"All I’m saying is that it's possible that we did the dirty on our wedding night. And I for one hold that possibility close to my heart."

I'm speechless, a thousand thoughts colliding in my head like bumper cars. He can't be serious. Or can he? The idea that he's even considered this makes my heart do weird, uncomfortable things.

I knew, on some level, that he thinks about me in a sexual way. I mean… that was what he was doing when I ba rged into the bathroom and found him… uh… touching himself.

But now I have to face the possibility that maybe it wasn’t just that one time.

Maybe he thinks about fucking me a lot.

Maybe as much as I think about fucking him.

Tongue-tied, I put my head down and finish the obstacle. We reach the end of the beam and unclip, my hands shaking not just from the exertion. This whole time, I've thought that he only married me because he was drunk. But now, I’m not so sure. Maybe he married me because he thought I was hot. The way he teases me, his easy charm. It feels different, like he actually sees me.

And that thought is almost as unsettling as dangling in midair.

The grand finale looms before us: a tandem zipline stretching through a valley of treetops. My heart is already in my throat and we haven't even strapped in yet. Jay takes the lead, as usual, his confidence an unshakeable foundation.

He beckons me over as if he hasn’t just thrown me for a loop. I shuffle like a condemned woman walking to the gallows.

"Come here," he says, his voice warm and inviting. He pulls me into his chest, his arms wrapping around me from behind. My entire body tenses, then melts, then tenses again as I realize how close we are. How... intimate.

"It's for safety," he adds, though I can hear the grin in his voice. "And maybe a little something else."

Shameless flirting. What the hell am I supposed to do with this? My mind is a whirlwind. My thoughts are a confused tangle of anxiety. I can't decide if I want to push him away or pull him closer. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t desperate for another taste of his lips.

The staff member waves at us. “Y’all are good to go.”

Jay and I take a collective breath. That answers that, I guess.

"Three, two, one—" The lady yanks the lever and we're off like a shot.

The initial drop is a gut-wrenching freefall. I scream so loudly I surprise myself. The wind tears at my hair, my clothes, my skin as we shoot through the trees like a two-human cannonball. I expect terror, but what I get is a rush of pure, unfiltered joy.

Jay holds me close, making me feel invincible.

"This is so going on Insta!" I shout. My words are muffled by the trees whizzing by me.

Jay's laughter mixes with the wind. I can feel him grinning against the back of my head. For a moment, I forget everything.

The accidental marriage, the awkwardness, the worry. All that exists is the here and now, the exhilaration of flight, and the man holding me tight against his body.

Too soon, we see the end of the line approaching. Our speed slows. The landing platform rises to meet us. My feet touch down first, wobbly and unsure.

Jay steadies me with a hand on my shoulder. I turn to thank him, to say something. I’m really not sure what. But before I can figure it out, he pulls me in and kisses me.

It's not a tentative, testing-the-waters kiss. It's a full-on, bending-me-backward, making-a-scene passionate kiss. My hands fly to his chest, then his shoulders. My eyes flutter closed. I kiss him back, putting all my feelings into it, because why not? We're still riding the high of the zipline.

The kiss feels like the natural conclusion .

He cups my jaw. His fingers tangle in my hair. His tongue slides against mine, promising wicked things.

When he finally breaks the kiss, I'm breathless. My lips are tingling, my head is swimming. Jay looks at me with an intensity that makes my knees weak. "I could get used to that," he whispers against my lips. “My little wife.”

My brain scrambles to process what just happened. God, I think that means he likes me. He really likes me. And the craziest part is, I think I like him too. I really like him.

We unclip from the zipline harnesses and make our way down a winding path to the ground. The silence between us is thick with unspoken words, with possibilities. I’m afraid to give voice to the feeling between us. The worst thing in the world would be for Jay to tell me that I misinterpreted his words.

My little wife. I doubt very much that I took it out of context.

Once we are safely back down on solid earth, Jay runs a hand through his hair, a gesture I've come to recognize as his tell. He's thinking. Maybe even overthinking. "I just got out of a relationship, for heaven's sake. Three days ago I was almost married to someone else."

I stop walking and turn to fully face him. His eyes are somewhere far away, his mind clearly wrestling with something.

"Jay—" I start, but he cuts me off.

"It's just... you're not what I expected, Calla."

My heart does a little flip, hopeful and terrified all at once. "What did you expect?"

He meets my gaze. For a moment, he’s stripped down. The humor that he hides behind is gone, the carefree thrill seeker vanished. He looks sort of puzzled .

That’s funny. I’m also puzzled. I’ve got a lot of questions about our relationship. More with every day, it seems.

"Someone a little easier to deal with," Jay says at last. "But a lot less interesting, I suppose."

I don't know what to say to that. Should I be flattered or insulted? He’s giving me compliments wrapped in confessions, all tied up with the ribbon of our complicated situationship.

"This is already messy.” He sighs, seeming frustrated. “Maybe we could make it... I don't know, a little simpler? Friends with benefits who are also married?"

My breath catches. Is he serious? Part of me is tempted. Sorely tempted. But another part knows this would only complicate things further. I open my mouth to tell him that but no sound comes out.

"Think about it. No pressure either way."

Jay starts walking down the path leading us back to the adventure park's entrance. I follow a few steps behind him, still reeling from his revelations. The rush from the zipline lingers in the air between us, a spark neither of us wants to acknowledge yet can’t quite extinguish.