Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Brody
I couldn't get her out of my head.
The way Avery's eyes had sparkled in the fading light, like two goddamn stars playing peekaboo behind those long lashes. Her lips parted just enough to make a man wonder what they'd taste like.
Fuck, I wanted to find out.
That almost-kiss in France had been driving me crazy for days, playing on repeat in my mind like some twisted torture.
Now here we were in Croatia, on another wild adventure. The forest around us was thick and green, leaves rustling like they were whispering dirty secrets, the air heavy with the scent of earth and bark, feeling raw and primal.
I breathed it in deep, feeling my blood pump faster. This was living; this was real.
I turned to check on Avery, who was leaning against a tree, chest heaving as she caught her breath. Her hair was a mess, all wild and tangled, and I had to clench my fists to keep from touching it.
Even sweaty and disheveled, she was fucking gorgeous. Mine , a possessive part of my brain growled, even though I definitely had no right to think that way.
“Remind me again,” she panted, fixing me with a look that was full of irritation, “why did I let you talk me into this? Was I drunk? Did you drug me? Or am I just spectacularly bad at making life choices?”
I couldn't help but grin, feeling that familiar rush. “Because, Spark, the best stories come from taking risks. And let's face it, you'd follow me anywhere if I promised you a good bottle of wine at the end.”
Avery rolled her eyes, but I caught the hint of a smile on those tempting lips, like watching the sun peek out from behind a particularly snarky cloud.
“You and your bullshit, Hawkins. I swear, you could sell ice to a polar bear.”
As we hiked on, my gaze kept roaming to Avery. The way her hips swayed as she walked, the determined set of her jaw, a focus in her eyes that I'd come to admire.
I wondered what was going on in that brilliant mind of hers. Was she thinking about work? About our next destination? Or maybe, just maybe, about that almost moment in France?
We stepped into a clearing, apparently reaching our destination. An athletic-looking guy was setting up harnesses for a zipline that stretched across a deep canyon.
The view was fucking incredible—trees as far as the eye could see, with cliffs rising up like nature's fuck you to gravity.
Avery's eyes went wide, fear flashing across her face. Christ, even scared she was gorgeous. I wanted to pull her close, feel her body against mine, protect her from whatever the fuck she was afraid of. But I held back.
This woman wasn't some cheap thrill. She was… something else entirely.
I couldn't help but wink at her, my mischievous grin returning like a boomerang. “It's part of our compromise, remember? A little thrill-seeking to balance out your meticulous planning.”
I paused, my expression turning a bit more serious. “Speaking of compromises, Spark… don't you think it's about time we made this whole 90-Day Relationship thing look a bit more convincing?”
Surprise and caution flared across her face. “Brody,” she said, her voice low, “you know this just for the assignment and my family, right?”
I raised an eyebrow, leaning in slightly. “Is it, though? I mean, is the rest of your family only treating it like a fake thing?”
She hesitated, biting her lip in that way that always made my heart race. “I… I don't know,” she admitted reluctantly.
“Look,” I said, keeping my tone casual even though my pulse was pounding, “I'm just saying it would probably look more authentic to the fans if it was a little more… well, authentic. You know, really sell it.”
Avery seemed torn, her eyes searching mine as if looking for answers. I could practically see the gears turning, weighing the pros and cons like she was solving some complex equation.
Sensing her internal struggle, I decided to change the subject. No point in pushing too hard and scaring her off. “Anyway, about the zipline…”
She blinked, seemingly grateful for the shift in conversation. “Right, the zipline,” she said. “You didn't mention this part. What happened to a nice, relaxing nature walk? The kind where both feet stay firmly on the ground and our lives don't flash before our eyes?”
I shrugged, a slow grin creeping across my face. “It's the quickest way to the grove.”
She sighed, but I could see a tiny spark of excitement building in her expression. Fuck, I loved that look on her. Made me want to see what other expressions I could coax out of her.
“Well, it’s not like I have a choice now, do I? But just a reminder that if I die, I'm coming back to haunt you. And as I mentioned before, I'll be the most annoying ghost you've ever met. I'll reorganize your sock drawer and leave passive-aggressive sticky notes everywhere.”
“Deal,” I said, helping Avery into her harness and trying not to focus on how fucking perfect she felt against me. “Trust me, Spark. You're going to love this. It's like flying, but without some perv copping a feel at security.”
I went first, partly to show Avery it was safe, but mostly because I couldn't resist the rush.
The wind tore through my hair as I shot across the canyon, hollering like a madman. The world dropped away, leaving nothing but the thrill of the ride and the fucking incredible view stretching out before me.
It was like being inside the world's most badass screensaver.
As I landed on the other side, I turned just in time to see Avery take off. Her initial shriek of terror quickly morphed into a howl of pure joy, like she'd just discovered chocolate for the first time.
She was laughing as she approached, her eyes wild with excitement and her hair an even more glorious mess poking out below her helmet.
I reached out to steady her as she landed, my hands going straight to her waist.
For a moment, we just stood there, panting and grinning at each other like idiots who'd just found the world's best high. I became acutely aware of how close we were, of the heat of her body under my hands. It was like every nerve in my body was on fucking fire, and Avery was the gasoline.
“That was…” Avery started, fumbling for words like she was drunk off her ass.
“Fucking incredible? Mind-blowing? Better than sex? Well… better than any sex you’ve had so far, anyway,” I offered, unable to keep a grin off my face.
I was practically oozing 'I told you so' energy.
She laughed, shoving my shoulder. “All of the above, you insufferable show-off. But don't let it go to your head. Your ego's big enough as it is—any bigger and we'll have to register it as a planet.”
As we continued our hike, the vibe between us felt different. Lighter somehow, yet charged with an undercurrent of… something.
We reached the Whispering Trees Grove, and Avery took a sharp intake of breath. The clearing was like something out of a fucking dream—or a really high-budget fantasy movie.
Massive trees towered above us, their leaves whispering in a breeze we couldn't feel on the ground. The air seemed to shimmer with some weird energy, like we'd stumbled into another dimension.
“Holy shit,” Avery whispered, her eyes wide with awe.
“Yeah,” I agreed, my voice gruffer than usual. “It's something else.”
But I wasn't looking at the trees. I was looking at her, thinking how she outshone every damn thing in this magical forest.
I found myself grabbing her hand without thinking, helping her over a fallen log like some goddamn knight in shining armor, if King Arthur wore cargo shorts and had a fucking YouTube channel.
“Careful,” I said, my voice rougher than sandpaper. Suddenly, I was hyper-aware of how soft her skin felt against mine.
Neither of us let go right away, caught in the moment like we'd stumbled into some cheesy romantic interlude. We found a spot to sit under one of the massive trees, the whispering leaves sounding like they were spreading rumors about us.
I leaned back against the trunk, trying to be cool but probably looking like a nervous gorilla. I kept stealing glances at Avery, unable to help myself. She looked so fucking perfect, her eyes bright with curiosity as she took in every detail.
“Can I tell you something?” I asked, surprised by how vulnerable I sounded.
Avery turned to me, her expression open and attentive. Fuck, those eyes could make a man spill his darkest secrets.
“Of course,” she said, then added with a smirk, “As long as it's not that you're secretly a serial killer. Because we’re kind of all alone here and I left my pepper spray at the hotel.”
I let out a chuckle, then took a deep breath. “Sometimes I feel like I'm living a lie,” I admitted, the words tumbling out like word-vomit of my deepest insecurities.
“This whole online bullshit… the constant thrill-seeking, the perfect shots for Instagram… sometimes I wonder if I've lost myself in it all. Like, am I actually an adrenaline junkie, or am I just playing pretend for the cameras?”
Avery's brow furrowed slightly, like she was trying to solve a particularly tricky crossword puzzle.
“It's like… I started doing this because I loved the rush, you know?” I rambled on. “But somewhere along the way, it became more about the likes and the followers. And now… I don't know. Sometimes I feel like I don't know who the fuck I am without the camera rolling. Like, if I jump off a cliff and don't post about it on Instagram, did it really happen?”
Avery was quiet for a moment, her gaze thoughtful.
“I think I get it,” she said, her voice gentle. “It's not exactly the same, but… sometimes I worry that I've become so obsessed with my career that I've forgotten how to just… live. To connect with people for real.”
Her honesty hit me. “Is that why you're always so intense?” I asked, my voice low. “About the work, I mean. Not that I'm complaining. Your dedication is… well, it’s kinda hot.”
Avery smiled, a hint of vulnerability in her eyes that made my heart fucking race.
“Maybe I'm afraid that if I let myself get distracted by personal things, I'll lose everything I've worked for. That I'll end up… insignificant. Just another has-been in a dying industry with a useless degree.”
I felt a sudden, overwhelming urge to shake some sense into her. To tell her how fucking incredible she was, how her passion and drive lit a fire in me.
How she could never be insignificant.
Instead, I found myself leaning toward her, pulled by some invisible force stronger than a goddamn black hole.
Avery's eyes widened slightly, but she didn't back off. The air between us sizzled with tension, like we were about to spontaneously combust.
Just as I thought… hoped… prayed to every fucking god I could think of that something might happen, a loud bird screech shattered the moment.
We both jumped, startled by the sudden cockblock from Mother Nature.
Avery cleared her throat, a blush creeping up her cheeks faster than a wildfire.
“We should, um… we should probably head back,” she said, not quite meeting my eyes. “Before that bird decides to write a tell-all book about us.”
“Yeah,” I chuckled, trying to ignore the disappointment settling in my gut. “Can't have the forest paparazzi spreading shit about us.”
As we made our way back down the trail, an awkward silence fell, heavy enough to choke on.
I tried to lighten the mood with a joke about the bird, but Avery's laugh sounded more forced than a gym selfie. I could practically see her retreating behind her professional armor again.
And then it happened.
We were nearing the end of the trail when Avery's foot slipped on a wet rock, and she stumbled with a startled yelp. Without thinking, I reached out, catching her against my chest like some hero in a dollar-store romance novel.
Time seemed to slow down, or maybe my brain just short-circuited.
We froze, our faces inches apart. I could feel Avery's heart pounding, matching mine beat for frantic beat, see the flecks of gold in her brown eyes, like someone had sprinkled fucking stardust in them.
My gaze dropped to her lips, the memory of our almost-kiss in France hitting me like a battering ram to the gut.
Avery's breath hitched, her eyes wide and searching. The question hung between us, electric and terrifying, like we were about to jump out of a plane without knowing if our chutes would open.
As I stood there, holding Avery in my arms, I realized something with crystal clarity: whatever happened next would change everything.
And I had no fucking clue if I was ready for that change or if I'd end up screaming like a little kid.