Chapter Eighteen
Derek
After a restless night of dreaming that I was on a movie set with Donovan but kept messing up my lines, therefore preventing us from getting to the kiss scene, this could be the most exhausted I’ve ever been.
The last thing I want to do is climb a cliff, but Donovan practically pushed me out of the boat to join the half of the group who opted to do the hike.
I’m pretty sure her forcefulness was due to her being more than tired of my constant commentary on her old movies once we’d gotten far enough ahead of the other three boats.
So now I’m here, scrambling over rocks as we follow Farah over the saddle of a canyon wall splitting the river.
Donovan and everyone else will meet us at the bottom on the other side, since the river loops around.
I can’t be too mad—I don’t get to hike as often as I would like—but there’s an empty boat down there that I could be rowing instead of it dragging behind Mason’s boat.
There’s four miles where I could be practicing my rowing technique instead of sweating in the full sun with people who are all too eager to talk to me.
And there’s a grumpy bodyguard walking a few feet behind me and grumbling about how I need to do more movies set in the Caribbean.
“You didn’t have to hike,” I tell him for the third time. “You could have stayed on the boat.”
“Because that’s better,” he mutters, swatting a buzzing cicada that flies past his face.
He slept as poorly as I did in our tent that wasn’t built for two men over six feet.
And since Hunter isn’t an outdoorsy sort of person, he’s not willing to open the tent door to make more room for our feet or get a breeze coming in.
As he put it last night when I suggested leaving the door unzipped, he would rather be cramped and hot than have his toes eaten by bugs.
I’m not sure what bugs he thinks are out here, but I’d rather keep him happy where I can after indirectly forcing him to come on this trip with me. At least he’s talking to me again, which is a nice improvement over yesterday.
“I know what you mean about the boat,” Maverick says. He’s right in front of me and glances back to share a look with Hunter. “Three days is a long time to sit like that with no escape.”
Hunter grunts but softens a bit when he meets Maverick’s gaze, and a knowing look passes between them.
I haven’t really paid attention to who’s been on which boat, but I wonder if Hunter talks to anyone while I’m on my own with Donovan.
He’d better not be spending all day with only his own thoughts for company.
That’s the worst. Though, maybe I’m the only one who has a problem with being alone. Most other people seem to do it just fine.
“Derek had the right idea when it comes to the boats,” Brody says behind Hunter, smirking when I look back at him. “You get to have Donovan all to yourself.”
Something hot and heavy bubbles to life inside me, and while I hate being rude, I ignore his second comment and focus on the first thing he said. “I don’t know. It would keep things interesting to have more people around during the day. You guys must have some good conversations happening.”
“That’s true,” Maverick agrees. In front of him, Zahra trips over a rock, and he reaches out to steady her. “You good?”
She turns slightly pink as she nods and keeps going, following Farah up the steep slope.
Farah said this hike was only a mile long, but it’s pretty much straight up and straight down once we get over the top, with only a couple of switchbacks on either side.
Our small group is among the faster hikers, with a slower group below us, but it looks like everyone is having to put in effort to get to the top.
“Thanks,” Zahra mumbles with a quick smile at Maverick.
He gives her a brief smile in return but doesn’t seem to have the same interest she evidently has in him.
Hopefully that doesn’t mean Zahra will be disappointed at the end of the trip, though it’s hard to say how the WanderLove crew will pair up when they get back home.
It’s an interesting concept, matching people in a place like this, but it’s not like I can argue that a river is an unromantic location.
I just hope Zahra has more luck than I do, or I might end up needing to check out WanderLove myself.
Ha! Like I have time for wilderness matchmaking.
Doesn’t stop me from being curious. I pick up my pace until I’m right behind Maverick. “Can I ask you something?”
His eyebrows jump up when he looks back at me, but he nods. “Uh, shoot.”
“Are you expecting to find your soulmate on this trip?”
He snorts a soft laugh, shaking his head. “I don’t believe in soulmates.”
Though Zahra glances back, her brow furrowed, I pretend not to notice her disheartened look. “So why put your dating life in the hands of someone else?”
Maverick shrugs. “Because there’s something powerful in objective observation, and it gave me an excuse to get away from the office.”
Interesting.
Brody scoffs, apparently taking issue with Maverick’s response.
We both ignore him. “What do you do for work, Mav?”
“I’m in sales,” Brody says behind me.
“Psychology,” Maverick says, and though I can’t see his face, I can hear his smile. Either he really likes his job, or he finds something funny about Brody. Maybe it’s both.
“Therapy?” I ask, since psychology is a field of study, not a profession.
“More like research.”
“I work for a big tech company,” Brody throws in, sounding breathless from exertion. “You’ve probably heard of it, but I don’t want to brag. It comes with all sorts of perks, so let me know if you ever want me to hook you up, Derek.”
In any other situation, I would keep my response politely disinterested and neutral.
I can rarely afford to get on anyone’s bad side by saying something I shouldn’t, being such a prominent public figure.
But my thoughts drift to the NDA Brody signed a few days ago.
The one that makes me virtually untouchable.
If I got more sleep, I would be more careful about what I say. But I didn’t, and Brody spent a little too long ogling Morgan in her pajamas at breakfast this morning. He’s really getting on my nerves. “Tech isn’t my thing,” I say brusquely. “I’m more interested in people.”
Maverick coughs to cover a laugh, and behind me Hunter mutters, “Shouldn’t have pulled your punch, D.”
Rolling my eyes, I keep the conversation moving before Brody comes up with a response to my soft shutdown. “So you research…what?” I ask Maverick. “People in general?”
He nods. “A little more nuanced than that, but yeah. I dig into what makes people do the things they do and how various personalities mix or clash. The best traits that work well with each other and who should keep a distance. That sort of thing.”
That sounds an awful lot like someone who would start up a dating website.
“You get it,” he adds, glancing back at me. “Acting is all about understanding what makes people tick, right?”
His comment surprises me, making my foot catch on a rock and send me stumbling forward.
Hunter grabs me almost immediately, and suddenly I feel a lot like Zahra.
Not exactly how I want to feel, though I appreciate the save.
“Thanks,” I grumble to my bodyguard, then turn my attention back to Maverick.
“You’re right. The best actors know their characters and what drives them at a deep, intrinsic level. Otherwise, they can’t be convincing.”
“Are you calling yourself one of the best?” Brody asks with derision.
“Why don’t you ask his two Oscars?” Zahra responds before I can, a hard edge in her tone. She stops walking and gapes back at us, like she has no idea how those words just came out of her mouth. “Oh, I didn’t mean…”
Laughter bursts from my chest, and Hunter and Maverick are quick to join in, thankfully relaxing Zahra’s shoulders as she lets out a shaky breath.
“I like you,” I tell her, then turn back to Brody.
“And no, I wasn’t calling myself that.” I cock my head, feigning subtle arrogance with my straight stance and a lifted eyebrow. “But Zahra’s not wrong.”
Leaving him red-faced and tight-jawed, I resume walking, patting Maverick on the back and touching Zahra’s arm as I pass, Hunter right behind me.
I do like Zahra. She’s sweet and unassuming.
And Maverick is becoming more interesting as the days go on, making me want to start studying him more closely and get some good notes for future roles.
But for now, I should focus on getting to the top of this rocky slope.
Twenty minutes later, I’m standing on the narrow summit in complete awe. The river flows on either side of us, looping behind tall, thin rock formations that block our view of the boats below. It doesn’t matter; the rest of the view has left me entirely breathless.
No wonder Donovan loves this place.
On our left, the river takes another turn after the main loop, which makes me feel more isolated from the world than I ever have been.
All I can see are endless canyon walls and greenish-brown water, and I couldn’t point to my location on a map even if I tried.
This should scare me. My logical brain is trying to tell me that I’m lost and need to find my way back to civilization immediately.
But my fans can’t reach me here. No one can reach me. There’s no sneaking around, no security teams beyond a man I consider more of a friend than a bodyguard, no tabloid trying to get me to question everything about the good things in my life.
I can breathe out here.
“Isn’t it great?” Farah asks as the rest of the hikers find their way to the top with us. We spread out to take in the scene. “I never get tired of this view.”
“This is amazing!” Zahra agrees next to me, fully focused on the stretch of wilderness around us.
“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” Morgan says at her side. For once, she’s calm and quiet as she soaks up the moment.