Chapter 15 #2
They landed hard against the slope, his boots catching in the damp earth, both of them panting, hearts racing. The others, ahead, apparently hadn’t noticed.
She gripped his arm. “Okay. That was… steeper than it looked.”
“You alright?”
She nodded, breathless. “Yeah. Thanks. That could’ve been bad.”
He looked down at her, still holding her steady, his heart pounding—not just from the near-accident, but from how much it had scared him. The idea of her getting hurt, of not being able to protect her—it did something to him .
How could he keep pretending she didn’t matter to him? Because she did. She mattered way too much.
Malik’s voice called from up the trail. “Everything cool back there?”
Russell’s voice came out steadier than he felt. “She slipped. We’re good.” He stepped away, his hand still hovering at Tessa’s back. But he forced the space. Forced the calm. Because this wasn’t just attraction.
This was something else. Something big that was going to gut him for a very long time after she left.
But the consequences…
And the job he hadn’t been offered…
He had to keep his distance.
Back on the catamaran, the heavenly scent of garlic greeted Tessa before she even stepped on deck. The hike had been incredible, and the ache in her calves from hours of steady walking was only a pleasant reminder. She felt accomplished. Happy. Energized, even though her limbs were tired.
“Hey, guys! How was the hike?” Jules had outdone herself again and smiled, greeting them as they piled in around the table after they’d all showered and changed.
“It was so great,” said Avery. “I wish you could’ve come with us.” And Tessa knew that she meant it. Jules had become one of the group as much as Russ and Malik had.
“Who would’ve cooked you this amazing dinner, then?” Jules smiled, and Drew and Nate each raised a glass to toast their chef.
Jules smiled and set some plates on the table.
Dinner was fresh seafood pasta with lemon butter, grilled shrimp skewers, and a side of tropical slaw made with papaya and cabbage.
Everyone was relaxed and sun-warmed, stretched around the long table with drinks in hand, talking about the hike and teasing each other about sore feet and how many mosquito bites they’d returned with.
“Next time, I’m bringing a net for my entire body,” Drew joked.
“Next time,” Kyle said, raising his glass, “we’re doing Bora Bora in the winter.”
“Guess what, guys?” said Malik. “This is the winter in French Polynesia. You’re here when we’ve got the fewest insects we’ll have all year.”
“You’re kidding me?” said Jenna, sitting forward.
Kyle crossed his arms. “We’ve been here for six days already, and I didn’t realize it was winter here.”
Neither did Tessa. She grinned.
Marin raised a glass. “To celebrating opposite seasons here in the tropics.”
Someone clinked a fork against a glass, and they all toasted, laughing.
After the meal, Jules emerged from the galley with a small cake, topped with a flickering candle and dusted with coconut. “I hope you don’t mind, Tessa, but I made you something for your big day.”
Tessa’s hands flew to her cheeks. “Oh, my gosh, Jules!” she said, too surprised for words .
Her heart warmed again as they all sang to her in a slightly off-key but enthusiastic harmony.
She laughed. The cake was beautiful—vanilla with coconut frosting. Tahitian-style.
Tessa blew out the candle. “And happy birthday to all of us with birthdays this year!” she said, and everyone raised a glass.
She looked around the table, her heart full. What a trip this had turned out to be. They’d gone big this year, and everyone seemed to be having the time of their life. She, too, had come a long way since last Sunday when they’d arrived. A part of her never wanted to leave.
“This is so sweet of you, Jules. Pun intended.” She smiled. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Tess’,” said Jules as they all applauded her work. “Malik got me the vanilla from the farm yesterday, but the cake was Russ’ idea.”
Eight heads spun to Russ. Tessa turned to see him smiling for the group, but to her, his eyes looked… sad.
“Yeah, but it was all Jules.” He was playing it down, she could tell, because the group was listening intently. “We always celebrate when someone has a birthday on the trip.”
He didn’t want the attention for it, of course, but he’d arranged this. The cake, the moment. He’d done it for her. It made her heart swell.
She thanked Jules again, but she wanted to go to him. Throw her arms around him. Tell him she knew, that she saw him. That she missed him, even though he was right here in front of her.
But she couldn’t do that, of course. She tried to get his attention again, but he just sipped his drink and glanced away, laughing dully at something Drew said at the other end of the table. As if he were forcing himself to pretend.
Her chest ached.
Something was wrong. And he wasn’t telling her what it was.
Tessa twirled her fork through the last bite of Jules’s vanilla cake, laughter and voices surrounding her, but her mind still half-caught on the hike that morning.
She could still feel Russ’s hands grabbing her, steadying her like she mattered more than anything else on that mountain.
She hadn’t meant to slip. Hadn’t meant to need saving.
But the way he’d moved—without hesitation, without a second thought—it had shaken something loose in her chest.
He cared. More than he wanted to.
And that… terrified her.
Not because she didn’t want him to care. But because she did.