I nodded slowly, the truth catching me by surprise. “You put your faith in me, which isn’t something that happens often. I don’t take that lightly.”

She leaned forward, running her fingers through my hair. “Everyone has faith in you, Paxton. You have an entire entourage that believes in you.”

I shook my head. “Not everything is as simple as what you see. Sure, the Originals, Landon, Penna…Nick.” I closed my eyes against the pain of saying his name before opening them again. “We’re a family—the four of us—but everyone else is just along for the ride. And those cameras? Don’t be fooled. They want to film spectacular stunts for the money, the views, but the outcome works for them either way. People aren’t around us just to watch the tricks, they’re there to see the one time we don’t make it. I get a hell of a lot more hits on a video where I crash than when I pull something off, because fans love their heroes, but they’re always waiting for them to fall. But you…you want to be with me in spite of what I do, not because of it. You put your faith in me as Paxton, not Wilder, and that means more to me than you’ll ever know.”

She kissed me, tasting as sweet as her orange juice. Our lips clung, savored, but never pressed for more; that simple caress was enough.

The door flew open behind us.

“And the cavalry has arrived— Whoa, there’s a girl in your bed!” Bobby’s voice burst my bubble of happiness.

I flung the rest of the sheet around Leah, pulling her into my chest to shield her. Thank God my back was to the door. Shit. The crew was here a day early, and I’d lost any chance of talking to Little John about the stunt “accidents” without everyone else overhearing.

“That’s no girl, that’s Leah,” Landon answered, “and if I know Pax, he’s about to tell you to—”

“Get the fuck out!” I yelled over my shoulder. “And so help me God, if you have a goddamn camera in here I will crush it, Bobby. Do you understand?”

Bobby threw up his hands and backed out of the room, blocking the entrance from the camera that waited outside and leaving just Landon and Penna in the room.

“Ummm…surprise?” Penna said, her face more grimace than smile. “Sorry, we honestly thought you’d love an extra day to practice with the whole crew, so we bribed the captain and pulled in a day early.”

“Great,” I growled, then looked directly at Landon, “now get the fuck out.”

He nodded once, and I felt the scar we’d long since laid to rest rip open. Leah was mine, and I wouldn’t share so much as a glimpse of her bare skin, yet this one precious moment had been trampled on. Landon turned and walked out without another word. Smart man.

“Well, it’s good to see you, or rather, not see you, Leah!” Penna called out.

“You, too, Penna.” Leah’s head dug farther in to my chest, muffling her voice, but she raised a naked arm, waving.

Once I saw the door close behind Penna, I steeled myself for the mess I’d made with Leah. For someone as private as she was, that had to be horrifying. She shook against my chest, and I cringed. Tears were the last thing I wanted to cause her. I tilted her face up to mine and gaped.

She wasn’t sobbing, she was laughing.

“Are you okay? I can’t believe that just happened.”

She wiped away a tear and kept giggling. “Of course nothing with you would be normal. But hey, I guess now we don’t have to worry about having the whole ‘hey guys, we’re together now,’ convo with your crew.”

Her laughter was contagious, and I found myself chuckling with her. “Shortest honeymoon in history, right?”

She kissed my cheek and climbed out of bed, our sheet covering her in the sexiest toga I’d ever seen. “Don’t worry, you have another seven or so months to make up for it.” With a wink, she took her bag and slipped into the bathroom.

Seven months.

Yesterday the time we had left on the cruise seemed like forever, but with one sentence, it suddenly wasn’t long enough.

Not by a long shot.

…

“Man, I am so fucking sorry,” Landon said as I walked over to him at the end of the ramp. “Little John said you were in the guesthouse. He never mentioned Leah.”

“I’d love to say that it’s okay, but it’s not,” I answered honestly. We hadn’t lied to each other in years, and I wasn’t going to start that shit back up again.

He looked away and nodded. “Yeah, I get that.”

I saw the cameras walking in the distance and took advantage. “Listen, I have to ask you about something, and it’s not going to be pleasant.”

He immediately met my eyes. “Anything.”

“The rigs from the first zip-line. Did you store them? Put them away?”

His forehead wrinkled. “No. But if you’re looking for them, the production crew has been stashing most of the stuff under my bed and in my closet. I didn’t want any of the gear getting lost.”

I nodded. “Yeah, we found them the day we were looking for your pack.”

“Oh, okay. Then what’s the deal?” He looked confused, maybe worried, but not guilty.

I let go of the breath I’d subconsciously held. “The brakes had been tampered with.”

His eyes flew wide. “No fucking way. Seriously?”

I nodded.

“Pax, I would never do anything to hurt you. You know that, right? No matter what’s gone down with us in the past.”