Page 75 of Wild Love

"Ugh," I groaned. I was so pissed at him. "I was worried about you."

"Aw. Scarlett St. Claire, do you care about me?"

My gaze narrowed on him. "Did you do this on purpose to prove something?"

He smiled wider. "Not consciously, but I like where this is going."

My lips twitched, but I held onto my fear. "I'm so mad at you."

A throat clearing sounded from somewhere behind us. "Someone want to explain this to me?"

I held up my hand to block the sun, finding Chance standing nearby with his arms folded over his chest. Marigold stood off to his right.

I was straddling Eli for anyone to see. I'd forgotten where I was and who was here. I scrambled off him. I was at a loss for words. Do we tell him or maintain the lie? My chest hurt as I looked frantically from Eli to Chance.

Eli took his sweet time standing up and handing the equipment to one of the workers who stood nearby. "We need to talk."

Chance crossed his arms over his chest. "We sure do."

I rolled my eyes. "This is ridiculous. We were worried about you."

Xander threw an arm over my shoulder. "There's nothing to worry about. We were perfectly safe."

"Do you know how dangerous stepping out of a plane is?" Marigold asked.

I wasn't sure either one of us would get over the fear anytime soon. We walked back toward the jeep, where a van had appeared. They were throwing equipment in the back. Then the guys piled inside for the ride back to the main building.

We rode with Dax. I appreciated that Dax didn't fill the time with unnecessary conversation I wasn't capable of right now.

At the building, I stood by Marigold's car and waited for the guys to come out. They were full of energy.

"We should do that again. Best high ever," Xander said as he came over to us.

"I told you it would be amazing," Walker said.

"Happy to have you home. We're going out tonight?" Eli asked him.

"Absolutely," Walker replied.

I wasn't sure how I felt about Eli going out. I trusted him. I just wasn't sure if I trusted other women.

Chance came over.

Eli grinned. "It's sweet that you were worried about us."

I gestured at Marigold. "Marigold was listing all these scary stats to me. Got us both worked up."

"You want to go to brunch?" Chance asked me.

I looked over at Eli.

"We should all go. The four of us." Eli nodded toward Marigold.

Chance looked over at her and then said, "Yeah, that works."

I got into the car with Marigold and waited for the boys to get into Eli's SUV. "This is going to be the most awkward brunch ever."

"Just tell him the truth. He's an adult. He can handle it."

---