Page 59 of Ice To Meet You

I dared to look round. He wore a grin—wide and triumphant.

"See? You’re alive," he said, offering his hand to help me unclip. "Was that so bad?"

I wobbled slightly, ignoring his outstretched hand, shooting him a mock glare. "You’re insufferable."

"And you’re incredible," he countered, his voice soft. His eyes sparkled in the afternoon sun. At Matteo’s unexpected tenderness, my cheeks flushed with heat. But I allowed myself a little smile.

Maybe Iwasincredible. Hadn’t I met my fear head on? I’d trusted and “let go” as he’d suggested. I hadn’t been in control. And for the first time in a long time, I really hadn’t minded.

“Do you want to go again? Or bail?” he asked, eyes roaming my face.

I looked down at the ground, pulling in the scent of the fresh air.Short of climbing down the tree, I wasn’t sure how we’d leave. “Let’s go again.”

21

ESMÉ

Eight ziplines and a whole lot of banter later, we stood on the penultimate platform. I still held onto the tree each time I made “tree fall,” but not as tight as before.

Instead of words of quiet encouragement, Matteo had taken to teasing me. Egging me on to take more risks. I didn’t doubt that my idea of a risk was miles away from his. But under his mischievous tutelage, I didn’t hold on to the pulley anymore. Now, each time I stepped into the void, I spread my arms out like an angel and revelled in the wind rushing over my cheeks.

I still had a healthy respect for our height, but pure enjoyment had dulled its blade.

I shuffled on the platform, pulling at the bottom of my shorts, extracting them from the relentless grip of the harness. Every time we landed, I had to “readjust” for the sake of modesty.

Nobody needed to see my butt cheeks today.

I cursed myself for the millionth time over this morning’s wardrobe choice. If only I hadn’t listened to the TV weatherman and Matteo.

I sighed. I could’ve worn leggings. Except my only pair hada hole where I’d plucked them on a nail in the gallery. And with all the movement, my jeans would’ve sliced me in two by now.

“Are you okay?” Matteo’s voice crashed into my thoughts. He had one of his brows lifted and his head tilted to one side. As he stared at my legs, my cheeks heated.

“Mosquito bite,” I lied, doing my best to yank the leg of my shorts down.

“Hazard of the forest, I’m afraid. That and the fact that you chose to zipline half naked.” His lopsided grin lit a burn in my chest.

“You said wearing shorts was fine.”

He ran his eyes over my legs again, something a little dangerous deep in his eyes. “Believe me, your shortsarefine.”

My skin prickled under the onslaught of his gaze. But before I could react, a loud thump rang out as another body joined us on the platform.

A young man unhitched from the safety line. His bleached hair poked out from under his helmet, and he grinned at me. The second he saw Matteo, though, his mouth gaped open.

“Holy crap! MattitudeX? What the hell are you doing here?”

Matteo ran a hand over the back of his neck, then reached out to the zip liner. “Hey man, nice to meet you.”

My brows pulled tight. Did Matteo know this guy? And who the hell was “MattitudeX”?

“I heard rumblings you were on the course from some of the other guys, but I thought, no way. This is incredible.” The blond man clapped Matteo on the back, his grin threatening to eclipse my assistant’s. He shook his head. “I can’t believe you’re here. Is this your first time on this course? I’d think it'd be too tame for you.”

Matteo sent me a sizzling look. “You’d be surprised. Besides, the views up here are incredible.”

I swallowed, a burn creeping across my cheeks.

The blond man dug inside his trousers. “Hey, can I get a selfie with you? I can’t wait to show my friends.”

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