Page 54 of Falling Overboard

We began our walk through the narrow cobblestone streets of Old Town, surrounded by yellow, ochre, and orange buildings that were covered in green leaves and bright pink flowers. The streets were quiet, mostly empty.

It felt otherworldly. I reached out to let my fingertips graze the building closest to me. It was cool to the touch, but I guessed that once the sun rose high enough, the stone would warm up.

“Why do you think people stopped saying ‘take a hike’?” he asked.

If someone had asked me to predict what he might say, that would have been dead last. “What?”

“Think about it. It’s such a great way to tell someone off. Completely dismissive without being crass. Telling somebody to go away and experience the wonder of nature for a little while and leave you alone.”

One of the bells from a nearby cathedral rang briefly—as if it had been hit by mistake. “I suppose it is the ancestral form of ‘go touch grass.’”

His smile lit up his whole face. It seemed very unfair that he was pretty enough to distract me from our surroundings.

And my inattention was so great that my phone began to beep at me, letting me know I’d missed the street I was supposed to turn left on. I turned around and doubled back until I reached the corner and went the correct way. “Ancient people could navigate by the stars and I’m about to get lost while having GPS.”

Hunter laughed as we walked together in companionable silence. We’d had our share of awkward moments so far, but that was mostlydue to me and my overactive imagination. He seemed perfectly content to be walking in the quiet with me, not rushing to fill it in.

And for the first time in forever, I didn’t feel compelled to fill it, either.

We had just reached the outskirts of the city proper and were headed along a route that took us past beaches, neighborhoods, and through areas with rocks, tall grasses, and trees.

It was strange to be in such a lush, green area and know that there were white-sand beaches with bright blue waters just beyond them.

There was movement to our right in the underbrush and I came to a stop, the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. “What is that? Do you think there are bears in France?”

“I don’t know. If we see one, we’ll ask him. Did you bring bear spray?”

“What’s bear spray?”

“It’s like pepper spray for bears. You should always use it if a bear attacks you because you’re going to die anyway so it’s better if you make the bear really and truly mad so that he’ll maul you faster.”

His silliness made my fears ease. “Have a lot of experience with bears, do you?” A cat came out from the underbrush, stared at us for a moment, and then left. Feeling ridiculous, I shook my head and started walking again.

“I’m actually quite the outdoorsman. I’m an avid bird-watcher and have a secret talent for identifying them.”

“Oh?” There was a small brown bird singing in the treetops not too far from us. “What’s that one?”

He peered at it, shading his eyes while he studied it. “Yep. That one’s easy to classify. It is definitely a bird.”

I laughed, scaring the little creature away.

“All jokes aside, I really do love being outside,” he said. “It’s one of the best things about this job. The constant nature.”

“Same. Why do you think I chose this as our activity?”

He moved closer to me. “Your mind always goes to the worst possible scenario, doesn’t it? Like automatically assuming a noise you hear is a bear?”

My skin prickled at the uncomfortable sensation he caused. It was like he saw through me so easily, so clearly. “It does. I’m always worried about what bad thing is going to happen next.”

“Considering what you told me, that makes sense. You’ve had more than your fair share of bad things. I understand why you’d always be bracing yourself for the next one.”

It was the most profound and correct thing that anyone had ever said about me.

Which meant I had no idea how to respond to it.

Chapter Nineteen

Lucky

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