Page 17 of Reluctantly Married

Her eyes widened. “I didn’t realize the show had gotten that popular.”

He didn’t want to tell her what Leon had done. “Yeah.” Let her think they found them organically.

After pushing through the crowd, getting in the car, and making it out of the parking lot, Adam relaxed. “Wow, that was something.”

Megan sat quiet, staring out the window.

As they neared Omaha, guilt wormed its way into Adam’s chest. Suddenly, it didn’t seem so imperative to get back at Megan. In fact, he wasn’t sure he wanted to do it at all. Unfortunately, Leon had loved the idea so much, Adam knew he’d be in trouble if he abandoned it.

He pulled into the Skates N’ More parking lot and stopped the car. Relief flooded Megan’s face, which gave him even more guilt. “We’re going roller skating?”

Sweat trickled down his neck. “Well…we’re going in the roller-skate building.”

Her smile stiffened. “What are we doing, Adam?”

Heat crept up his back. He had to tell her. “Rock climbing.”

The color left her face, but she plastered on a smile. “Great. Sounds like fun. Let’s go.”

It crossed his mind that he could say, “Just kidding! We’re going skating!” But he knew Leon would have his head. He exited the car, a cold pile of rocks sitting at the bottom of his stomach.

7

Megan put on her bravestsmile and slammed Adam’s precious car door. She’d show him. She’d go in there and climb the dumb rock wall so that he’d look like a fool. Her heart hammered in her chest as they crossed the parking lot, the first large raindrops hitting the pavement.

They scrambled inside where it was dry. Adam paid their way into the rock climbing area. He put his arm around her, and she tossed him a tight smile.

A couple of employees helped Megan and Adam put on their harnesses and safety lines. She gripped the rope, her knuckles white, and peered up. It looked like a cave wall, except it had colored hand-holds of varying shapes and sizes stuck all over it. Her mouth went dry.

Adam leaned over. “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” he whispered.

She stared at him. His brows were knit together in concern. Was he giving her a way out, at the last minute? Like she could back out now. She’d look like a fool. She lifted her chin. “I’m good.”

The employees gave them basic instructions and assured them if they slipped, they’d be caught by the safety line. They’d be at the bottom, belaying the ropes.

Her fingers trembled as she reached up to the first knot sticking out of the wall. It looked so high. Adam turned to her. “I’ll stay right with you. You can do this.” The low timbre of his voice soothed her, and for some reason she believed his sincerity, which surprised her.

She lifted her foot, found a decent-sized protrusion, and hoisted herself up. There. That wasn’t so bad. He did the same and stopped, waiting for her.

The hand holds above her appeared small, and she searched for one that she would be comfortable latching onto. Nothing within her reach was big enough. She had to settle for a narrow yellow hold. She gripped it as best as she could, searched below for a place to put her other foot, found one, and slowly lifted herself up again.

After a few more repeats of this process, she began to feel okay. This wasn’t so hard. She could do this. All she needed to do was focus. She climbed higher, keeping her chin up, feeling for footholds without looking down. The rock jutted out a bit, but she kept her belly close to the wall and held on.

Adam kept his pace with her. She was sure he could have made it to the top by now, but he stayed beside her like he’d promised. It almost warmed her heart toward him.

And then her foot slipped and one hand lost its grip. She fumbled for the rock and grabbed onto it, scraping her knuckles in the process. Looking down to try and find the foothold, she saw how high she was.

Fear shot through her like a jolt of electricity. The room spun, and her stomach lurched. She clung to the handholds and let out a little squeal. Her limbs shook, and she squeezed her eyes shut, unable to move.

“Hey, you okay?” Adam asked, his voice hushed.

She shook her head, her throat too closed to speak. Adam moved quickly, coming close, and soon his strong arm wrapped around her middle. “Don’t worry. You’re all right.”

“No,” she whispered. “I’m not. I can’t move.” Her breath came out in small gasps, and panic gripped her. She couldn’t climb up. She couldn’t climb down. And letting go terrified her. Logically, she knew she had a safety line, but swinging from the rope at this height scared her more than clinging to the rock wall the rest of her life. A tear slipped down her cheek.

“Listen. I’ve got you. I won’t let you fall.” His warm breath brushed her cheek. “I never should have brought you here. It was stupid.”

His voice was so quiet she knew the camera couldn’t possibly pick it up. So why was he playing nice all of a sudden? What was his end game? “You think?”

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