Page 19 of Her Surprise Protector
His knee bumped my leg under the table, trapping the fingers of the hand he rested there between us briefly. I reached down and slipped my fingers into his. We moved on to other, less weighted topics, but neither of us moved our hands.
The conversation lasted until the margaritas wore off, then Riker took me home. Again, I thought about inviting him inside, and again, I didn’t, and he didn’t ask. We had already agreed on another date for the next weekend, so the feeling that this would be the last time I saw him had become a non-issue. If he could wait, I could wait, and I would just enjoy getting to know a man who was a lot more than he seemed
* * *
Next weekend found us wearing very different clothes than the one before. We set off early Saturday morning with our hiking boots and comfortable clothes, backpacks in the back of the car. “It’ll be great to use this hiking gear again,” I said, already incredibly pleased with this date idea of Riker’s. “It’s been so long since I’ve had a chance to go. Or found a good hiking buddy.”
“Well, uh…” It wasn’t like Riker to be hesitant, and I immediately glared at him suspiciously. “I want to take you on a scenic hike to see a waterfall. But it’s on the mainland, and it’s quite a drive to get there. I know you need to be back early this evening to pick up Bree.”
“Okay?” I asked, unsure as to where this was going. The Hamptons weren’t known for their mountainous terrain; in fact, it was quite the opposite. Marshes, dunes and beaches comprised most of the Hamptons’ popular hiking trails. And they were picturesque, but not steep or difficult.
“So, I chartered a helicopter to drop us off on the mainland. There’s a large hill on a client’s property with a waterfall on the west side. So, we can hike up to it quickly and eat lunch before we hike down. I have special permission to go on the property, since we have their security contract.”
I stared. His eyes didn’t leave the road. “So we’re not going to the trailhead right now, we’re going-”
“To the helicopter, yeah.”
Riker might have been a billionaire, but so far, most of our dates had been normal - your standard date. Sure, the restaurant we had eaten at had been expensive, and he had insisted on paying for everything so far. But for the most part, when I spent time with Riker, I forgot that he wasn’t just anybody. This still wasn’t lavish – no one could really make a hike lavish – but…really? A helicopter, just because he wanted me to see a waterfall, and we didn’t have time to drive there and back?
“I mean…that’s fine, I guess,” I managed finally. “It must be a pretty nice waterfall.”
“It is. I’m glad you’re okay with it.” Riker kept on chatting like nothing out of the ordinary had just happened, and flying in a helicopter couldn’t be an entire date by itself. I managed to go back to talking and not look too flustered when we pulled into the executive airport parking lot next to a helipad.
The ride was fairly short, but absolutely incredible. I had thought I was used to the views in the Hamptons, and I was, from the ground. Up above, everything looked so much smaller, but not like it would from the tiny windows of an airplane. Houses, cars, people, trees, establishments and animals zipped by below, but not so far away that I couldn’t make out fascinating details.
I even got to look down at the ocean as we flew from the Hamptons to the mainland. Movies made helicopters seem quieter than this, but I didn’t mind the noise. I wouldn’t have talked even if I could’ve heard perfectly well. I wanted to see and admire, taking mental notes for my poetry.
Then, we turned west and the helicopter headed for hilly terrain, leaving the houses behind. Finally, it descended toward a grassy clearing near the top of a large hill. The pilot waved as we stepped off onto the grass, and the sound of the whirring blades disappeared into the beautiful morning.
“Okay,” Riker said after a moment. “The trail is that way.” He pointed at a rugged signpost with faded lettering. “But hey, first-”
Enraptured by the sounds of the woods, I turned toward him quizzically, ready to ask what we needed to do before setting off on our hike. Then, I forgot all about the woods and waterfall when Riker pulled me into a kiss, and wrapped my arms around his neck. “I wanted to do that all morning,” Riker whispered, his breath a feather-soft puff against my cheek. “But we’d better get moving. We can’t get you back late.”
Yes, hiking.That is what we’re here for. Nature. Like, wilderness nature…I licked my lips and followed him.
Once we started, we made good time. Reaching the waterfall before noon, we sat down to eat the lunch I had packed, scarfing down sandwiches and fruit. As we ate, I admired the waterfall Riker had been so dead set upon showing me. It was lovely, I gave it that. Tall but not so tall that the cascading water drowned out our conversation, and it was a perfect, romantic backdrop for a pleasant lunch.
Still, I found myself eyeing the waterfall and wondering if it was worth a helicopter ride. I didn’t think so – not if I was paying for it, but then again; I didn’t have billions of dollars to spend on a whim.
“This is the perfect place to write poetry,” I said wistfully, then realized I had never mentioned this particular hobby of mine to him. “That’s one of the few hobbies I was able to hold onto when I had Bree. It’s easy to just pull out a notebook and start rhyming words, you know?”
I was joking, of course. Poetry wasn’t that easy to write, and there was such a thing as poorly written poems. Although, much of them were subjective and spoke to each reader differently. It was just a comment about something that interested me, and the reaction I got from Riker was surprising. He stared at me like he was seeing me for the first time. “You write poetry?”
“Yep,” I confirmed, worried now. Did Riker hate poetry or something?
“I, uh…I do too. Sometimes.”
Riker, Mr. big, bad, jacked security billionaire who yelled at women and their dogs, writing poetry? “Really.” I didn’t intend the word to come out as such a disbelieving statement, but it did. The look on his face made me hasten to backtrack. “I mean, that’s really, very cool, I just didn’t expect it! Can I read one of your poems? Or maybe you could recite it to me,” I suggested excitedly.
“No.” Riker shoved the rest of his sandwich in his mouth, puffing out his cheeks like a chipmunk. It was actually adorable.
“Please?” This time, we were here together, and I could use all my feminine charms.
“No.”
I decided to give up for now and changed the subject, but I definitely wasn’t going to forget this. What were the chances I would ever run into a guy I liked who wrote poetry? Curiosity would eat me up until Riker let me read some of his work.
After lunch came the difficult part of our hike. We had started almost at the top of the mountain, which meant most of the hike was downhill from here – literally. I may not have been hiking in a while, but I still remembered that downhill hikes could be as difficult as uphill ones. The probability of rolling an ankle or slipping was greater.
