Page 52 of Knot Your Sugar Rush
But the truth is, I feel a little lightheaded, my skin warm under my clothes despite the cool shade. My palms itch faintly, the restless hum in me growing with each step.
“Everything okay?” Jamie asks when I stumble on a root. His hand brushes my elbow, and I swear I can feel the heat of it even after he lets go.
“Fine. Just… distracted.”
We break into a small clearing, where sunlight spills like molten gold over a tangle of wildflowers. The air here is even sweeter, and I catch all three of them inhaling, their gazes flicking toward me before they look away.
Dane clears his throat. “We’ll check the map here, see how close we are to the old mansion site. Could be some of those rare plants nearby.”
I nod, pretending to study the worn paper he pulls from his pack, but my focus keeps snagging on the curve of his wrist, the rough scrape of his knuckles where he must’ve grazed them on something.
The restlessness is almost a vibration now, like my body’s tuned to some low note I can’t stop hearing.
“Let’s keep moving,” Dane says after a moment, folding the map.
We head deeper into the forest, the shadows closing in, the scent of the earth richer and more intoxicating. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I know what this could mean, what this timing might be hinting at.
But I’m not ready to name it yet.
Chapter thirty-three
Theo
The forest on Tern Hollow is alive in a way that feels different from Starling Grove. The air is heavier here—thick with damp moss, sun-warmed pine needles, and the faint tang of the ocean carried inland on twisting breezes. Every sound is amplified: the sharp snap of twigs under our boots, the soft drip-drip of water from somewhere unseen, the faint rustle of unseen creatures darting away through the undergrowth.
But it isn’t just the island making my senses flare.
It’s her.
Cam walks just ahead of me, her hair catching the stray shafts of light that filter through the high canopy. Every now and then, the wind shifts, carrying her scent back toward me, and I have to lock my jaw to keep from reacting. It’s still her—warm sugar and something faintly citrus—but there’s… more. A richness that wasn’t there this morning. Not overpowering. Yet. But enough to send a prickle of heat down my spine.
I glance at Dane, who’s in the lead with the map. His posture is steady, but I catch the slight twitch of his nose, the way hisshoulders go taut for a second before he deliberately relaxes them. Yeah. He’s caught it, too.
Jamie brings up the rear, his usual easy smile dimmed a fraction. He’s paying more attention to her than the trail, eyes flicking to the small of her back whenever she stumbles over a root.
She’s flushed, but it could be the walk. Could be the heat. Or it could be—
“Beautiful here,” she says suddenly, turning toward me.
It takes me a heartbeat too long to answer. “Yeah,” I say finally, clearing my throat. “It is.”
And it is. The sunlight here is like gold dust, sifting through a canopy so dense you’d think no light could penetrate. The trees are massive, ancient, their trunks webbed with climbing vines. Here and there, wildflowers spill in bright clusters—reds and yellows so vivid they almost look unreal. I catch Cam pausing to trail her fingers over a fern’s delicate fronds, the tiny leaves curling under her touch.
“You ever been here before?” she asks.
“No,” I admit. “But my gran used to tell stories about this place. About the family who lived here back when the mansion was still standing. She swore the gardens were so lush you could smell the flowers from the shoreline.”
Cam’s eyes brighten. “Did she ever see them herself?”
I shrug. “Before my time. But she made it sound like something out of a fairy tale.”
Dane slows at a fork in the faint trail, pulling the folded map from his pack. Cam steps up beside him, leaning close to study it, and the faint breeze shifts again. Her scent drifts right into my lungs, stronger this time, making my pulse thump in my ears.
She doesn’t notice. She’s pointing at a spot on the map, talking about where the mansion might be, her voice lilting withexcitement. My gaze snags on the curve of her cheek, the way her lashes cast shadows in the afternoon light.
We keep moving, the ground climbing gently. The forest thins in places, opening to small meadows where sunlight pools in warm patches. Cam stops once to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear, and for no good reason, I have to look away.
Jamie catches my eye, his expression unreadable for half a second before he smirks—just enough to let me know he’s noticed.
