This time if she hid under her desk, he was going to drag her out of there.
He parked, took off his helmet and looked at his watch. It was almost closing time, but he was sure Christine was still around. As he started walking to the bank, he saw the door swing open. His heart clenched when he saw Christine striding out.
She wore the strapless blue dress and high heels. Her brown hair was loose around her shoulders and her chin was tilted up as if she was ready to take on the world. He stopped walking as he watched her. She strode down the sidewalk with a confidence that took his breath away. Christine was as beautiful as ever, but she had changed. She wasn’t holding anything back now.
He noticed the vintage mountaineering pack in her hand. His heart plummeted. He knew what that pack symbolized. She was going on another weekend. Looking for adventure without him. Excitement. Jealousy, hot and bitter, scorched him.
“Where are you going dressed like that?” he called out.
Christine stumbled to a halt and whipped her head around. “Travis? What are you doing here?”
“I’m back.” He tried to sound more confident than he felt. Her forgiveness, her acceptance, was going to make or break him.
“Why?” she asked as she slowly walked up to him. “Do you need me so you could blend into the scenery? Or did you lose something and decide I must have taken it?”
Okay, she was still upset. He should have known. “Where are you going?” he asked as his gaze traveled from the thrust of her breasts to her impossibly high heels.
She shifted her bag and held it with both hands in front of her. “On a trip.”
“Vegas?” he asked hoarsely.
“No.” She pressed her lips together as if she was contemplating telling him anything. “Hawaii.”
Hawaii. His stomach twisted. That was worse than Vegas. He imagined her in a little bikini as a muscular surfer taught her how to ride the waves. “What do you plan to do there?”
She shrugged. “Try new things. Break out of my comfort zone. Climb a volcano.”
Without him. Christine didn’t need him as a guide anymore. She was doing just fine on her own. “I’m breaking out of my comfort zone, too,” he said. “Here, in Cedar Valley.”
“Why?” she asked. “Why here of all places?”
“This is where I want to be,” he said softly. “With you.”
“No, you don’t,” she said as the sadness flickered in her dark eyes. “You said that because you were trying to find the emerald.”
“No, I said it because I meant it,” he said. “I gave the emerald back to Aaron and I still feel that way. I tried to get away and forget. I’ve been crisscrossing the globe for the past month.”
Her eyes narrowed as the corners of her mouth pinched into a firm line. “Is this supposed to make me feel sorry for you? Because it’s not.”
“The only thing I discovered was that all I wanted to do was be with you.” He reached out and stroked his fingertips against her cheek. Hope sparked inside him when she didn’t move away.
“Why? What can I offer you?”
“I love you, Christine, and it scares the hell out of me.” The thought that he ruined the love she felt for him scared him even more. “I want to make plans, and you know I’m not very good at that. I’m going to try your patience and I’m going to make mistakes, but I think we’re worth the risk. When we’re together I feel like we’re on some great adventure and I don’t want it to end.”
She stared at him as her chest rose and fell.
He nervously dropped his hand. “Right now I feel as if I’m on the edge of my old life. At the ledge of my comfort zone, ready to jump. And I’m ready to make the leap with you.”
“I want to believe you,” she whispered.
“Then give me a chance,” he pleaded.
She blinked and looked at the pack in her hands.
“I understand. You’re not ready to give me an answer. Fair enough.” He took a step back. “Go to Hawaii and think about what I said. I’ll be here when you get back,” he promised.
She dropped her bag and threw her arms around his shoulders. “Why, when you can come with me?”
His knees buckled as relief and excitement clashed inside him. Travis wrapped his arms around her waist and held her tight. “So you’re going to take a risk on me?”
“It’s not that much of a risk,” she said. “You are impulsive, reckless, and you have the ability to turn my life upside down, but you are the only man for me.”
“You won’t regret this,” he said as he bent his head to claim a kiss. “I promise I’ll give you the adventure of a lifetime.”