And hadn’t he said he might change his mind about his self-proclaimed bachelorhood if Katie w
ould consider getting married? If it was true, what should Gary do about it? After those two mind-blowing kisses last night, all he could think about was repeating the event.
“Should we tell him the truth?” Katie sucked her lower lip between her teeth, a gesture that made him want to pull her off the trail and kiss her, then and there. “That we’re only going to date while we’re here at Indigo Bay?”
“But that’s not exactly true,” Gary said. “We agreed we wouldn’t commit to date after Indigo Bay, but we didn’t say there was no possibility.”
“Don’t get your hopes up.”
Even Katie’s frown was adorable. How he wanted to hold her in his arms and smooth those furrows away.
“Too late. My hopes are a mile high. So are my dreams.” He snatched her gloved hand and kissed the back of the leathered fingers. Then he flipped her arm over and kissed his way up to her shoulder and onto her neck.
“Stop.” She giggled, slapping at his helmet. “Steven’s going to turn around and catch you doing that.”
“Let him.” Gary reached for her hand, again. “I don’t care.”
“I do.” She wrenched it from his grasp and started up the hill. “Let’s catch up with Steven and the others.”
Why was she so anxious to end their stolen alone-time?
“Are you excited about the last zip line? It’s a really long one.”
Her chin pointed up. “As a matter of fact, I’m not very nervous anymore.”
“You mean you’re actually enjoying yourself?”
“I hate to admit it, but yes, I’m having a good time. The adrenaline rush kind of makes you high. I see why you like it.”
“Hurry up!” Steven called from up the hill. “We’re waiting on you!”
“Coming!” Katie called as she trotted ahead, once again intent on pleasing Steven.
In a flash, Gary saw the truth, as clearly as if it were written on a piece of paper. Katie and Steven had feelings for each other—deep feelings they would never admit. No wonder she’d been so adamant that she and Gary couldn’t date when they got back to New York.
Both Katie and Steven were the kind of people who would deny their emotional attachments as impractical, simply because he was her employer. If Gary really cared about his friends, it was up to him to help them get together.
Good thing I haven’t actually fallen for Katie.
He ignored the swamp creatures stirring around inside his stomach.
12
“It’s about time you called me again,” said Nicole over video chat. “Last time we talked, you’d just been ziplining. I haven’t heard from you in two days, so I figure by now you’ve probably taken up scuba or skydiving.”
“Not hardly.” Katie propped the phone up, so she could rinse out her swimsuit. “I haven’t called you because I didn’t have anything to report.”
“No new adventures?”
“Not for me. I’ve mostly been hanging around on the beach and reading.”
“What about Gary?” Nicole asked in a voice that said she expected a juicy report. “I want to know everything. Are his kisses still rocking your world?”
“No more kisses, either.”
“Seriously? You cut him off?”
“There hasn’t been any opportunity. He was kind of quiet after we went ziplining, but I didn’t think anything about it. Then the past two days, it seems like he’s avoiding being alone with me. He’s still super sweet, but he’s definitely withdrawn.”