by Lexy Timms
After getting ready for the day, I opened my laptop to check my messages before we left.
“We’re gonna miss our appointment,” Jake said. “Can’t that wait?”
“It’s work, so no, it can’t.”
“We’ve gotta go right now, Ashly.”
“Fine!” I said, shutting my computer.
* * *
Our photographer shut off the boat engine, and waves gently rocked the vessel. “We’re here,” he said.
The sun shone on my face from its place in the clear blue gorgeous sky. I stood at the railing and leaned over, glancing down at the turquoise water of the Coral Sea. I smiled as streaks of yellow, red, and blue swarmed around the boat.
Jake inched closer, and his hot breath brushed my cheek like a tropical draft. “Are you ready? Let’s jump in!”
His sapphire-blue eyes sparkled, and his brown hair whipped around in the wind as he met my gaze and smiled. I brushed my hair behind my ear and smiled back at him. When he removed his shirt, I couldn’t help but stare at his massive body and all those thick, rippling muscles; he was even more gorgeous than the last time I’d seen him without a shirt. His beautiful body was so ripped that I was practically drooling over him, and I was sure he’d spent hours at the gym every day.
Without hesitation, Jake jumped into the pristine water with a loud splash that caused our photographer to laugh.
“Your boyfriend is quite the daredevil,” the photographer said. “I haven’t even checked for sharks.”
“He’s not my boyfriend,” I said politely. “Is it okay to go in now?”
He looked through his binoculars in every direction. “Looks good.”
“Ooh, the water’s wonderful!” Jake shouted. “Come on, Ashly!”
I leaned over the railing. “Forget something?” I asked.
He grinned. “Guess so. Can you throw it down?”
“Sure.” I took off my long, colorful wrap and adjusted my red and purple one-piece. I put on my mask, snorkel, and fins, then grabbed Jake’s gear and jumped in. I couldn’t fathom that I was actually floating above the actual Great Barrier Reef. After I handed Jake his gear, I took a long, deep breath and ducked my head under the water.
A school of yellow fish swirled around us, and the underwater photographer began snapping away. “They look good,” the photographer said. “I’ll have the CD and eight-by-tens delivered to your hotel room when we get back.”
“Thanks,” I said.
He grinned and climbed back into his boat. “For now, though, I’ll give you lovebirds some time to be alone,” he said, ignoring my earlier claim that there was nothing between us.
“We’re just friends,” I said.
“The way you were staring at him?” He laughed. “I don’t think so. You were lookin’ at that boy like a crocodile looks at a chicken!”
Jake began to laugh.
My cheeks burned. “I was not!”
Jake’s grin grew even wider.
“I wasn’t,” I retorted.
Our photographer held up his binoculars. “Enjoy yourselves. I’ll keep an eye out for any company of the fin and toothy variety.”
I swallowed hard. “Why does that make me a little nervous?”
“We’ll be fine,” Jake said, grinning. “C’mon. Let’s have some fun. It’s not every day you get to splash around in Jaws’s backyard.”
When he clasped his hand around mine, my skin began to tingle. His warm, soft fingers rubbed against the back of my hand lightly as he pulled me toward the reef, and I softly tugged my hand away; Jake had no right to hold my hand like we were lovers on some excursion.
I dived deeper, to a point where the visibility was awesome. The reef was beautifully decorated in a kaleidoscope of marine life, from clusters of colorful anemones to large sponges, coral, and starfish. Thick carpets of strawberry anemones covered the bottom, and Jurassic-sized sea fans swayed in the current like branches in the wind. I noticed every light and shadow and thought about how wonderful they would be to capture with my own camera.
I grinned at passing tropical fish all decked out in startling reds, blues, greens, and yellows. There had to be zillions of them. My eyes opened wide as I noted their sparkling appearance, complex patterns, and vibrant coloration. The spots, stripes, and shapes were all as different as snowflakes, and some shapes and patterns I couldn’t even identify with my vocabulary.
Jake’s black hair flowed out in the water, waving back and forth with the rhythm of the sea. A stream of bubbles came out of his mouth as he smiled, his eyes wide. He picked up a huge stingray measuring at least five feet across from wingtip to wingtip. I reached out and touched the gentle giant as it swam out of Jake’s hands and disappeared into the sandy sea bottom. Too cool! It felt soft and slimy, like a big, wet Portobello mushroom.
I resurfaced and gasped for air, then dived down again. I kicked hard to propel myself forward, gliding over a beautiful coral garden. The formations offered vivid patterns, fantastic shapes, weird textures, and unique colors I’d never seen before, all bolder, brighter, and more brilliant than any I’d noticed on previous dives. I couldn’t resist touching a colony of green coral as I swam by, and when I did, in an instant, the entire colony changed from green to red, like some mermaid’s Christmas decoration.
I burst through the surface. Sucking in long gulps of air, I noticed radiant sunbeams glinting in Jake’s blue eyes; in the sunlight, they were absolutely blazing blue, and I’d always been a sucker for baby blues.
“How are you doing?” Jake asked.
“Good. How about you? Are you doing okay?”
He nodded and said between breaths, “This place is…it’s incredible…all those colors and…the fish.” With that, he let out a soft groan and turned away.
I touched his shoulder. “What’s wrong?”
His jaw set into a grimace. “I cut my leg on the coral, but it’s nothing to worry about.”
My lips pressed into a grim line. “Nothing to worry about? C’mon, Macho Man. Let’s get you back to the boat and all bandaged up.”
“Aw. That’s so cute,” he said.
I stammered, shocked and a bit insulted by his condescension. “What?”
“You still care.”
I rolled my eyes. “There are two things I care about in this instance. One, if you get an infection, you might not be able to finish the journey, and I’ll lose my inheritance. Two, if sharks smell that blood you’re leaking all over the place, we both might lose our limbs. I’m not willing to risk it, so turn your stubborn butt around and swim back to the boat.”
He grinned. “That’s not it at all. I saw genuine concern in your eyes. You can give me a million excuses if you want, but deep down, I know you’re worried about me.”
“Whatever, Jake,” I said.
I waved our photographer captain over and told him that Jake had been injured. He motioned us back to the boat, and as soon as we were aboard, he sped off, heading back to our island oasis. Fortunately, Jake’s gash wasn’t severe, and it only required a bit of peroxide and a little gauze. I almost laughed when the peroxide stung him, but I managed to hold my tongue.
We spent a few days in Australia, only talking when absolutely necessary. I tried to stay away from our shared room as much as possible by going out and exploring the island. Making small talk with him in the hotel was more than I could bear. The man was supposed to my husband. If things had gone according to plan, we would have been enjoying sunset dinners, staring lovingly into one another’s eyes, then heading back to our room to make love all night. Instead, we weren’t even friends and were nothing more than hostile roommates, prisoners of one another’s forced company. I could barely tolerate him, but I knew I had to.
* * *
Back at the airport again, I was dressed in dark-washed jeans and a white, lacy top. My hair was pulled back and held by a sparkly white clip made of seashells, a souvenir from our first stop. Jake was handsomely dressed in a snug black shirt that perf
ectly accentuated every muscle of his chest, tucked into blue jeans and finished off with brown shoes. Muscles bulged in his arms when he picked up my suitcase.
“I got it, Jake,” I said, reaching for my bag, “but thank you.”
He smiled and shrugged. “Just trying to help.”
After checking our luggage, we were told we had a three-hour delay before our flight to Arizona, so I curled up in the airport chair and started tapping away on my laptop, trying to catch up on work.
Jake came over and held a Pepsi out to me. “Still your favorite, I presume.”
I nodded. “I’m surprised you remember. Thank you.”
“I remember more than you know,” he said, sitting down next to me.
I gave him a fake smile and went back to my laptop.
“I see you’re taking your work with us.”
“I’ve got a business to run.”
“Yeah. Are those reports?”
I looked up from my computer. “You’re bored. You’ve always wanted to talk whenever you get bored.”
He inched closer and whispered in my ear, “Remember what we used to do to make time fly?”
I gazed up into his eyes. “You mean when we used to tangle up the sheets?” I said without even flinching and not caring who could hear us; I had no problem embarrassing him in public after the way he’d humiliated me in front of all of the most important people in my life.
“No. It was more than sex. We made beautiful love, and then I’d hold you all night and—”
I stood. “I’m gonna go sit somewhere else,” I said, then hurried to a different seat without even looking back.
As I expected he would, Jake followed me. “You forgot your Pepsi…and I’m sorry if I offended you in any way, shape, or form.” He shifted his stance. “We’re not strangers though, Ashly. We were best friends, and I loved you more than I’ve ever loved anyone.”
My lips pressed into a flat line. “Hmm. And you show it by being a no-show at our wedding? Interesting.”
The intense pain in his face was evident. “I know. I was such an idiot, and that dumb decision cost me the best thing that ever happened to me. What hurt the most was losing my best friend.”
When they called for our flight to board, I felt relieved. I hurried onto the plane, settled down in my seat, and began to flip through a magazine someone had left behind.
“We get to ride donkeys down into the Grand Canyon,” Jake said, “just like the Brady Bunch on that one episode.”
I chuckled softly.
“What’s so funny?”
“It’s ironic that my mother has us riding down on jackasses?” I said. “I’m sure it’s some kind of symbolism from the grave.”
“And what would that be?”
“Think really hard about what a jackass is. It can be a Rocky Mountain canary, burro, donkey, he-ass, jack, male ass, neddy, or, my personal favorite…a Jake,” I muttered under my breath.
“What? Did you just call me a jackass?”
The flight attendant’s voice cut into our conversation. “I have your drink, miss.”
I pointed to an empty seat at the front of the first-class section. “Is there any way I can move up there?” I asked. “I could use a little more privacy.”
“Is everything okay?”
I reached for the drink she handed me. “I just can’t sit next to this gentleman for such a long flight…and calling him a gentleman is putting it nicely.”
She smiled widely. “Okay. If you’d like to move, it’s no problem.”
“Thank you,” I said.
“Ashly…” Jake started.
My gaze narrowed. “Listen, my mother’s will doesn’t require me to ride next to you on the plane.”
He flashed a smile. “Right, but it does stipulate that we have to share a one-bedroom whenever that’s a possibility.”
I shot sharp daggers at him with my eyes. “The room, maybe, but not the bed. Wherever we have to stay, I hope the floor is as cold and hard for you as you were to me!”
With that, I turned and headed for the front seat, not even bothering to look back to see his expression. I was still too mad and bitter to be out on some personal Amazing Race with him. I’d never considered myself an ice-cold bitch, and I didn’t want to be, but around him, I just couldn’t help it. The truth was, I would need years of therapy to get over what Jake had done to me, if I could ever get over it at all. In some way, shape, or form, I knew I’d always think about him and would forever wonder where we’d be if he hadn’t left me high and dry. Where would five years of love have taken us? Would we have children? Would they have looked like me or him? He’d destroyed the future we were supposed to have, and I’d gotten burned in the process. Jake, the man I’d once loved and trusted, had thrown our love away and made a joke out of it, and I was still furious at him for that. Whoever said, “Time heals all wounds” was a liar—or at least that was what my heart was screaming.
Chapter 6
We checked into a historic hotel located at the Grand Canyon National Park, El Tovar Hotel, situated directly on the south rim of the Grand Canyon. As we approached the lodge, I noticed elk grazing on the grass in front of the lodge; I couldn’t resist taking out my camera and snapping a few pictures.
The lobby was behind a broad entry veranda and extended up to four stories topped with a turret, pyramidal roof. I loved the rustic ambience as I peered up at the chandeliers and dark-stained wood. The ranch-style furniture was done in wine-red fabric, and Indian rugs adorned the floors. The architecture and décor reminded me of a fancy hunting lodge; there were even mounted deer, elk, moose, and one snarling wild boar. As I watched a woman load piles of firewood into the lobby fireplace, a memory flooded my mind of Jake holding me in front of a blazing inferno at a ski lodge where we’d vacationed. His lips had crashed against mine as we made mad, passionate love by the fire. My cheeks blushed as I basked in the nostalgia of happier times.
“Ashly,” he said, interrupting my thoughts of a version of him I liked a lot better, “our reservation isn’t ready yet. Didn’t you hear me calling your name?”
My mouth dropped, and it took a minute for my brain to function. “I was just thinking of how much this place reminds me of that ski lodge we used to visit with the gang.”
He grinned. “Yeah. Lots of good memories there.”
I looked away and bit my lip hard, wondering if he was thinking the same thing I was. From the wide smile on his face, I was pretty sure he had the same sexy memory on his mind.
“The hotel clerk said we can relax here, get some breakfast, or sit on the porch that overlooks the canyon while they work all this out,” Jake said.
My heart spiked. “I’d love to see the canyon.” I’d dreamt about seeing the Grand Canyon for my entire life, and now I was there, at a lodge that overlooked the scenic landscape.
He touched my back and smiled even more widely. “This way.”
The natural splendor of the place was so amazing that I couldn’t possibly stop snapping photographs. The hotel offered a perfect, panoramic, mind-blowing view, just 100 yards from the rim. It was absolutely exhilarating to be able to stare straight down into the canyon.
“It’s gorgeous,” Jake said, always one to state the obvious.
“I knew it would be beautiful, but I never expected a view like this,” I said in awe. It was so magnificent that my heart was pounding a million miles a minute.
“And to think, this is just the beginning of the wonders we’re going to see together on this little field trip your mother planned for us,” Jake said.
I met his gaze and shot him a half-smile, then went back to taking pictures. A few minutes passed, and I moved to sit down in a rocking chair on the porch.
Jake walked over and handed me a tall, frosty glass of lemonade.
“Thanks,” I said.
He took a long sip, then smiled.
“What?” I asked curiously.
“Remember that lemonade stand we made for
the fair at school?” he asked.
I couldn’t help but laugh at the memory. “Tenth grade, right?”
“Yeah. I’ll never forget it. It was our first project together.”
I cringed. “We didn’t sell much. Of course, I guess it didn’t help that I used salt instead of sugar.”
“Don’t forget about those seeds I got in there by accident.”
“I’ll never forget the look on Mrs. Smith’s face,” I said. “That had to be pure torture.”
“I know. I can’t believe she pretended to like it.”
“The principal wasn’t so nice. She shut us down, remember?”
I sipped my cold drink, then laughed some more. “Yeah, we definitely made the worst lemonade ever.”
He gazed into my eyes. “See?”
“What?”
“We can have fun and laugh as friends.”
The pain still cut deep, in spite of my momentary forgetfulness. “I’m trying because we have to travel together for the time being, but I don’t know if I can promise you friendship.”
“That’s okay. We’ll work on it.”
“I do want to apologize for being so cold to you on the plane.”
“It’s completely understandable.”
“I’ll be cordial, but just don’t expect me to be your chum on this vacation, okay?”
His eyes softened. “Are you ever gonna find it in your heart to forgive me?”
“I-I just don’t know. Maybe if we give it more time.”
“I’ve got all the time in the world.” He glanced around. “This place is nice—a little history, luxury, and scenic nature, all rolled into one.”
“It’s spectacular,” I said.
“I love to enjoy the outdoors. Maybe we could walk the rim trail together.”
I yawned. “I don’t know. I’m really tired.”
“Perhaps tomorrow.”
“Please don’t get your hopes up. Maybe it’d be better if we wait till we can hitch a ride on the donkeys.”
“Yeah,” he said, almost sadly. “I think I’ll go check to see if our room is ready,” he said, then walked off.
Our room was more beautiful than I’d imagined a hotel room could be. The Mary Coulter suite was one of a few rooms in the El Tovar with its own large balcony, almost like a deck, directly overlooking the canyon. While Jake explored, I opted to take a long nap, as I was still exhausted from the plane ride and a bit of jetlag.
