She’d said the challenging words outside the doctor’s office without thinking it through. Given how much he’d hurt her before, maybe it was crazy to feel compelled to follow it through. But they’d made a deal…and Lyssa wasn’t a woman who went back on her word.
“Fantastic,” the woman said. “It’s off-season, so we’re not crowded, and I can put you in number twenty on the end. You can take a hike in the woods right from there.”
“Sounds perfect.” Cal handed her his credit card.
As the woman went inside to run the card, Cal anticipated Lyssa’s objection. “You paid for the axe throwing. Now it’s my turn.”
“But—”
He put a finger over her lips. “I know how capable you are. But it would mean a lot to me if you let this be my treat.”
She could insist on paying her way. Or she could graciously accept his sweet gift and appreciate him for it.
She made the choice that felt the best. “Thank you. That’s really nice of you.”
The lady returned with his credit card and had him sign. “We don’t have a restaurant on our premises, but if you drive five miles back along the road, you’ll come to Nepenthe, which is world renowned. If you’d like, I’ll make you a reservation for dinner.”
“Sound good to you?” Cal asked Lyssa.
They’d need to eat at some point tonight, but… “Thanks,” she told the woman. “But I’m not sure what time we’ll be ready.” She looked at Cal. “Okay with you?”
He nodded. And she thought, even hoped, he was thinking along the same lines.
Because it wasn’t food that filled her with hunger right now.
It was Cal.
* * *
Their glamorous tent—Cal could barely believe there was such a thing—was at the end of the row. Impressively, the interior resembled a luxury hotel, the bed high off the wood floor and covered with a thick eiderdown and feather pillows. A woodstove stood in the corner, and the table and chairs sat by a tent flap that opened so you could sip your morning coffee overlooking the forest. A small, European-style refrigerator was tucked beneath a long counter occupied by a microwave, a two-burner hot plate, and a state-of-the-art coffee maker.
“Wow, check out the bathroom.” Lyssa stood back to let Cal see.
The tub was big enough for two, with a showerhead and a curtain in a forest motif around it and two pedestal sinks beside it.
Lyssa whirled back to the room. “This is so great,” she said. “And I, for one, will be very glad for the tub after we get back from our hike.”
“A hike sounds good.” But given that she’d asked for one tent instead of two and a king bed instead of twins, Cal could think of a hell of a lot better things to do besides hiking.
Especially since the clock was ticking on her challenge to make her fall in love with him. No question, he had to step up his game—and if she wanted to go hiking, he’d happily be a mountain man for the afternoon.
Hike twenty miles through the desert? Swim to Alcatraz? Bike the entire coast of California? Stand on his head balancing plates on the soles of his feet?
He’d do whatever it took to convince her he was worth falling in love with.
* * *
The hike in Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park was strenuous enough that, despite the cool air, Lyssa was soon tying her windbreaker around her waist.
“You’re a trailblazer, so why don’t you take the lead?” she’d suggested to Cal as they started out.
They walked in companionable silence, speaking only to point out a beautiful plant or a stunning view. And what a perfect setup it was, giving her ample opportunity to focus on Cal’s muscles moving beneath his blue jeans. It was like studying one of Michelangelo’s statues. A droolworthy masterpiece.
She entertained fantasies of jumping him the moment they got back to the tent, right down to the tactile sensation of stripping off his clothes, the salty taste of his skin, the earthy scent of his body.
Was it baby hormones making her feel so sexy? Or was it simply that Cal was, hands down, the most attractive man on the planet?
By the time they came to a fork in the trail and Cal had pulled out the trail map the woman at the registration cottage had given them, Lyssa was out of breath. “And here I thought all you did was work and fly around the world in your plane, eating scrumptious meals. But you’re quite the hiker.” Her breathlessness wasn’t just the climb.
“I work out at Sebastian’s gym.”
She instantly had a heart-thumping vision of Cal on the elliptical, his muscles glistening.
Oh Lord, it was hard to think about anything except Cal’s body. His touch. His kisses.
She managed not to shiver with need. “That’s very different from climbing mountains.”