Chapter Five
Abe was stoked that his plan had actually worked and he’d broken the ice with Rachel again. He felt a little guilty ditching his crew today, but he couldn’t complain about a beautiful woman wanting to be alone with him. Yet, was it that she wanted to be alone with him or was she hiding her scars from his employees? Either way he’d take the time and hope he could grow closer to her.
He contacted each of his employees and explained that he wouldn’t be with them today. They all expressed regrets but were great about it. Of course they were. Not only was he the boss and they respected him, but he also hired charismatic and hard-working team leaders who could roll with changes without making waves and didn’t need him holding their hand.
He ate the acai bowl that his personal butler had delivered for him while he showered. Personal butler was an interesting concept. His was a lady from the Philippines - Alitaia, as she’d introduced herself, who was as nonintrusive as any person he’d ever met. Preston explained that if he simply texted whatever he would need throughout the day she’d make sure it happened while not intruding on his privacy. It was nice to have the service while on an all-inclusive vacation like this, but he wouldn’t want to be pampered like that all the time. He was too independent. He had his house cleaned once a week back home and had food delivered when he had a particularly long day at work but for the most part, he took care of himself.
Sliding into amphibian swim trunks, a t-shirt, and socks and shoes, his thoughts quickly turned back to Rachel and he smiled thinking of her reaction to him shirtless in the gym and her asking to see him that way more. She was confident and sassy under the pain of her injuries. He wanted to help her see how beautiful she was through his eyes. He’d been independent and alone for so long it was surprising how much he craved her company. It was like when he discovered the Rolling Stones as a teenager and realized he’d never tire of their music, as opposed to all the punk bands he used to listen to. He never had. Would he ever tire of time with Rachel? He doubted it.
He and Rachel planned to meet outside her bungalow at eight. He was a few minutes early, but she was waiting outside wearing a short-sleeved, high-necked rash guard with shorts covering her swim bottoms. Her long braid was in front of her neck, but he could see a little of the scarring on her cheek and chin. He’d seen women in skimpy bikinis who didn’t look as appealing as she did in her modest suit.
“Hey,” he said, walking up to her.
“Hey.” She raised a hand.
“What do you want to try first?”
“I want to do it all!” She grinned, her blue eyes sparkling with excitement.
Abe chuckled and took her hand. “All right. It’s going to be a busy day.”
She laughed.
“How about the adventure course first?” He had some ulterior motives. His group was doing scuba and beach activities this morning then adventure course and ziplines in the afternoon. If he could flip flop that with Rachel, he wouldn’t run into them and would give her the privacy she seemed to desire. He’d proudly show her off as his date to any of them but was concerned about how she might react to the group, who would be intrigued by her and want his attention as well.
“Perfect.”
They walked hand in hand along the trails, following the signs that led to the adventure course. They talked easily about her family and a little about his. He could talk with her all day. He wondered at what point he should share that he’d been framed for embezzling by his ex-fiancée and spent time in prison. She might already know the story if she’d dug through a Google search on him.
The adventure course was fun and at times challenging. Abe especially liked watching Rachel navigate it, see the muscles in her lean legs and arms flex. He also thought it was cute to watch the helpers on the course tease and flirt with her. She laughed and chatted easily with them, her beautiful blue eyes glinting with good humor. Abe wasn’t a jealous-type person and he knew he didn’t need to be with Rachel. She was simply being friendly with the young men who were helping them, and she also reassured Abe that she was interested in him as she kept catching his eye and gifting him with beautiful smiles. How could he possibly blame the guys for flirting with her? She was incredible.
At the end of the adventure course they took the option to walk up the steep stairs to a platform that started the first zipline through the trees. There was a series of ziplines, some above the tree line, some through the trees. Abe enjoyed flying over the tropical jungle like Tarzan, if only he could be holding Rachel while he did it. He smiled and focused on the ride. At the end of the zipline course there was a forty-foot freefall onto a massive cushion.
Rachel waited for him at the top of final platform. Her smile was a fraction what it had been all morning.
“You okay?” he asked, instinctively reaching for her hand.
She squeezed his hand tight. “I don’t mind heights and ziplines, but I’m not a huge fan of free falls.”
“You don’t have to do it,” he said quickly, wanting to reassure her she had nothing to prove to him.
Glancing at him, she pulled the side of her lower lip between her teeth and he lost all ability to think rationally. The two young men who’d been with them throughout the adventure course and the ziplines were waiting and watching but Abe was going to pull her close and taste that bottom lip himself.
As he reached for her she gripped his hand tighter and said, “Together?”
Oh, right. They were at the top of a free fall and not in the spot to be sharing their first kiss. It had been too long since Abe had been serious about any woman and he was falling hard and fast for this one. Focusing on his trust issues or any kind of rational thought wasn’t really any competition for all the Rachel fantasies floating through his brain.
Abe nodded, hoping there would be time later to fulfill his dreams of kissing her. “Together,” he agreed.
They held hands and one of the young guys behind them said, “I’ll count for you. 3 … 2 … 1!”
Rachel gave him the most appealing smile and then she launched herself forward. Abe leapt to keep up, but their hands were ripped apart. She screamed out a half-giggle, half cry of shock as she fell, and he couldn’t help but chuckle at how cute she was as he fell. They landed on the cushion, bounced a couple of times, and then settled. Rachel rolled toward him and right into his arms. Perfect.
Abe grinned at her. “Great job.”
“Yes, it was, wasn’t it?”
Her hair was purposely braided to semi-cover her face, but it had been pushed aside. He resisted the urge to push it out of the way and kiss her scars and then kiss her lips and then tell her how incredible she was to him.