Cautiously she reached out and put her hand in his. His clasp was dry, warm and firm, and with his other hand on her arm he helped her onto the rock. Their hips bumped. Heat flared.
‘This is cosy,’ she murmured and he gave a tiny smile.
‘That’s the idea. Next rock.’
He stepped backwards onto another rock, sure and agile, and Aurelie followed him. She could hear the water rushing past them, felt the warm spray of it against her ankles. In the middle of the stream she looked down and saw a bright blue fish darting very near her toes. She slipped and Luke slid an arm around her waist, balanced her. Easily.
‘The secret is not to look down.’
‘Now you tell me.’
Another rock, and then another, and then they were on the other side. Luke smiled at her rather smugly, and Aurelie shook her head.
‘This is all a big lesson, isn’t it? How to Trust 101.’
‘Is it working?’
‘A little,’ she admitted. ‘What if I’d fallen?’
‘But you didn’t.’
‘But what if I had? What if you’d slipped?’
‘Me? Slip?’ He shook his head, then gazed at her, his head tilted to one side. ‘Do you think it would have ruined everything?’
Her lips curved. She liked being with this man. ‘Not everything. But after the lanzone …’
‘It was delicious.’
‘The second one.’
‘Exactly.’
He hadn’t let go of her hand, and now he led her alongside the stream, the ground soft and loamy beneath them. Aurelie found she quite liked the feel of his fingers threaded through hers. They walked along the bank, winding their way up through the dense foliage, until Luke stopped suddenly.
‘Close your eyes.’
More trust. ‘Okay.’ She closed her eyes and felt Luke tug on her hand. She took a step. Another.
‘Open them,’ he said softly, and she did. And gasped in wonder.
‘WOW.’
‘Definitely worth it, huh?’
She turned from the stunning view of the falls to Luke’s rather smug smile. ‘I wouldn’t say definitely. I think my sandals are ruined.’
‘Leather dries.’
‘It is amazing,’ she admitted and his smile widened. Not so smug, she decided. More like … satisfied. Happy.
‘Let’s find a place for a picnic.’ He tugged on her hand again and they picked their way along the rocks until they found a large flat one, warm from the sun and perfect for a picnic.
Aurelie stretched out on top of it as Luke unpacked their lunch, her gaze on the waterfall once more. It truly was a spectacular sight, a crystalline fountain flowing from the fern-covered rocks, falling in a sparkling stream to a tranquil pool fifty feet or more below.
She turned to watch Luke peel a lanzone with a knife. He glanced up, smiling, a decidedly wicked glint in his eyes. ‘Care to try another?’
‘I don’t know if I dare.’
‘This one’s sweet, I promise.’ And with that wicked glint still in his eyes he fed her a chunk of the sweet, moist fruit, his fingers brushing her lips as she ate it. The barest touch of his fingers against her mouth sent little pulses of awareness firing through her, flaring deep down. Desire. It seemed amazing that she could feel it. Want it—and him. She’d never wanted anyone before, not like that. Not since Pete.
‘Tasty,’ she managed, and swiped at the droplets of juice on her lips. Her heart rate was skittering all over the place, and all from that simple touch and the feelings and thoughts it had triggered, a maelstrom swirling through her.
‘You know,’ she said as Luke arranged the rest of their picnic items onto two paper plates, ‘I don’t really know anything about you.’
‘What do you want to know?’
‘Something. Anything. Where did you grow up?’
‘New York City and Long Island.’
‘The Hamptons?’ He nodded, and she hugged her knees to her chest. ‘I guess you grew up pretty privileged, huh? Bryant Enterprises and all that?’ She didn’t know much about the Bryant family, but she knew they were rich. Featured in the society pages rather than the trashy tabloids like her. ‘And you have a brother, you mentioned?’
‘Two.’
‘Are you close?’
‘No.’ Luke spoke mildly enough, but Aurelie sensed a dark current of emotion swirling underneath the words, a tension and repressiveness. She was getting to know this man, and now she wanted to understand him.
‘Why aren’t you?’
He lifted one shoulder in a shrug. ‘The short answer? Because Aaron’s an ass and Chase checked out a long time ago.’
‘Those are rather nice alliterations, but what does that really mean?’
Luke sighed and sat back, his arms braced on the rock behind him. ‘It means my older brother, Aaron, loves to be the boss. I can’t really blame him, because my father encouraged it, told him he was going to be CEO of Bryant Enterprises when he was older, and he needed to be responsible, authoritative, et cetera. Let’s just say Aaron got the message.’
Aurelie observed the tightening of Luke’s mouth, his eyes narrowed as he gazed out at the falls, the sunlight catching the spray and causing it to glitter.
‘And Chase?’
‘Chase is my younger brother. He was always a rebel, got in trouble loads of times, expelled from boarding school, the whole bit. My father disinherited him when he was in college.’
‘Ouch.’
‘I don’t know if Chase even cared. He made his own fortune as an architect and he hardly ever gets in touch.’
Aurelie hugged her knees. ‘That’s sad.’
‘Is it?’ He glanced at her, eyebrows raised. ‘Maybe he’s better off. When I do see him, he always seems happy. Joking around.’
‘Maybe that’s his schtick.’
‘Maybe.’
‘And what about you?’ Aurelie asked quietly, because that was what she really wanted to know. ‘Where did you fit into that picture?’ Luke hesitated, and she knew she was getting closer to understanding. ‘Or didn’t you?’
‘I suppose I was the classic middle child.’
‘Which is?’
‘Caught between two larger personalities. As we got older we all drifted apart and that seemed easier.’
‘It doesn’t sound like a very comfortable place.’
‘No, I don’t suppose it was.’ Luke turned to her with a faint smile, although Aurelie could still sense that dark emotion swirling underneath. ‘I don’t miss my childhood, at any rate. I was shy, awkward, and I even had a stammer.’ He spoke lightly, but it didn’t matter. Aurelie knew it hurt. ‘My father didn’t have much time for me, to tell you the truth.’ He glanced away. ‘He didn’t have