Page 108 of In Too Deep
Not again.
Never again.
“I’m just saying, you can’t keep avoiding him forever.”Nimue’s voice carried that particular blend of amusement and exasperation that Eden had come to recognize over the past few weeks of friendship.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”Eden kept her eyes forward, refusing to look at Nimue even though she could feel her friend’s knowing gaze.
“Really?Because Teague looked pretty hurt when you basically ran away from him in the lodge a few minutes ago.”
Eden had seen it too—that flash of confusion and pain in Teague’s eyes when she’d said she didn’t have time to talk.When she’d brushed past him like he was a stranger instead of…whatever he was becoming.She’d felt it settle in her chest like a stone.
But she couldn’t afford to feel guilty about it.
Couldn’t afford to feel anything when it came to Teague Hamilton.Feeling things led to caring.Caring led to loss.
“I wasn’t running away.We do have plans.”
“Uh-huh.”
The skepticism dripped from the syllables.
Nimue pulled out her phone, scrolling for a moment before handing the device to Eden with a triumphant grin.“So you’re telling me you look at this image and feel absolutely nothing?Liam said Teague used his shirt to pack around the knife in Noah’s side.But his growing internet fan base thinks it was just how he rolls.”
Eden eyed the photo—the one that had gone viral a few days ago.Someone with a camera and good timing had captured the moment during the rescue.Teague hanging shirtless out of the helicopter, all muscle and focused intensity, the canyon stretched out behind him in dramatic relief.
Oh, she remembered.
She’d watched and rewatched the footage from one of the guys in the chopper.Every detail of that moment had been burned into her memory, including the fact that he’d been seconds away from being crushed by falling rock from the explosion.She’d watched the plateau collapse, watched him launch himself toward that helicopter, watched him catch the skid with nothing but empty air below him.
Seconds away from death because he’d taken an unnecessary risk to mark the shaft that was rubble moments later.
“He’s attractive,” Eden said flatly, handing the phone back.“So what?Attractive doesn’t mean anything.”
“It means you’re human and you’re allowed to?—”
“He took unnecessary risks.”Eden winced at her shrill tone.“That explosion took down the whole plateau—almost took him with it.He should have listened to Liam.Should have gotten out when he had the chance.But he didn’t.He never does.”
Nimue was quiet for a moment, studying Eden’s face.“This isn’t really about Teague, is it?”
No.
It wasn’t.It was about climbers falling.About body bags and memorial services.About loving someone reckless and burying them young.
It was about refusing to sign up for that kind of heartbreak again.
“I see Meg,” Eden said, nodding toward the clinic parking lot.“Let’s go say goodbye before she leaves.”
Nimue’s expression said she knew exactly what Eden was doing—deflecting, avoiding, running—but she let it go.They changed direction, heading toward where Meg stood near her car, keys in hand.
“You know,” Nimue said, falling back into her earlier teasing tone, “Teague Hamilton is?—”
“A walking insurance liability?”Eden suggested.
“I was going to say kind, brave, and clearly interested in you.But sure, let’s go with insurance liability.”Nimue grinned.“That’s definitely the vibe I get from the way he looks at you like you hung the moon.”
Despite herself, Eden smiled.“You’re impossible.”
“And you’re stubborn.We make a great pair.”Nimue looped her arm through Eden’s as they approached Meg.
