Page 402 of Seasons of Love
I needed Mal and Jake to be safe. I needed to go home to them.
Them.
I heard it before I felt it. Another loud rumble, and then the rain of dust and small rocks started falling. I leaned against one of the big boulders to avoid getting hit. And then the worst happened.
Even in the dim dusk light, I saw the wooden stairs collapsing onto the rocks below, causing a wave of more dust and more rocks to come in my direction.
I jumped over the rocks to get away, hoping I wouldn’t make it worse and land on an unstable rock.
And because today really wasn’t my day, I slipped and fell between two big boulders.
The good news? Nothing was broken. I was still alive.
The bad news? I was completely stuck.
9
MAL
“Hey, baby,” I said to the phone’s voicemail. “I missed you today when I went home to pack my overnight bag. I hope you’re out celebrating your book. I’m so fucking proud of you, Griff.” I looked out of the window to the setting sun and in the direction of the island. You couldn’t see it from here, obviously, but it didn’t matter. Just knowing that Griff was out there, probably having some fun with Elena, was enough.
I could just imagine the welcome home party tomorrow. We weren’t apart often, so when we had to be, we always did something to remind us of how good it was when we were together.
Most times, it meant we’d spend the day or night in bed, getting reacquainted. Okay, not most times. All the time. I laughed, and then the phone beeped before ending the message.
I redialed his number, and it went to voicemail again. “Hey, me again. I got distracted thinking of you. I hope to be back by lunchtime tomorrow. You know the drill. Oh, and as usual, I can’t do my fucking tie properly. I might have to go to dinner without it…I said it in my other message, but I’ll say it again. I miss you, baby, and I love you. See you tomorrow.”
I turned to the mirror again after ending the call. The tie knot wasn’t right, and I’d clearly overestimated the length of the shorter end.
There was a knock on the door, so I had a quick look around to make sure the room wasn’t a mess before I answered. Griff teased me for it, but there was something about respecting the work of the maids that made me want to keep my room as tidy as possible whenever I was in a hotel or resort.
“Hey, are you ready?” Jake said as I opened the door.
He looked great. Dark-blue suit, white shirt, hair perfectly styled, and a pink tie that not only brought out the blue color of his eyes, it was also perfectly tied.
How could I attend a dinner with the other resort managers not wearing a tie?
“Yeah, almost.” I gestured for him to come inside and went back to the mirror to fight with the fucking knot.
“You were great today, Mal. I mean, I’ve never been to one of those meetings before, but it was like you’ve been working in the company for years, not just a couple of months.”
I lined up the two ends of the tie again before throwing the top over the bottom. Or was that the other way round?
“Don’t let that fool you,” I said. “It’s years of watching people and understanding when is the best time to speak up. Your uncle hired good people to manage his resorts, which makes things a lot easier.”
I put the slim end of the tie through the knot and pulled it down until it was tight. Okay, so it looked a lot more like a tie knot should, but it also looked like a five-year-old had done it.
Jake came over and put his hands on mine to stop me from choking myself out of frustration.
“Can I help?” he asked.
I nodded, my mouth going dry and my words failing to take shape.
Jake smelled good, like shower soap and only a hint of cologne. I let the tie go and watched in the mirror as he came from behind me to tie a perfect knot.
“I used to watch Uncle Frank when I was a kid. Back then, I thought people looked really smart when they wore a suit and tie, and I wanted to be smart, so I asked him to teach me.”
My eyes were on the practiced moves of his hands. “And now?”
