The newlyweds exchanged excited glances.
“Will they be sea caves?” one of the elderly ladies asked.
“No,” he said, frowning. “The regular kind.”
“Oh.” She seemed disappointed. “It’s just, with the name of your company, I assumed…”
He swallowed his irritation. Apparently, Sterling had been right about needing to change the company name. Great, more money down the toilet.
“I’ll be rebranding soon,” he told her. “New name and all. If you have any ideas while we’re out today, let me know.”
A movement behind the group caught his attention. Up at the lodge, a blonde woman hurried out to join them, her cute pink shoes crunching over the gravel. She was one of Kat’s friends, but he couldn’t remember her name. They’d met once or twice, and she seemed nice enough. Pretty, too, in a delicate way, with blue eyes that tilted down at the corners, slender legs, and wrists he could encircle with one hand. Not the kind of attractiveness he preferred. At least, not these days. She was too similar to his ex, Claudia, for his peace of mind.
“You’ll see there are a selection of hard hats behind me. Find one that fits and make sure you can work the headlight. If you press the button to the side of the bulb once, it should light up, and if you press it again, it should change to red. Three presses turns it off.”
He stood back while they reached for hard hats, testing different sizes until they found the right one. “When you do them up, the straps should be firm beneath your chin,” he continued. “Make sure there’s enough room for you to breathe, but not enough to fit your finger into the gap.” He waited while people made adjustments, then asked, “Is everyone ready to go?”
Nods all round. He shut the vehicle door, donned a hard hat, and strode toward the lodge, talking over his shoulder. “Today we’ll be walking for about half an hour to the caves, and then spending another half hour inside them. Have any of you been to the caves before?” Turning, he paced backward for long enough to see the negative responses, and smiled. “That’s great. That means you’ll get to see the best parts your first time in.”
He scanned their feet, making sure they all had appropriate footwear. Most were wearing sneakers, although the middle-aged couple had professional-grade hiking boots. His gaze settled on the blonde, with her little pink shoes, and he scowled. Up close, he could see they were a brand that Claudia, an Instagram influencer, had been paid to endorse. He recalled this because he’d criticized their functionality, and she’d argued that it didn’t matter how grippy they were as long as they looked good. Did this blonde share Claudia’s view?
He sighed. Provided she took it carefully—and she appeared to be the type to do just that—they’d be fine. Besides, he shouldn’t make snap judgments about the woman based on her footwear. The group passed through the foyer and out the other side, crossing the garden to the base of the forest, where the trees grew tall and cast long shadows. Jack stopped walking and addressed them.
“We’re going to take it nice and easy. I’ll lead the way, since I’m the only one who knows where we’re going, but if you need a break or if I’m going too fast, yell out and let me know. Okay?”
They nodded.
“Will it all be uphill?” one of the older ladies asked.
“Yes, for the most part. The caves we’re visiting are set into a cliff face on a ledge about two hundred meters above us. But don’t worry, the climb is spaced out over one-and-a-half horizontal miles, so the incline isn’t bad.” He grinned. “I have every faith you can handle it.”
The two women didn’t seem so sure. Off to a promising start. By contrast, the other members of the group looked excited and impatient to begin, particularly the blonde, who was bouncing on the balls of her feet. Damn, she might not be his type, but she was cute.
Don’t be distracted by “pretty” or “cute.” Remember what happened last time?
He’d made sacrifices for Claudia, tried to bridge the gap between their social circles, and in return, discovered she didn’t consider him good enough for her. A fact she’d made abundantly clear both to him and her two-hundred-thousand Instagram followers. Talk about a rude awakening.
This woman isn’t Claudia, he reminded himself. Don’t treat her like she is.
“Everyone got water?” he asked, receiving a number of affirmations in response. “Before we get going, does anyone have a medical condition or injury I should know about?”
The old ladies glanced at the blonde, who heaved a sigh.
“I do,” she said, smoothing her hands over her pristine white tank top. “But I don’t expect it to be a problem.”
He scanned her from head to toe. She looked healthy enough, with a flush on her cheeks and all parts apparently in working order. Gesturing for her to come closer so the entire group wouldn’t overhear, he asked, “Can you tell me more? Is there medication you need to bring?”
She shifted from one foot to the other and twisted the hem of her shirt as though wringing water from it. The woman was visibly tense.
“I have asthma,” she said. “My inhaler is in my pocket.”
“Is it bad?” he asked.
“Not great, but it’s under control. I haven’t had an attack in months.”
“Okay then—”
“I also have hay fever, which I took my medication for this morning.” Straightening her shoulders, she finally met his gaze. “And I’m recovering from chronic fatigue.”
Oh, man. While the hay fever shouldn’t be a problem, he wasn’t sure how to handle chronic fatigue. To be honest, he wasn’t particularly familiar with the condition. But based on the stubborn tilt of her chin and the fire simmering in her clear blue eyes, she expected him to make a big deal of it.
“Is there anything you need from me?” he asked.
Her eyes widened. “No. I’ll be fine. I’m used to managing my health, and I’m on the mend.”
She seemed to be trying to convince herself as much as him, and for a moment, he wished she hadn’t come. Not because she didn’t seem lovely, but because he didn’t have a clue what to do about her, and her reluctance to be completely open with him wasn’t helping. He needed to know she’d speak up if she ran into any problems.
“You’ll let me know if you’re struggling?”
She pressed glossy pink lips together, and her expression told him she didn’t want to agree. He paused. Something about those lips was familiar, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Then she tucked her hands inside her elbows and nodded. “I’ll let you know.”
“Good.” Turning back to the others, he gestured toward the forest. “Let’s get started, shall we?”
Heading up the slope at about half his usual pace, he started a spiel about the age of the forest, and what native species could be found in it. About fifteen minutes into the walk, he became aware of a faint chattering behind him, the type that seemed like people were discussing something but trying to avoid notice. He looked over his shoulder and saw that the blonde was sucking on an inhaler. She saw him watching, stuffed it back into her pocket, and kept going, but the elderly ladies cast sidelong glances at her as if preparing to catch her should she keel over.