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“You think the treasure is revenge?” Emily tilted her head to one side, her dark hair falling across her jaw before she pushed it back with one hand.
I shrugged, the weight of the question draining me. I’d been struggling with that same question for the better part of a year now, doing nothing about answering it. Things had gotten busy enough at the resort to make the whole treasure hunt less of a priority. Still, it was the one thing I wanted answered definitively before I left.
“I actually think the whole thing might have just been a wild goose chase intended to keep me busy.” I knew Aubrey had thought about this, and imagined most of the crew might have had the same idea. I felt ashamed suddenly that everyone in my life was so worried about my mental state that my unclehad possibly invented a treasure hunt to keep me busy and I’d dragged all my friends into it.
Emily’s face scrunched up in confusion. “What? Why would he have done that?”
And there it was. Everything in my life eventually came back to the one moment that defined me, that contained everything I was, everything I’d ever be. But for the time I’d been in this elevator, I hadn’t thought about the crash even once until now. And I didn’t want to bring that burden into this space and let it cast its appalling shadow over whatever image this woman might have of me.
I was about to answer, to offer some shade of truth that didn’t require diminishing myself in her eyes, when the elevator groaned and jolted suddenly. I braced myself, a spike of adrenaline bolting through me.
A high-pitched shriek left Emily and a second later she was practically in my lap, her body thrown against mine and her head pressed against my chest.
My arm went around her back instinctively. “Shh, it’s okay.”
She huddled against me a moment longer and I did my best not to notice how warm and soft she felt there, how her hair was scented of orange blossom or some other summery thing, or how this was the first time in years I’d held anyone close to me for more than a brief hug with my sister. I froze in place, both wishing for the moment to end and praying it might last forever.
The elevator was still again, and after a moment Emily gathered herself, sitting up a bit straighter, but not moving away.
“Sorry,” she whispered, pulling her head back to gaze up into my eyes. “Uh, didn’t expect that, I guess.”
The smile came easily as I looked down at her, and the spell released its hold. “It’s okay.”
She held my gaze a second longer, something tense in the air between us. Then she moved back a bit, untangling herself frommy side. “Wow. I threw myself literally at you.” A light chuckle left her but died on her lips as she met my eyes again.
“I didn’t mind,” I told her honestly, our gazes locked. Tension vibrated in that shared look and the air around us felt charged, thick.
She stared into my eyes, and I had the distinct impression she was trying to understand something about me, figure something out. There was a question in her dark gaze, swirling with whatever heady connection had been there since we met.
I held still beneath her inspection for what felt like hours but was probably less than a minute.
“You’re a nice guy,” she said, and it sounded like she was surprised.
I wasn’t sure she was right, but it was nice to hear. “There are people who’d argue with you about that,” I told her. “But I try to be.”
She nodded, and I swept about inside myself for any shards of scattered courage I might assemble to close the inches between us, to get closer to the beautiful woman in front of me. The air between us hung suspended and Emily didn’t move, except to lean toward me just the tiniest bit. Should I kiss her? Could I? It had been a long time, but everything in my body was screaming that it was right, that she would respond.
I leaned in, barely breathing, when a horrific noise screamed out just above us, and my resolve crumbled, the tension between us snapping as we both jumped and then looked up.
“Ghost?” Fake Tom’s familiar voice came as the elevator doors groaned open a crack. It didn’t make sense, but I’d never been less pleased to be rescued from danger.
“Yeah, in here.”
Emily scooted back, staring up at the space between the elevator doors.
“Maintenance wants you out before they do anything. We’re gonna get these doors open and then drop a ladder down. You’re just below the floor.” I stood, working to shake off the tension of the last several moments. It was for the best, or that was what I was trying to tell myself.
The doors wrenched open a bit more, revealing part of the elevator shaft and the floor of the hallway about three quarters of the way up.
“I’m in here with a guest,” I told him. “I’d rather she didn’t have to crawl out up there.” The space between the floor of the hallway and the top of the elevator doors was only about two feet. I tried not to imagine the elevator slipping as one of us crawled through that opening. A glance at Emily’s face confirmed she had the same fear.
“Sounds like the option is to spend the night in there,” he said. “Ladder coming.” A ladder extended down into the space, and I took it, trying not to give in to the part of me that wished the doors had stayed shut just a little while longer.
I positioned the ladder against the shaft and looked at where Emily was still huddled against the wall, staring up at the opening. I wanted to lean down, take her in my arms, offer comfort. Hell, I wanted to tell her I’d take care of her, that if she’d let me, I’d do it forever. But a reaction like that was so far out of proportion to the situation, to the little time I’d spent with her, it didn’t make sense, even to me.
“It’ll be okay, Emily,” I said instead, reaching a hand to her. “Clearly, your room will be comped,” I told her, trying for some levity because she looked utterly terrified.
“You don’t have to,” she said, standing slowly and gripping my hand tightly. She stepped close to my side, still holding my hand.
