Travis

“Much better than rattlesnake.” I say, popping the last of a spicy tortilla into my mouth. Stretching out my long legs, I rolled onto my side, prop my head on one arm, and take pleasure in watching her hands as she chops a pair of mangos into bite-sized pieces.

Sitting cross-legged in front of me, she draws her sharp knife through the rind of a lime, cutting it in half before looking up. “Says the man who didn’t pack anything or rustle up a rattlesnake.” She squeezes both lime halves over the chopped mangos with a motion that has me thinking of more sensual digital pursuits.

I tear my gaze from her hands and lift a shoulder. “I didn’t have to. You brought a whole kitchen with you.”

She plucks a cube of mango from the bowl between us. When she holds it to my lips, I take the fruit into my mouth, then snag her hand, bringing it back to my lips and licking the sweet stickiness from her fingers. When I swirl my tongue over the tip of her index finger, she touches her tongue to her lips. My blood begins a quick drain southward.

With a tiny smile, she slips a chunk between her lips. “Did you know the mango tree is sacred in India? It’s a symbol of love, and some people believe it can grant wishes.”

Keeping my eyes on her, I bite into another piece and chew slowly. I’d put the brakes on our interlude earlier, and suddenly she seems intent on setting a more leisurely pace.

She lifts another sliver of orange and sucks on it, closing her eyes in obvious delight. Watching her eat is becoming an excursion into exquisite sensual torture.

“Do you have wishes, Christine?” Time for a different kind of distraction. She shakes her head.

“No, not anymore. I think I’ve used up my quota of wishes. What about you?”

Silence falls between us while I contemplate the woman across the blanket. For just a minute incredible sadness shows on her face, but she recovers quickly. I choose my next words with care. “I think we’ve got the beginning of something nice here. I’m really wishing it’ll keep going.”

* * *

Christine

I open my mouth and accept his offer of mango. Closing my eyes, I chew slowly, savoring the splash of sweet juice washing over my tongue, while I consider the odd combination of pleasure and fear his words give me.

“It’s a pretty good start. I don’t see any reason to stop.”

“It’s also going fast,” he reminds me.

“So you’ve said. A couple of times.” I scoot across the blanket and right-angle my body against his, supporting the back of my head on his chest. As pillows went, it wasn’t soft enough, but subtle heat caresses my neck, and the distant thump of his heart brings a sense of comfort.

Rocking my head sideways, I glance up at his face. “Too fast for you?”

Surprise registers briefly in his eyes then is gone. He draws lines along my wrist with one finger as he speaks. “I don’t think so. We obviously have physical chemistry.”

I can’t hold back the laugh. “You do have a gift for understatement.” Travis says nothing. He’s looking right at me, but I’m not convinced he’s seeing me. I allow the peace of the clearing to settle over me and wait. The trills of blackbirds harmonize with the river’s bubbling in the distance. It was the rocks that allow the water to sing, creating obstacles and detours that gave the river her song.

At the moment, she sang a happy song… other days, would it be angry? Ever changing, but always singing. Story of my life. With a sigh, he toys with the ends of my hair then laces strands between his fingers. “I’m thinking maybe we should get to know each other.”

“I kind of thought that’s what we were doing.” His gentle laugh rumbles beneath my cheek.

“I’m talking about the other-than-sexy stuff.” I reach up and touch his jaw, enjoying the oh-so-deliciously masculine scratch of light stubble beneath my fingertips.

“I want to take a long time to get to know you, Travis. I don’t want to find out your favorite color is blue because you tell me. I want to know it’s blue because it’s the color of your car, and it’s the color of every shirt I’ve seen you wear except this one.”

He gives a little start, and I smile.

Direct hit.

“I plan to learn all about you,” I continue. “And that includes the sexy parts. I want to find out what you like by your reaction when I touch you.” I run my thumb over his lower lip, smiling at his sudden indrawn breath. The muscles in his chest tense, but he doesn’t move. I fight the sadness that could so easily overwhelm me.

“But I also want to pay attention to the music you listen to and what movies you watch.” A tear slips down my cheek and I swipe at it impatiently. “Because I’ve done it the other way, Travis, with the questions and answers. And I promise you the ending to that one sucked.”

Mortified that I was breaking down in front of him, I try to roll away but Travis tightens his grip and I end up half curled into a ball against his chest.

“Who hurt you, Christine?” I can’t quite meet his eyes.

“No one hurt me. Sometimes life just hurts. Things don’t work out. You think things between you and me are moving along fast? Try falling in love in twenty-three hours and fifty-seven minutes and having your heart ripped apart in just under sixty seconds.”

Confusion clouds his face. “What?”

“That’s how long it took me to fall in love for the first time in my life.” I shrug, and send what I only hope is an encouraging smile to show him I no longer live in the past. “And how long it took for my heart to be completely shattered by circumstances no one could control. Especially not him,” I finish in a whisper.

I study the emotions streaming across his face, as readable as a Wall Street ticker. He didn’t like the thought of another man in my life, any more than he liked finding mustangs on his open range. Any more than I like thinking of him with another woman. What did that say about us? If we couldn’t accept that each had a past, could we really expect to build a future?

“Travis, have you ever wished for just one more day with someone?” I hesitate, frowning. When had I started needing him to understand who I had become seven years ago?

“Have you ever wished you had a day when you could tell that person exactly how you feel and have them know, without any doubt, that you mean it?” A spasm of pain flickered in Travis’s eyes until he forcefully pushes it away.

“Yeah.” He nods. “Yeah, I have.”

“But all we have is now,” I say softly. “We can’t go back and change things to make them come out better, and we don’t even know for sure we’ll have tomorrow, so we need to live today. That’s what loving him taught me. To live in the moment. If something makes us happy, and it doesn’t hurt anyone else, we should embrace it.”

“For as long as it lasts,” he qualifies.

I shrug. “For as long as it lasts.” He looks at me with nearly unbearable kindness.

“What happened, Christine? What happened to break your heart?” I raise my eyes and met the uncertainty I see in his.

“He died,” I say calmly.