Chapter 7
Kate
They want me to jump off a cliff.
I’m serious.
That’s what they want me to do.
I’m standing on the edge of a platform built over the edge of a cliff, with some kind of harness strapped and buckled around my body. Reid is next to me, also harnessed up. He doesn’t look terrified. Maybe he’s done this before. Maybe it isn’t a big deal. I don’t know.
And I’m not going to find out.
“No,” I say. I’m shaking so badly I’m scared I might fall off by accident. There’s no railing, so I’m practically wrapped around Reid’s body like a bean plant around a pole. I’m grateful he’s big and very strong. He isn’t wobbling or shaking at all. “I can’t do this.”
“Let’s go!” John shouts. “Clapboard. Action.”
The girl with the clapboard rattles off her thing.
And the cameras start rolling.
And I’m clinging to Reid like a monkey. My muscles are locked from terror.
“It’s okay,” Reid says, softly, just for my ears. “It isn’t as scary as you think.”
“It’s crazy. And I can’t. We’re a mile up. What if something breaks?”
“The rigging has been tested.” As if to prove his point, he yanks on one of his straps. “It’s safe. We’ll take the leap together. You will love it.”
“I see nothing about this to love.”
“Kate, look at me. Please.” He cups my chin and tilts my head up so I can see his face. At least when I look up at him, I’m not so dizzy and scared. There is that. “Do you remember my promise? To protect you?”
“Yes.”
“I won’t let anything happen to you. Not now. Not ever. I promise.”
“But this is crazy, Reid. Is this what English people really do?”
“It’s what bold people do. Fearless people. Who want adventure. Excitement. Yesterday, you told me that’s what you want.” His thumb grazes my lower lip, and tingles erupt all over my face. “I believe, deep down inside, that you are more courageous than anyone I know. To leave everything and start a new life. Alone. With no one. That takes a lot of courage. To audition for this show, when you haven’t ever watched television. That takes courage. To fly out of the country with a man you barely know.” He motions down. “This jump, it’s nothing compared to what you’ve done already. For one thing, you aren’t alone.” He lifts his hand.
With my heart pounding in my chest, I place my hand in his.
Are we going to jump off this cliff?
Are we really?
I look down.
My heart stops.
The world spins.
There are rocks down there. And beyond the rocks, the ocean. If I don’t shatter into a million pieces, I will probably be swept out to sea and drown.
No. I’m not jumping.
“Don’t look down,” he says. “Look at me.”
I look into his eyes.
When I do that I feel safe again.
I’m not alone.
“We’ll go together. On three,” he says. “Holding each other’s hands.”
“I don’t think I can do this.”
“You can. I know it.” He tightens his grip. “I’m not letting go. One.”
“I can’t do this.”
“Two.”
“I… I don’t know…” I look into his eyes.
“Three. Take a leap of faith. With me, Kate. Together.”
I lean forward.
And then I’m sailing through the air, my hand linked with Reid’s. The air whistles in my ear. The world is rushing toward me as I fall, fall, fall. And then whoosh, I’m pulled up again and I sail upward. My heart thunders. I’m terrified yet laughing hysterically. I’ve never done something so crazy and yet so thrilling.
Okay, yes I have. He was right.
This is fun. This is scary for a second or two. And now it’s just exciting.
Leaving home, doing this show, marrying a stranger, those have all been harder and scarier.
But out of that, look what I’ve gained.
We plummet again. This time we don’t spring back up. We come to rest several feet above the ground. Hanging upside down.
Reid pulls me toward him and wraps his arms around me. “You’re the bravest woman I have ever met,” he whispers in my ear. Then he tangles his fingers in my hair and kisses me.
Maybe it’s all the blood, now collected in my head, or the excitement from the jump, but ohmygosh! This kiss is more magical than the last. Little mini explosions erupt all over my body. His tongue prods at the seam of my mouth and I part my lips. It slips inside, filling my mouth with the sweetest flavor I’ve ever tasted. My center clenches and heat throbs. And I feel like I’m falling, falling…
The kiss is broken and I am turned upright and set on my shaky legs. Reid pulls me to him, supporting me with his strong, capable arms.
“Are you all right?” he asks.
I nod.
“Look up.”
I tip my head. I can’t see the top of the cliff, it’s so high. “Did we really just jump from way up there?”
“We did. We took that leap together. I won’t say it’s our first, because this whole thing has been a leap of faith for both of us, hasn’t it?”
“I couldn’t agree more.”
“We won’t stop,” he vows. “We’re in this together. One giant, or not so giant, leap at a time.”
“Cut!” the director shouts, reminding me that there were cameras recording everything that just happened. Including that kiss.
My hand slaps over my mouth and I feel my face burn.
Reid leans in. “That kiss was not for them,” he murmurs. “It was for me.”
I don’t even know how to respond to that. My head is spinning.
“Now, for your surprise.” He offers his hand and I take it. And we walk over and between rocks until we reach the narrow strip of sand at the water’s edge.
I stop inches from the frothy surf. “I’ve never seen the ocean before I came here,” I confess. I lift my foot and hook my finger in my shoe. “The water feels good.”
“Allow me.” He kneels and takes my foot in his hands. I steady myself, planting my hands on his shoulders and watch him untie my shoelace and tug off my shoe and sock. Then I give him my other foot.
The sand is so warm and soft. It feels wonderful. When he’s done, he stands.
“Thank you,” I tell him, once again, taking his hand.
“You’re welcome.” He steps into the water, and the salty surf washes up over my feet and ankles then flows back, tugging me and washing the sand out from under us, washing our footprints into sea.
As we walk, my gaze sweeps across our glorious surroundings, the towering cliffs to our left, the span of vivid blue water to our right. Ahead, a marina sits, miles down the shore, boats bobbing. Lush green foliage grows up the faces of some of the cliffs, and the mountains towering miles above them. “This place is as close to heaven as I’ve ever seen,” I admit, inhaling the sweet and salty air.
“I agree,” he says. He pauses. “Would you consider living here?”
“Maybe. If I could afford it, I would.”
“You would?”
“Yes.”
“Then there’s nothing back home that you would miss?”
“I would miss Ruth,” I admit. “And Sarah. Sarah is the friend who talked me into doing the show. They’ve both been good friends to me since I left home. I wouldn’t have made it without them. But maybe I could talk them into moving too.” I want to laugh at this silly conversation. Like it would ever happen. “What about you? Could you leave everything to live here?”
“I could. I would. The truth is, I don’t have any real, true friends back in California. I have acquaintances.”
“Family?”
He shakes his head. “I haven’t seen my parents in years. They live in Utah. They don’t agree with my lifestyle or career.”
“Then you’re like me…your parents have shunned you?”
“In a way.”
Our gazes tangle and my heart hops around in my chest. I feel warm, so very warm. All over. And happy. I feel as if I’ve found someone who fits with me perfectly. That we understand each other.
I hope this isn’t all make-believe. The product of a company that sells lies to television viewers every day, and a man who is paid to pretend for cameras.
It feels real.
“Would you live here with me?” he asks. “As my real wife?”
“What?” I snap, sure I’ve misheard him.
He didn’t just ask…
He doesn’t really think…
Is this fake marriage becoming real to him too?
Then again, would he ask me a question like that if he were pretending to be falling in love with me?
I am so out of my element here, where fantasy is more important that reality. Growing up, there was very little fantasy in my life, if any.
He continues, “We could buy a small house.”
I am so shocked by the turn this conversation has taken, my head is spinning. Would a man like this, who works in movies and television really move so far away? “What about your movies? Your television shows?”
“I’m retiring. I’ve seen enough to know now that that life isn’t for me. I don’t want to chase the paparazzi, begging for attention so I can get jobs. I want a simple life. And I can afford that, a simple life. I’d like it to be here. With you.”
This can’t be real. He has to be acting.
Right?
I look left. I see rocks and plants and sand. I see no cameras.
I know there are no cameras to the right. There, the water is crashing and rolling, throwing salt into the wind.
Ahead I see no cameras.
They must be following us.
I glance over my shoulder to check.
“Are you looking for cameras? There aren’t any. This is just us. Me. You. And the truth.” He takes both my hands in his and looks me straight in the eyes. “Kate, I promise to love and protect you for the rest of your life. Will you be my wife? My real wife?”
I can’t speak.
That’s okay, anyway. Because I have no idea what to say.
Be this man’s wife?
Forever?
Do I want that?
He’s handsome.
He’s sweet.
He’s been so kind to me. And honest. And attentive.
And we have this connection. Our marriage, as new (and unconventional) as it is, has been more wonderful than the marriages of many of my friends.
If this is real, it is perfect.
But is anything this perfect ever real?
I don’t know.
“You haven’t answered.” He places a fingertip on my lips, and they start to sizzle. “Don’t. Wait. Think about it. You have as much time as you need. You have three months to decide.” Then he smiles at me and starts walking again. “I can wait. You’re worth it. Now let’s go. I have a picnic lunch laid out over here…”