She followed him outside to the Jeep they would take to the event area.
“Good kisser?” she asked, thinking Nick was an amazing kisser. Wait. No. He wasn’t. She was mad at him and wanted nothing to do with him.
“Excellent.” He drew out the word to seven or eight syllables. “I really like him. I don’t want to get too excited, though. That road always leads to heartache. I just…” He started the Jeep. “I really like him.”
She smiled. “Then you should enjoy yourself.”
“But? Aren’t you going to warn me to be careful? To not trust too easily? To avoid handing over my bank account numbers or house keys until I’m sure?”
She turned toward him. “It sounds like you already know everything you should be doing. I’m the girl who just goes for it, consequences be damned.”
“Does that work for you?”
“It did until the explosion.”
Which was the wrong thing to say. Now she was thinking about the surgery again—surgery she didn’t want to have. Being in the dark forever. Could she do that? The thought of it terrified her.
Aaron patted her hand. “You’re a brave little soldier.”
“Not really.” A brave little soldier would have scheduled the surgery.
Fortunately, they’d arrived at the site before she could depress herself.
She climbed out of the Jeep and sensed someone at her side.
“Nick,” she said calmly.
“I didn’t think you’d show.”
“Why wouldn’t she show?” Aaron asked. “What happened? Are you two keeping secrets? Did you fight?”
“Some guy got into my room last night,” she said, telling only part of the truth. “He was drunk. Nick took care of him.”
“Who was it?” Aaron demanded. “What bastard did that? Can you hold him so I can hit him? Or get someone bigger than me to hit him?”
“I broke his nose,” Nick told him.
“That’s not the part that should be broken,” Aaron muttered. “Are you okay?”
Izzy assumed Aaron was talking to her. “I’m fine. He was a jerk and I suspect he’s learned a lesson.”
There was a long silence. She didn’t know if Aaron and Nick were exchanging looks or secret codes and she didn’t care.
“Where’s the bridge?” she asked. “I’m ready to intimidate the hell out of these guys.”
Nick put his hand on the small of her back. “Straight ahead, toward that big tree.”
She saw vague shapes and started walking, doing her best to ignore the feel of his palm and the heat from his skin. She was still annoyed with him and wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of responding.
Someone stepped in front of her.
“Hey, Izzy,” the man said. “I’m Jeff. We met last night. I heard about what happened and wanted to tell you I’m sorry. We all are. We’re not like that.”
“One of you is.”
“You’re right. When he gets out of the hospital, he’ll be fired. I know it’s not much, but it’s the best we can do.”
“Hospital?” she asked, feigning surprise. “For what?”
Jeff chuckled. “He fell or something. Broke his nose. Woke up naked in the barn.”
“Oh. How horrible. I hope he’s okay.”
“I don’t know and I don’t care. I just wanted you to know we’re all sorry.”
“Thanks.”
He stepped out of her way. She continued walking.
“He was nice,” she said. “I wonder if he’s single. We could go out. Get married. Have a couple of kids.”
Nick didn’t say anything. Izzy glanced back at him.
“No comment?”
“I hope you’ll be very happy together.”
The wrong thing to say, she thought, annoyed all over again.
They stopped in front of a tall tree.
“Rope ladder up about twenty feet,” Nick said as he helped her step into a harness. “The rope bridge swings a little. If you feel yourself starting to lose your balance, drop into a crouch. Lower your center of gravity. Ethan, a mountain-climbing buddy of mine, is in the other tree. He’ll talk you in.”
“Is he cute?”
“Adorable.” Nick seemed to be speaking between clenched teeth. “Maybe you could take them both on at once.”
“Because you’re not interested.”
“Dammit, Izzy, would you just climb the tree?”
She wanted to tell him no. She wanted to stalk away. But there were a group of guys watching her. They all knew what had happened the night before and it was up to her to show them what strength of character meant. It was up to her to demonstrate what a girl could do and challenge them to be men enough to follow.