I hear him still completely and wait for him to reply like I’m waiting for my next breath.
“You’re right, sunshine,” he says quietly as I hear him get into his sleeping bag. “Trust is earned. But sometimes, you need to be open to trusting someone else in order for things to work.”
“True.” I roll to my side, placing my back to him, then add softly, “Hopefully, she can do that, because she deserves to be happy.” I close my eyes while scooting down deeper into my sleeping bag and wrapping my arms around my middle. “Night, Tanner.”
“Night, sunshine,” he says gruffly, and I swallow over the lump that has suddenly formed in my throat.
As I lie there in the dark, listening to the sound of his breathing even out, I wonder if he feels even a little of what I do . . . and what it all means. Galvin never made me feel the way Tanner does, and we were together for years. I want to say I was in love with him, but did I love him more as a friend? Was I going to marry him because it was kind of always the plan? With those thoughts rolling around in my head, it takes me forever to find sleep, even though I’m exhausted.
Chapter 6
CYBIL
I slowly start to wake when the light of the rising sun begins to beat against my closed eyelids, and I shiver when the chilly morning air brushes against my face. Seeking out the warmth of my sleeping bag, I try to burrow into it, but my legs and waist are stuck under a heavy solid object. I start to force myself free, then freeze when I hear a grunt, and my heart starts to pound.
Tanner.
Without even opening my eyes, I know it’s him who has me trapped. I roll in my sleeping bag in an attempt to get away, not sure how I got across the space between us in the first place, then stop suddenly when I run into the canvas wall of the tent, causing it to shake. Stilling completely, I hold my breath and wait to see if I hear any sign that I’ve woken him up, but nothing but the sound of birds chirping and his steady breaths greets my ears.
Peeking my head out of my sleeping bag, I look across the brightly lit space and see him lying on his side, his eyes closed, and his chest rising and falling rhythmically. I carefully roll to my stomach, trying not to make any noise, and every muscle in my body protests as I crawl out of my sleeping bag. Once I’m free, I crawl my way to the opening and just as quietly unzip the tent before I head into the woods to take care of business. When I make it back to camp, Oliver is coming out of his and Lauren’s tent, looking just as sleepy as I feel.
“Morning, Oliver.” I give him a small wave.
“Good morning, Cybil. Did you sleep okay?”
“Yes, did you?”
“I’ve slept better.” He stretches his arms over his head. “See you in a bit.” He heads to the woods, and I dive back into my tent, zipping it closed.
Crawling on my hands and knees toward my sleeping bag with dreams of snoozing for a little while longer, I become paralyzed when Tanner’s gruff “Morning, sunshine” stops me in my tracks. I swing my head in his direction. “Did you sleep okay?” The question is innocent enough, but there’s a knowing glint in his eyes that causes heat to rise up my neck to my cheeks.
“Um, great. D-did you?” I stutter out.
“Better than I normally do.” He sits up, and I swallow when I see he doesn’t have a shirt on, which means I’m able to see exactly how perfect he is. My eyes roam over his thick arms, landing on his broad chest that has a scattering of dark hair between his pecs and then traveling down the middle of his abs—and I’m sure farther, but I can’t see past the sleeping bag that’s gathered around his waist. “Cybil?”
Licking my lips, I meet his gaze, and my stomach flutters when I see his smirk. “Yeah?”
“I asked if you’re hungry?”
Oh my God, I didn’t hear him ask me anything. I didn’t even hear him speak until he said my name. “Yes, sorry, I think I’m still half-asleep,” I lie, and he grins as he unzips his bag and then stands. I quickly scramble up on my knees and tip my head back to keep my eyes on his so I don’t get caught checking him out again—something that is really hard not to do.
“It’s still early.” He bends to grab his shirt, then gathers it up before pulling it over his head. “I’m going to start coffee.” He glances at his watch, then drops his eyes back to mine. “Blake will be here in about twenty minutes with breakfast. The tent is all yours until then.”
“Thanks.” I glance longingly at my sleeping bag, wanting nothing more than to crawl back into it and sleep for the rest of the day, or maybe even the rest of the week.
“You can go to sleep early tonight,” he tells me softly, and I glance at him before I fall to my bottom and pull my pack toward me. “When you’re ready, we’ll take down the tent.”
“Okay, thanks,” I mutter to my lap as I search for the package of wet wipes I brought with me, just so I can do something to keep from staring at him like I want to. When the zipper sounds, I lift my head and watch him step outside, then fall to my back and stare at the top of the tent. I have no idea how the hell I’m going to survive the next few days without doing something stupid, like asking him to kiss me.
With my heart seeming to want to escape my chest, I watch everyone as they climb into the raft that will take us downriver. I originally wasn’t nervous about this part of the trip, because I knew the rapids weren’t going to be rough, but after listening to Maverick and Tanner go over all the instructions—and there were a lot of them—I don’t know if I’m ready for this. And worse, I’m Tanner’s partner, so I’ve been placed in charge of helping him, which seems a whole lot ridiculous, since I have no idea what I’m doing. I’ve never even been in a boat before.
“Sunshine, you doing okay?” Tanner asks, coming to stand at my side, and I peek up at him and shake my head. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m afraid that I’m going to mess up and send everyone into the water,” I admit, and he chuckles. “It’s not funny.” I narrow my eyes on his.
“It won’t happen, Cybil. The water is going to be calm the entire way downstream. You have nothing to worry about.” He takes my hand, and I jolt at the contact. “Easy, sweetheart. I promise I got you,” he says quietly. “I’ll be with you the entire time.”
“Have you ever had a boat tip over?” I ask, refusing to budge from my spot on the bank.