Take Me Away (Southern Bride 6)

“How about a romantic picnic?”

A brilliantly beautiful smile erupted on his face. “I can arrange that. Oh! Maybe after we can go zorbing.”

I closed my eyes and counted to ten. “Nolan, is this type of adventure going to happen on every vacation from now on? I’m all about doing fun, adventurous stuff, but I think I need to establish some rules.”

“Rules?” he asked with one brow raised.

“No jumping out of things. No running down hills in balls or with cows chasing us.”

He chuckled. “Cows?”

“Bulls, whatever! No jumping off of anything while I’m attached to a rope. Or out of a plane. I’m all for sitting back and watching you do it, but I don’t think I’m going to ever be ready to go full-on crazy like you.”

“I don’t go full-on crazy.”

I gave him a questioning stare.

“Fine. I really think you’d like the zorbing, though.”

“The hamster ball?”

He nodded and winked. “Trust me.”

I sighed. “Fine. Since it is our honeymoon, I’ll do that.” I held up my hand when he went to talk. “But…in return, I want to go on a sailboat and snorkel with dolphins.”

“I can do that.”

Smiling, I reached for his hand. “And maybe we don’t have to fill every part of the day with doing something. I’m totally fine simply staying here.”

“In bed?” he asked as he wiggled his brows.

“Yes. Or on the sofa. Out on the deck. In the pool.”

Nolan gave me a hard look. “We’re not having sex in the pool.”

Laughing, I shook my head. “I wasn’t only talking about sex!”

“I was!” Nolan wiped his mouth with his napkin, stood, and then reached for my hand. “Speaking of sex, I do believe I am recharged.”I stumbled out of the clear ball and fell to the ground, gasping for breath. “Holy shit. What was that?”

Nolan ran up to me, a huge smile on his face. “Was that not the most fun you’ve ever had?”

Glancing up at him, I was positive that if my eyes could shoot daggers, my husband would be covered in them. “Fun? Fun? You call that fun!”

He nodded and helped me up. “You didn’t like it?”

“I was pretty sure I was going to die a few times. I was out of control.”

Nolan pressed his lips together tightly and looked away.

“If you so much as laugh, Nolan Byers, I will withhold sex for the rest of our honeymoon.”

He held up his hands and worked hard at not laughing. Really hard.

“I want to go back to the room and soak in a hot bath.”

“You really didn’t have fun?” He slipped his arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him as we headed toward the parking lot.

With a defeated sigh, I replied, “I will admit that at first it was kind of fun. Then, the hill got steep and turned, and I went up these walls, lost control, and sort of…tumbled down the hill.”

He lost his battle and laughed.

“Laugh all you want, but what in the world ever possessed you to do something like this?”

Nolan shrugged and looked for a taxi. “I started to try and find things that kept my mind off of everything.”

I looked up at him. “Everything?”

He nodded. “You, Amanda, the accident. I wanted to forget. The only way I could that was to be taken away somehow. So, jumping out of planes, paragliding, and running down hills in balls became my escape. It took me away for a while.”

I swallowed the sudden lump in my throat. “I guess I can understand that. I think that’s what Paris was for me, subconsciously. I never really wanted to admit I was running away, but that’s exactly what I was doing.”

A taxi pulled up, and Nolan opened the door. Before we slipped inside, he placed his hand on the side of my face and smiled sweetly down at me. “No more running for either of us.”

My eyes stayed fixed on his. “No more running.”

Nolan and I spent the rest of our two-week honeymoon exploring nature, sitting in our bungalow, and simply being together. We talked for hours, and sometimes we sat in silence as I read a book and Nolan learned to just relax. He had been so tired, and I was so glad he was allowing himself to be in the moment. We talked about Amanda, let ourselves grieve, made plans for our future. We ate on the beach at sunset, took long walks at night, and made love in the outdoor shower under a vast sea of stars on more than one occasion. It was the most amazing two weeks of my life. A part of me dreaded the idea of going home. I loved being able to spend all this time with Nolan. And I loved having my memories back. The good and the bad.

“You all packed up?” Nolan asked me as he stepped out onto the balcony.