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But if they didn’t rest soon, she might pass out.
They’d reached some rough terrain, so Jude went first and then extended a hand down to help Eve up the rocky ascent.
She smiled to thank him and tried to swallow down a couple of ragged gasps for air.
“You okay?” he asked, scanning her face.
“Yeah. My face always gets red with any amount of sun or exercise. I’m blond and pale. My skin just does that.”
“I know it does.” There was a husky, intimate note in his voice.
It made her stiffen her spine. “Do I get all red when we have sex?” If possible, her cheeks flushed even deeper at the thought.
While she knew she wasn’t the sexiest person who’d ever walked the earth, she’d felt sexy with Jude. He’d made her feel beautiful. And she hated the idea of getting so embarrassingly red without realizing it.
He cupped her face. “You don’t get red. You get deliciously pink.”
It was impossible to believe he thought her flushed skin was in any way unattractive, so her defensiveness softened. “I’ve always hated getting red so easily.”
“I guess we all have things we don’t like about ourselves. So my theory is we should find someone who loves everything about us. Even our least favorite characteristics.”
Her heart clenched. A silly giggle spilled out from the overflow of emotion. “That is a pretty good theory.”
He kissed her—light and brief—and then held her hand as they started to hike again.
The short stop had helped Eve catch her breath. She made it another thirty minutes before she was exhausted and panting again. She kept trying to hide it but evidently didn’t do a very good job because Jude ended up stopping without warning, pulling her off the trail toward the shade of a convenient tree.
“What are we doing?” she asked.
“We’re resting.”
“I was doing fine!”
“I know you were. I’m the one who needed the rest.”
“Liar.” She sniffed and tried to be indignant but couldn’t.
He settled on the ground with his back against the tree and took a long swig of his water. “You shouldn’t call your husband a liar.”
“Well, you shouldn’t lie to your wife in order to save her pride.”
He laughed softly and scooted over to make room for her to lean against the tree beside him. “I’m allowed to save your pride anytime I want. It’s one of the prerogatives of being your husband.”
She was too hot to really snuggle, but she leaned her head against his shoulder. “It’s just kind of embarrassing—to be so worried about you when I should have been worried about myself.”
“You’re doing fine. You’re allowed to take a few rests, you know. It’s not like we’re in a rush.”
“I know.” She sipped on her water. “Thanks for making me stop.”
“You’re welcome.”
They sat in silence for several minutes, drinking and cooling off and staring out at the impressive view.
She’d never been to the Grand Canyon before either. It had never even been on her to-do list. Now she had no idea why.
She was glad she hadn’t lived her life without seeing this.
The thought made her poignant, but she forced herself to brush it away. She wasn’t going to ruin this day by crying about how short a time she had with Jude.