“But it would be really cool if you could find some way to use it.”
“They’ll probably stop in a few minutes,” Nick predicted. He picked out a song on his guitar, waiting for the cacophony to die down. And eventually it did. He sang a couple of songs, including “Birdland.”
#
The next day they drove out to the Torres del Paine National Park. It was even more isolated and desolate than the penguin preserve. The Towers of Paine loomed in the distance.
“The Towers of Paine,” Nick murmured. “Who thought of that name?”
“Mr. Paine, probably,” Adrienne said, checking her guidebook. “We’ll stay tonight in the hostel?”
Nick nodded but cast a worried glance at the clouds gathering over the mountain peaks as they drove deeper into the park and further from civilization.
After they parked near the trailhead, Adrienne didn’t have any hesitation but tucked the guidebook into her bag and strode down the path. With every step he took, the temptation to kiss her grew. The need to share his feelings swelled inside him.
Thunder boomed in the sunny sky.
“What was that?” Adrienne asked over her shoulder. “It can’t be rain.”
The guidebook had warned that the weather in Patagonia could change in an instant. Even during the summer when the days were warm and endless, the winds could reach up to a hundred and twenty-five miles an hour.
Thunder crashed again.
“I think it must be the sound of the glaciers cracking,” Nick said.
Adrienne’s eyes lit up and she increased her pace. Nick followed. The path meandered through forests of trees he didn’t recognize. As the way grew rockier, he felt less sure about nearly everything. His pretense of being a brotherly friend became increasingly hard to shoulder.
Ahead of him, Adrienne sang a love song. She was waiting for him to join her, but he couldn’t make himself do it. His boots grew heavier until he felt like he had bricks strapped onto his feet. His guitar, which normally felt like an extension of his arm, seemed to weigh a hundred pounds.
The hike went on forever, but eventually they reached the crest that overlooked a surreal blue lake.
“I’ve never seen anything that color before,” Adrienne said, her eyes almost as bright as the glaciers. “This has to be the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
He wanted to tell her that she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen, but he bit back the words, knowing that if he ever dared to cross that line, their camaraderie would tumble into awkwardness.
But just then a giant condor sailed above them with a loud cry.
Startled, Adrienne jumped and landed against Nick’s chest. His arms instinctively went around her and they each bobbled for balance. He found his feet first and steadied her.
She twisted so that she faced him and grabbed his arms. For a moment, they stood inches apart, her eyes laughing and looking up at him. He took a mental picture, knowing that her proximity was fleeting and rare.
“I love you.” The words seemed to burst out of him, unbidden and unplanned. But once they were said, he didn’t regret them. He knew that he should, but he couldn’t.
Confusion flickered across her face.
“It’s wrong, I know, but I can’t help it,” he said.
“No.” She pulled away. “You can’t mean that.”
“It’s true,” he said, letting her go.
“Traveling like we have, maybe you’ve developed—”
“It’s not new,” he interrupted her. “And yes, these last few days have been amazing, but I loved you long before all of this.” He waved his arms at the glacial lake. “I think I fell in love with you the first day I met you. When Seb brought you home.”
He hated himself for mentioning Seb, but he had to.
“Nick—”
