Listed: Volume V by Noelle Adams Page B

wasn’t
going to argue.
    She
thought he understood.
    “It’s
still all right for us to leave for Hawaii on Thursday?” she asked, thinking
about her list still left unfinished in her nightstand drawer.
    “Yes,”
he said, rubbing his face with his hand. “And we might as well stop at the
Grand Canyon on the way.”
    She
perked up. “Really? We’ll have time?”
    “We’ll
have time.”
    “Can
we—?” She broke off her question before she completed it. The trip to the Grand
Canyon and then to a volcano on Hawaii would already take more time than Paul
could probably afford to give up. She couldn’t let him get on the wrong side of
the board by taking even more time away from Philadelphia.
    Paul
frowned. “Can we what?” After a brief pause, he added, “I thought about stopping
in California, so we could finish your list, but I thought that would make the
trip too long.”
    “It
would,” she agreed readily. “You shouldn’t be away from work so long right now.
Just the two stops will be perfect.”
    His
frown deepened. “I can take as much time as I need. I meant it would be too
long for you. I thought you might not be up to it, since you haven’t been
feeling well.”
    Emily
swallowed hard. Let out a deep breath. Admitted, “I’m not sure I’m going to
feel any better. It might be a good idea to do everything we can now.”
    Paul’s
face tightened, and he opened his mouth. She knew he was going to object, so
she spoke over him, “I’m not giving up. I promise. But I want to be prepared. I
really want to finish my list—just in case.”
    There
was no “just in case” about it in her mind. This was the end. She only had a
limited amount of time and health left to use, and she still had items on her
list that needed doing. But she didn’t want to upset Paul, so she didn’t say it
out loud.
    He
looked upset anyway. His shoulders were stiff, and he turned his face away from
her, looking out the window again. After a minute, he turned back. “I want you
to finish your list too. I’ll start to make arrangements to stop in California.
We can do all three on the same trip.”
    She
smiled at him, a little shaky. “Thank you. Then all I’ll have left is finishing
Shakespeare. I’ve got one more act to finish in this one, and then it’s just Hamlet left.”
    Paul
opened his mouth, but didn’t say anything. He turned away again.
    Emily
didn’t push. She wanted to reach over and hug him, but he was looking prickly
and so she gave him some of the space she knew he needed.
    None
of this was fair to him. And, no matter what he said, it was her fault he was
in the position of losing the woman he loved. She had to do what was best for
him.
    *
* *
    Emily wasn’t exactly
comfortable, but she was still having a good time.
    She’d
only recovered from her last bout of fever a few hours ago—so she was drained
and incredibly sore—and the bouncing of the mule didn’t help. Her head hurt a
little from the bouncing, and the sun was hot on her already hot face. Plus,
her thighs were pulled at an odd angle by the position of the saddle.
    But
she wouldn’t have traded it for the world—not the chance to see Paul Marino riding
a brown mule along the Grand Canyon.
    His
expression was composed and unrevealing, but she knew he would have preferred
to be elsewhere. He’d taken her skydiving, ice-skating, and globe-trotting
without batting an eye, but the undignified mule-ride was stretching his
composure.
    He
wore a pair of khakis and a black t-shirt, and he looked as outdoorsy as it was
possible for him to look—which was not very. She was sure he’d ridden horses at
some point in his past because he had no trouble keeping his seat.
    But
the sight of him, trying to maintain his dignity and composure on the mule, was
the funniest thing Emily had seen in a long time.
    He
knew she was silently laughing at him, which was doing nothing to improve his
disposition.
    “Dare
I ask why this particular endeavor was on