Chapter 51

Penny dreamed she was falling.

The canyon floor was below her, moving ever nearer, but she never seemed to reach it. Her stomach was in her throat, and she was certain she was going to die, but everything seemed to be taking its sweet time. She was falling to her death, and there was nothing she could do about it, and all she could do was wait.

And think.

Her head and heart were full of all the things she was leaving behind. Her work. A whole, wide world of things to explore. All the adventures she'd never had. And Xavier, the man who'd twisted her up in so many knots she knew she'd never be fully untangled.

She'd risked so much, letting him walk back into her life. But as she watched the canyon floor rush up to meet her, she thought the risk had been well worth it. She was glad she'd opened her heart, even a sliver. She wished she'd opened it more.

Funny, how easy big dilemmas seemed when you were about to die.