Summit day. And the sky did not cooperate—rain started at midnight, a fine, relentless drizzle with zero intention of stopping.
I frowned at the window. "Great. There goes the sunrise on the peaks."
Zane ruffled my hair. "Hey, we made it all this way. Let's go stand under it anyway."
So we stood at the foot of the mountain in the rain, and the fog was so thick the mountain simply was not there. Zane, in unbearably good spirits, pulled me in for a photo. In it, I'm in a rain poncho, frowning, radiating misery.
"Delete it. I look awful."
"You look adorable. Not awful at all."
"Zane! You did that on purpose!"
Laughing, he pulled me against his side. "Okay, okay. We'll take a new one."
I scraped together my best smile and waited for the shutter—and he dipped in and kissed my cheek. "Zoe. I like you."
The camera caught my face mid-heart-attack. Grinning, Zane sent the photo to his phone and opened Instagram. I started hitting him. If Mom saw that, the interrogation would be endless.
Zane caught my hand and kissed my knuckles. "I just want everyone to know how happy I am."
My ears went hot. I made a grab for my hand back. "We're in public! You can't just—wait till I tell my mom!"
And then—no joke—the exact second I said it, my phone chimed. An e-transfer from Mom.
"Have SO much fun, baby!! 🌸"
"My Zo looks beautiful—you two are just perfect together! 😂"
"Seeing my kids this happy—Mommy's heart is full ❤️"
My eyes stung. I opened Instagram. Zane had already posted the photo. The caption: "Rain, fog, mountains, and water—with the person I love, everything is scenery."
First like: my mom. And she commented: "Locking you two in forever 🔒"
I laughed through the sting and leaned into Zane's chest. "That's it. You're never escaping. Mom just sealed us in."
Zane's voice was warm above my head. "I was never trying to escape." Then he tipped my chin up and kissed me.
Rain and fog at the foot of the mountain—and Zane's arms keeping all of it off me.
We promised each other, once, that we'd never leave.
Well.
A promise is a promise.
Locked in!
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