The tour finished with them being gifted salt and Chase tipping their tour guide.

She found herself wondering how much money Brandon was gifting to him.

A hundred thousand dollars like she was receiving?

Was that the main reason Chase was with her in Austria?

Not that she blamed him for coming for the money.

It was a valid reason for an accomplished Army Ranger and police officer to spend two weeks with some woman he didn’t know in Europe.

Still, there was a tingle of discomfort thinking about Darren tricking her into loving him so he could be gifted money.

Chase would never do that.

They walked out of the salt mine and into the sunshine of a gorgeous June day.

It was probably about seventy. She quickly shed her jacket and wrapped it around her waist. Walking down to the sky bridges, she marveled at the glass bridges.

It was a little trippy looking down hundreds of feet with nothing but glass to keep them safe, but worth it for how beautiful the views of the town, lake, valley, and mountains were.

Chase posed for various selfies with her.

Tony offered to take their photo as if he were another tourist passing by. It was cute of the huge security guard.

They walked down to town and along the ‘panorama trail’ above Hallstatt that gave them more beautiful views and a slow, easy walk ending at a Catholic church.

The church was absolutely fascinating, dating back to the twelve-hundreds.

The picturesque interior and the information about the history of the church and the local leadership throughout the generations enthralled Lizzy.

Chase patiently followed her around as she used Google translate on her phone at each inscription in the floor or the walls and every poster. The inscriptions were in Latin and the posters in German, but she was able to understand and share quite a bit of it with Chase.

Her favorite parts were the stained-glass windows and the incredible cemetery adjacent to the church.

Each grave was its own small flower garden.

She’d never seen anything so charming in her life.

Many of the graves were shared with generations of family.

Chase agreed it was a great cemetery, much better than at home.

Lizzy could hardly imagine growing up in such a scenic spot, a small and gorgeous mountain town, with all the history of ancestors and generations of family surrounding her.

It made her heart long for connections like this.

It was just her and her mom. Her grandmother was still alive but in a long-term care facility with Alzheimer’s.

She needed to ask her mom about her ancestors.

Maybe do some research. That might help her feel more rooted.

Lizzy’s legs were tiring as they walked down to the town center, but she didn’t want Chase to know. She didn’t want to miss out on a minute.

They ate lunch at Zum Bader Gastwirschaft. She couldn’t pronounce the name, but the waitress was kind and her salad and filet of fish were delicious. Chase ate a meat platter that would’ve settled in her gut like a rock.

Happily, there was a gelato stand right outside the restaurant. She chose the Kinder bar gelato and Chase got stracciatella which looked like chocolate chip.

Lizzy slowly licked the delicious chocolate cookie gelato as they perused the town square and centuries-old buildings—restaurants, hotels, boutiques, a water feature, and more.

She adored each shop. Of course Chase smiled when she said that.

His smile didn’t look annoyed or even indulgent.

It was as if he really enjoyed the way she expressed herself.

Walking down to the waterfront where boats and tours were coming and going, they sat side by side on a bench.

The teal-blue water sparkled in the sun and boats were everywhere.

Some were huge tour boats, but others were small, romantic boats for two.

Hopefully one of their days would be on the water.

After she finished her last crunch of the waffle cone, Lizzy determined she was ready to hike to the waterfall. Maybe her legs wouldn’t get too tired. She was feeling great right now.

“All right. Madelyne sent me the directions and photos of the Waldbachstrub Waterfall,” Chase said. “It looks incredible.”

He clicked on his phone. Lizzy stared at his sculpted brow as he looked down.

It blew her mind how comfortable she was with him.

Was it all going to come crashing down like the other men she’d dated and her own dad?

Each of those men had been kind and charming but had eventually shown themselves to be belittlers and abusers.

She’d rarely seen her dad charming, but her mom swore he used to be.

She couldn’t imagine a world where Chase had those tendencies, but she had seen smiling, attractive faces be peeled off like a mask and monsters climb out.

Chase glanced up and turned toward her on the bench.

She instinctively stiffened. Would he ‘suggest’ they should only have gelato this one time so she didn’t gain weight?

Or say something even more demeaning about how he was embarrassed when he noticed her limping on the tour?

That wasn’t the Chase she’d known so far, but she was conditioned to expect that.

“How are your legs feeling?” he asked.

“My … my legs?” She looked down at her own legs, then back up at him. Was he embarrassed? Had he noticed her limping? “They are actually feeling pretty good.”

He pocketed his phone and met her gaze again. “You’re feeling up for another long, slow walk like last night?”

“With a gorgeous waterfall at the end? Yes, sir.”

“There’s some incline on the route, but we’ll take it slow.”

“All right.” She swallowed and managed, “Thank you for asking about my legs.”

Other men had been annoyed by her halting gait or the ‘weird’ way her knees and toes turned inward, but never concerned about how she was feeling or assuring her that she could accomplish something hard even if they had to take it slow.

“Of course.” He nodded, his blue eyes serious, as if he sensed that he’d touched her.

She really wanted to say ‘thank you for caring’.

Thoughtful. Chase was thoughtful, and she wasn’t used to that.

Even though her past boyfriends could be syrupy sweet to get what they wanted, they’d never been thoughtful or considerate.

They’d either been annoyed by her disability because it slowed them down or they’d treated her like she couldn’t make any decisions or take care of herself.

They stood and walked back to the car. Lizzy didn’t want to carry her jacket or her small bag but wasn’t ready to leave them behind either. What if she got cold or needed lip gloss?

Chase opened the rear hatch and lifted a backpack out.

“Water and snacks,” he explained. “I have to take good care of you.”

“Oh, you have to?” She didn’t love the sound of that, but it might explain why he was so thoughtful. His close friend, billionaire Brandon, had paid or assigned him to take care of Lizzy these two weeks.

“Yes, ma’am. Do you want to carry those?” He pointed to the jacket fisted in her hand and the bag across her chest. “You can put them in here.”

“I don’t want to add too much weight.”

“Please don’t insult me.” He flashed her a confident smile. “I’ve carried a hundred pounds in gear while running and battling through enemy territory.”

“Wow. That is impressive, and forgive me for insulting you.”

“I was teasing.” He looked away. “But I shouldn’t brag. Please forgive me.”

Was he truly this humble?

“Brag away. You’re among friends.”

Chase chuckled at that, glancing at their two protectors who had stayed in the shadows all day and now were at their vehicle, grabbing backpacks as well. Chase zipped open the top of the backpack and took the jacket from her hand, then extended his hand for her purse.

“Thank you.”

Their hands brushed as she put her bag in his hand. A warm and unexpected tremor raced through her. It wasn’t unpleasant. Far from it.

Chase appealed to her. Was he for real? Did it matter how drawn she was to him if they didn’t have a future beyond these two weeks?

She scoffed in her own mind. A future? They hardly knew each other.

Strapping the backpack on, Chase gestured. “The trail starts over here.” He waited and Tony strode past them, not acting like he knew them. Peter stayed back.

They walked side by side through part of town and then started ascending a beautiful, slightly inclined trail through the mountains.

It was quiet and peaceful, just the two of them walking along the trail.

Their protectors stayed far enough away to give them privacy but close enough that they could address trouble if it arose.

She couldn’t imagine what trouble could be present in this beautiful spot of earth, especially with a man like Chase by her side and the monsters Grady Worthen and Darren Henderson on the other side of the globe.

Her mind was focused on Chase and how he treated her.

She wasn’t certain if she wanted to bring it up, but she recognized he had a lot of information about her.

From Madelyne’s research, she supposed. Yet would Madelyne know about her disability?

Could that information be online somewhere?

Lizzy had posted about supporting cerebral palsy, and her therapy through government organizations might be online.

Chase had trusted her last night, sharing about being raised in foster care. She wanted to trust him and also see what he knew about her disability.

It was terrifying to take the plunge and make herself vulnerable.

She glanced around, but their guards were far enough away that she could hardly hear their footsteps. They probably wouldn’t overhear a hushed conversation, and they probably had heard many things as bodyguards and were trained to keep things to themselves.

Could she trust Chase with something so sensitive to her and the source of a lot of embarrassment and sometimes belittlement through her life?

She doubted very much that Chase would belittle her or ever use the ‘R’ word, but it was still terrifying to make herself vulnerable, and she didn’t want to be less in his eyes.

Biting her lip, she was grateful they walked side by side so he wasn’t staring at her legs. She checked her Apple watch—only a mile and half into the hike and her legs were starting to tire.

Her legs usually held up longer than this, but she might be weak from their activity so far today, recovering from travel, the ‘jet lag’ she’d heard so much about, or the stress of wondering if Chase was as genuine as he seemed.

Could a man as appealing and strong as Chase be interested in her and not get annoyed when she revealed her weakness, slowed him down, or embarrassed him in public? She was slowing him down right now, and he didn’t seem to mind.

Her pulse quickened and her palms got sweaty.

Could she ward off a disastrous relationship and heartbreak in the future by speaking up right now?

How could she draw Chase out without humiliating herself?

She wanted an honest answer but didn’t know if she could trust her own intuition where well-built and handsome men were concerned.

Saying a prayer for insight and clear vision, she tried to think of how to phrase the question. She also prayed Chase was as genuine as he seemed. If he was hiding something from her, she didn’t know how she’d handle it.

She wanted to trust him.

Janie would say trust was an action word. That Lizzy had to find a way to open up and let Chase sink or swim.

Her hands trembled and her gut churned.

Please let Chase swim , she begged heaven above.

She was becoming more attached to him by the moment.