“And you don’t miss it?”

“America? Nah. We’ve got a McDonald’s in Cusco’s town square. Good enough for me.” He winked at me.

He had to be joking. “McDonald’s is all you miss?”

“Doesn’t everyone? It’s the epitome of America, right?”

I scrunched up my nose. “I don’t know about that. After the truth about the pink slime came out…” I teased him.

“Pink slime?” He asked.

He didn’t know about the pink slime? It had been all over the news, but if his village was this remote, he probably wasn’t that in touch with the rest of the world. “It’s this meat-like substance they use in their burgers. It’s basically dog food.”

He stopped walking for a second. “I ate there last night.”

I shrugged. “Maybe they use real meat here. But yeah, in America, it’s pretty disturbing. I wouldn’t touch the stuff. And that’s what you miss?”

“Not anymore.” He shook his head as he walked. “You’ve ruined it.”

I grinned at him to lighten the blow. “Sorry.”

“You should be. I used to sit up here and dream of their burgers.” He sighed, wistfully.

“Now, Whataburger. Those are something you can dream about.”

“Whataburger?”

“Haven’t you ever visited the pack in Texas?”

“Eh. It’s been a while.”

“It’s been around for decades.” Oh my God. How old was he?

“Yeah,” he said slowly. “It’s been a really long while.”

Oh man. I was really losing it. There were so many reasons he was off limits, and age just added to the list. If only he didn’t look like he belonged on a Calvin Klein billboard.

“Almost to the top,” he said, and I was grateful for the change in subject. “See that tree up there with that big branch on the right that arches down?”

I tried to follow where he was pointing, and saw a massive tree. The bottom right branch arced down, and from here it looked like it almost touched the ground. “Sure.”

“There’s a really good look-out point there. You should be able to see the surrounding valleys. There are a few villages we could check out, or maybe you can find an old ruin or two.”

I took his word for it on the look-out spot. There didn’t even seem to be a break in the forest. I stepped forward to look closer and almost ate it. Lucas caught me just before my face planted into the ground. My breath caught as he held me.

The way he looked at me, with his aura shining down, I sensed that he wanted to say something important. The feeling was slight. If I hadn’t been able to feel his aura, then I might not have noticed the yearning in his eyes. But I did notice it.

And it took my breath away.

He gently set me on my feet in front of him. “You okay?”

I brushed myself off as I tried to pretend that nothing had happened. That I hadn’t seen the desire for something more in his eyes. But my hands were shaking. “Yeah. Fine. Sorry.”