River had flown before, and she’d even been in a helicopter. But nothing had prepared her for the reality of flying to Mount Veil.

The heavy whip of the rotor blades above her head drowned out everything but the rapid beating of her heart. Below her feet, the flat, sparsely vegetated tundra gave way to huge slabs of rock thrusting into the sky, peaks speckled white with snow despite the summer warmth. In the distance, growing closer by the second, was a mountain rising higher than the rest. A beautiful behemoth of ice and snow, darkened below the tree line with thick evergreen cover.

River had never seen anything so exciting—and so frightening—in her life.

“That’s Mount Veil,” Easton informed them, speaking louder to be heard over the rotor blades as they approached.

That was her film. That was what she would climb. Without thinking, River reached over and gripped Easton’s hand. She couldn’t remember the last time she had wanted to do something as much as she wanted to climb the mountain before them. The challenge was intense, and that was what she loved about it.

“You ready?” He gave her fingers a light squeeze.

“So ready,” River replied.

The helicopter was strong, but it wasn’t big enough to carry all of them and their gear. This first trip was River, her team, and Easton, and then Ben and the supplies would follow. So far, the flight out had consisted of listening to Bree and Jessie argue about light reflection in the aircraft’s windows while River stared in wonder through the lens of her own eyes.

Wedged in between River and the door, Easton didn’t look very comfortable. Every so often, she would glance over at him, and more than once, his eyes had been on her instead of looking at the insane view around them.

Maybe he was used to this place, but still…she couldn’t help her racing heartbeat from being the center of his attention.

“You might want to look out the window,” Easton suggested. “You’ll be too tired to care about a pretty view when we’re on the way back home.”

“Some views are better than others,” River said teasingly. Because, well, she’d been doing some looking too.

Instead of flushing or turning away, he held her eyes. Overly aware of the pressure of his hip against her own and her hand still gripping his, River inhaled a deep breath. The motion caused his gaze to flicker down, and she snickered at the expression on his face when Easton realized he was totally busted checking her out.

“You’re determined to get me in trouble out here, aren’t you?” he murmured ruefully.

River released his hand. “Hey, what happens on the mountain stays on the mountain.”