Abandoned by All I Took It All Back novel Chapter 280

"Ms. Clifford, I made these this morning. I only have lemon and orange. Which would you prefer?"

Finch held the two bottles out to her. Wendy paused, then managed a small smile. "Either is fine."

She didn't want to refuse. Remembering her friends' words from the night before, she felt a little shy. "Then have the orange. I think it tastes better," Finch said, twisting off the cap and handing it to her.

"Thank you."

Their eyes met, and they both smiled. Wendy took a sip, letting the juice swish in her mouth to hide the grin spreading across her face.

After a few minutes of rest, Wendy looked up the path. The main group was a good distance ahead of them. Not wanting to be left behind, she stood up briskly and dusted off her pants. "Let's go. We need to catch up."

"Wait a second." Finch stopped her just as she was about to move. "Hmm? What's…" Before she could finish, he bent down, pointing to her right ankle. "You've scraped it. Does it hurt?"

"Huh?"

Confused, Wendy followed his gaze and saw that her ankle was bleeding slightly. She'd felt a dull ache there while climbing but had dismissed it as fatigue. It had been years since she'd gone hiking, and her feet weren't used to it.

"It's nothing, just a small scrape," she said, shrugging it off as she slung her backpack over her shoulder, ready to go.

"There. Try walking. Does it still hurt?" Finch's voice broke through her daze.

She looked down to see a cute, cartoon-patterned bandage on her ankle. Wendy composed herself, forcing a calm expression. "It doesn't hurt anymore. Thank you."

It was the first time her heart had felt so chaotic. Was this what it felt like to be flustered? To have a crush? It had been over a decade since she'd felt anything like this, not since ninth grade. She dug her nails into her palms, the faint sting helping to clear her head as she took a deep breath to shake off the odd feeling.

They quickly caught up with the main group, and Wendy slipped into a cluster of women, listening to them chat about various things. It was three hours later when they finally reached the summit. Everyone collapsed in exhaustion, sprawling on the ground without a care for appearances. Some lay flat on the grass. Wendy was hot, tired, and completely baffled by her boss's decision to organize this ordeal, especially since he hadn't even shown up himself.

After everyone had rested, rehydrated, and eaten, they prepared to go make a wish. The wishing spot at the summit was said to be miraculous for granting wishes. Suddenly, Wendy remembered that Nina had come here to make a wish right before she gave birth.