Read Online The Heartbroker by Kate O'Keeffe - Free Book Online

my professional image in front of Logan but also for my own feelings of self-respect. A tandem ride might be a little less terrifying.
    And hey, if the rope fails and I plunge into the icy depths of the Kawarau River below, at least I’ll have company on the fall.
    Not wanting to risk talking in case my voice sounds like Minnie Mouse, I nod and force a smile.
    “Great!” I’m warmed by his enthusiasm—despite my anxiety.
    Once we’re helmeted up and strapped in, sitting side by side, Logan takes my hand once again, looks directly into my eyes, and smiles. I’m so diverted by him that we’re suddenly zipping through the air before I realise we’ve even launched, the trees whizzing past us below.
    It’s an exhilarating feeling as we rush through the cool air, me screaming my head off in what I’m sure must be a most unladylike manner. I really don’t care. This is fun !
    We reach the end of the ride with a jolt, which makes my stomach do a flip, and are then transported back to our launching pad in a much more serene fashion.
    As we climb out of our harnesses and remove our helmets, I know I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face if someone offered me a million bucks. I’m not sure whether it’s the zip ride, Logan, or a combination of the two, but I’m invincible right now.
    “Oh, my god! That was amazing!” The adrenaline surges around my body, keeping me on my high.
    Logan laughs. “It was, wasn’t it?”
    “Oh, let’s do it again!”
    “Maybe another time,” he replies, eyeing the growing queue of tourists and thrill- seekers waiting their turn.
    As we wander away from the platform, he wraps his arm around my shoulders, pulling me in towards him. I have enough presence of mind now to appreciate how it feels, but don’t even bother trying to resist it. I’m in too much of a euphoric state to care right now, and being close to him is oh-so good.
    “Hey, do you know what’s so amazing about this? You were scared out of your brain doing that, weren’t you?” It’s clearly a rhetorical question.
    I laugh out loud, remembering my very recent behaviour with a tinge of shame. “Oh, you noticed, did you?”
    “Um, yeah. Kinda. But you did it anyway, Brooke. I’m impressed.”
    “Thanks.” I’m pretty darn rapt with myself too.
    “So, do you think you’re up for a bungy jump now?” Hope flashes in his eyes.
    I look up at the bridge above us as someone takes the leap off the edge, bungy cord strapped to his ankles.
    I don’t know whether it was the zip ride euphoria, the desire to impress Logan, or simply Logan himself, but before I know what I’m doing I’m strapped onto a bungy cord, standing at the edge of the bridge, high above the river, preparing to jump.
    Continuing the theme of the day, Logan suggests a tandem bungy, and, if you’ll excuse the weak pun, I leap at the idea. We’re standing side by side, our arms wrapped around one another, as the instructor asks if we’re ready.
    “Hell, yes!” I exclaim, as we dart one another a quick look.
    We take the leap together. As we go sailing through the air, I scream at the top of my lungs once again. The free fall is frightening, exhilarating and incredible all at the same time, and it goes by too fast as the bungy kicks in a mere handful of centimetres above the river’s surface and we’re bounced back up like fish on the end of a line.
    We’re both still buzzing from the jump as we shakily step out of the boat we were lowered into.
    “I take my hat off to you, Brooke Mortimer,” Logan says as we stand on the shoreline, looking up at the bridge we’ve just hurled ourselves off. “If I had a hat to take off right now, that is. Does a helmet count?”
    I can’t quite believe I’ve done it. I’ve been scared of heights since I was a little girl, finding even the jungle gym at school a challenge. I used to watch other girls my age climb fearlessly up it and dangle upside down from their knees. I pretended I preferred the swings and