When It's Love by Bella Andre, Lucy Kevin

protests. “You would enjoy it.”
    Yes, she would. She'd always loved kayaking in the ocean.
    Rachel shook her head, forcefully clearing away that thought. That was the old her. She was older now, more mature. And a mother. Surely, she wouldn't enjoy the cold and wet and danger of being out on the ocean anymore.
    “Why can’t you just take the kayak out yourself?”
    “The concept of my show isn't about me taking solo adventures and showing off my outdoors skills. It's meant to be about ordinary people having extraordinary adventures. The TV executives have seen me on screen by myself plenty of times before, but more than anything with these test shots they need to see how the two-person plan will work.”
    Rachel didn’t know as much about how TV worked as Morgan or Hanna, but she knew enough to know that TV executives didn’t like to guess about anything. They liked a sure bet. Which meant Nicholas really did need a partner for these test shots in the kayak today.
    “Besides,” he added, “I’d like to get out on the water with you. I think you’d enjoy it. Or am I wrong?”
    Even though she was so incredibly tempted, Rachel made herself remind both of them, “I don’t do adventure. I’m an actuary. One with a young daughter who depends on me. What would happen to Charlotte if something were to happen to me?”
    But Rachel already knew the answer to that, all too well. After her own mother had died when she’d been a little older than Charlotte, their father expressed his grief by becoming so wrapped up in his work that Emily and Grams had pretty much finished raising the rest of them. And as a result of all the changes and the upset, Rachel had grown wilder and wilder with every year that passed, taking far more risks than other teenagers did. Until she'd finally ended up pregnant and dumped by the boy she'd wrongly assumed would stick by her through thick and thin.
    Rachel couldn't stand the thought of something like that happening to Charlotte, of her little girl being so lost in grief that she couldn't keep from acting out.
    “I would never want you to do anything that you feel is too risky,” Nicholas said in a gentle voice, meant only for her ears. “So if you really don’t want to do it, we'll pack up for the day and wait for Morgan to feel better. Whatever you decide, it will all work out.”
    He seemed so confident, so certain, as if it was obvious that everything would be fine even if they let the first day of filming slide. Yet, how could it be? Rachel knew what a film crew cost to hire and how much money they would lose by pushing back a day. Plus, if the crew told the executives that Nicholas had decided to blow off a whole day of shooting because Rachel didn’t want to take part—and that he hadn't even been able to persuade her to give it a go—what would the TV execs think? Would they trust Nicholas with his own show? Or would they end up deciding that he clearly wasn't up to the task of working with ordinary people like her?
    “Okay,” she said at last, “I’ll do it.”
    “Are you sure? Because I don't want you to feel pressured into doing anything that makes you feel at all unsafe.”
    He risked his own safety practically every day, but the very sweet concern in his voice was the final push she needed to reach for the wet suit. The smile he gave her as she got ready to go kayaking with him warmed her all over, head to toe.
    A few minutes later, he passed her a life preserver and strapped one on himself. “Just in case we do end up in the water. There’s a whistle and a GPS attached to it in the unlikely event we get swept away from the boat, and the film crew will be nearby the whole time to help us if there are any problems. We’ll also stay close to shore so that we can come back in at any time.”
    Rachel was impressed—and reassured—by this safety-conscious side to Nicholas. After they made their final preparations, they waited for the filming boat to go out first