Page 83 of The Write Track
“Well, how about we play now, anticipate the day away, and then play again later?” I was feeling wolfish.
She pretended to think about it, but the gleam in her eye told me she was game. “Okay, but you’re going to have to be really good if you expect me to go without you the whole afternoon.”
I laughed. She always made me laugh. Then I caught her mouth in a searing kiss. “Challenge accepted,” I growled whenI pulled back far enough to stare into her eyes. “You’d better prepare yourself. This is going to be a rough ride.”
She didn’t look bothered at all.
22
TWENTY-TWO
One week into my fake relationship that had secretly turned real, I’d never been happier.
Nathan was a charming rogue. He was easygoing and didn’t get caught up in gender roles. If I wanted to be the one to anchor the tandem kayak—something we were now even better at than when we’d first gone out—he allowed me to steer. When I wanted to play the hulking serial killer during our nightly walks around the lake, he had no problem squealing and screaming like a proper final girl.
Things were absolute bliss.
Well, except for Preston. He was still hanging around but had been quiet for the entire week. I could regularly feel his eyes on me—knew he was still plotting—but I refused to engage with him. The third reader weekend passed without incident, thankfully, and the Monday after, Nathan suggested we take a break from the campground and head into town.
We still hadn’t told Bree, Brody, and Hayley that things were real between us. Bree obviously suspected. I couldn’t read Brody well enough to gauge his thoughts. Hayley kept her cards close to her vest, but sometimes, when she looked at Nathan in thatknowing way of hers, it became apparent she knew. Nobody brought it up. They would wait for Nathan to tackle the subject.
That didn’t stop Bree from harping on me as I threw a bag into the back of Nathan’s truck. We were leaving my car at the campground for this overnighter. Nathan had told them we were going home to do laundry and get some shopping in. He’d neglected to tell them that we were going to his home for the next thirty-six hours. He didn’t offer up any outright lies, though.
“So, you’re going to do laundry?” Bree followed me toward the truck’s passenger door.
I raised an eyebrow as I regarded her. “Why is that so hard to believe? I didn’t bring enough clothes for a month.”
“Maybe because I’m desperate to get out of here.” Bree lunged forward and grabbed the front of my shirt. “Take me with you.”
I pictured Nathan’s face if he arrived at his truck and found Bree sitting in the backseat.
“Can’t you bug your own fiancé to take you out of here?” I challenged, rather than answer that question directly.
“No.” Bree looked desperate. “He’s never been so happy in his life. He loves nature.”
“Well, I think he might miss you if I took you with us.” And I knew Nathan would have a meltdown. He’d whispered dirty nothings in my ear whenever passing behind me—which was way more often than normal—the previous day when we’d been interacting with the readers. He was ready for a break. Bree could not be part of that break.
“He won’t even know I’m gone. His greatest joy right now is writing at the tables near the lake.”
“Didn’t you tell me that you guys fell in love writing at outdoor tables?” I challenged.
“Near a pool.” Bree acted as if I’d said the most ridiculous thing in the world. “We were never more than fifteen minutes from a latte.”
“Technically, you aren’t now either,” I reminded her.
“A good latte.”
She was clearly spiraling, so I was happy to see Hayley wandering by. “Take her to town.” I pushed Bree toward her. “Get her a latte… and a doughnut.”
“Oh, a doughnut.” Bree mockingly clutched at her heart. “I would kill someone—preferably Preston—for a doughnut right now.”
I didn’t cringe at mention of Preston’s name for a change. He wasn’t an overbearing threat in my life now. He was like a shadow I had yet to shake.
“Get her out of here,” I instructed Hayley as Nathan approached, his laundry bag slung over his shoulder.
He looked suspicious as he took in the small crowd.
“She’s going to melt down if she doesn’t get some stale air in the city,” I told him.
