Page 60 of Camp Bliss
“Are those Costco enchiladas?”
Now I have to look up. It would be rude not to. Zach is standing on the edge of the kitchen in jeans and an REI T-shirt with a towel looped behind his neck. The copper of his hair is darkened to rust, still wet from his shower. His shaggy mane splays in all directions, as though he’s scrubbed it with the towel.
Zach’s grin glints with excitement. He looks a bit like a Golden Retriever who’s just found his favorite swimming hole.
But with his coloring, he’d be more of an Irish Setter.
I bite down on my smile. “Grande Chicken Enchiladas, it is.”
“Oh, hell yes,” he mutters, picking up each end of the towel and scrubbing his hair exactly the way you’d dry off a big dog. He freezes, gaze zeroing in on me. “You making guac?”
And now I do smile. “Yep.”
He doesn’t blink. “Enough to share?”
I huff a laugh and gesture to the full bowl of mashed avocado. “I can’t eat all of this.”
Zach shrugs. “Well, I could. And I didn’t want to assume…”
I clear my throat. “Funny, because I didn’t want to assume you’d feel like joining me.”
His brow pinches. “Why not?”
Do I just come out and say it?
What the hell. It’s not like he doesn’t already feel sorry for me.
“I don’t want you to feel obligated to have dinner with me.”
“Obligated?”He recoils like I’ve offered him a slug slider. That frown of his etches deeper.
“You know—” I shrug. “Because I’m a sad sack.”
Zach snorts like I’ve made a joke. “No, you’re not. Besides…” He turns back toward the bathroom, working the towel over his mane again. “I like your company.”
Stunned, I stare at his retreating back.
Did he just say that helikes my company?
Since when?
“After I hang up my towel, I’ll make margaritas,” he says over his shoulder.
“O-Okay,” I stammer, glad that his back is to me. I grab the blender from the island cabinet, hoping the margaritas he’s planning on making are the frozen kind.
Because my face is suddenly hot.
ChapterEleven
ZACH
This isn’t a big deal.
We’ve just polished off the enchiladas, cleaned up the lodge kitchen, and come back to the RV for our first night as roommates.
I can do this.
It’s no different than when she lived down the hall in their rent house.
