Her pulse began to race. She cupped her hands to her mouth. “Over here!”
“Stay where you are! I’m coming for you!” She heard the sound of twigs snapping as Charlie moved through the underbrush.
She spun in a circle. “I can hear you, but I can’t see you!”
“I’m coming! Keep talking!” His voice was closer.
“I thought you preferred solitude when you were out in nature,” she joked lamely.
“Not when one of my friends is lost.”
“Iwaslost, but you’ve found me.”
A beam of light flashed in her direction, temporarily blinding her. She averted her eyes. “Bright.”
Charlie jogged toward her. “Frankie!” He breathed heavily. “Thank goodness. You’ve had everyone so worried.”
He tossed the flashlight onto the ground and quickly unzipped his jacket. Draping it over her shoulders, he started running his hands over her arms.
“I’m sorry. I just had to get out of there. I wasn’t thinking. I was acting on instinct.” The tears returned. “Everyone is going to hate me. I ruined the evening.”
“Shh . . . it’s all right.” He hugged her tightly to his body. He was like a human furnace. His scent reminded her of a campfire. “You didn’t ruin anything. I pinkie promise.”
She pulled back. Her lips trembled. “Is my father all right?”
“He was in shock, but he’ll be fine with your friend Gemma and my nan. Try not to worry too much. All I want you to focus on right now is your own well-being.” Charlie wiped the corner of her eyes with his thumbs. “Give me the honest truth—how are you doing?”
“I’m an emotional mess and I’m barely holding it together.” Her voice cracked at the end of her sentence.
“Okay.” He rubbed comforting circles on her back. “Okay,” he repeated. She rested her head on his chest, listening to the rhythmic drum of his heart. “I’ll tell you what . . . How about we get you warmed up in front of a fire and make s’mores? You don’t have to talk about anything. Your only job would be to make sure that your marshmallow gets a nice golden-brown coating on the outside.”
She tensed up. “I don’t know if I can face everyone just yet.”
“You won’t have to. The firepit is away from the house. Making s’mores will buy us a little extra time for you to gather your composure. I’ll tell your dad that I’ve found you, so he won’t worry.” He cupped her cheeks and tilted her chin up. “I’m here to take care of you. If that means acting as your bodyguard, I’ll happily do it. I care about you, Frankie.”
Butterflies started to flutter in her stomach. As she gazed into Charlie’s intense eyes and perfectly lush rosy-red lips, she knew that she’d truly fallen for him.
* * *
“You’re staring at me,” Charlie said with a hint of amusement as he poked and prodded the embers and kindling in the firepit.
Frankie sat on a raised stone bench, a blanket draped over her shoulders. “I never realized you had so many outdoorsy skills. It took you about two seconds to start a fire. Where did you learn to do that?”
He laughed. “From my grandad. We used to go camping together every weekend. He made sure that Leslie and I learned the survival basics just in case we ever got stranded.”
“Besides building a fire, those would be . . .?”
“Knowing how to erect a temporary shelter, sourcing and purifying water, identifying edible plants, and basic first aid.”
“He sounds like a smart man.”
Charlie grinned. “He was.”
Her throat constricted. “Do you think he would approve of your grandma dating my dad?”
“I think so. Nan has been alone for a long time. He was the light of her life, but from how excited Nan is when she talks about Rich—er, your father—I think he’d give Les and me a good kick in the pants for not signing her up for a dating app sooner.”
“Dad’s been the same. I’ve never seen him happier.” She stared at the intense violet, orange, and yellow hues of the growing flames. “Before all the crap hit the fan earlier, I thought there was a chance he might tell me he was planning to propose to her.”
