A smile tugs on the corner of my lips. “You did a great job.”
“Phew.” She pretends to wipe sweat from her brow. “I guess I made up for the hotel situation?”
“There was nothing to make up for,” I say, my voice low but firm. “That was the hotel’s mistake, and they already made up for it. We can forget about it now that we’re here.”
Ihaveto forget about it. The last thing I need is to think about her sleeping feet away from me and how much her presence puts me at ease. Waking up next to her and her raspy, sleepy voice in the morning…
Dammit. I need to get a grip.
“I guess you’re right…” she says.
“I am. Life is too short to dwell on accidents. Look at where we are.” I gesture to the window and the line of fluffy evergreen trees. “Everything worked out, and it’s beautiful out there.”
Even though I’m exhausted from traveling, being out in nature is always enough to lift my spirits. The air is cleaner here, the people are friendly, and it’s quiet… so quiet.
I pick up our bags and bring them to our rooms—separate rooms with separate beds. No more arguing like we did last night.
“You know,” Evie says, standing in the doorway. “You seem surprisingly at home here, considering you live in the city.”
“Iamat home here—more than in the city.” I set her bags down near her bed. She argued with me about carrying them in,too, but it’s good she’s finally letting me help her with the little things. “You haven’t seen my place in San Diego, have you?”
She shakes her head.
“It’s in the middle of nowhere—as much as it can be without making my daily commute impossible.”
“Huh. I’ll take it you like being outside?”
“I do. If it weren’t for my work, I would run away to live in the mountains.”
“Working from homeisan option these days.”
“Not for me. They need me around for company morale.” I chuckle. “What about you? Do you have the same fondness for nature?”
“I don’t even know.” She shakes her head and peers through the large, wood-framed window. “I grew up in the suburbs, and neither of my parents liked camping. This is all new to me. You’ll have to show me everything.”
“I will.”
Even though Evie says it’s new to her, she looks like she belongs here—at least in my eyes. Something about how the morning sun peeks through the window and hits her eye, brightening what is already so vibrant, takes my breath away.
Her sweet smile does, too.
This is the second time in one day I’ve been alone in a bedroom with her, and I know her brother would kill me. There are a thousand other reasons I shouldn’t be here, even though it’s all so innocent, but that’s always at the top of the list.
Everett is a good friend, and he’s helped me get out of my shell. He doesn’t deserve this.
“I’m taking a nap,” I mumble, turning away. “We don’t start work until tomorrow, so feel free to relax. Head out to town. Do some shopping, or whatever you want to do.”
“All right. Have a good sleep.”
How can I get her off my mind long enough to nap?
I smile to myself, shaking my head. “I’ll sure try.”
EVIE
I have two options: catch up on sleep or find something to do. Unlike Theo, I had a bed the night before, but I can’t say I slept well. Knowing Theo was a few feet away from me, lying on the floor, kept me up all night.
It was more than guilt. I wish it were only the guilt from knowing he should have taken the bed, but electricity hummed through my body all night.
