But out in the woods, the fresh air and elements…I didn’t overanalyze it like I would’ve back in town. I just let it flow without questioning it. She ran her tongue over her bottom lip and played with the hem of her shirt, her cheeks bright pink and her eyes wide. A rush ofpossessivenesswent through me, the urge to block out all the bad shit in her life stronger than I’d realized. Strange that only months ago, I couldn’t stand the sight of her. Not the sight—because she was always pretty—but what she stood for. I was so damn wrong.
She shifted her weight on the log and caught me staring at her. “What? Do I look weird? Does this outfit not work? I researched camping gear and chose accordingly.”
“You look beautiful.”
She grinned and bit down on her bottom lip, and it was like all the tension in her body disappeared. “Have you always been such a charmer, Fritz? I bet you were. Were you a sports guy in high school or the class president?”
“Ah, wrong on both accounts. I was the overly obnoxious newspaper kid who got along with everyone.”
“You were homecoming king though, weren’t you?” she asked, her eyes twinkling with mischief. “You’re way too charismatic for your own good. The Carters must adore you.”
“They do,” I said, thankful my tone came off natural. Light. “They really do.”
She laughed and raised her arms over her head. “So this is your thing. Camping. Outside. Without power or air conditioning. Why do you like it so much?”
“I imagine the same reasons you like your greenhouse and plants. It’s relaxing. I disconnect from life and just…exist.” I got the tent out of the back of the truck and took out the poles after laying down the tarp. I’d gone through it so many times, I knew what piles to sort them into to make it seamless. My muscles stretched as I bent, and I pushed the sleeves of my Henley up. Sweat formed on my brow, but with the sun setting soon, the temperature would drop soon.
“This part isn’t bad.” Nora wiggled her brows at me and brought her knees up to her chest. She rested her chin on her hands and grinned so wide I could see every one of her teeth. “If camping is watching you bend over and show off those meaty forearms, then I like it.”
“You tease.” I narrowed my eyes at her for a moment before pointing at her. “Come here.”
“What? Why? I’m perfectly content on this log here.”
“You’re doing this.” I spoke more directly. “Get your cute pink-haired ass over here. You’re no princess here. It’s us versus the wild.”
She didn’t move, and I took a step toward her, making her bolt up. She eyed the tent and scrunched her nose. “I just…what? Connect the sticks?”
“The poles, yes. You connect them and place them into the right holes.”
“That sounds sexual,” she said, elbowing me before approaching half the tent I had pitched. She bent and yanked on one of the poles, making it snap. She yelped and jumped back like a bear charged at us. “Ugh.”
“Try again or we’re sleeping outside. I’ve done it before. Right under the stars with bugs and bears having free rein to eat us.”
“Shut up,” she said, setting her face into determination before she bent again.
“Ah, I see what you mean about enjoying the view. I’m liking this so far. Could you remove your shirt and keep going?”
“Fritz…Fritz,” she said, her tone changing. “I’m sleeping with you, and I don’t know your last name. How is that possible?”
My ears burned like I’d roasted my head over the campfire. “Must not have come up.”
“Well, Fritz,what?” she asked, her lips already curving into a smile, like my answer was simple and easy.
Panic.
Nothing.
No words, sounds, thoughts entered my mind. Justnothing.
“Unless,” she said, her voice going all low.
That deep timbre sent a DEFCON 1 warning inside me, autofilling that sentence with worst-case scenarios.
Unless you’ve been lying this whole time.
Unless you’re an asshole.
Unless you’re a Carter, and you’ve been pretending to be someone else the entire time.
