“It’sperfect,” I say, running my hand over the pale green cover, which reads:A Hiker Girl’s Guide to Bugs & Berries. “I love it—thank you.”
“I think it should fit in your bag,” she says, smirking as she takes a sip of her margarita. “Barely.”
My phone vibrates on the table between us, an area code from FRESNO, CA flashing.
I pick up.
“Hello?” I say tentatively, praying it isn’t just some supersmart telemarketer.
“Sadie Whitlock? This is August Thorn from Summit Wilderness Expeditions,” a deep voice says on the other end of the call, confident but laid-back in a way that immediately puts me at ease.
“I’ll be one of your wilderness guides,” he goes on. “Just wanted to let you know of an itinerary change for tomorrow—we’re going to need to shift our start time later by two hours. Does that still work for you?”
A two-hour delay? I’ll either have to rearrange plans with my driver or hang out at the drop-off point, I guess. And what will I eat? Are therebathrooms on-site? Are theycleanbathrooms or, like, porta-potties? Is there a shady spot to sit while I wait? And why are we delaying the start time—is it something I should be worried about?
“Sure,” I say as breezily as possible, trying to match his calm vibe. “That’s totally fine! But”—I can’t help myself, I have to ask—“everything’s okay, though, right?”
“It will be,” he says. “My coleader’s flying in from Hawaii and her flight got delayed.”
“Great!” I say, a little too enthusiastically. “I mean, great that it isn’t worse. For the trek, I mean. I’m sure it’s not great for her.”
I was expecting something more likeWe have a surprise infestation of rattlesnakes that will take exactly two hours to clear up!, so a coleader stuck in Hawaii truly sounds like the better alternative.
“Yeah, it could be worse,” he agrees. “I’ll let you know if anything else changes—and I’m here if you have any other questions in the meantime, Sadie. Looking forward to tomorrow.”
When I hang up, Abby raises her eyebrows at me suggestively.
“Well,hesounds hot,” she says.
She’s not wrong.
I sip my rosé, downplaying my interest. “You think?”
“Ummmm, did you not hear him? I wasn’t even the one on the phone and his voice made me melt a little—so deep! So confident. I’d be sneaking into his tent forsure.” She licks a few crystals of salt from the rim of her margarita. “If I were you, anyway.”
It’s been three months since Caden broke up with me, long enough for the shock to wear off. I haven’t dated since—haven’t felt compelled to start anything with anyone else, knowing I’ll be across the country for half of June. It hadn’t even crossed my mind that I might meet someoneonthe expedition.
“There are probably rules about that,” I reply.
She smirks. “Wouldn’t that just make it more exciting?”
“Maybe for someone who enjoys breaking rules…”
Abby throws her head back, laughing. “Sadie. Just for two weeks, I think you should let go a little and not worry about doing everything perfectly. As long as it doesn’t get anyone fired—or start aliteralfire—I’m officially challenging you to not overthink things.”
The look on my face must look particularly insulted because she laughs again.
“How about this,” she says. “When you get back, we’ll have the most luxurious girls’ weekend ever here at the hotel—on me.”
“With massages?”
“We’ll gettwo-hourmassages,” she promises.
“And champagne? And chocolate?”
She sets her margarita down on the table. “Make it through the next two weeks, Sadie, and I’ll buy you all the champagne and chocolate you can handle.”
2SADIE
