“I don’t think you’d understand.” His fingers were white on the steering wheel.
Liz’s mouth dropped open. “Why? Because I’m not rich?”
He frowned. “No. Because you’ve always done your own thing. You’re one of the most independent women I know. Or at least, I knew.”
They’d never uttered two words to each other before this. “How would you know that?”
“Snow, how many girls wore bright red lipstick in high school but never put out?”
She sputtered. “How would you know if I ever put out?” She couldn’t believe he was being so forward. Not to mention that what a total ass to assume that girls who wear loud makeup put out.
He chuckled. “Locker room talk. You were the one everyone wanted but no one scored.”
“Me? No way.” She wasn’t sure how she felt about this. Her insides were in turmoil. Her entire perception of her high school self was turned upside down. She’d been a nerd. A nobody.
“Yeah. You. Seriously. No other girl was as smart as you. Don’t deny that. You oozed confidence. Add to that your fearlessness when it came to gross dissections in bio and your way with cars, and you were the most desirable girl on campus. Trust me.”
She blushed. She’d never known that. She’d heard rumors her name Snow had changed from Snow White to Snow Queen because she turned down a couple of dates, but she’d never seen herself as anything but average. Plus, to hear these words coming out of Adam Winslow’s mouth was a little surreal. After a few moments of silence on her part, Adam jumped in again.
“How’d you meet Tanner?”
“I’m done talking about me. I want to know why your engagement broke off.” If he could be forward with her, she could be with him.
He kept his eyes on the road, his hands gripping the wheel tightly, and she watched the waves.
“Kelly and I met because of our fathers. They want to join the families. Don’t get me wrong, she’s beautiful, sweet, and incredible in bed, but I don’t love her. Not by a long shot. I sat at dinner with her one night, and I couldn’t see the future I would have with her. Maybe it would have been good, but maybe not. We hardly knew each other, and didn’t have the desire to get to know one another either, I guess. I broke it off that night.”
“Was she upset?” She’d be devastated if Tanner suddenly broke things off with them.
“Not really. I think she felt the same way.”
“And your father?”
Adam let out breath. “I haven’t told him yet.”
Adam Winslow had a bit of drama in his pampered life.
“Why?” Liz folded one of her legs under the other. What twenty-eight year-old was scared to tell his father anything?
“Because he’ll be upset. I’m sure he knows. Contrary to what the glitz and glamour suggest, Vegas is a tiny neighborhood where everyone knows everyone else’s business. Especially at our place on the social ladder. But I broke it off with Kelly on Wednesday, and I headed straight for the coast to meet up with my buddies for our annual get together. Then I ran into you, and now I don’t have to go home for a while.”
“So you’re on this trip so you don’t have to face your dad?”
“Yeah, pretty much. I knew it would be hard for you to understand. I bet you never hide from your consequences.”
He made it seem like such a big deal. How hard was it to own up to your own mistakes? “I don’t hide from anything.”
“It’s more than running away from him, though. I need to think. This is a good excuse. A month on the road away from everything that is my life. I need to reboot. Plus, camping. My ten-year-old self is ecstatic.”
Liz shook her head at him. “You are a twenty-eight-year-old man. You should not be running from your dad.”
“Hey, Snow.”
“Yeah?” There was that stupid nickname again.
“See that?” Adam pointed to an old VW bug on the other side of the road.
“Sure. 1966 Beetle.”
He gave her a look that spoke of mischief, and Liz was sure she was being introduced to that ten-year-old boy. Then he punched her hard in the shoulder. “Slug bug.”
“Oh, you don’t want to start that. I can spot those from miles away. I have a homing beacon.” She laughed.
“And it sounds like you know the year too. How can you tell?”
“Hubcaps.”
“I’ll take your word for it. But we are definitely playing the roadtrip games. I read up on all of them as I was waiting for the guy to write up the paperwork for this beauty.” He tapped the steering wheel. “Slug bug is mandatory.”
Liz used the button on the side to slowly move her seat back so she had a better view of the ocean over Adam’s shoulder. There had been an internal battle since she said yes to having Adam come along. Adding anyone to a trip created complications, whether you’d known them since birth, or you just met.
But as Adam scoured the highway, intent on spotting the next Beetle, Liz was pretty certain she’d made the right decision.
Chapter 4
They arrived at the campground around four. The drive was beautiful and Snow was excellent company. She both talked and listened, and she was funnier than Adam expected and completely open about her life.
He felt his anxiety waning. Snow expected nothing from him. Just camping, driving, and relaxing. Also, since she was basically engaged, there was no fear of their relationship turning into something more than roadtrip buddies or good friends.
Adam might not have always been the perfect gentleman, but getting involved with someone who was already spoken for would never happen, even if he had been in love with her in high school. At some point he’d find the right woman, but for now he’d just figure out the rest of his life before he went home.
They pulled up to their campsite, which was on the beach. The waves lapped quietly on the shore and there weren’t any houses for miles.
“This is amazing. How’d you score this?”
“I booked the site almost a year ago. Come on. Let’s get the tent set up with our sleeping bags, and then we’ll make dinner.” Hot dogs. Marshmallows. Food was half the point of camping. They walked out to the campsite and she studied the ground.
“With a campfire?” he asked, not bothering to hide his excitement.
“Definitely.” She left him standing by the picnic table.
He took in a deep breath of sand and ocean and freedom. The sun was still hovering above the horizon, its reflection sparkling in the water’s depths. He’d looked at an ocean many times before—his life was not short of vacations—but for some reason this view felt different. Perhaps it was because the campground was mostly deserted, and there weren’t any high rises in view. There was no staff ready to grab your next drink and no music playing from the DJ. Not that there was anything wrong with those types of vacations. He’d only ever done vacation in complete luxury.
Adam heard a grunt and turned to face the noise. Snow was hauling the tent out of the Range Rover.
He rushed to her side. “You don’t have to do that. Sorry, I got distracted by the view.”
She waved him away. “Don’t be ridiculous. Go. Enjoy the view. I got this.”
“But I want to help. I’ve never set up a tent before.”
Her eyes crinkled when she smiled at him. “It’s not that hard.”
“Then teach me please. If I find myself in this situation again, and I still don’t know how to put up a tent, I’ll be incredibly embarrassed.”
She dumped the tent out of the bag and handed him the poles. “Put those together while I decide which direction to set up the tent.”
“Okay, sounds good.” Putting the poles together was easy. By time he was finished, Snow was hammering stakes into the ground.
“I hope these hold. It’s all sand.” She showed him how to slide the poles through the loops, and together they pulled the tent up. He felt strangely accomplished, yet it was easier than he expected.
But the tent was
a lot smaller than he thought it would be. He walked around it and tried to eyeball the size.
“I don’t think both of our air mattresses will fit.”
She creased her eyebrows. “Why not? Mine is twin.” She paused and her eyes got big. “Don’t tell me you got a king.”
He grimaced. “Maybe I did. I needed something big enough for Nona and I.” A double might’ve worked, but where’s the comfort in that?
Snow let out a breath and looked at Nona running up and down the beach. “A king would be big enough for all three of us.”
“Well, that’s one problem solved, then.” He went around to the truck and tugged out his brand-new, self-inflating, double king air mattress. This was the first time he’d been camping, but there was no way he would sleep on the ground.
“You think you can handle blowing that up on your own? I want to run to the bathroom,” Snow said.
“Sure.”
He put the air mattress in the tent and turned it on. It didn’t take long, but the thing filled the whole tent. In fact, it pushed on the sidewalls with no room for anything else. He climbed inside to test it. No rocks dug into his back, so he’d sleep fine.
Adam heard Snow approach and then her head popped through the door. She chuckled. “Well, at least we’ll be comfortable. Come on, let’s get the sleeping bags so when it’s dark, and we’re tired, we won’t have to worry about getting things set up.”
The bed was indeed big enough for the three of them. She laughed at his double sleeping bag and met Adam’s eyes. He’d been staring at her. Unashamedly. She was a gorgeous sight to behold. He certainly liked looking at her more than he ever did Kelly or any of the other girls he knew in Vegas.
She dropped her gaze and looked toward the ocean. “So maybe one of us can stay here and start the fire and the other can go get food.”
He handed her the keys. “I want to make the fire.” He didn’t know what that would entail. It’s not like he’d ever been in Boy Scouts. But a quick Google search should give him a YouTube video or something he could follow.
Plus, what was a camping experience without creating a fire?
“Okay. You should be able to buy wood from the camp host. There are matches and fire starters in the bucket.”
He saluted her. “You got it, boss.”
It took Adam a lot longer than it should have for him to find the camp host because he couldn’t stop looking at the ocean, the beach, and the few tents scattered about. After a short conversation with the wood guy, Adam bought two big bundles and set one inside the fire pit. He dug out the matches, lit one, and threw it on top. It fizzled out.
Huh.
He tried another and then another. Okay, he would accept that he needed help. Though he was determined to have it started by the time Snow returned.
Google it was.
He took his phone out and Nona started barking.
He glanced up and found an old man walking a lab. “You okay there, sonny?”
Adam glanced at his phone. Google or the old man? Might as well throw aside his pride. “I can’t seem to get the fire going.”
“Can I help?”
“Be my guest.”
“Will your dog be okay with Petunia here?” The old man gestured to his lab.
“Oh, yeah. She likes other dogs. Nona hush.”
Nona stopped barking and dropped her head and whined. The old man let Petunia run over to Nona, and they started the sniffing dance all dogs do when they meet each other.
“You ever started a campfire before?” The old man knelt down next to Adam and looked him in the eye.
Adam chuckled. “Is it that obvious?”
“It’s your lucky day. Old Gus is here to help you.”
Gus pulled out a pocket knife and sliced through the rope that bound the logs together. Then he carefully took most of the logs out of the fire pit and set them on the ground. He put one big log in the middle and positioned several smaller ones upright so they formed a teepee shape.
“Do you have anything to start the fire with? You need more than a few matches.”
“Snow said something about fire starters.” Adam opened the tub and found a box labeled “Fire starters.”
“Oh, these are fancy. I still use newspaper, but this will work.”
He set a fire starter in the middle of the teepee, and within a few seconds, everything in the pit was ablaze.
“That was amazing. You were such a big help. Thank you.”
“I hope you learned something so you can impress that girl of yours next time.” Gus winked. “Add the logs one at a time until you get the size of fire you want.”
“I will. She’ll never know I needed help.” He returned the wink.
Nona barked, and Adam jumped. Petunia ran after Nona, then they changed direction and Petunia chased Nona.
“The dogs like each other,” Adam said.
“That they do. I don’t think Petunia is ready to continue her walk,” Gus mused. “Say, how would you and your friend like to join my wife and I for a game of Hearts after dinner?”
Adam was taken aback by the forwardness of the offer, but maybe that’s what camping people did. Hearts though? When was the last time he’d played that? Adam was more of a poker or blackjack kind of guy. Vegas roots and all that.
Hearts sounded incredible.
“Sure.”
“How about eight? Bring Nona so she and Petunia can play. We are at site 108 just down the beach.”
“We’ll be there.”
Gus whistled for Petunia, and she came running. Nona followed and whined as they walked away.
“Don’t you worry, girl. We’ll see her again tonight.”
By the time Snow returned, he had a roaring fire going.
She appraised it appreciatively. “I thought for sure I’d show up and there would be no fire and the box of matches would be gone.”
Adam pretended to be offended, though no doubt it would have eventually come out even if Gus hadn’t helped him. “I’m insulted. What’s for dinner?”
“I thought since this is your first campfire, we’d roast hot dogs. We can do something better tomorrow night, but for camping, this is a must.”
Hot dogs? He probably hadn’t had a hot dog since he was a kid.
His ten-year-old self clapped incessantly as he envisioned roasting his first ever hot dog on an open campfire. He’d been looking forward to this since he first realized he was going on this trip.
Chapter 5
Adam disappeared around the back of the Range Rover. Liz was surprised by how simple things were with him. Not uncomfortable at all. He was easy to talk to and fun to be around. Not stuffy like he’d been when they were in high school. He’d never looked her way back then, only hung out with the other rich kids, which was basically everyone except her.
Adam came back holding two brand-new hot dog roasters. “Told you I brought everything.”
“We could’ve found sticks,” Liz said. She wasn’t sure if she’d get used to his frivolous spending. Camping was supposed to be simple.
“But now we don’t have to.”
She had to remind herself that this was Adam’s vacation too. Obviously, Liz had envisioned this trip a certain way. With Tanner cancelling and her car going on the fritz, it was already very different. She’d be adamant about doing some things how she planned, but when it came to something as small as whether to roast a hot dog on a stick, or a fancy REI contraption, she’d let Adam make the decision.
He managed to cook his first hot dog without an issue. He took the first bite, his eyes closed. Then he let out a quiet, “Mmm, that is good.” His eyes opened, and he looked across the crackling flames. “Why is that so much better than a hot dog from a stand?”
Liz smiled and shrugged. “Probably something to do with playing with fire.”
Adam glanced around. “And the location.”
“That too.”
Adam grabbed another hot dog and pierced it with the roaster.
“I don’t think I properly thanked you for letting me come along.”
“Well, there would be no trip without you. So I owe you a thanks.” Liz took a swig of her beer. When she went to remove her hot dog from the flames, she laughed and pointed. “Your dog is on fire.”
“Oh no!” Adam jerked the stick back and the hot dog fell right into the fire. He speared it and frowned at it. After letting it cool, he brushed it off and then called Nona over, who ate it in one bite.
Liz placed another hot dog on the fork. “Don’t be shy about shoving it all the way on there.” She pierced that sucker straight through. “That won’t fall off.”
“Got it.”
“I just can’t get over how good this is,” he said between bites. “I’ve never had a hot dog like this.”
Liz nodded. “I know.” She slathered ketchup and mustard on her dog and joined Adam back at the fire.
“Hey Snow, your phone’s ringing.”
She wished he’d stop calling her Snow. Especially now that she knew what was said about her in the locker room.
Liz retrieved her phone and glanced at the screen. Tanner. A swell of emotions mixed in her stomach. Sadness, frustration, a longing to see him. “It’s Tanner. You okay with the fire?”
“Yep. Are you going to tell him about me?”
She ignored the slice of guilt. She shouldn't feel guilty. Her eyes met Adam’s as she pressed the answer button. “Yeah, of course.”
He shrugged and threaded another hot dog on the fork.
“Hi Tanner,” she said when his face appeared on her screen, his blonde hair falling into his eyes.
His bright green eyes lit up. “Hey, beautiful, how’s your trip?”
“Good, I’m outside of L.A.” She moved around to the backside of the tent so Adam couldn’t eavesdrop on her call. Tanner nodded, and barefoot children played behind him.
“You have the train trip tomorrow, right?” he asked.
“Yeah. I'm excited for that.” She wished he was here with her. Sure Adam was fun, but she and Tanner had planned quite a bit of this together.
Roadtrips and Romance (Omega Mu Alpha Brothers Book 5) Page 3
