He nodded. “No prob.”
She walked through the coffee shop and out the front door, contemplating how to tell Tanner about Adam. Because she had to. No matter how frustrated she was with their conversation last night, or lack thereof, he deserved an explanation from her. Better from her than some sort of social media outlet. After taking a few deep breaths, she put on her best smile, reminding herself that she was excited to talk to him. “I’m so glad you called”
The frown on his face made it look like the Big Bad Wolf blew his house down.
“Hi, Liz.”
Uh oh. Liz, not babe.
“What’s wrong?”
He sighed. “I’m just going to come out and ask. What are you doing with Adam Winslow?”
Her immediate reaction was to answer the same way she did to Jenny. But Liz wasn’t guilty of anything. There was nothing to hide.
“He’s all over your Facebook page, so I guess I should say ‘thanks’ for not even trying to hide it.”
“It’s not what it looks like.” She forced a laugh. “You actually won’t believe the last couple days I’ve had.”
“I bet.” The anger in his voice put fire in her veins.
“Look Tanner, my car broke down. I wouldn’t have been able to go on this trip if it wasn’t for him. He offered me a ride. That’s all.” She wanted to tell him that if he would have joined her on this trip, they wouldn’t have needed to have this conversation.
“Okay, so if he offered you a ride, why were you on the train with him? Looking like a—hang on, let me read the comment.” He messed with something on his laptop. “‘An adorable couple.’ Or, ‘Heard you were getting married. She’s gorgeous.”
Liz closed her eyes. This was far worse than she imagined. She should’ve just told Tanner in the first place.
“Obviously, we’re not getting married, since I’m marrying you. He broke off his engagement recently. Everyone must not know yet.” Or know what his ex-fiancée looked like for that matter. “My engine died. There was literally no way I would be able to go on this trip.”
“You’re a mechanic. Why didn’t you just fix it?”
“Because that takes time and money, Tanner! And every last cent I had saved was invested in this trip. Plus, the sites were booked months in advance. If I took a week or two to fix my engine, all my sites would be gone.”
He went silent, which was a slight relief. At least she’d be able to explain further. “I ran into Adam in San Diego. He found me bawling on the beach.” Something she was about to do again if she didn’t calm down. She took a deep, shaky breath. “We went to high school together, and after he heard my whole story, he wanted to help. He’s never been camping before, so he offered to be my ride up the coast.”
Tanner creased his eyebrows. “So are you like sharing a tent and everything?”
“Yeah. But only because I booked the sites, and they only allow one tent. We’re just friends. Not even that.”
The phone dropped a little as Tanner’s whole body sunk. The silence stretched on forever. Liz moved aside to let a group pass behind her. She leaned against the building.
“Tanner?” Liz asked.
“How can I marry you if I can’t trust you?” His voice was low and angry.
“How can you say that? I haven’t done anything.”
“You didn’t think to tell me?”
Liz clenched her jaw, trying to calm herself down. She wasn’t the bad guy here. Or at least, not the only one.
“I tried to last night, but you didn’t have time to talk.”
“We talked. I’m sorry if work is busy, but we’re building houses so people have somewhere to live, Liz.”
She was fuming too much to feel guilty about her selfishness. “I’m pretty sure you spent more time talking to whoever is with you there—whom I don’t question you about, by the way—than talking with me. And when we did ‘talk,’ you told me everything about the sealing around the windows to the flooring that wasn’t going to come in on time and didn’t ask me, at all, about my vacation. So when was I supposed to tell you?”
His eyes narrowed. “I didn’t think you were the kind of girl to jump into some rich boy’s arms the second you got into trouble.”
What a jerk. “It’s not like that. I’m sorry you’re feeling hurt right now, but I’ve been looking forward to this trip practically my whole life. You know how much this trip means to me. Adam was my only way to get it. There’s nothing going on between us, and you have to trust me. If you don’t, then maybe you shouldn’t have abandoned me.”
There she said it. Until the words were out, she didn’t realize how true they rang. She felt abandoned. He should’ve been the one to rescue her on the beach.
Not Adam.
Tanner’s eyes softened, and he slid to the front of his chair. He clung to his computer like it was Liz trying to pull away. “Babe. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I saw that picture of you looking so happy, but it wasn’t with me. It was with another guy. And I didn’t understand because, you’re right, I didn’t ask you about your trip.”
Liz let him keep talking because the tears in her throat wouldn’t let her speak anyway.
“I’m glad we talked about this though, right?” Tanner asked.
Liz nodded.
“I trust you, Liz. Of course I do. And I’m sorry.”
“Thanks,” Liz managed, and once she was able to get that word out, she continued, “And I’m sorry too. I should have told you myself, not had you find out via Facebook. Let’s just both promise to make a conscious effort to be open and actually listen when we talk to each other.”
Tanner smiled. “Deal. I really am looking forward to coming home and marrying you. I love you, so much.”
Liz wiped a stray tear from her cheek, feeling a bit lighter now that everything was out, and forgiven. “I love you too. And I can’t wait either.”
She let out a deep breath, grateful he understood. She knew that would be hard for him, but she couldn’t lose this trip. This was the last fun she would have for a long time. After this it would be about work, marriage, maybe even kids.
“I promise I’ll be more up front with you. Adam is going to be on this trip with me, but nothing is going to happen because I love you.”
Tanner continued to give her that smile, but his eyes were still sad. Maybe all wasn’t forgiven. They were merely pretending it was. Though with him half a world away, it was difficult to resolve anything more than they did.
Voices rose up from behind Tanner, and he turned away from the phone. After a few seconds, he faced her again. “I have to go. They need me at the site.”
“Okay. I’ll talk to you tonight and tell you about my train ride.”
“I look forward to it. Talk to you tonight. Love you, babe.”
“Good luck. Love you too.”
Liz went back into the coffee shop and found Adam messing around on his phone. She knew the phone wasn’t the root of her argument, but it was the catalyst. She slid into her seat and jerked the phone away from him.
“Hey, what are you doing?” He laughed, but when he met her eyes, he quickly turned serious. “What’s wrong?”
“You posted those pictures on Facebook. And tagged me.”
He creased eyebrows together. “Of course I posted them on Facebook. You said I could.”
“I said we could be friends on Facebook, not to tag me so my boyfriend would know everything we were doing. Together.”
“But you said—”
Liz pushed her hair off her face. “I know what I said. I messed up. Tanner didn’t know about us being travel buddies until, well, probably ten minutes ago.”
“Oh shit. I’m so sorry.”
For the first time since this blew up, Liz felt guilty. She shouldn’t take her frustration out on Adam. He was the only reason they were sitting at this beautiful café at the end of the most gorgeous train ride.
“Stop.” She raised a hand to silence him. “I’m taking everyt
hing I said back.” She placed the phone into his hand. This was not his fault. “Let’s start over.”
“Okay.” He strung the word out.
“Due to the argument we had last night, I never got the chance to tell Tanner about you. He saw the pictures and was understandably upset. You did nothing wrong.”
“I can take the pictures down if you like.”
She let out a sigh. “No, it’s okay. He knows now. We talked it through and have forgiven each other.”
“On a scale of one to ten how angry is he?” Adam asked with concern.
Liz sucked air through her teeth. “I kind of laid into him about abandoning me on this trip. Since we both had reasons to be mad, I think we’ve now each got a clean slate.” Liz grabbed the phone back from Adam and scrolled through the pictures of them. Tanner might have had a point. “Might be helpful if any future pictures don’t look so cozy.”
He gave her a tight smile. “Well, it’s kind of hard to take selfies if we aren’t close, but we’ll figure it out. Maybe we’ll just wear grumpy faces in all the pictures.”
Liz snorted. “Grumpy?”
“Yeah, like this.” He tried to force a pout and wound up somewhere between a pucker and double chin.
Liz burst out laughing, drawing the attention of everyone around them. Once she calmed down, she said, “I think that will solve the problem.”
They finished their coffees in content silence and watched the few cars pass by. Liz wondered what his life was like if he didn’t even know what he wanted. She found it hard to understand. He came from money. A lot of it. His father owned half the casinos in Las Vegas. She wouldn’t be surprised if he hadn’t hit billionaire status. Surely someone with that much cash knew what they wanted out of life.
She finished her macchiato. “We should go get back to the train.”
He sighed. “Part of me wants to stay right here and never leave. This town and its lack of hustle and bustle. What would it be like to live in a place like this?”
“Not sure. I’ve always lived in Vegas.” She couldn’t imagine living somewhere so quiet. She didn’t think she’d like it because she loved the hustle and bustle of the big city. Not a bad place to spend a few hours relaxing, though. “Do you long for a more quiet life?”
“I don’t know if I long for it. Who uses the word long?” He smiled.
They both laughed, and Adam stood. He held the door open for her as they exited, and by the time they started crossing the street, he hadn’t answered yet, so she figured he wouldn’t. But apparently, he just needed some time to think.
“No, I don’t think I long for a quiet life. My life is pretty good, but it is stressful. But I think I almost like the stress.”
“Long for it, maybe?” Liz couldn’t help it.
Adam chuckled. “Maybe.” He stopped for a bit and looked around. “I do constantly worry about what people think. Especially my father. He wants me to be like him. But I’m not. I have no desire to run the casinos. I don’t want to marry another woman that comes from money. I’m not even sure I want to live in Las Vegas.”
“And what do you want?”
“That’s part of the problem. I have no idea. This trip might help though. Take some time off, think a little bit. The coast is gorgeous. The company is good.” He winked, and she slapped his shoulder. “And I have no pressure from anyone around me to do something I don’t want to do. This is perfect.”
Liz didn’t realize coming on this trip was as much for him as it was for her. “I hope you find what you’re looking for.”
He held her gaze. “I hope so too.”
They were both reflective on the trip back. The view was still stunning, and the train ride was everything Liz hoped it would be.
Perhaps Adam admitting that he needed this trip to in order to think was good reason for their comfortable silence. As Liz thought about her conversation with Tanner, she realized she needed some time to think as well. Because while Adam had no idea what he wanted in life, Liz knew exactly what she wanted.
The problem was, the person she was to spend the rest of her life with, didn’t want the same thing.
Chapter 8
The next morning, Adam woke before Snow and watched her sleep. She looked so peaceful lying there. He felt bad he’d played a part in the argument she had with Tanner, but it sounded like they had figured everything out. Perhaps it was a conversation they needed to have anyway.
As usually happened, Adam found his gaze moving to Snow’s lips. They were absent of her signature red lipstick, but he could swear they were redder than the average person’s. Maybe the lipstick had permanently stained them or something. Could lipstick even do that?
Or maybe he was imagining things. He hadn’t had his coffee yet.
Realizing how creepy it would be if she woke up to find him staring, Adam climbed out of the tent. He zipped it back up as quietly as he could. They weren’t on a schedule today, so if Snow wanted to sleep, she should.
The campsite wasn’t nearly as nice as the one they’d stayed at the previous night. The beach was on the other side of the road.
He opened the hatch of the car and pulled out the cooler and a box of donuts. He helped himself to breakfast as the sun rose behind him, its rays dancing on the ocean. Crazy to think that just last week he was watching the sunrise from his dad’s office. What a difference a week made.
As he licked the frosting off his fingers, he glanced at the box next to him. There were other flavors to try.
“Ah, what the heck,” he mumbled, grabbing a powdered one. They’d be walking a lot today. He poured himself another glass of milk just as Snow unzipped the tent.
“Morning,” she said, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.
“Morning.” He was itching to take a picture of her. She looked adorable in those pajama pants and large sweatshirt. But after her argument with her boyfriend, Adam was nervous about putting her on his social media.
“What’s on the agenda today?” he asked, handing her a donut.
“Hearst Castle.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s a house that was built in the early 1900s by William Hearst. It’s my dream home. My mom used to talk about the roadtrip she did with my dad on their honeymoon. This was her favorite part. The house is so big, it’s split into three different tours. We’ll just do the main one.”
“Why not do all three?”
“Because it’s expensive.”
“When’s the next time you’ll be here? Plus, if it is your dream home, you should do the whole thing. You know, for future reference.” Adam pushed his shoulder into hers.
She snorted. “Yeah, right. Doing the tour will be the closest I’ll ever get to a house like that.”
“How much is expensive?”
She dropped her eyes. “Twenty-five dollars per tour.”
Adam almost said, “That’s it?” but luckily caught himself. He was trying not to come off as a pompous prick. He wasn’t sure if it was working.
He contemplated whether or not to offer, but then remembered that this was his vacation too.
“We’re doing all three.”
“No. It’s too much. I didn’t budget for all three.”
He sighed. “Well, what if I want to do all three?” He’d seen his fair share of rich guy’s houses, but he was trying any angle to get Snow to agree. He could tell she was excited to see this castle.
“You totally should then,” Snow answered. “I’ll just wait for you.”
She said it so matter-of-factly, like she’d had to turn down many things in life due to lack of funds. He pushed into her shoulder again. “Don’t be silly. We’re seeing that whole house together. Let’s get ready and go check it out.”
“Adam, you don’t have to—”
He held a finger up. “No. Don’t want to hear it. Shower and we’ll talk about it on the way.” He smiled, and she rolled her eyes. Those eyes carried even more excitement now, though.
Adam gra
bbed his bathroom stuff and a towel and headed down to the shower house. They’d gotten in late last night, and he hadn’t had time to check it out. The sinks on the outside of the building were dry and dusty. A sign on the door said they were closed because of the drought. He walked all the way around the house. Not a single door would open.
Well, crap. Guess that made getting ready even quicker.
He trekked back to the campsite. “We’re going to stink today.”
“Why?” Snow was rustling in the back of the trunk.
“Because the showers are closed for the drought.”
Snow squeezed her eyes shut and then opened them again. “Fine. We’ll just sponge bath it.”
What did she mean by sponge bath? “There is no running water. Like, none.” When they’d gotten in, they used the vault toilets that were down from their campsite.
She let out a breath. “Okay. We’ll shower tonight.”
They packed up the campsite and were ready to go within ten minutes. Adam put on a load of deodorant and watched Snow slather smelly lotion all over her legs and arms. She smelled like a flower shop.
They drove a few miles up the road, and Adam turned when he saw a sign for Hearst Castle. The long driveway ended at a visitor’s center, but the house was nowhere in sight. He parked, and they both climbed out. Adam reached above his head to stretch and saw Snow doing the same thing through the car windows on her side.
Old people and families stood in small groups around the visitor center. Adam would definitely be out of his element. He almost asked Snow again why she wanted to do this, since apparently no one else their age was interested, but decided against it when she walked around the car and clapped her hands in excitement.
“Ready?” She beamed.
“Definitely.” The wind blew over his bare arms, and he shivered.
“We need to get you a sweatshirt,” she commented as they headed toward the visitor’s center. He spotted pet boarding and dropped Nona off while Snow wandered around a small garden.
“You think she’ll be okay?” Snow asked.
“There was a golden retriever and a black lab. They were already sniffing each other when I left.”
Roadtrips and Romance (Omega Mu Alpha Brothers Book 5) Page 6