“Take pictures for me. I want to see everything.”
“Yeah, of course I will. I can send you a few pictures from today. The water on the drive was gorgeous.”
“I bet. Hold on a sec.” Tanner looked over his shoulder and spoke with someone. After ten seconds of waiting, the ocean sunset drew Liz’s attention. She walked around the tent to get the full view and saw Adam burying a black hot dog in the sand, Nona watching diligently. Apparently, even she didn’t want to eat that one. Liz snorted in an attempt not to laugh. Hopefully he wouldn’t give her one that was questionably made.
“Babe? Babe, are you there?”
Liz shook her head. “What? Yeah. Yeah, I’m here. Everything good there?”
“As good as it can be.” He sighed and rubbed his tired, red eyes. “Is the campground you’re staying at safe? I worry about you being on your own.”
Liz opened her mouth to answer, but Tanner held up a finger and groaned. “Just a second.” He turned away, and another conversation Liz wasn’t a part of started.
He’s helping people, she reminded herself. But again, as the seconds turned into a minute, the frustration inside Liz grew. Several people walked past Tanner’s phone in the background, some of them women about Liz’s age. Difference was, most of them held a child’s hand. Liz couldn’t even imagine having children right now.
After three minutes of waiting for Tanner to return, Liz had enough. “If this isn’t a good time, we can talk tomorrow.”
To someone she couldn’t see, he said, “Just give me five minutes. I’ll be right there.” Finally, he faced her again. “Sorry about that. I feel like things would fall apart without me here.”
“You’re doing important work.” She was important too, but she didn’t want to make him feel guilty.
“Where were we? Oh yeah, the campground seems safe?”
When Liz answered his call, there wasn’t a doubt in her mind that she would come out and tell Tanner the truth—that Adam was the only way she could still go on her vacation. If Tanner argued, she’d remind him that if he would have actually gone on this trip with her, instead of bailing, she wouldn’t have needed Adam’s help. Plus he was half a world away with many different people, some female, and Liz hadn’t felt uncomfortable with that, or even asked him about it. Now that she thought about it, wasn’t his partner on the project a female?
What did it matter if Adam was her vacation buddy? She loved Tanner. They had some things to work out, but he was really a good guy. And there was no reason to worry him, or have him ruin her vacation by questioning her vacation partner. At this point, it seemed silly to tell him.
So she told him half the truth.
“I feel very safe. Lots of families and old people here.”
“Awesome.”
Tanner went into a lengthy description of the house he was working on and the poverty of the people. The passion he had for his work was contagious. She felt her frustration slipping away, knowing her fiancé was changing their lives. Her excitement for her own work paralleled his.
He paused for a moment before plunging on. “I think we might need to live down here for a while.”
Wait, what? She wasn’t about to abandon her father, her shop, her whole life.
“We can’t. I’m about to open my own shop. Those don’t run themselves.”
“But think of these people who need our help.”
“I’m sure they do, but we can’t support ourselves by only helping people.” She sounded so selfish when she said it that way, but it was true. And helping people was great, but what about Liz’s dream? Didn’t that carry any importance?
He frowned. “Yeah, well. Okay. I gotta go. I’ll talk to you tomorrow night.”
“Tanner. Don’t be mad.”
“It’s not that. I’m a little disappointed that you jumped to that answer so quickly. It’s important for us to think about more than ourselves. There’s a whole world out there of people who need our help, and I can’t believe you wouldn’t support that. Maybe think on it?”
“Yeah, sure. Of course.” Now Liz felt like the worst person in the world. Was she too selfish?
“Love you,” Tanner said, his voice soft.
After Liz returned the sentiment, he hung up.
Liz walked around the tent, unsure of what she felt. Anger toward Tanner? Herself? Mostly she felt confused and lost. Everything about Tanner was good. He never thought about himself. Every second of his life was devoted to helping others. Was she even a good enough person to marry someone like Tanner?
She and Tanner had arguments like this before, but he’d never come out and asked her to give up everything. Owning her own shop had been the driving force in her life since she was a little girl. And that was helping people. Admittedly in a different sort of way.
Gallivanting around the world helping people wasn’t practical. There were plenty of people right in Vegas he could help, and then she’d still be able to own her shop. She’d bring that up the next time they talked. Some sort of compromise had to be in order.
She forced a smile on her face as she approached Adam. She didn’t want him to think anything was wrong.
“You guys get in a fight?”
“What makes you think that?” So far she liked being with Adam, but he was so forward sometimes. It made her uncomfortable.
“You’re horrible at smiling when you’re not feeling it. It looks like a cross between a sneer and a snarl.”
“Seriously?” They’d spent less than twenty-four hours together and he already made this conclusion?
“Yeah.” He gestured to a finished hot dog with all the dressings on the table. Liz fleetingly wondered if it had been the one in the sand but decided she didn’t care. Once she sat down, Adam continued. “If the fight was about me, I can talk to him if you want. Assure him I’m not a threat.”
She shook her head. “The fight wasn’t about you.” Since she never brought him up, she could confidently say that.
“I’m just saying if my fiancée was on a roadtrip with another man, I’d be furious.” He took a bite of his hot dog. “If you think I can help the situation, let me know.”
Liz should tell Adam she hadn’t even breached the topic of her travel buddy with Tanner. She debated calling Jenny or her dad and asking for advice, but this was her vacation dammit. She had been looking forward to the beach and camping and roasting hot dogs for months. Tanner couldn’t bother to find time to come along, and Adam had. Liz was done adding drama to what should be the most relaxing month of her life.
If the best thing for her dream vacation was to let Adam believe Tanner was cool with it, even if Tanner didn’t have a clue, then so be it.
According to Tanner, Liz was too selfish, so why not keep going with that theory.
Liz opened the bag of marshmallows. Time for dessert. “Tanner’s mad because he wants to live in Honduras after we’re married, and I didn’t jump at the suggestion. Kind of hard to open my own auto shop in Vegas if I’m in Central America.” Plus she wasn’t about to leave her father behind. She was all he had. He’d always been so supportive of her and if she told him she was moving to Honduras, he’d probably say, “Go.”
Adam scrunched his nose. “I’ve been to Honduras. I wouldn’t want to live there. It’s not a nice country.”
“He doesn’t want to live there because he thinks it’s nice. He wants to help people.”
“Ah, Saint Tanner. And he’s upset because he can’t understand why you don’t want to go?”
She nodded.
Adam leaned forward so he was resting his elbows on his knees. He looked so serious.
“Don’t let him tell you that what he wants is more noble than what you want. Starting your own business is a ton of work. It gives people jobs and helps the community. That’s just as good in my book.”
Liz’s stomach did a flip, and a small smile crawled onto her face. When said that way, she didn’t sound nearly as selfish as Tanner made her feel. “Thanks
,” she said, handing Adam a marshmallow. The fire had died to nice coals with a few small flames in places. “Have you made s’mores before?”
“Yes. And if I told you the fancy set up in which I have made s’mores, you’d just laugh. Suffice it to say, at least for this part of camping, I know what I’m doing.”
They roasted their marshmallows in silence.
Adam built his s’more and glanced at his watch. “Hey, we’re going to go play cards with an older couple down the beach, if that’s cool.”
Liz creased her eyebrows. “How’d you make friends already? We just got here.”
“Well, Gus, that’s the old man, was walking his dog, and she and Nona started playing. He invited us to play cards.” Adam slid his marshmallow onto the gram cracker. “Are all camping people that friendly?”
“Pretty much. All the other tents are like the neighbors you’ve lived next to for twenty years.”
Adam bit into his s’more, some of the melted marshmallow and chocolate smearing in the corners of his mouth. Liz liked her marshmallow a little crispy so she focused on it. As it cooked to the perfect brown, she made the connection. “Gus helped you with this fire, didn’t he?”
Adam didn’t say anything, confirming Liz’s suspicion. She took her marshmallow and sandwiched it between the chocolate squares.
“I look like that, don’t I?” Adam said, pointing at Liz’s face and laughing.
“Worse probably.”
Adam whipped out his phone and pulled her close before she could object.
“We need a picture to document my first s’more made over a real campfire. Smile.”
Liz tilted her head up toward the phone and grinned wide. They did look pretty ridiculous. Adam snapped the pic.
“Wait, wait, wait. Take another one.” Liz smeared the chocolate a bit more on her face and then puckered her lips, looking even more ridiculous. Adam was laughing so hard he could barely get another picture.
Liz wiggled away from him. Being so close felt way too comfortable.
“Do you mind if I post this on Instagram?” Adam asked as he navigated through his phone.
She shook her head. She didn’t have an Instagram account, so she didn’t care either way. “Won’t dear ol’ dad see it though?”
“Probably.” Adam put his phone in his pocket. “Like I said, I’m sure he knows everything by now anyway. Maybe him seeing me happy will lighten the screaming match that’s sure to ensue after I return.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re happy.” She’d could never imagine having a screaming match with her own father. She nearly pitied him.
“Me too.”
They awkwardly stood there for a bit too long until Liz announced, “I’m going to run to the restroom.”
She did her thing and then washed her face. Meeting her eyes in the mirror, she decided a touchup was in order. Liz’s mother told her to never leave the house without lipstick on. So she didn’t, but she never bothered with the rest.
Back at the campsite, the phone buzzed in her pocket. She jumped.
It was a text message from Jenny, her best friend. She’d been a little bitter about Liz abandoning her for a whole month. She knew this trip was important to her, but she also worked at Liz’s father’s shop and hated being the only girl there. Plus, she always had drama she needed help with. For the most part, Liz’s life was so drama free that she didn’t mind helping Jenny with hers.
What the hell are you doing eating s’mores with Adam Winslow?
Liz stopped. Crap. Of course Jenny followed Adam. She was always trying to get Liz on Instagram, but so far she’d been unsuccessful. Liz didn’t see the point.
“Adam, how many Instagram followers do you have?” She could feel a bit of panic rising. There was no way Tanner wouldn’t find out. She should have told him when they were talking earlier. Somehow.
“I dunno. A few hundred thousand.”
Holy cow. A few hundred thousand.
“Why?” It fell out of her mouth before she could stop it.
“Why what?” Adam said with a laugh.
“Like…why do so many people care about what another person they don’t even know is doing with their life?”
“Because it’s real. Or as real as it can be on social media. With Instagram, I get to decide what I want to share and people know that. It’s better than reading an article about me in a tabloid that isn’t remotely true.”
“Good point.” She wrung her hands. Tanner had an Instagram. He was all over social media. She doubted he followed someone like Adam. He had extreme disdain for the super wealthy.
Adam came closer to her and she froze. He was too close. “Is something wrong? I can take the post down if you’d like. I just figured since Tanner is cool with it then…”
“No, it’s totally fine. I guess I’m clueless when it comes to this social media stuff.”
“Once you start your own business, you’ll want to learn. That’s a significant part of advertising now,” Adam said.
Liz’s phone buzzed again.
WELL???? Another text from Jenny.
She quickly texted back. Met him while camping. Nice enough guy. Now she was stretching the truth with her best friend.
Liar. You went to school with him. Holy cow, he’s smoking. What does Tanner think?
Liz felt like she was sixteen again, hiding things from her boyfriend, but not doing anything wrong. Not that she had a boyfriend at sixteen, but she hid plenty of things from her father. She’d barely spent twelve hours with Adam, and already the drama was becoming too much.
Busy. I’ll explain later.
She needed to figure stuff out first, and then decide how to respond.
Liz and Adam arrived at site 108. It was a massive RV with a screen room and Christmas lights shaped like palm trees hanging from an awning. They had several chairs set up around a table and a sign outside the RV that said “Welcome to Gus and Helen’s home on wheels.”
Nona barked to announce their arrival, and Gus jumped up and unzipped the screen room.
“Come in, come in.” He shook Liz’s hand. “I’m Gus. You must be the lovely young lady Adam was trying to impress.”
Liz felt the blush creep onto her cheeks. “I’m Liz. Thanks for helping us get ready for dinner.” He seemed like a nice guy. The few times she went camping with her father, he always got her into the card games. She liked the conversations.
“Anytime.”
Gus stood back and allowed them to enter. An old woman with bright white hair, a wide smile, and a t-shirt that read “Queen of the RV” hustled forward. She grabbed Adam by the cheeks and pulled him down. “Aren’t you a good looking one? Now come here so I can give you a kiss.”
Helen planted her lips right on his. Adam’s eyes widened, but he didn’t say anything. He stood back up, his cheeks red.
Helen backed up and patted Liz on the cheek, “That’s a tasty one you’ve got there.” Liz laughed at the look on Adam’s face.
Gus looped his arm though Helen’s. “I thought we talked about not kissing everyone.”
Helen swatted him. “Oh bother. In my day, that’s how we greeted everyone.”
A yellow lab nudged Liz’s hand.
“That’s Petunia. She likes to be pet,” Gus explained.
Liz scratched her behind the ear, but Nona nuzzled her way between them, and Petunia forgot about Liz.
They sat down around a small table with cards. Helen scooted as close as she could get to Adam. Gus taught them how to play Hearts, and Helen took every opportunity she could to grab Adam’s hand or help him with his cards. Liz was glad Gus wasn’t nearly as handsy, but she didn’t feel bad for Adam at all.
On the way back to the tent, Liz teased Adam. “Bet you didn’t think you’d find the love of your life on this trip?”
He creased his eyebrows at her. “What?”
“Well, Helen seemed pretty smitten. I daresay she’d leave Gus for you.”
He ran a hand through his hair.
“I won’t be taking up any more offers from old people. You weren’t kidding that camping people are a close-knit bunch.”
“Oh, come on, that was fun.”
“Speak for yourself, you didn’t have to keep Helen’s hand off your leg.”
Liz giggled. “True.”
Their fire had all but gone out. Liz stood outside the tent and shuffled her feet. She’d known this was coming, but she wasn’t looking forward to it. Sleeping with a stranger in such close quarters was sure to be awkward.
“So, I’m um, going to change and brush my teeth,” Liz said.
Adam tore his gaze away from the ocean. “I’ll come with you.”
She’d been hoping he’d already be in the tent by the time she returned. Geesh, this was weird.
She pulled her pj’s and her small bathroom bag out of the trunk. They walked in silence to the bath house. Maybe Adam was thinking about the same thing.
She changed quickly, brushed her teeth, and waited for Adam. He came out wearing a tight t-shirt and flannel pants. She’d figured he was defined, but this confirmed it. He was completely ripped. Liz was having a hard time keeping her eyes off of him.
He noticed her staring, and flexed his pecks. “Like what you see?”
“It’s nice.” Nice? Who said things like that? As if they needed another reason for tonight to be weird.
Adam kept quiet on the way back and held open the tent flap for her. “Ladies first.”
She climbed in, slipped into her sleeping bag, and faced the wall. She didn’t want him thinking she was watching him. Nona pranced in, her nails scratching on the air mattress. She stuck her nose in Liz’s neck. Liz giggled and pushed her away, but Nona was not to be deterred. She curled up next to Liz and nuzzled her hair. It tickled. Liz flipped over just as Adam was crawling in. She couldn’t help but be mesmerized by his body as moved across the mattress. Tanner didn’t have a body like that. He did a lot of physical work and so his was built, but not defined like Adam.
He slid into his sleeping bag and held it open. “Come, Nona.”
She whined.
“You’ll be warmer in there.” Liz pushed on her, and she climbed into the sleeping bag with Adam. There was a good three feet between them, but it still felt too close.
Roadtrips and Romance (Omega Mu Alpha Brothers Book 5) Page 4