I shoved in a fresh bra and some panties, along with some socks. Then a couple books, just in case I had some time to read.
Adam sauntered into my room. I felt him behind me, staring at my bookshelf. I stepped back, bumping into him, and my heart skipped a beat. I didn’t realize he was that close to me, I thought. I stepped out of his way and reached for my backpack quickly. I zipped it up, trying not to pay any attention to him or just how close he was to me. I’m not sure why it suddenly matters. I mean, we’d kissed! My heart leapt thinking about that kiss. It had all been for show, of course, but that hadn’t taken away just how nice it felt—and how badly I didn’t want it to end. I sucked in a deep breath, mentally shaking myself.
“You read a lot.”
His voice shocked me, and I jumped, turning to face him. Thinking about him had got me so distracted I’d almost thought forgotten he was here.
“I used to. These days I don’t have much time for it.” I read a little on the bus to and from work, but that’s it.
His brow furrowed as he looked at all the books. “What ones are your favorite?”
“Oh, that’s easy.” I pointed to the top shelf. “All of them.”
To my surprise, he reached out and took two of the books from the top shelf. He stepped away from my bookshelf and headed out of my room.
“Let me know when you’re ready to leave, and we can get going.”
“Already? Won’t your dad still have to work?”
“Yes, but he gave me the site information; we can go get checked in whenever we’re ready to.”
“Oh.” I don’t know why I was so disappointed by it. I mean, I was going to be stuck with Adam and his family all weekend anyways.
I padded to the bathroom with my backpack and put my makeup bag and my toothbrush in there before heading into the living room.
I stopped in the doorway, part of me shocked by what I saw. Adam stared down at one of the books he’d taken off my shelf. I watched as he flipped the page and kept reading it. A smile touched my lips. It had been one of my favorite books growing up, that’s why it was on my top shelf, even though I hadn’t read it in ages. I never wanted to forget my favorite childhood books.
Adam glanced up at me. “Are you ready?”
“Yea, if you are.”
He nodded and stood. Without a word, we made our way out of the apartment, and I locked up, tucking my keys into my pocket as we headed downstairs.
“So, what are we going to have to do while camping with your family? I mean, are we going to, like, have campfires or something?”
“What, you’ve never been camping?” he teased.
“No.”
The truth was, I’d had never been camping and had no clue what to expect. Adam came to a stop in front of me.
“Wait, you’ve never been camping before?”
“Nope.” I shrugged as I came to a stop, turning to face him. “It wasn’t something my parents ever did with us and not many people would rent a campsite out to a kid and his little sister.”
“Your parents never took you camping?”
“I’m not sure what you’ve heard about my parents, but it’s not like they were all that interactive with us.”
Adam frowned. “Really? I mean, your brother’s never talked about them but ...”
I shrugged. “You know what boys are like, doesn’t matter how much they’re hurting, they won’t open up to anyone,” it was a direct hit, “no matter how much it might actually help them get over the past.”
I was just hoping it would set in, and he might actually try opening up to someone about his past, even if it wasn’t me. I didn’t care as long as he managed to get over what was haunting him.
“Yea, but I get where he’s coming from. I mean, if no one ever cares about what you’ve gone through, then why bother opening up?”
So he had gotten the hit, and he was going to defend himself.
“What about me?” I faked just enough offense to make it look like I thought he was talking about my brother, even though I knew better than that.
I moved a little closer to him, trying to show in some way that I was there for him, just like I would be for my brother if he ever needed me.
“I guess … sometimes the people we care the most about are the hardest to open up to,” his answer shocked me, “you’ve got to worry about how they’re going to think about you, and if they will pity you or hate you, or think that you’re crazy and never want anything to do with you again.”
Who could he be talking about? There is no way his parents would actually react that way. I mean, sure I didn’t know them that well, but I knew them well enough to know that they weren’t bad parents. I saw the way they were with their kids. It seemed like, above all, their family mattered a lot to them. Even Adam had that reaction. There was no doubt in my mind that his sisters meant the world.
He’d kill for them.
As we made our way outside, I looked for the fanciest car; after all, that would probably be his, knowing him.
Today it was bright blue. I wasn’t sure what kind of car it was, but it looked nice. And I guess that was all that mattered to most people, right? I have to admit, I wasn’t a car girl. I didn’t understand much more than how to drive them.
“Where will we be camping?”
“It’s a two-hour drive from here.”
66. Chapter Fifteen
Those two hours were actually nice. We made small talk the entire time, and that was good enough for me. I liked having someone other than my brother to talk to, and in no time, we were pulling up to the park. I bit my lip as he got out of the car.
“I’ll be right back; I’m just going to go get all the stuff.”
I nodded. What stuff did people get while camping? It all made such little sense to me. I still need to email my parents, I thought.
I’d been putting it off, and I knew that was bad of me; I just didn’t know what I was supposed to tell them. My brother and I worked hard; it was just that simple. All we did was work. But I liked trying to keep in contact with them. Even if they didn’t reply to my emails, I liked the idea that they knew what we were up to. That, in some way, we still had a bit of a relationship with that.
I knew my brother wanted nothing to do with them, and that was fine, but I wanted to know that I did everything I could to have a good relationship with them, even if it meant that they didn’t reply to a single one of my emails.
I pulled my phone out and opened my email as I waited for Adam.
Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad,
Just sending a quick email to let you know we’re both doing good. Sitting in a parking lot waiting to head into a campsite. Can you believe I’m going camping for the first time? I can’t!
Things have been super busy with work, and I’ve picked up a second job, but I still wanted to email while I had a little downtime.
Love ya,
Fiona.
Okay, maybe I should stop calling Adam a job, but that was what it was, right? I was getting paid to be his girlfriend. I wasn’t going to use any other words for it, that was for sure!
As I hit send, I heard the car door open, and Adam slid into the seat beside me. He handed me a key. A key? My brow furrowed.
I stared down at it as he drove off, heading towards our campsite. Why would we need a key? Were the sites locked off or something? Seemed a little extreme to me, but I’d never been camping, so maybe I had this wrong.
I stared out the window at all the tents as we headed along the dirt road. Finally, he turned. I glanced out the front window to see what he was turning into. My jaw dropped. This is not camping. This was cottaging. Totally different. Even as someone who had never been camping, I knew that.
“You … said we were going camping.”
Adam laughed. “And we are. Go unlock while I get our stuff.”
That was why he’d given me the key? So I could open the door for him? As he shifted into park, I slipped out of the car and headed for the door. My ha
nds shook as I unlocked the door and stepped inside. Wow.
It was all very open. The living room and kitchen connected, and then there was a small hallway. That was it. I assumed the bedrooms were down the hallway, but I didn’t stop to look around. I placed the key on the table and went outside to help Adam unpack.
He had more stuff than I’d realized. There were two coolers, our backpacks and a duffel bag. I slung the duffle bag over my shoulder as he picked up both coolers.
I grabbed the backpacks, and closed the trunk.
I could see people watching us as we made our way inside. It looked like there was only one cottage beside us and a lake right in front of us. I bit my lip. I can’t believe I’m finally camping. I had never really thought about it much, not since I was younger, but it had always been something I wanted to do growing up.
The living room didn’t have much. A small fireplace and three couches, and a coffee table in the middle of the couches. The kitchen, like the living room, didn’t have much except appliances and a table. But it seemed to come with everything we needed. A kettle, coffeemaker—everything.
“We’ll have to stay in the same room. It’s not like I could ask my mother to make sure we got separate rooms.”
“Oh. Yea, I guess that makes sense.”
At his parents’ place, we’d been staying in the guest house, which meant we had access to separate rooms. But this was totally different.
“I can sleep on the floor,” he said.
“Thanks. We can take turns.” Anyways, it was only a couple of nights. I wasn’t worried about it, and sleeping on the floor never bothered me much. I padded down the hallway and dropped the bags in the first room I got to. I didn’t bother looking at the rest; instead, I made my way to the kitchen where Adam was unloading the coolers. It seemed like he had brought food for the entire family.
“Do you know when everyone else is coming?”
“No, probably late. My dad will probably have stuff to do around the office. He’s always home late on Fridays.”
“Do you normally work late too?”
“Normally, yes. Just to help him out. And to spend a little time with him.”
My heart did a backflip. Adam wasn’t one to open up. I smiled, knowing that he was starting to get used to me.
“I always wanted to go camping when I was little; I hope it’s as awesome as I always thought it would be,” I said out loud, though not really to him. “I used to get so jealous when my friends went with their families. I’d always try to hint that I wanted to go with them, but I never got invited.”
High school had been hard for me. I didn’t want to admit how little my parents were there, but I wanted to join my friends in their family activities. Of course, I didn’t have the nerve to ask. I wasn’t sure I’d have that nerve these days.
Adam stocked the fridge without saying a word. He didn’t even glance over at me to let me know he’d been listening. Because he probably wasn’t. Not that I blamed him. I mean, it’s not like he was actually my boyfriend. I couldn’t get mad at him for not listening to me ramble, right?
Oh well. It’s nice to just have company.
“What else did you want to do?” he asked softly.
“What?”
“When you were little, what else did you want to do that you didn’t get to because your parents …?” He trailed off.
I didn’t know what he was going to say about my parents, but whatever it was, he had clearly decided it wasn’t a good idea.
“Oh. Um, not a lot … I mean, mostly I just wanted to do stuff families did. I had one friend that actually had family meetings. You have no idea how much I would have loved that.” I laughed softly. “Of course, she hated it. They always went to firework shows together, too. And the fair, school plays. I always wanted my parents to just … come home and tell my brother and me that we were all going to do something together. That we were going to the movies, or out to dinner … anything would have made me happy, to be honest.”
I bit my lip. I’d never told anyone that. Not even my brother.
I turned away from Adam so he couldn’t see how emotional that had gotten me. I didn’t dare say a word in case my voice broke.
“Hm.” He at least made a noise to let me know he’d been listening.
Neither of us said a word for a long time as he unpacked the coolers and put everything in the fridge. I looked around the cottage, mostly out the windows. I watched people playing in the water, and people walking past the cottage. A few of them stared at Adam’s car. I watched one couple, holding hands, as they giggled. It looked like they were really in love with each other. I bit my lip, wishing for a split second that I had that. Then again, it’s not like I had time for a relationship.
If I had, maybe I’d text Matt. I knew he had been trying to hang out for a while, and every time we got a little drunk together, it was like … like he was into me, but maybe that was just because he was drunk. I wasn’t too sure.
“Well,” Adam’s voice said from behind me, “are you coming swimming.”
I turned to face him. My heart skipped a beat. He was shirtless and wearing a pair of black shorts. I sucked in a deep breath as my eyes traced over his abs slowly. I tried to take everything in but didn’t have nearly enough time. He looked … perfect, like a male model. His washboard abs, his muscular chest. He stared at me, waiting.
“Um, sure. I’ll be right out there.”
I headed for the bedroom as fast as I could. My heart raced as I thought about him, his mental image lasting in my mind as I closed the door to the bedroom and reached for my backpack, unzipping it and quickly fishing out my bathing suit.
It was a couple years old, but I went swimming so little that I didn’t really care. I changed into it quickly and hurried out of the bedroom.
My heart skipped a beat as I saw him, standing in front of the window with his back to me. His muscular back still as he watched people.
I crossed over to him, my heart racing. I wanted to reach out and touch him. I wanted to trace my fingers over those muscles. I didn’t. But damn, I wanted it.
Oh, get a grip. So what if he’s got a couple nice muscles. That didn’t take away the fact that he was my brother’s friend, and that he was an asshole.
He turned to look at me, his eyes sparkling. He didn’t say a word as we made our way out of the cottage and down to the beach that was right in front of us.
“This is an amazing spot,” I said.
“It’s not bad. I know my mom had been trying to get the island that they rent out, but it was short notice, and they’re pretty booked.”
Island? I almost tripped over myself. I shouldn’t have been surprised to know that they could afford to rent an island. And I wasn’t. I was surprised that an island was what they had wanted to spend their money on. I mean, it must be expensive. They could probably travel for that price, right? So why an island.
“My great grandpa actually helped chart this lake,” Adam said as if he’d read my mind.
“Wait, really?”
We padded down the sandy beach and towards the water.
“Yup. He got an island for it, but when he passed away, no one was willing to help take care of it, so it got sold.”
“That sucks.”
“My dad’s been trying to buy it back for a while now. It’s not close to where we are, right now, but the people who own it don’t want to give it up. No matter what he offers them.”
“That sucks.”
Adam shrugged. “Whatever. We’ll get it back in our family one of these days.” It sounded like his father’s goal had become his own goal. See, he’s opening up. It had taken two weeks for him to start, but it was a start.
I mean, he’d opened up a little when he was upset about running into his cousin. But that was different. I still had no clue what any of that was about, and I doubted I would ever actually understand, but it didn’t matter. We’d go our separate ways soon enough, and we’d go back to hardly knowing
each other. When it came down to it, that was the future we had, right?
To just … move on from each other.
I dipped my feet into the water carefully. The cold sent a shiver down my spine. “Did you swim much growing up?”
“No. There wasn’t a pool around us, which meant I’ve never been a good swimmer, but I do like soaking in the water for a while. Though, I have to admit I’d much rather soak in the sun.”
“I’ve never been much of a water bug, either,” he confessed seconds before slipping under the water. I watched as he swam under the clear water, not even making a wave. Although he might not be a water bug, he did grow up near the lake, and with a pool which meant he was probably a very good swimmer. Slowly, I made my way out to the water as he emerged from under the water, his hair and body wet.
I made my way out to him, the water rising higher and higher until it got to my chest. He reached out for my hand just as I came within distance of him. My brows furrowed.
“No, I don’t trust you.” I held my hand away from him. He laughed.
“Wise choice.” His eyes sparkled as he went back under the water and swam towards shore.
Even though I didn’t get to swim much as a kid, I wasn’t a bad swimmer. Just not as good as Adam. I made my way back to the shore as he kept swimming. I didn’t mind watching him as I soaked in the sun, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. It feels nice just to have some time to relax. After being sick, I knew I had to take better care of myself and take the time to actually relax, as much as I hated admitting it. I needed to sit down for a day every week or two.
I knew hanging out with Adam wasn’t a huge deal, but it wasn’t stress-free. He was kinda difficult, and that made it very hard to deal with him some of the time. But … in an odd way, I was going to be disappointed when we told everyone we broke up.
Interview with a Billionaire: Billionaire Romance Box Set Page 43