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He smiles like a kid set loose with a bag of potatoes and a sheet pan shield and I laugh.
“What?” he asks. “Am I too excited?”
I shake my head, still laughing, “No, you’re funny. I like this silly side of you.”
“And I love your dimple,” he says fondly. “I’ve missed seeing it. You haven’t smiled much around me lately.”
I touch a finger to my right cheek. “You noticed that?”
“I did,” he murmurs.
“I hated it when I was a kid. I thought it looked strange. Having a dimple on only one side and not the other.”
“I think it’s cute. Really cute,” he says, reaching for a slice of salami. “So, we’ve established you’re an extremely cute woman with an adorable dimple that I’m pretty obsessed with.” He sighs dramatically. “It’s a start, but we’re going to need a lot more backstory.”
Grinning, I agree, “So much more.”
We spend the next hour and a half eating, drinking, and dreaming and it is, without a doubt, the best night I’ve had in ages. With our past set aside, Wes and I are free to be who we truly are, two people who get along really well. Who share similar senses of humor and taste in food and enjoy an impromptu juggling act when one breaks out at the table in the corner.
“I’m so glad the new me isn’t afraid of clowns,” Wes says when the show is over and the applause from the rest of the dining room has died down.
“Really?” I ask. “You don’t feel sweaty and twitchy anymore?”
He laughs, leaning in as he whispers, “Maybe a little, but I’m going to fake it until I make it.”
“Good for you,” I say, hoping I can do the same.
Fake it until I’ve made it home and Wes and I can go back to politely avoiding each other.
But until then, I’m not going to think about the future. I’m going to be right here, right now, with my old friend, “Preston”—Wes’s middle name—a treasure hunter who has a mission for us in the wilds of Southern Utah.
Chapter 15
WESLEY
It’s an amazing night, the best I’ve had in ages.
The food is incredible, and the company is a hundred times better.
We finish our meal and head outside, to a sky dark and full of what feels like a million stars.
I stop beside the camper, tilting my head back. Beside me, Tessa does the same, sucking in a breath. “Wow,” she whispers. “It’s been way too long since I slowed down and looked up.”
I hum in agreement. “Makes me feel small. In a good way.”
She shifts to study my profile. “I say that all the time. About being outside. When I’m on a trail, I feel small in the best way. It’s like suddenly I realize that all the things I’ve been worried about aren’t such a big deal, after all.”
I glance down at her, admiring the flush in her cheeks from the wine. She’s even more beautiful like this, relaxed and well-fed and not worried about holding me at a distance. Reminding myself the only way to keep her that way is to keep this role-paying platonic—at least for now—I refrain from telling her so, and simply add, “I get it. It makes me feel braver, too. When I think about how that tree in front of me is probably two hundred years old, and I only have half that time on earth, if I’m lucky… Makes you realize there’s no time to waste playing it safe or holding back.”
She smiles and leans in, nudging my arm with her shoulder. “I’d say you’re doing a great job of being brave. Especially tonight. You walked out of there like you didn’t have a clown care in the world. I was proud of you, Preston.”
Grinning at my new name—I’ve always thought my middle name sounded more exciting than my given one—I tip my head in acknowledgement of the compliment. “Thank you, Lady Gray.”
She giggles in response. “Is it wrong that I love our code names so much? They make me a little giddy.” She bites her lip and rolls her eyes back toward the stars. “Either that or the wine.” She sighs. “Should we take a walk around the park across the street before we head to the campsite? Or are you okay to drive?”
“I’m fine to drive,” I say, reaching for the keys. “I’m bigger than you are. And I ate a lot more food. Besides, we need to get set up so we can start researching our treasure hunt. I don’t want to leave Utah empty-handed.”
She claps her hands. “Me, either. This is so exciting! Even better than a scavenger hunt. I loved those when I was a kid.”
