“You make it sound so easy.”
“Don’t get me wrong, I know women are vicious. I’ve seen it in med school and in my residency. Women don’t care if you aren’t trying to take their position. They care if you’re a threat in general. The whole philosophy that chicks post on social media about fixing each other’s crowns is a ruse. They’ll fix it in public so long as they can talk shit about you in private.”
I laugh, but it’s halfhearted as I shake my head. “Agreed. One hundred percent.”
“Okay, we need to make her not feel threatened. You help her save face with the group out there, and you’ll be golden.”
“Easier said than done considering she breathes that fire at me every time I talk.”
“Well, it’s on the Blade To-Do list, so it’ll get done.” He looks over at me, and I have to fight not to reach out and brush his hair off his forehead.
“Yes, it will.”
“We just need to figure out who will be your in. Will it be Materialistic Maddie, who already let me know how much she spent at Nordstrom’s to complete her mountain wardrobe, or Oversharing Olivia, who has already told me how she plans to make reckless love to Harley Hal in the woods.”
I scoff. That sounds exactly like what those two would say to him.
“I’m not done yet,” he says and lifts his hand to stop me from talking. “Then there is Buff Becky, who is upset she’s missing her CrossFit challenge to be here. The irony is that she’s super into her health but is shacking up with Stoned Steven.”
“How in the hell did you get all of that out of one little meet and greet?”
“I’m a quick learner. Besides, I typically don’t have any more than a few seconds to size people up before I treat them, especially if I’m on call in the ER. I’ve learned to be a good judge of character. If I didn’t trust my instincts, I wouldn’t have exactly offered to spend a week with you here, now, would I?”
“Thank you. Again. I . . .”
His expression softens, and in the fading daylight, this room, this bed, suddenly it feels more intimate than I expected. The playfulness is still there, but the shadows and the silence make me think about later tonight when I’ll be in here alone with him.
“We should get ready for whatever’s next on the agenda,” I say before rolling off the bed to find the envelope that was handed to me when I arrived. “I’m afraid to look at what’s on here. Do you remember?”
I glance over my shoulder and catch him checking out my ass.
That’s never a bad thing.
I wait for his eyes to find mine, and there is absolutely no shame of getting caught looking when he does.
“Barbecue and bonfire, right?” he asks as he pushes himself up.
“Per the agenda, you are correct, Camp Counselor Henderson.”
“Very cute,” he says as he pulls his T-shirt over his head in that one-handed way guys do by grabbing it from the back of the neck.
My first thought is Paul never did that.
My second? Paul never looked like that either.
I try not to stare, but how can I not when he’s all tanned skin, toned biceps, corded muscle everywhere, and he even has those glorious hip dents right above the waistline of his pants. It makes me wonder how many hours a day he has to work out to get those. To get that.
“You good?” Slade asks.
“What? Huh?” I snap my head up to catch the amusement in his eyes.
“With tonight? Are you good?” he asks, his grin widening as I try to look anywhere but at his body.
Lacy boy shorts, Blakely. You are not granny panties. You are lacy boy shorts.
With a deep breath, I find my courage and take my time looking Slade up and down.
“Yeah. I’m good.”
Blakely
Two bonfires in two nights where I get to watch the flames reflect off Slade’s face and dance against the highlights in his hair. Last night he was chill and relaxed—soft smiles and ocean breezes with his friends from the hospital at the beach. Tonight, however, he’s playing the role of the perfect boyfriend with movements that are much more calculated.
Two bonfires in two nights with this unexpected man. I’d say life isn’t too bad right now.
Slade throws his head back and laughs, drawing everyone’s eyes toward where he’s talking to Harley Hal about who knows what. He has a beer bottle in one hand, he’s gesticulating with the other, and he has a genuine smile on his lips.
“Well, don’t you two make an interesting couple,” Heather says and startles me.
“How so?” Where are you going with this?
“It was just an observation.” She gives me a tight-lipped smile instead of expounding.
“Daniel seems . . . nice,” I say and look back toward the fire. “Just an observation, though.”
In my periphery, I catch Gemma freeze over my subtle dig at Heather’s boyfriend and his complete lack of interest in being here. Poor guy seems as if she’s leading him around on a leash.
Maybe Gemma sees it too.
“I’m quite surprised you decided to show up,” Heather tries again to land a punch, but I just smile and wave when Slade catches my eye from across the distance where of course, he’s charming the pants off everyone.
And there’s something about the ease he has, the ability to make me feel like we’ve done this before, that has me thinking we might actually be able to pull this off.
Heather clears her throat, surely miffed I’m enamored with my man more than I am with her.
“I’m sorry. You were saying?” I ask and turn my full attention toward her.
“How did the two of you meet?”
“We met at The Bitter End.” Her eyes widen.
Yes, I’m cool like you and go there.
“He really picked you up in a
