“She got a name?” He walked back to the driver's side and opened the door for me.
“Clarabelle.”
He glanced at me as I climbed in.
I lifted a brow. “Problem?”
He shook his head, lips twitching. “Not at all. I’m honored.”
He shut the door, walked around the truck, and opened the passenger door, then paused for a moment.
“Sleeping bags?” His brows lifted, noticing them in the back of the truck.
I froze.
“Oh. Yeah. Those. They’re just... you know, emergency preparedness. I always keep them there.”
“For what?”
“Flash floods. Unexpected naps. Alien invasions.”
He narrowed his eyes, and I coughed and started the truck. “Sometimes I take a book up the trail and read all day. It gets cold in the shade.”
He climbed in, settling the muffin bag in his lap, and gave me a sideways look that made heat crawl up my neck.
“And you bringtwosleeping bags for yoursolohikes?”
I cleared my throat. “Clarabelle gets lonely.”
He laughed, a low, warm rumble, and shook his head.
The sound sent a jolt through my stomach. I hadn’t expected him to laugh like that. Not so freely. Not with me so soon.
It made something flutter in my chest.
“So where exactly are we going?” he asked, taking another sip of coffee.
“It’s a surprise.”
“I figured.”
“You’ll like it.”
He gave me a look. “You sure about that?”
I shrugged. “I’ve got a 96% success rate with this destination. Four stars. Scenic overlook. Bonus points for good company.”
Ben didn’t say anything for a moment.
Then, quietly: “You count me as good company now?”
I glanced at him, heart doing that annoying little hopeful skip. “You kissed me last night. That kind of bumped you out of grumpy stranger territory.”
He went quiet again, sipping his coffee, but I didn’t miss the small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
“Well,” he said after a beat, “guess I better live up to my upgraded status.”
“You could start by pretending to like Clarabelle.”
