An image of me standing up there—Mom, Bree, Cat, and Sydney all around me with smiling faces as I twirl in a beautiful white gown. A vision of walking down the aisle, Ronin’s face waiting to greet me at the altar.
I flush, embarrassed at where my thoughts have wandered. My mom—with her typical mom-intuition—comes to stand next to me and wraps her arm around my middle.
“You’ll have your time soon, my Amelia. I can feel it,” she whispers to me. She gives me a squeeze and I wrap my arm around her back, hugging her tightly to my side.
Chapter Twenty-Six
MELLIE
“Remind me who’s idea this was?”
A week ago, I was enjoying the cooler spring air in small doses, stopping into Double Shot for a hot coffee to escape the chill and grateful for the warmth of the diner. Now I’m shivering, unable to escape the cold, damp air because the pieces of my tent keep collapsing.
“I believe that was your dear brother,” Bree replies, gripping her windbreaker tighter around her torso while she watches me stoop down to wrestle the tent for the third time. The rest of our group is gathered behind us, and I can feel their amusement. “Apparently, he really wants to go see some waterfall nearby. Mellie, you sure you don’t need a hand with that?” She doesn’t even bother trying to hide the cackle that escapes as a pole whacks me on the head.
I drop the pieces, stepping away with a huff. “I give up.”
Ronin’s chuckle drifts on the breeze over to where I stoop to pick up my water bottle. I take a swig, eyeing him over the top.
“Something funny, Ro?” I call.
He stands next to a perfectly pitched tent, an amused expression on his face as he watches me. Evan and Catalina have also pitched the tent they’ll share on the other side of the clearing,and Brooklyn and Bree are working together to get theirs raised. I don’t know what warped sense of independence possessed me to claim I could set mine up alone.
“You want some help, Mel?” Ronin calls back. “I’m happy to assist, if you ask nicely.”
I roll my eyes. “Get your ass over here and pitch my tent,please,” I reply, shooting him my sweetest smile.
He approaches the mess of tent pieces scattered in front of me. “What did this poor tent do to you to deserve this abuse?” Squatting down, he lifts a piece of canvas to inspect it.
“It’s not my fault this one has so many pieces,” I complain. “The last time I set up a tent, it was much smaller than this one.”
“Was it a toddler tent?”
I lightly smack him on the shoulder. “Can you fix it or not?”
Ronin stands to face me, the look on his face one of suppressed mirth. “Well, I would, but you somehow managed to snap one of the polesandtear the door flap.” He tries to hide his smile and fails. “That tent is useless.”
My stomach drops, mouth going dry as I realize what he’s about to say before it even escapes his mouth.
“Don’t worry, my tent is plenty large enough to sleep two. You can bunk with me tonight.” Ronin smirks, his dimples taunting me. His dark hair falls into his eyes, and his long fingers reach up to brush the strands out of his face.
I swallow, my throat parched. “Super,” I reply hoarsely.
Averting my gaze, I see Bree grinning at us like the fucking Cheshire Cat and narrow my eyes at her. What did that meddling best friend of mine do this time?
She shoots me a gleeful grin before turning back to help Brooklyn. I shake my head.
“Thanks,” I mumble in Ronin’s direction as I scoop up my backpack to deposit it into Ronin’s perfect tent, noting that it’s barely big enough for both of us to squeeze in.
This should be fun.
I duck back out. Evan and Ronin are setting up a handful ofcamping chairs in the center of our little campsite, arranged in a circle around the fire pit.
“Alright,” Evan says, rubbing his hands together. “Everything is all set up.” He peers up at the sky, checking his watch. “It’s a little late in the day for a hike, so maybe we save that for tomorrow instead.”
“So what you're saying is it’s drinking time!” Bree cheers.
Shivering, I pull on a windbreaker over the hoodie I have on, snuggling into the material to get warm. Brooklyn and Bree drag our cooler closer to where we sit and start handing out drinks as I take a seat, pulling a blanket over my shoulders.
