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Chapter 10
Calvin
The scavenger hunt was slated for mid-morning. From the second I woke up, I’d practically needed physical restraints to keep from knocking on the door connecting my room to Amanda’s. That swimsuit hadn’t merely left little to the imagination, it had activated my imagination. Good thing she’d cut out early, for whatever reason. She’d saved me from myself.
The woman was the total package—brains, beauty, sweetness, determination, artistic talent. Not only was she was sexy beyond my wildest expectations, she was PokerDogs!
Amanda challenged me. She didn’t put up with my shallow-guy act. She forced me to yank down my pretenses and show her my real self. I can be my nerdiest VelvetElvis around her—and that’s the version of me she seems to like most of all.
Whether or not I deserved her—none would argue I could—I wanted her for my own. All the Ms. Wrongs I’d cycled through, just to get to Amanda, faded to nothing.
Dang. I was falling for Amanda Starkey—faster than a human hamster sphere down a grassy hillside. And to think, she’d been right in front of me all that time. Icy outside, warm on the inside. So, so warm.
Finally, ten o’clock chimed, and I charged to the door. “Amanda? You ready?”
A moment later, the door opened. She wore a simple blue t-shirt and jeans, both of which hugged her exactly how I wanted to be hugging her.
“Hey.” I pulled her close. After a second, she relaxed, albeit reluctantly. “After you left last night, everyone talked about how good you are for me. I think they’re convinced.” Me, too.
“Does this mean I get to see the waterfall?”
Not the reaction I wanted to hear. “Sure. Ellen said there’s one on the way to Arrowhead, which is the location of the final game.”
“That’s right. The wedding is tomorrow.” She grabbed a sweater and her purse, and we walked down the staircase holding hands. It felt natural. Right. “It went fast and slow, you know? I have loved being in New Zealand.”
Uh-huh. “Because it’s Middle Earth?”
“Sure.” She lifted a shoulder like she suddenly didn’t care about the whole Tolkien angle of this trip. “Something like that.”
I got the car door for her. “Everything okay?” Clearly it wasn’t. She was upset with me, probably. Maybe I shouldn’t have come on so strongly when she flashed us her bikini last night. I started the car. “What made you leave early last night?”
She side-stepped my question. “Waterfall first, then meet them for the game.”
“Okay.” That worked, we had a little extra time. And she’d earned it. “You’re in charge of navigation, though.” I handed her my phone.
We drove out of town toward the pass between Queenstown and the little mountain village.
“Speaking of Ellen, she came by my room this morning. All her bridesmaids are borrowing my cousin’s dresses.”
“Oh, no. Really?” Then I caught more meaning. “Wait. Those dresses aren’t yours?”
“No, they belong to my cousin Tessa.”
“Say, what?” I steered along the low-traffic road.
“She’s a huge fantasy cosplay fan. We’re the same height. She’s a little thinner, but most of the costumes still fit me. There are a lot you haven’t seen. Ellen looked through and found the prettiest ones for her three bridesmaids who came early for the wedding rehearsal and dinner.”
If I were a robot, I would’ve been chanting, Does not compute. “They’re not your dresses.” Or the leather thing from the archery range. “Are you not a hobbit fan, then?”
“Of course I am.” She huffed out a long sigh. “But not in a dress-up way. You were always so annoying about my cubicle décor, I brought the dresses just to get your goat.”
My jaw dropped. They’d bothered me at first, and then they’d hot-and-bothered me, especially the archery one. Oh, and that horseback rider one I never did get to see.
“There’s a turn up here.” She aimed a thumb. “Don’t miss it or we miss the waterfall.”
“If you’re not crushing on hobbits or hobbit-actors, why the hobbit-watching-over-you at your cubicle?”
For a second it looked as if she was open and going to answer, but then she closed up again, just like she had last night right before leaving the hot tub.
