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I laughed. I’d almost forgotten about Mella, and had certainly forgotten about how pissed I’d been with her.
She would have enjoyed the weekend. Her loss.
“Yeah, she called me and couldn’t make it at the last minute. I was about to head back home when these guys were kind enough to invite me for a… meal.”
She nodded happily and put her Jeep back in drive. “That’s what I like to hear. Campers getting along with each other, and even becoming friends. You just never know who you’re gonna meet camping. It’s how I met my girlfriend, you know. We’ve been together almost ten years.”
Trent raised his coffee cup. “Cheers to that.”
We all followed and the manager beamed.
“Have fun, y’all. And stay out of trouble.”
I could be mistaken, but I’m pretty sure she winked in our direction as she drove off.
The guys helped me pack my car and then turned to theirs. While I hung out chatting with them, Ivan came over holding a small package wrapped in one of his t-shirts. When I opened it, I was speechless.
“I know they’re not chef’s knives, but I was sort of thinking you could hold onto them until I can make one or two for you.”
A lump grew in my throat. “I… I don’t know what to say. This is so generous.”
Seriously. How often did anyone receive a handmade gift?
This was a treasure. Plain and simple.
“I promise to take good care of them,” I assured him in a halting voice, wrapping them back up and popping them into my glove box. “Thank you so much.”
“You are welcome, my sorceress.”
I laughed at the nickname , which he’d tagged me with because he said I looked like a sexy witch from a video game. I couldn’t deny it. I liked it.
“So… since these two losers are not going to ask directly, I will,” Trent said, holding up his phone. “I’d like to see you again, Fiona. I mean, your family’s restaurant is only an hour from me. Roman and Ivan aren’t far, either.”
“I thought what happened out of town stayed out of town?” I teased, remembering one of them saying that at some point. “Are we changing policies?”
“You are definitely deserving of an exception,” he said. “What do you say?”
I pulled my phone from my back pocket. Two minutes later I had contact info for all the guys, and they had mine.
“I’ve got to work six days this week to make up for taking the long weekend off,” I said. “But if you can get together for a later dinner or something, that would be awesome.”
Trent looked at the other guys, who nodded. “We’ll be there,” he confirmed.
We said our last goodbyes and I got in my car, driving with surprising reluctance away from the campground. I wasn’t sure what the future held, and whether the magic that had happened at Black Mountain Lake could possibly be replicated in the ‘real world.’
But I was sure as hell going to try and find out.
And I had my best friend running off to Vegas to thank for it.
Best wrecked camping weekend ever.
* * *
