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“I do?” I hadn’t ordered anything. I was waiting for the construction to finish before I ordered any new décor items.
It was addressed to me, not Java Coffee.
“What is it?” Hailey hovered nearby.
“I have no idea.” But my traitorous heart sped up like a little girl presented with an early birthday gift, and I ripped open the box to find a sleeping bag and a pillow.
“Planning on going camping?” Hailey asked.
“It must be a mistake.” I tucked everything back into the box and set it in the corner. I’d need to return it at some point.
When I was alone in bed that night, my phone buzzed on the nightstand. I put down my book and picked it up.
Ben: Did you get my gift?
Brooke: What gift?
The phone buzzed with an incoming call. I quickly smoothed my hair and pulled the blanket up to hide my braless state.
“The one I sent to your shop,” he said by way of greeting.
He couldn’t be talking about… “You mean the sleeping bag?”
“It came with a pillow, didn’t it?”
“That wasyou?”
“I wanted to invite you and Hunter camping this weekend. I know Hunter has a sleeping bag, but I wasn’t sure if you did.”
“Camping, as in, the wilderness?”
He smiled boyishly. “If you count my backyard as the wilderness.”
That didn’t sound too bad. “So, it will be you, me, Cammie, and Hunter?”
“If you don’t want to do it, that’s okay. I just thought it would be fun, and we can give Abby a night off.”
“First of all, I love that you want to do that.” It was such a nice gesture, and I couldn’t for the life of me come up with a reason to say no.
“I bought a blow-up screen and a projector so we can watch a movie, and I got the makings for s’mores.”
I chewed on my lip, wondering if it was a good idea. “That sounds fun. Hunter will love it.”
His brow furrowed. “Will you come, too?”
It was a terrible idea. Yeah, we started out doing activities with the kids, but things had changed. We were intimate. It could only be construed as getting in deeper with each other.
“I’ll behave. The kids will be there.” His tone and expression were teasing, making him look more boyish, younger somehow.
“So, we’re going to sleep in a tent?” I asked carefully, trying to come up with a reason to back out gracefully.
“You’re not an outdoorsy girl?” Ben asked, his tone amused.
I shook my head. “Not so much.”
“Hmm. I learn new things about you each day. The girl I used to know never backed down from a challenge.”
“Is that what this is? A challenge?” The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them.
