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He laughed a little. “This is the longest I’ve gone without sex in years. I think it’s going to my head.”
“Nice pun.”
He smirked. “Thanks.”
As we walked, I thought of how beautiful the place was and let myself imagine us walking down an aisle there, dancing well into the night, enjoying ourselves surrounded by friends and family. It felt right, and I couldn’t imagine it happening anywhere else. “I think this is the right place. You’re right.”
He turned to me, eyes lighting up. “Seriously?”
I nodded. “It’s beautiful, and the food is amazing. What more could we ask for?”
“An opening soon.”
I grinned. “Let’s find out.”
We made our way back to the barn where Lyle was waiting; the table covered in small cake plates.
“How are we feeling, gentlemen?”
Parker smiled, bright and sincere. “Let’s try some cake.”
As expected, the cakes were as delicious as the food choices. We sampled a traditional white cake, plus an apple spice cake, carrot cake, and several others. After the cake, Lyle took us on a tour of the property and we spent some time looking at portfolios of past events. He even offered to set up the horses so we could take a trail ride, but we declined. It was getting late and we had averylong drive ahead of us. Lyle sent us off with a bag of leftovers and two partial bottles of wine that we’d sampled, saying he couldn’t wait to see us again.
It was dark and I was tired when we climbed into the truck, but as I drove, Parker chattered on about the wedding with excitement. I was getting excited, too, to tell the truth. His enthusiasm was contagious. By the time we’d driven an hour and were well into the mountains, we were both giddy over the prospect of getting married way out there, even though it meant our friends and family would have to rent hotel rooms nearby to attend.
“Shit,” Parker said in a quiet moment. “I gotta pee.”
I raised my eyebrows and glanced at him. “Now?”
“Sorry.”
“Okay.” I sighed and kept a lookout for a good place to pull over. There really wasn’t much, but eventually I found a picnic area with a small parking lot where we could get off the road. “Will this do?”
He nodded enthusiastically and opened the truck door before hesitating. “Will you come with me? I’m afraid I’ll get lost.”
“Wh—fine.” I killed the ignition but left the keys in the truck, headlights on so we could see, before leading Parker into the woods a little way off the road so that he could go in privacy.
When we got back into the truck, Parker sighed with relief. “Thank you. I didn’t think I could hold it much longer. Definitely not until we got home.”
“No problem.” I turned the key in the ignition. The truck clicked a few times before cutting out completely, lights dimming and dying. “Shit,” I hissed.
“What’s wrong?”
I scrubbed my hands over my face before looking at Parker. “I think we’re stuck.”
Chapter Eleven
Parker
“Stuck?Whatdoyoumean,stuck?” I heard the desperate tone in my voice as my pitch rose. I pulled my phone out of my pocket. Nothing happened when I tapped the screen, so I pressed the power button. No response. My stomach roiled, sour and hot. “Fuck. My battery’s dead.” I cursed myself for not charging it on the drive home and for using it so goddamned much on the drive up and the tour of the farm.
Travis nodded and banged his fist lightly on the steering wheel. The sound echoed through the cab. “So’s the truck’s.” He picked his phone up. “Mine has battery, but no signal.” He sighed deeply and put it back on the bench seat between us.
We sat in silence for a few moments, each of us staring wordlessly into the woods where we’d been just a few minutes prior, before I spoke up. “Well, what are we going to do?” It was already getting chilly in the truck, the cool fall mountain air enveloping us quickly.
Travis shook his head slowly. “Not a lot of options. We can sleep in the truck and flag someone down in the morning to give us a jump. Or—”
“Sleep in thetruck?” Even I could hear the disbelief heavy in my tone.
