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“That’s an answer you’d give your mom,” Silas complained. “Come on. This is us.” His friend stared at him for a few silent seconds. “You’re in love with her. Aren’t you?”
He nodded. They’d see through a lie anyway. Nothing fulfilled him like seeing her happy. Nothing mattered more than making sure she always felt as safe and as cared for as she had that morning. “I could see a future with Lyric.” But he didn’t know if she could see a future with him. That was the risk he was taking right now. Spending time with her. Getting close to her. She might not love him back. “I’m not sure where she is right now.” But they had one more night alone, away from reality, and he was going to give her a convincing argument. “I’m going to surprise her tonight. Do you think we could stop by the camping store on the way back?”
“Camping?” Aiden finished off his beer and pushed the bottle to the center of the table. “You’re taking her camping?” He shook his head. “Bro, I’m not sure that’ll be agoodsurprise.”
“If you want to surprise her, I’d go with something more traditional,” Silas agreed. “A candlelit dinner or maybe a present. We could always stop by a jewelry store.”
“I’m not taking her camping, dumbasses.” Seriously. They knew he wasn’tthatclueless when it came to women. Thatch stood and pushed in his chair, tossing some cash on the table. He was ready to get back to Lyric. “I only need a two-person sleeping bag and one of those outdoor mattresses. For tonight.”
“Ah.” Silas graced him with an impressed smirk. “A little romance under the stars.”
“Exactly.” They wouldn’t spend the whole night outside, but their cabin sat in a clearing and had a deck that would make the perfect stargazing spot.
“Maybe I should pick up a sleeping bag and mattress too.” Aiden collected all their cash from the table and secured it under one of the empty bottles. “That’s actually a pretty good idea. To change things up. Throw in some creativity.”
“You’re welcome.” See? He knew more about women than they gave him credit for. Thatch dug his keys out of his pocket and led the charge to his truck.
When they arrived back at the lodge an hour later, Lyric, Tess, and Kyra still weren’t back from their shopping excursion. So the three of them shot some pool in the game room and then ate burgers for dinner when Kyra texted they were grabbing something to eat on the way back.
After one more game of contentious pool, Thatch bade his friends good night and headed back to the cabin so he could set the mood for the surprise. He blew up the outdoor mattress, laid out the sleeping bag, and placed the flameless candles he’d picked up—so they didn’t unintentionally ignite any forest fires—all around the deck.
He’d just made it back inside when Lyric came through the door. “Wow. What a day.” She dropped her purse on the couch and moved swiftly to hug him. “I thought we’d never get back here. Kyra kept saying she had just one more store she wanted to check out, and then they were both so hungry we had to stop for dinner.”
“It was a long day.” Thatch hugged her back and evenbrushed a kiss across her lips. “But it all worked out. You being gone so long gave me time to put together a little surprise.”
“Ohhhh.” She had her hands clasped behind his neck again, like she had this morning when she’d kissed him. “I like surprises.”
And he liked seeing her smile this way at him. “First things first.” He went to the mini fridge and retrieved the champagne they hadn’t opened last night. “We shouldn’t let this go to waste.” After pouring two generous glasses, he handed one to her and then took her hand to lead her outside to the deck, where a flickering glow filled the whole space.
Lyric gasped and stopped when she saw the candles. “This is beautiful.” She tugged on his hand, pulling him back to her. “I love this surprise, Thatch. I love it so much.”
“I’m glad.” He stole her glass of champagne and set both down next to the makeshift bed he’d constructed. “I thought it would be a good night for stargazing.” Taking a knee, he folded a corner of the sleeping bag over.
“Every night is a good night for stargazing in the mountains.” Lyric kicked off her shoes and climbed in, fluffing up the pillows before lying down. Thatch slipped in beside her and wrapped her up in his arms. Finally.
“It’s the perfect night,” Lyric murmured. “Look at that clear sky.”
“Beautiful.” But he was looking at her. “Did you have a good time with Kyra and Tess today?”
“It was a lot of shopping.” She nestled her head in the crook of his arm. “What about you? How was golfing?”
He laughed. “None of us like to golf.”
She lifted her head to peek into his eyes. “Seriously?”
“We’re terrible at it. All of us.” He had no problem with Lyric knowing he wasn’t good at everything. “We can’t hit the ball to save our lives.”
“That’s surprising.” She settled her head next to his again. “Then why did you go?”
That was the question of the day. “Kyra planned it, I guess, and Aiden didn’t want to tell her he’s a terrible golfer.”
Now Lyric laughed softly, as though she wasn’t surprised. “But you’re telling me.”
He hugged her tighter. “I feel like I can tell you anything.”
“Me too.” She gasped. “Oh! Did you see that one? A shooting star just went right over our heads.”
“I missed it.” He’d rather look at her anyway.
