Page 92 of Fool Me

She tosses herself in the back and lets Echo in. The truck is packed like we’re heading out for an entire weekend away, not just the day. Looking over her shoulder, I see her take inventory.

“Got everything?”

“Yeah.” She slides her palm into mine. “Everything I need is right here.”

CHAPTER

THIRTY-TWO

HARLOWE

One of my favorite things about summer is feeling the sun on my face. I love to tip my head back and soak in the warmth. Nothing can match it. Winters here in Timberline Peak can be brutal, but the summers are special.

If you ask me, that’s why they put on such a spectacular display for us, like today. It’s a postcard perfect Wyoming day when Altas pulls down the dirt road to the dead end where we’re unloading to float down the river today. Denver’s truck and trailer are parked a few miles down where we’ll get out whenever we get there.

It could be an hour, it could be three—that’s the beauty of floating. There’s no rush, just sunshine and the people we care about most.

Atlas puts the car in park, smirking at me. “Wait there.”

He’s so pleased with himself it pulls a laugh from me when he pulls the door open. “You’re about to make this a thing, aren’t you?”

“It’s already a thing, and it’s going to keep being a thing.” His hands grip my waist and he lifts me out of the seat. “Those small town manners run deep.”

“But usually it’s just the two of us, not a whole audience.” I roll my eyes, but in reality, I love it. “I thought we weren’t putting on a show anymore.”

He slides me down his body and, with his hands still on my hips, ducks his head and says, “That was for me—an excuse to get my hands on you and treat you the way you deserve. I can’t help if they’re all watching.”

“No excuses necessary. I’m yours now and you can touch me anytime you want.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Clover.” He kisses my nose, making sure I’m steady on my feet before releasing me. But the truth is, I’m still wobbly. Altas throws me off balance with the unnerving way he switches from sweet to flirty. Being around him makes me feral—I’m always one second from pulling him away from some alone time, and I love it.

I shut the passenger door and let Echo out the back, turning to find myself surrounded by my friends.

Tessa’s mouth hangs open, Sloane just grins at me, but Aspen is the first to speak.

“You fell for your fake boyfriend in California,” she declares, her smile nearly as wide as the one I can feel stretching my face.

“Please, please,pleasetell me it’s true,” Briar adds.

“He’s such a showoff,” I say, sounding more pleased than annoyed. “He totally made it a thing.”

“It’s cute,” Sloane says earnestly. “You deserve to be treated like the center of someone’s universe. We all do.”

Everyone nods along with her. If anyone else notices the pain in her eyes, they don’t say anything, but my heart cracks for Sloane.

“I sure as hell am not finding anyone who will open a door for me, let alone lift me out of their truck,” Aspen grumbles.

“Hot doctor isn’t a gentleman?” Briar asks.

Aspen shrugs. “Not outside the bedroom.”

“Well, at least he has that going for him,” Tessa says.

“It’s literally the only thing going for him. But it’s fine, I don’t want to date someone I work with, anyway.”

“Yeah, that almost never works out,” Sloane adds.

“Speaking from experience?” I ask, risking her shutting down, because eventually she’s going to trust us enough to tell us something about her past.

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