Page 67 of The Love Hoax
I wanted to shout my revelation right there and then. Tell her how much I want to be with her, to talk to her, hold her, kiss her.
Love her.
Whoa,love? Where did that come from?
Love, love, love.
The word rings true. With the mantra still swirling in my head, the exhilaration chases away the exhaustion.
I couldn’t care less if she’s older. Not a whit. She’s caring, smart, beautiful, and outdoorsy. She brings out the best in me. She brings out the passion in me.
I glance at Evie, still pensive. Could she be thinking the same thing?
No chance. It’s crazy even to consider such a thing about someone I met days ago, let alone say it aloud.
But I need to tell her how I feel. At the right time. When it won’t scare her away. Which would naturally exclude here in my old Honda on a deserted highway.
I’ll find the right time over the weekend. A romantic moment. To tell her I’m falling hard for her. Falling in love.
The thought buoys me, bringing a broad smile to my face.
Bob Marley begins crooning over the radio. Softly, I sing along.
Everything is going to be all right.
Chapter Forty-Eight
Evie
Istay quiet for most of the drive. We stopped twice to refuel, grabbing a bite at a farmstand in Grand Junction. Pulling into Breckenridge as the sun dips behind the magnificent mountain range, I find solace in the painted sky of purples and pinks. Not a bad distraction. And I need one desperately.
My milestone birthday has flipped a crazy switch. Realization hits me upside the head. So much so that I groan.
“All good?” Adam asks, a tinge of concern in his voice.
I mutter an affirmative reply. I need to think.
To the left, a narrow river flows over a rocky bed. A storybook pedestrian bridge, lined with hanging baskets of colorful flowers, spans the water. “Runoff from the snowy peaks,” Adam says. I nod without turning to face him.
If Adam realizes I’m acting differently, he doesn’t let on. It takes the first hundred miles to overcome my mortification atcoming onto him in my pill-induced stupor at the hotel. In the bed. What sort of woman does he think I am? What sort of woman am I?
I’m a fifty-year-old mom. A respected attorney. How can I behave in such an irresponsible manner?
And yet from the moment I landed in Yosemite, it was as if I shed all of those long-held identities. Sure, it was freeing—that sense of being unencumbered by life’s normal routines and expectations. But I took risk after risk. On the mountain trails and with Adam.
Maybe I’m old-fashioned, an anachronism. But I have never been the type to behave as I have over recent days. If only I had stayed back in New York, refusing to allow Caroline to talk me into going alone. Maybe I’d still have my job, and my sanity.
The car makes it up a steep incline until we reach a large sign.Grand Colorado.
It serves as a wakeup call. We’ve arrived.
Adam pulls the Honda up to the sprawling resort at the foot of the ski mountain. My sole focus needs to be on convincing the Demetrius family that I’m Ronna, Adam’s adoring fiancée.
But my mind is made up, there’s no need for further ruminations. Once the wedding weekend ends, I’m going back home to New York to find another job, one that’s Adam-free. I’m going back to my normal, responsible life. Once and for all.
The moment Adam and I enter the lobby, a red-haired beauty in a flimsy blue organza sundress comes barreling toward me with the exuberance of a Golden Retriever puppy. “Oh my gosh, oh my gosh!”
My midlife, existential crisis will have to wait. I drop my purse to the ground, bracing for impact. Before I can escape her path, the hyper-fit woman, embraces me tightly, cutting off my oxygen.
