Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 64880 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64880 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
By the time they dragged the canoes ashore and went for a swim mid-afternoon, Pike was discouraged. By the time they reached their usual campsite and started setting up tents and preparing to cook supper, he was grinding his teeth with frustration. He was in a foul mood and assembling his small, sleeps-one tent on the opposite side of the campground from Tulsi’s only made it fouler. He and Tulsi shouldn’t be sleeping apart and pretending to be old friends. They should be making up for lost time and figuring out how they were going to move forward. The passion between them yesterday had been real. It was still there, simmering below the surface—no matter how many polite smiles and cool glances Tulsi shot his way—and he meant to prove it, as soon as he could get her truly alone.
The chance didn’t come as they were making camp, helping Ross cook a supper of ribs, broccoli rabe, and roasted potatoes that rivaled the food in some of the best restaurants Pike had frequented. It didn’t come as they were cleaning up or tying the remaining food in plastic bags that they hung in nearby trees to keep it safe from animals. It wasn’t until it was nearly dark and they all went their separate ways to get ready for bed that Tulsi unglued herself from Mia’s side and started down a narrow path toward the river on her own.
After making sure the rest of the group was busy with their own pre-bedtime rituals, Pike followed Tulsi down to the riverbank, his shoes crunching onto the fine gravel beside the water just as Tulsi squatted behind a shrub.
“We need to talk,” Pike said, summoning a surprised yip from Tulsi.
“Ohmygod, you scared me!” Tulsi said. “I’m peeing, Pike! Go away!”
“No,” Pike stubbornly insisted. “I’ve been trying to have a real conversation with you all day. If this is the only way I can get you to listen, I’m not above taking advantage of a captive audience.”
“At least turn your back, for goodness sakes,” Tulsi snapped. “You’re crazy, you know that?”
“And you’re crazy if you think I’m going to let you pretend yesterday didn’t happen.” He turned, granting her the privacy she’d requested though he couldn’t see much behind the bushes anyway. “It happened, and I meant what I said. I’m still in love with you, and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to convince you to give me a second chance.”
He hesitated, waiting for a long, silent beat before he asked, “Did you hear me?”
“I heard you, but I’m not talking to you while I pee,” she said. “Or any other time. I meant what I said yesterday, too. I got over you when I was eighteen and I’m not interested in living in the past.”
“You’re lying,” he said, turning back around just as Tulsi stood, hitching her shorts up over her black underpants. He couldn’t keep his eyes from sweeping up and down her petite frame as she started toward the water with her toiletry bag. She was so beautiful, even in gym shorts and an oversized Ticklish Iguana tee shirt that hung on her slim shoulders.
How had he ever convinced himself this woman was flawed? She was perfect, from her upturned nose to the square little feet encased in her sandals.
“I am not lying,” she said, crossing her arms at her chest. “What happened yesterday was just sex, Pike. It had been a while for me, and you look good in a pair of blue jeans. That’s it.”
“Is that why you were crying when it was over?” he asked, not missing the way Tulsi’s lips tightened at the words. “That was more than sex, and you know it.”
“I don’t know anything except that I wish you would go.” She turned her back on him as she squatted by the river to dip a washcloth into the water. “Just leave me alone, Pike. This isn’t going to happen. There’s never going to be anything between us again.”
“Why are you so scared?” Pike asked softly. “And what can I do to prove that you don’t have to be? Just name it, Tulsi. I’ll do anything you ask. You can call all the shots.”
“I don’t want anything from you,” she said, the words ending in a sob. “Now please just…go.”
Pike crossed the pebbled bank between them and sat down next to her, his heart breaking when he saw the tears on her cheeks. “I hate that I keep making you cry.”
“Then leave me alone,” Tulsi said with a sniff as she swiped her tears away with her fists. “Just leave me alone, Pike. I can’t give us another chance. Not even if I wanted to.”
“Why?” he asked, reaching out to cup her sad face in his hands. “Look at me, tell me why.”