Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 75323 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75323 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
What was that about?
“I expect you to assume all passenger princess duties,” he told me as he backed out of his spot.
“What do those entail?”
“You control the radio. And point out any cows.”
“Cows?” I asked with a huff of laughter.
“Cows. Pigs. Squirrels. Basically, you are the animal spotter and announcer.”
Damn him and his weird but endearing qualities. “I can point out cows.”
“Cool birds too.”
“Sure. If I see anything furry or feathered, I will point it out. What are you doing?” I asked when he paused at the edge of the lot.
“Can’t go until you buckle up. Gotta protect all of that.” He waved a hand down at me.
I buckled up, then dug for my sunglasses as he turned into town, hoping we wouldn’t be spotted by anyone who would come to conclusions I didn’t want them to.
But we made it through town without seeing anyone of significance, and I eased into my (very comfortable) seat.
“Squirrel,” I called as I reached for the dial to change the station.
Raff glanced over at the squirrel as it dangled from someone’s bird feeder by its bushy tail, a smile tugging at his lips as he started to sing along to the song.
I reached for my coffee and took a sip.
Maybe this road trip was going to be even better than I expected.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Lula
“Really? Already?” I asked when Raff told me we were heading to a hotel.
“Why do ten hours on the road when we can do five, have a nice dinner, and maybe see the sights before bed?”
I couldn’t argue with his logic. Even with the gel seat cushion and several stops to stretch our legs, my butt was starting to hurt.
“So, should we try to find a motel to book?” I asked, reaching for my phone on the charger.
“No need. The whole trip is booked already.”
“Wait. What?”
“Yep. All settled. Nothing to stress about.”
“You… don’t strike me as a planner.”
“I’m evolving as a person,” he said. “How about a quick side quest before we check in? I think we’re a little early.”
“What did you have in mind?”
“Ever seen the Joshua Trees?”
“I know my grandparents took me as a little kid, but I don’t remember it.”
“Let’s make some new memories then.”
He really was prepared, too.
There was a cooler in the back loaded down with ice and bottles of water. Like he intended all along for us to trek through the Joshua Tree National Park. To check out the cool rock formations and the ancient trees.
“Go on up there. Let me get a picture,” he demanded when we made it to the arch—a sandy formation the sun set behind if you made it there at the right time.
The sky was still a bright, cloudless blue as I climbed into the gap of the arch so Raff could take my picture. And this man, he didn’t just snap a picture at the most unflattering angle possible. Nope. He moved around me, getting me from above and below, even dropping down on his belly on a rock at one point.
“Is amateur photography a hobby of yours?” I asked as I flipped through the pictures. Aside from one that made me look like I had a double chin, they were all good.
“I’ve got a collection,” he said, shrugging it off. “It’s easy when the material is gorgeous.”
“It really is pretty, isn’t it?” I asked, looking back at the arch.
“Baby, I wasn’t talking about the arch,” he said as he walked ahead of me, leaving me to follow behind, pretending not to notice the way my heart was fluttering.
I couldn’t think about anything else the whole way back to the car, then the drive to the fancy little boutique hotel.
“Wait… I think I’ve seen pictures of this place online,” I said as Raff walked me to my room.
“Yeah, it’s popular among influencers.”
“Why?” I asked as he unlocked my door.
“The accommodations are decent,” he told me, waving around the room.
Decent was right.
It wasn’t necessarily in the top ten hotel rooms I’d ever seen. It was small, stucco-walled and cement-floored, colored in bright reds and deep browns, with all-white linen bedding. The attached bathroom wasn’t overly fancy either. It was modern and clean, at least.
Certainly not something I could see influencers lining up to book.
Until Raff pushed open the door to a little courtyard.
Then I got it.
Three sides were encased in some sort of rusty metal fencing. Everywhere. Except for a long, narrow window overlooking the desert.
Right in front of that window?
A bathtub.
You could bathe outside in the desert.
“Oh, wow.”
“And, of course, the stargazing bed,” Raff said, gesturing toward the bed set up a few feet from the tub.
“This is… incredible.”
“Thought you might get a kick out of it. And in case you aren’t fond of bathing naked outdoors, I got you this,” he said, unzipping his duffle bag and producing a white one-piece bathing suit.