Page 8

“Because I didn’t want to have her buy me dinner… and I wanted to see her smile.”

Camden smirks. “You’ve got it bad, brother.”

“I’m aware,” I grumble.

“So, you let her win and bought her dinner. Then what?”

“We went to the grocery store and bet on who could find the coolest item.”

“Do you have a gambling problem now?”

I laugh. “No. It’s a way to stay close to her. We bet on the grocery run, and she won, so I had to buy her dinner again.”

“Smooth.”

“I try.”

We park and climb out at the base of the trail.

“So, you’re seeing her again today? What’s the plan?”

“Yesterday, we bet on who could finish a hike first, and tonight, we’re hanging out to see who can make a better meal.”

Camden raises an eyebrow. “Have you tried just asking her out?”

“I’m working on it.”

We start the hike, and the conversation shifts to how he and Lymric are doing and reminiscing over stories from our time in the service.

“Thanks for inviting me out,” I say when we make it back to his car.

“Anytime. It’s good to have you here. I know that it wasn’t your plan.”

I nod. “Not quite, but it’s working out okay so far.”

“Yeah, a good woman will do that,” Camden says with a knowing smile, obviously thinking about his girl, Lymric. He slaps my back. “Come on. We need to get you home so you can be ready for your date.”

We hop into his car and make the short ride back to Milo’s place.

“Have fun tonight. I’ll talk to you later,” Camden says when he drops me off.

“Thanks. See you.”

I close the door and wave before I jog up the steps and let myself in. Lilou is still at work, so the place is empty. I rush to my room and take the quickest shower of my life. By the time I’m dressed, it’s almost three.

I’m grabbing my keys and heading out the door when my phone buzzes with a message from Blake telling me she’s done with work for the day. I send her a message letting her know I’m on my way.

I pull up in front of her apartment and park. When I climb out of the car, I see her waiting for me at the top of the apartment stairs.

She smiles. “Hey, how was your day?”

I jog up the stairs toward her. “It was good. I went for a hike with a friend.”

“Fun!”

“What about you?”

“I worked all day. It was pretty boring.”