Free Wash by Lexy Timms Page B

believe she pretended to like it.”
    “ The principal wasn’t so nice. She shut us down,
remember?”
    I sipped my
cold drink, then laughed some more. “Yeah, we definitely made the
worst lemonade ever.”
    He gazed into
my eyes. “See?”
    “ What?”
    “ We can have fun and laugh as
friends.”
    The pain still
cut deep, in spite of my momentary forgetfulness. “I’m trying
because we have to travel together for the time being, but I don’t
know if I can promise you friendship.”
    “ That’s okay. We’ll work on it.”
    “ I
do want to apologize for being so cold to you on the
plane.”
    “ It’s completely understandable.”
    “ I’ll be cordial, but just don’t expect me to be your chum on
this vacation, okay?”
    His eyes
softened. “Are you ever gonna find it in your heart to forgive
me?”
    “ I-I just don’t know. Maybe if we give it more
time.”
    “ I’ve got all the time in the world.” He glanced around. “This
place is nice—a little history, luxury, and scenic nature, all
rolled into one.”
    “ It’s spectacular,” I said.
    “ I
love to enjoy the outdoors. Maybe we could walk the rim trail
together.”
    I yawned. “I
don’t know. I’m really tired.”
    “ Perhaps tomorrow.”
    “ Please don’t get your hopes up. Maybe it’d be better if we
wait till we can hitch a ride on the donkeys.”
    “ Yeah,” he said, almost sadly. “I think I’ll go check to see if
our room is ready,” he said, then walked off.
    Our
room was more beautiful than I’d imagined a hotel room could be.
T he Mary Coulter suite was one of a few
rooms in the El Tovar with its own large balcony, almost like a
deck, directly overlooking the canyon. While Jake explored, I opted
to take a long nap, as I was still exhausted from the plane ride
and a bit of jetlag.
    When I woke up a while later, Jake
asked me to accompany him to dinner. Dining with him wasn’t
really on my to-do list, so I declined, leaving him to settle for
room service or a dinner alone. I ate a nice dinner alone in the
hotel restaurant.
    Jake was out on the balcony, and I
opened my laptop to see if any new orders had come in. In spite of
her warning that all work and no play would make me a dull girl,
there were certain things Nadia had trouble handling on her own;
she had emailed me to let me know we hadn’t received our fabric for
a stunning summer dress. If the fabric didn’t show up by the
following week, we wouldn’t be able to add the dress to the Summer
Sunlight Collection. It was too late to call the company, so I’d
have to wait until morning.
    “ Ashly?” Jake called from
the balcony. “You’ve just gotta see it out here. It’s
gorgeous.”
    “ Um…I’m kind of in the
middle of something right now.”
    “ Just one quick peek?” he
begged.
    I set my purse down and headed
outside. Immediately, the moonlit canyon and glittering stars took
my breath away.
    “ Here, have a seat,” Jake
said, motioning to a chair beside him.
    “ I’d rather stand. It’s
amazing,” I said, “absolutely breathtaking.”
    He turned to meet my gaze, and I
quickly looked away. “You’re mad at me.”
    “ Yes, but it’s not just
that. On top of the fact that it’s a little hard to be around you
so much, we’re having problems with a shipment back at the
boutique.”
    “ I’m sorry,” he said. “Like
I’ve told you time and time again, walking out on you was the worst
mistake I ever made. I lost the only good thing in my life, and
I’ve regretted it every single day since. I swear, not a day has
gone by when I haven’t thought about you.”
    “ It was the most painful
and difficult thing I’ve ever been through.”
    “ I
know. I also carry the scars.”
    “ Really? You poor thing,” I said, scowling at him. “Any scars
you have from that day are self-inflicted in case you’ve
forgotten.”
    When I looked
away, he pushed a stray strand of hair behind my ear. “I’m so, so
sorry for what I did to you, to us.”
    “