“It will be.” He nabs one of the tortilla chips and loads it with the elote dip I will dream about. “You really could start your own travel company; you’re that good at planning expeditions.”

“Expeditions?” He is so unintentionally funny sometimes; listening to him talk is my favorite. I really do need to read one of his books. “I appreciate the way you make everything I do sound fancy.”

“You are fancy.” He wiggles his eyebrows and I know he’s referring to the lingerie I changed into after our little rendezvous under the stars.

“Oh, you know it.” The sarcasm in my voice couldn’t be heavier, but my cheeks get so hot, I almost break out into a sweat. “People call me Fancy Drew all the time.”

He graciously laughs at my terrible pun and it makes me fall for him even harder.

“But seriously, I was thinking about what you were saying earlier.” He must see the confusion on my face, so he backtracks a bit. “You know, about how you loved taking pictures of nature to connect people to the world. I want to know more about that. Where did you want to go? What were your plans?”

I’d given him a brief overview about what I’d been doing before I took over the Book Nook, but I never told him everything. If I’m honest, I don’t think I’ve ever told anyone everything. Not even Elsie. Before, it felt like an audacious goal that I needed to keep close to my heart, but now it feels like an impossible dream, so far removed that it doesn’t matter who knows.

“Well, I had a whole multilayered plan.” I lean forward, ignoring my mom’s voice in the back of my head telling me to get my elbows off the table. “First was to take over Colorado. I told you about camping with my mom and I think that’s really where my obsession with the outdoors stemmed from. Then, when I got my driver’s license and Gran gave me my Jeep? It was game over. I was in a photography class in school and one of our assignments was shooting outdoor scenery. I just fell in love. I spent every weekend after that searching out the best places to photograph. Drove Elsie insane. She wanted to go to the movies and I’d force her to come along on these ridiculous adventures I had no right taking.”

One time, I accidentally got us stranded in the Sand Dunes because I decided to drive Medano Pass Primitive Road when it was my driving skills that were primitive. My mom was furious. I was only allowed to drive to and from school for two months.