I smiled. “It can wait until morning. Go to sleep.”

“No, get it. I’m just resting for round two.”

“It’s almost four A.M.”

“Which is why there probably won’t be a round three. However, if you insist, I’ll try to accommodate, because I’m selfless like that.”

I laughed, fetched his phone, and held it out.

“Go ahead,” he said. “Nothing on there you can’t see.”

He directed me to a project management app.

“You’ve got a lot of projects,” I said as I skimmed the files.

“I’m organized.”

“Trip list? Don’t tell me you make packing lists, too.”

“Yes, I do, but that’s not one of them.”

“Can I open it?”

He flipped onto his side. “Did I say there’s nothing on my phone you can’t see?”

I opened the file. It was a list of places. The Three Sisters, Texas. Tail of the Dragon, North Carolina . . .

“Top ten motorcycle roads in North America,” he said.

“How many have you done?”

“Zip.” He looked at me. “You want to change that?”

His fingers rested on my thigh. His tone was confident, but his gaze was slightly lowered, in that way he had when he suspected he might be pushing into territory that could send me backpedaling. I’ve never backpedaled, but Ricky intuits better than anyone I know, and I couldn’t help wondering if he’d picked up on my confusion with Gabriel.

“Are you offering to take me away from all this?” I said.

“More like take you away when all this is over.”

“Let’s do that.” I held up the list. “Pick a spot.”

“Nope.” He turned the phone around. “You.”

“I’d have to research—”

“Uh-uh.” He scooched me over against him and covered my eyes. “Pick one.”

I did and opened my eyes. “Cabot Trail, Nova Scotia?”

“Hope you have a passport.”

“I do. But if you want someplace closer—”

“Nope, I do want to take you away from all this. As far from it as we can get.” He rolled onto his back and pulled me down with him. “At least for a little while.”

“God, I love you.”

“You’d better. ’Cause you’re about to spend two weeks alone with me in the middle of nowhere.”

“Perfect,” I said, and leaned down to kiss him.

—

I awoke to a text from Gabriel, telling me not to come in to work.

“I think I just got fired,” I said.

Ricky got out of bed fast. “He sure as hell better not.” He peered at my phone. “Bastard. It’s a temporary overreaction, but still, that’s your job. Your only source of income after he convinced you to quit the diner. He’d better not fuck with it because he’s feeling pissy.”