Joy reached into her purse for her pencil and crossed off sleep under the stars.

The stars had been brilliant last night after the moon dipped below the horizon. “I had a good time with you yesterday, too. And I really enjoyed spending the night with you,” he whispered, leaning across the table. Her peachy cheeks turned bright crimson under her freckle constellations. He flashed a grin and after a beat, she softly laughed.

“You’re trouble, Dylan Westfield.” She shook the pencil at him, then tucked both the list and the pencil back into her purse. “So . . . what’s on the agenda for today?” she asked, taking out her wallet.

“The plan is”—he unfolded his paper map and scanned the grids—“six and a half hours of driving fun. I have a gig in Saint Louis at eight thirty. We have time for a short side trip,” he added, glancing at his watch. A shower somewhere would be ideal. “Anything you want to do or see?”

“Something spontaneous. I’ve been wondering what I should do for that one.”

Dylan gave her a look. “You can’t plan something spontaneous. That defeats the purpose of being spontaneous.”

“True.” She pouted, playful, then her mouth turned down. “Do you mind if we drive straight to Saint Louis? I didn’t sleep well last night, and I could really use a shower.”

He frowned, taking a good look at her. She wore the same outfit from yesterday, Rolling Stone tee and cutoff shorts. She had a few bug bites on her upper arm and neck, and he grimaced. He should have been more thorough when he applied the spray. Heavy bags hung below her eyes and her mouth was drawn. They’d been cramming too much—activities and miles—in too short a time. The lack of snooze hours was catching up with them. Then there was this new development with her fiancé.

He reached across the table and grasped her hand. “Sorry about Mark.”

She lifted her gaze and smiled faintly. “Me too.”

He refolded the map and slid it into his back pocket. “Give me the keys. I’ll drive. You can sleep in the car.”

“Thanks.” She pushed the keys across the table, dropped a twenty alongside, and stood. “I need to freshen up. Meet you at the car?” He nodded and she started to walk away only to turn back. “Want to hang out at the pool this afternoon? Assuming our hotel’s got one.”

Uh . . . yeah. He’d make sure they found one that did.

“Sure.”

She smiled brightly. “Great.”