“I thought maybe you would be a gentleman and not try to peep.”

He laughed. “First of all, I never claimed to be a gentleman. Second, I saw you watching every time I changed. It was only fair that I try to get a glimpse, too.”

I gave him a look, then pushed the door open and walked in front of him. Suddenly, I felt like taking a long nap. Maybe a full week of sleep would do. I could simply hibernate through the wedding and hope nobody noticed I was missing.

24

DEAN

I was jogging the streets of Fairhope, Colorado as evening drew closer. To my left, the sun was creeping toward the mountains, staining the sky scarlet. The place was pretty as hell, and I could see why Pearl had her dream of leaving the city behind to come somewhere like this.

It felt good to get moving after nearly two full days of driving. My legs had felt stiff and reluctant when I first set out, but now that I’d put a few hills behind me, I felt great.

Pearl was back in the room unpacking her things and freshening up. We both agreed it would be a good idea to go to the bonfire tonight, because it was exactly the sort of thing a couple would want to do. Besides, she’d been informed via text from her sister, Steph, that the whole family would be there.

I couldn’t help feeling a little excited at the prospect of meeting them all. I knew Pearl was probably shitting bricks at the thought, but I was honestly curious to get to know them.

I finished my jog and headed back to the room to shower and clean up. Pearl was on her bed with her little reading glasses and paperback when I came out of the shower. I grinned at her. “What is that book, anyway?” I asked.

She lifted the cover for me to see. It featured some macho looking guy glaring out at me. “It’s a romance novel. This one is about a Duke and Duchess. I love that kind of stuff.”

“The woman who swears off men, but loves reading romance books,” I mused. “Odd combination, don’t you think?”

She gave me a sour look. “Just because I don’t want to put myself out there again, it doesn’t mean it’s not fun to read about other people doing it. I watched a rock climbing documentary once about a guy who climbs without ropes. It was exciting, but I would never do it.”

“Fair points. I concede.”

She smirked. “I like that you can admit you’re wrong. Eric never did.”

She hardly ever talked about him, so I felt my interest perk up. “Yeah? Well, I’m definitely wrong at times.” For some reason, my dumb brain decided to remind me how I had handled the last few days with Pearl. I’d had several chances to take this fragile thing between us to the next phase and I’d continually passed them up. Why? Because I thought I knew what was best. Maybe I’d been wrong, but I was continuing to double down on that decision, even if it felt wrong in my chest.