42 Hours (Time for Love 3)

“Yeah, of course, but … won’t you be riding with Brock?” I asked, then silently cursed myself for such a stupid suggestion. What if she changed her mind and I lost that quality alone time with her.

“Oh, no … Brock’s got work, so he isn’t coming up until Sunday morning. He said he’ll be there around nine in the morning, stay for the barbecue, then probably head back.”

I fist bumped like a tool, but tried to keep my voice casual.

“Okay, sounds great. I’ll pick you up around three o’clock on Friday.”

“Thanks, Scott. I’ll see you then. Bye.”

“Later, Gabs.”

I hung up the phone and grinned wickedly at my friends. My brothers. “I’ve got forty-two hours to convince her that this is our time.”

Chapter 12 – Gaby

I was all cleaned up and waiting for Scott to pick me up from Bee Sweet. While I waited, I went through a mental checklist to make sure I hadn’t forgotten anything:

Bathing suits. Check. A bikini for sunbathing and swimming, and a sporty one-piece just in case there was volleyball or kayaking or something.

Outfit for country bar. Check.

Shorts and tank tops for the rest of the weekend. Check.

Toiletries and toothbrush. Check

Razor. Check.

Phone charger. Check.

Playlist for the drive. Check.

As I ran through everything, I felt a nagging suspicion that I was missing something, but when I saw Scott pull up in his sexy BMW, I pushed the thought to the side and opened the door to meet him outside.

“Hi,” I said cheerfully. I was beyond excited to be getting out of town for a few days. I loved road trips.

“Hi, yourself,” Scott said just as happily. He popped the trunk and took my duffel bag from my, putting it in the back and closing the hood. “You ready?”

“Absolutely,” I yelled out with a laugh, as I got into the passenger seat.

“Well, let’s get going then,” Scott responded with a wink. I hadn’t seen him in such a good mood in a long time. This weekend was going to be a good thing for all of us.

“Tunes?” I asked him, waving my iPhone in the air.

“Turn it up,” Scott replied with a grin.

I hooked my phone up to his sound system, and scrolled through my music until I reached the LAKE HOUSE PLAYLIST. I h

it play and Blake Shelton’s latest came through the speakers. I’d decided on a Country playlist, because listening to country always reminded me of high school. That had been our music of choice, and it still made me think of Scott when I heard it. I figured it was something we could both enjoy, and would get us in the mood for the bar tonight.

We road in comfortable silence for a few miles, listening to the music and watching the town pass by. Once we were out on the open road, Scott turned to me and asked, “Hey, Gaby?”

I rolled my head along the headrest to face him. My shoes were off, and my feet were on the dash.

“Hmmm?” I responded, lazy and content.

“The other night, at the bar, right before the band started…. You came back from the bathroom, looking all flushed and embarrassed. Then you downed TJ’s beer… I’d meant to ask you about it then, but the music came on, and we all got distracted. Did something happen?”

I flushed at his question, as I remembered the scene that had gotten me all flustered.