Wash

I couldn’t help but laugh at the memory. “Tenth grade, right?”

“Yeah. I’ll never forget it. It was our first project together.”

I cringed. “We didn’t sell much. Of course, I guess it didn’t help that I used salt instead of sugar.”

“Don’t forget about those seeds I got in there by accident.”

“I’ll never forget the look on Mrs. Smith’s face,” I said. “That had to be pure torture.”

“I know. I can’t believe she pretended to like it.”

“The principal wasn’t so nice. She shut us down, remember?”

I sipped my cold drink, then laughed some more. “Yeah, we definitely made the worst lemonade ever.”

He gazed into my eyes. “See?”

“What?”

“We can have fun and laugh as friends.”

The pain still cut deep, in spite of my momentary forgetfulness. “I’m trying because we have to travel together for the time being, but I don’t know if I can promise you friendship.”

“That’s okay. We’ll work on it.”

“I do want to apologize for being so cold to you on the plane.”

“It’s completely understandable.”

“I’ll be cordial, but just don’t expect me to be your chum on this vacation, okay?”

His eyes softened. “Are you ever gonna find it in your heart to forgive me?”

“I-I just don’t know. Maybe if we give it more time.”

“I’ve got all the time in the world.” He glanced around. “This place is nice—a little history, luxury, and scenic nature, all rolled into one.”

“It’s spectacular,” I said.

“I love to enjoy the outdoors. Maybe we could walk the rim trail together.”

I yawned. “I don’t know. I’m really tired.”

“Perhaps tomorrow.”

“Please don’t get your hopes up. Maybe it’d be better if we wait till we can hitch a ride on the donkeys.”

“Yeah,” he said, almost sadly. “I think I’ll go check to see if our room is ready,” he said, then walked off.

Our room was more beautiful than I’d imagined a hotel room could be. The Mary Coulter suite was one of a few rooms in the El Tovar with its own large balcony, almost like a deck, directly overlooking the canyon. While Jake explored, I opted to take a long nap, as I was still exhausted from the plane ride and a bit of jetlag.

When I woke up a while later, Jake asked me to accompany him to dinner. Dining with him wasn’t really on my to-do list, so I declined, leaving him to settle for room service or a dinner alone. I ate a nice dinner alone in the hotel restaurant.

Jake was out on the balcony, and I opened my laptop to see if any new orders had come in. In spite of her warning that all work and no play would make me a dull girl, there were certain things Nadia had trouble handling on her own; she had emailed me to let me know we hadn’t received our fabric for a stunning summer dress. If the fabric didn’t show up by the following week, we wouldn’t be able to add the dress to the Summer Sunlight Collection. It was too late to call the company, so I’d have to wait until morning.

“Ashly?” Jake called from the balcony. “You’ve just gotta see it out here. It’s gorgeous.”

“Um…I’m kind of in the middle of something right now.”