Pilar was speaking. “I’ve seen great photos taken from a hundred yards away with this lens. And this one does the opposite. It can magnify the eye of a butterfly.”
“When I think of all the pictures I could have taken in my life, I feel regret. But maybe—” Chelsea looked up to see Eli/Jeff in the doorway. “Good morning,” she said cheerfully. “Sleep well?” She glanced at Pilar. “Or did you get any sleep at all?” Her innuendo was clear.
“Some,” he said, looking from one women to the other.
“We made breakfast,” Chelsea said. “Come and join us. I like this woman. Maybe you should buy her a ring, something big and flashy.”
Eli stood there for a moment, not sure how to address that. “I’m going out to mow the lawn. When I get back, we’ll leave.” He seemed about to say something else but didn’t. He practically ran to the front door.
Pilar waited until they heard the lawn mower, then she turned to Chelsea. “You know, don’t you?”
Chelsea looked up from the camera. “That Jeff is Eli? Of course. Can I assume that you’re part of the effort he’s making to win me?”
“I am, but I was Jeff’s idea. I’m afraid I’ve shocked my boss.”
“Tell me the truth about what it’s like working for him.”
“I’m tired of it,” Pilar said. “There’s so much data, so many secrets, and Eli keeps everything in his brain. He’s such an introverted person. Only if Jeff is near him does he loosen up. Are you going to tell Eli that you know who he is?”
“Maybe.” She looked back at the camera. “So what’s it like to kiss him? And how is he in bed?”
“He’s an expert at kissing, but I wouldn’t know about the bed from personal experience.”
“Good,” Chelsea said with a smile. “And just so you know, you ever touch him again, I will hurt you.”
Pilar laughed. “I like that. He needs someone. Besides, I just met a guy. At three a.m. this morning I got a flat tire and some big, gorgeous man stopped and changed it for me. On my part it was instant attraction. I thought he was interested too, but when I thanked him, that was it. I figured he was probably married. But when I got here and took my suitcase out of the trunk, I saw that he’d stuck his business card on it. Lancaster Frazier. His family owns the local car dealership.”
“Good,” Chelsea said. “Stick with him and leave Eli to me.”
“A deal,” Pilar said, and they smiled at each other.
An hour later Chelsea and Eli were in the car together and driving out of Edilean.
“So where are we going?” she asked. “There are some beautiful resorts around here.”
“We’re going camping.”
“Is this a joke?”
“No. Pilar bought the gear and it’s in the trunk.”
“I think you should know that I hate camping,” she said.
“Do you? Eli never told me that. He told me everything else about you, but not that. Interesting. Well, it’s only for one night and you need a place to use all the new camera equipment he bought you, don’t you? Sunset over the mountains, that sort of thing. You can—”
“Cut it out, Eli! You very well know that I hate camping.”
He glanced away from the road for a second to hide his smile. He was glad the charade was over. “Just one night,” he said.
“I don’t want to go camping!”
They argued all the way to the campground.
Chelsea stood to one side, her arms folded across her chest, and glared at Eli as he quickly put up the tent. Even though he’d agreed to stop at a huge mall and she’d spent hours shopping, she was still angry. He’d driven through a forest and down an old road, and stopped at a locked gate that had signs reading NO TRESPASSING, GOVERNMENT PROPERTY, and KEEP OUT.
Chelsea wasn’t surprised when Eli had a key to the lock. As he drove down a gravel path, she was too angry to speak to him. He knew how much she hated camping, so why did he bring her here? From the way he’d been kissing Pilar this morning she wondered if he was planning a seduction. But that could have been accomplished at a hotel.
He seemed to know the area well and came to a stop by a pristine lake. It was so clean that it looked as though no human had been near it in centuries.